BY TIM HAYES

Bristol Herald Courier

CHILHOWIE — Chilhowie High School’s baseball team was intent on not making this season a rebuilding one. It turned out to be a championship season.

Chilhowie clinched its first outright Hogoheegee District title since 1972 with a 10-4 victory over Holston on Thursday afternoon.

The Warriors (14-5, 8-1) earned the top seed for the district tournament, will host the semifinals and finals of the event and also secured an automatic bid to the Region C tournament.

Chilhowie had shared the district’s regular-season title in 2006 and 2007, but this season the Warriors have sole ownership of the trophy.

The achievement is even more impressive considering Chilhowie replaced eight seniors off last year’s 20-win squad.

"I give a lot of credit to my seniors," Chilhowie coach Jeff Robinson said. "They keep us focused and they came out with something to prove this year … Before the season, they talked about some goals and one of them was for this not be a rebuilding year.

"That stuck with me. They wanted to go out and prove that they could play ball … I’m so happy for them I can’t stand it."

Chilhowie’s offense shined on Thursday. Freshman Scott Pennington went 3-for-4 with two doubles and five RBIs, while Aaron Clampitt finished with three hits and scored three runs. Senior Cody Haga added two hits in the victory.

"We’re hitting great, the best we have all year," Haga said. "We started off slow at the beginning of the season but as the weather got hotter, so did we."

Chilhowie led 6-0 after two innings and that was more than enough for starting pitcher Marcus Little. Little struck out 10.

"Our team has come together the last couple of games," Little said. "It worked out good for us. For a pitcher, that makes it easy having a big lead."

Jeffrey Bramlett had two hits and scored two runs for Holston.

Holston 000 220 0—4 5 4

Chilhowie 240 112 x—10 12 3

Barlow, Bramlett (4) and Carrier. Little and Jackson. W—Little. L—Barlow. HR—none.

thayes@bristolnewscom | (276) 645-2570