Continuing a theme from the opening day of the Region 3-4A Tournament, Sunday's championship game took it up a notch.
Saturday's action was highlighted by a pair regulation of pitcher's duels but with the title up for grabs archrivals Bradley Central and Cleveland went 10 innings with the first runs not coming until the eighth frame in the 2-1 Bear victory for the crown.
Claiming both the district and region titles in the same season for the first time since 2018, the 20th-ranked Bears (26-7) will host Region 4 runner-up and No. 8-ranked Riverdale (37-9) in a best-of-3 TSSAA Sectional series later this week. The game dates and times are yet to be set.
Meanwhile, Cleveland (24-12), ranked 25th in the Maxpreps Class 4A poll this week, out slugged McMinn County 16-8 in Sunday's finale for the final substate berth and a trip to 10th-ranked Siegel (29-12) this week for a shot at its first state tournament since 2007.
The Cherokees earned the rite to face the Raiders by knocking off Ooltewah 6-1 earlier in the afternoon.
The matchup of district champions Sunday afternoon went more than 3 1/2 hours and featured classic pitching performances from sophomores Tyler Cook and Christian Lee.
Starting just his second game of the season and his sixth appearance, Cook fired 7.2 innings of two-hit ball for Bradley, striking out nine and issuing a trio of free passes.
Cook, the Cleveland ace this season, tossed 7.1 frames of shutout ball, notching 10 Ks, and handed out two walks, while scattering 10 hits.
"What a game!," proclaimed veteran "Papa Bear" Travis Adams. "A gutsy performance by both starting pitchers.
"Proud of Tyler (Cook) — competing like he did in that environment! Then Brody (Casteel) and Jonathan (Alomar) came on throwing no-hit, shutout innings.
"Proud of our guys for staying in the fight for extra innings. We had chances to plate guys early but didn’t execute and just kept playing." he said of his Bears leaving eight "ducks on the pond.
"Unbelievable game — two really good teams going at it," declared first-year Cleveland head coach Brent Tucker. "Christian (Lee) was really good, but we just couldn’t get anything going. Tyler Cook for Bradley was equally good. Tough loss in a 'instant classic ball game.'”
BEARS 2
RAIDERS 1
After a 1-2-3 top of the first, District 6 champion Bradley got its first opportunity when Lee University signee Alex Brew opened the bottom of the frame with a walk and stole second. However, Lee responded with a ground out and back-to-back Ks to gert out of the jam.
District 5 champ Cleveland got its first hit in the top of the second when Tennessee Wesleyan signee Nolan Copeland returned for an injury to stroke a two-out single to snap a string of three straight strikeouts by Cook.
He was stranded when sophomore Caden Tippens put a charge in one but it only made it to the warning track in dead away center field, where Brew hauled it in.
The Bears once again got the leadoff man on in the bottom of the frame when Cleveland Stte signee Hank Adams sent an opposite-field single into right field. He too swiped second before being bunted to third by teammate Bronson Stone.
Cook once again bowed his back, striking the next two batters on just seven pitches.
Virginia Tech signee Mycah Jordan got the only other Raider hit with a two-out single but the District 5 Player of the Year became the final out on one of the most unique plays in baseball history.
Bear left fielder Tito Williams fielded the hard hit, but overshot the second baseman with the throw in and right fielder Teigan Cassada alertly snagged it, throwing behind Jordan, who had rounded the bag a little too far thinking the ball was thrown away, and first baseman Josh Leek put the tag on a he dove back to the back for the rare 7-9-3 putout.
Bradley junior Jaxon Humble laced a two-out single in the bottom of the frame, but was stranded.
The Raiders threatened in the top of the fourth when seniors Jack McBrayer and Andrew Wenger drew back-to-back one-out walks and were bunted up by River Briggs. However, the next batter popped up to Leek.
The host Bears tried to get something going in the bottom of the fourth when Cook and Adams opened the at a bat with consecutive singles, but once again Lee quelled the threat with three straight Ks.
Cook countered by striking out the side in the top of the fifth.
After Lee got another K to open the bottom of the fifth, Brew laced a single but was gunned down by Raider catcher Cade Tippens trying to steal.
After Cleveland went down in order in the top of the sixth, Bradley got a one-out single by Cook, with Alomar coming on as his courtesy runner and swiping second. Coach Adams tried to force in a run when Stone beat out an infield hit, send Alomar to the dish, but Copeland alertly fired home to nail him and prevent the score.
After both teams went down in order in the seventh frame, extra baseball started with each finally putting a run on the board.
Cleveland struck first without benefit of a hit, when Evan Liner was "plunked" and pinch-runner Will Scannapiego moved up on a passed ball but erased on a fielder's choice.
With pinch hitter Devin Armstrong on first after the play, it looked like the threat was thwarted when Jordan sent a fly ball to the outfield, but the ball bounced in-and-out of the Bear fielder, allowing Armstrong to complete the circle.
Having thrown 104 pitches, which is by far the longest of his varsity career, Coach Adams pulled Cook and turned the ball over to closer Brody Casteel. The Cleveland State signee needed just two pitches to slam the door shut.
Bradley evened things up in the bottom of the eighth when Humble reached on a one-out infield hit. After Lee got a 1-2 count on UTC football signee Luke Keith, Coach Tucker had to pull him as he reached the 120-pitch limit.
Keith greeted the new Raider hurler with a single on his first pitch and after Cook's third hit drove in Humble to even the score, Cleveland made another switch on the mound.
Wegner took the bump and after an intentional walk, induced a double play when Copeland snagged a line drive and threw back to first for the twin killing.
Alomar came on to toe the rubber for the Bears in the top of the ninth and picked up the pitching victory with two hitless innings, setting the final half dozen Raiders down in order.
A pair of Raider miscues allowed the host to pull out the victory in the bottom of the 10th.
A one-out throwing error allowed Alomar to reach first. After a single by the younger Adams and a walk to DH Bronson Stone jammed the sacks.
Shane Bristol came off the Bradley bench to pinch hit and hit a grounder that was booted, allowing Alomar to score the walk off run.
Cook and Adams, who also drew a walk, both finished the night with three hits, while Humble knocked a pair and Brew reached thrice with a pair of "freebies" to go with his single.
