It's a simple concept, but as any baseball coach knows, applying pressure in a postseason setting often is easier said than done.
That, however, is just what Meigs County did in its Region 3-AA baseball semifinal Monday night at Hixson. Tyler Roberts' Tigers scored five early runs to put the Wildcats on their heels, then rode the complete-game pitching of ace Brantley Baker to a 7-2 win.
Meigs (24-7) will face Signal Mountain, a 5-3 winner over Sweetwater on Monday, in the region final and then will play in a state sectional game. Hixson's season ended at 17-13.
"We set the tone early," Roberts said. "I told them all week that in the postseason you have to put pressure on the other team right off the bat. It also makes the other pitcher labor that much more, especially on a humid day like this."
Junior leadoff man Aaron Johnson was the catalyst, going 4-for-5 and scoring runs in the first and second innings. His leadoff single and a walk to Baker led to a two-run single by designated hitter Alexander Herd.
In the second inning Will Meadows led off with a single and nine-hole hitter Gavin Lawson added a one-out RBI single before Johnson brought home Meadows with a single to left field. Hunter Burke later added another run-scoring single to chase Hixson starting pitcher Alex Rollins.
"I just put the bat on the ball and good things happened," a smiling Johnson said. "This is huge because we have worked so hard to get here. It's been a long year and, man, it's hot today, so this was fun. One more win to get to the 'Boro, so we have to get it."
Baker had his own share of tough innings but limited damage to single runs in the third and sixth innings while stranding six runners. Five of those came in the first three innings, including a second-and-third, one-out jam he worked out of in the first. He gave up a run in the third on a wild pitch but again left runners at second and third.
"Brantley was tough out there," Roberts said. "He worked out of some trouble but did what he had to do, and we made some plays behind him."
Hixson reliever Jack Julian restored order in the middle innings, but the Tigers got to him in the sixth for a pair of insurance runs on Baker's RBI double and a sacrifice fly from Herd. Baker, after allowing a run in the sixth on Trevor Moore's RBI single, sat the Wildcats down in order in the seventh.
"Offensively, we hit the ball well from start to finish," Roberts said. "I'm so proud of the bottom of my lineup. They had some big hits and worked deep in the count a lot. Hixson has a great program and they will be back in this round for many years to come. We just got the best of them today.
"This team has worked so hard, and now we are one win away from reaching our goal to get to Murfreesboro."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22.