The Clearwater Tigers need to work on their water bucket dumping skills.
"They don't really know how to do it," said wet and cold Clearwater coach Cole Sheets. "They dropped it on my head. Instead of them just dumping it they threw it at me."
Added senior Heath Ayers, "We haven't gotten to do that all year, or anytime we've been playing, so we had to make sure to hold him and make sure he didn't run away from us like he has before."
The Tigers beat East Carter 7-2 in the Ozark Foothills Conference Tournament championship Thursday at Roger Pattillo Field to maintain their perfect season. They will have more opportunities for buckets with the Black River League and districts in the spring.
"We're not looking ahead. We're going to enjoy this a little bit," Sheets said.
The win was in doubt for much of the game after the Tigers (13-0) committed three errors early.
East Carter (17-6) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning after Alex Kearbey stole home.
In the bottom frame, Jackson Eaton was hit by a pitch and scored on Jesse Holmes' single.
Both teams also scored a solitary run in the fourth inning, turning in the scoreboard into a binary code pitcher's dual.
Matt Mclean had a leadoff double in the top of the fourth for the Redbirds and courtesy runner Colby Ducket scored on an error.
Then Nathan Maughan reached on a leadoff single for Clearwater, took second on a passed ball.
East Carter starting pitcher Dalton Rudd struck out the next batter, but that put him above 100 pitches, forcing a change.
Into the bullpen, Ayers got a two-out single to score Maughan from second and tie the game.
"He might have been the best pitcher we've seen all year. We weathered him, worked his count, and got to that one they brought in," Sheets said.
In the sixth, East Carter committed three errors and the Tigers took advantage with five runs, all of them unearned. Clearwater had one hit in the inning, a two-run single by Maughan, who was 2 for 4 with a run and two RBIs to lead the Tigers.
"We just didn't make the big play when we needed to and that is what cost us the ball game," East Carter coach Scott Henfling said.
Ayers then retired the side in the seventh.
"I always had my teammates behind me. I knew if I threw the ball there and they hit it, they were going to be behind me," Ayers said.
Ayers pitched all seven innings for the Tigers. He threw an efficient 81 pitches and allowed hive hits and a walk with seven strikeouts.
"Heck of a day. That is a senior stepping up right there. He came in and he took it. It was his game and he wasn't giving that ball up," Sheets said.
Rudd allowed three hits and four walks with 10 strikeouts for East Carter.
"He was composed, Henfling said. "He just went deep in counts on some of them and that cost us in his pitch count, but he threw a heck of a ball game."