By Michael Lindsay
The District 5-2A baseball championship is staying in Watertown as the Purple Tigers defeated Smith County in Sunday afternoon’s title game, 6-5.
The Purple Tigers erased a 4-run deficit and walked off their victory via a CJ Potter grounder in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure their championship win.
Smith County’s Riley Martin went 1-3 with two RBIs at the plate.
Watertown struck first in the bottom of the second inning to take a 1-0 lead before the Owls responded with a 5-run top of the third as a Bennett Gammon double scored TJ Testa followed by a Watertown error to score Max Long and Gammon. Martin followed with a two-out single to score two runs to give Smith County a 5-1 advantage.
The Purple Tigers battled back with a run in the bottom of the third and fifth innings to cut their deficit to 5-3. Watertown broke through in the bottom of the seventh inning as all three runs, including the game-winner, came via error.
Both teams advance to next week’s Region 3-2A semifinals as Smith County will travel to White House Heritage. More region tournament details will be posted when available.