Caldwell County needed some late-game heroics to extend its winning streak against border rival Trigg County.
The Tigers walked off a 4-3 victory Monday night at the VFW Ballpark in Princeton when Ari Wells drilled his second home run of the night.
Trigg (1-2) had rallied late to tie things after trailing 3-0 for much of the contest.
The Wildcats had the bases-loaded with one out in the top of the seventh inning with a chance to take the lead. However, Caldwell’s Channing Puckett struck out the next two batters to keep the game deadlocked.
Wells untied the game with one out in the bottom of the seventh when the left-hander went opposite field for a solo home run to left to end the contest.
Caldwell has now taken 11 straight meetings with the Wildcats.
The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Wells homered to right after Collin Whittington had reached on an error.
Caldwell (3-1) added another run in the fourth when Drew Stevens singled home David Ginn, who had walked, stolen second and moved to third on a wild pitch.
Trigg began its comeback in the top of the sixth when Chase Hampton doubled home Aaden Allen with one out after Allen had walked.
The Wildcats then drew even in the seventh.
A hit batter, a walk and a single by Bentley Reynolds loaded the bases with one out.
Back-to-back walks by Allen and Aidon Butts forced home runs to knot the game at 3-3 — still with just one out in the frame.
But Caldwell’s Puckett struck out the next two batters to leave the bases loaded and give the Tigers a chance to win it in the home half of the inning.
Puckett was the winning pitcher in two-thirds of an inning. He walked two and had the two strikeouts.
Both teams got solid pitching efforts.
Caldwell starter Ethan Ramage went 5.1 innings and struck out 10 while allowing one run on three hits and five walks.
For Trigg, Butts went four innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits. He struck out six and walked four. Hampton pitched the final 2.1 innings, giving up just one run on two hits while fanning two and walking three.
Wells was 2-for-2 with the two long balls, two walks, two runs scored and three runs batted in. Stevens, Westin King and Derek Wilson each singled for Caldwell.
Hampton finished 2-for-4 with an RBI for Trigg. Bentley Reynolds and Brody Calhoun each added singles.
Caldwell, which has won three straight, will play at home again on Tuesday against 7th District foe Hopkins County Central.
Trigg goes on the road again on Tuesday to face Webster County.
