LYNCHBURG, Tenn. – The Cascade Champions (9-4, 0-2) came out on top in a one-run thriller, 7-6, to complete the season sweep of the Moore County Raiders (8-11, 3-1) on Saturday.

Jordan Childress punctuated the Cascade comeback with a go-ahead RBI-single in the top of the seventh inning to cap a 3-3 day at the plate, and his second RBI of the night. 

Moore County took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, and held that lead until the top of the sixth inning when the Champions’ offense exploded for six runs to take a 6-2 lead going into the home half. The Raiders responded with four runs of their own to tie things up at 6-6 before Childress breaks the tie in the top of the seventh. 

Cascade utilized five pitchers compared to the two from Moore County with Isaac Winton getting the start. Winton went 1.0 innings, giving up two runs with one earned on two hits and a walk with a strikeout on 27 pitches. Caleb Crouch came on in relief to start the second inning, lasting 3.0 innings and only giving up three baserunners on a trio of walks with three strikeouts on 44 pitches. Elijah Wesenberg came on to throw the next 1.1 innings, giving up four earned runs in the sixth inning on three hits and one walk with a pair of strikeouts on 38 pitches. Jaxson Milliken recorded the final two outs in the sixth inning, giving up just two more hits and no runs on 19 pitches. Childress, who gave Cascade the lead in the top half of the seventh, came on to get the final three outs and record the save with a pair of strikeouts on eight pitches to secure the win.

Xykaiah Dixon, batting second, went 2-3 at the plate with one RBI and a pair of walks. Thomas Demartelaere went 3-4 with a double while Wickey Parker batted 2-3 with one RBI. Jayden Hathcock, batting third, went 1-4 at the plate with a pair of RBIs. 

Demartelaere’s double led off the top of the sixth inning before Daymian Maldonado’s RBI single drove him home for Cascade’s first run of the game. Milliken singled to advance Maldonado to second before River Maddox struck out for the second out of the inning. Wesenberg followed that up by working  a walk after falling behind 0-2 to flip the lineup over, and then Childress was hit by a pitch to drive home the tying run. Dixon followed that up with an RBI-single, and then Hathcock singled home another two runs to give Cascade a 5-2 lead. Demartelaere, who led off the inning, singled to load the bases once more before a Wickey Parker RBI-single gave Cascade a 6-2 lead going into the home half after Hathcock was gunned down at the plate for the final out.

The Raiders scored four runs to tie the game going into the seventh, but then Cascade re-took the lead after the first two batters of the inning were retired. A River Maddox single kept the inning alive, a wild pitch to Wesenberg allowed Maddox to get into scoring position, and then Wesenberg was hit by a pitch to flip the lineup over to Childress once again. Childress came up clutch with a two-out, RBI-single into center to score Maddox and put the Champs ahead, 7-6.

Childress set down Moore County in order in the home half of the inning to wrap up the exhilarating one-run comeback win. Cascade returns to District 9-AA play on Monday, hosting Cannon County with first-pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m.