By Bobby Allen

SDN Sports Editor

SWEETWATER -- By the time Alex Neal trotted toward first with his index finger pointed skyward, the issue of which team was number one in District 3-3A was no longer in doubt.

Neal added the exclamation point to an emphatic and convincing Snyder victory with a grand slam in the top of the seventh inning, as the Tigers pummeled Sweetwater, 17-2, to claim the district title, the first title since 1996, the first outright championship since 1984 and the first for second-year head coach Charles Bollinger.

“It’s just an outstanding team -- they all work together,” Bollinger said of the Tigers. “It feels awesome to win the district championship.”

Ty Collier pitched a complete game on a night when he lacked his best command, but worked around jams in nearly every inning to earn the victory in front of a standing-room only gallery at Sportsman’s Park.

“Ty did an excellent job,” Bollinger said, adding that Collier made adjustments in his delivery after plunking two of the first three Mustang hitters.

Collier allowed two earned runs on just three hits, but hit four batters and walked six.

“I think I hit more guys than they had hits,” Collier joked after the game, his right elbow encased in ice. “I just kept putting it in my mind that this was the district championship and I needed to bear down.”

The game was much closer than the final score through the first four innings, with Snyder taking a 1-0 edge in the second on a home run to deep left center from left fielder Hadley Hirt.

The Tigers (19-4, 9-1) extended the lead to 3-0 in the third off Sweetwater starter Kendal Carrillo, as Jordan Dea singled to lead off the inning, scoring on an RBI ground out by Neal.

Isaac Ramon, who reached on a bunt hit, scored on a wild pitch.

The Tigers made it 4-0 in the fifth after Marcus Villarreal scored on a throwing error after he and Blake Grimmett hit back-to-back singles.

Carrillo struck out six of the first nine hitters he faced, but the Tigers roughed him up in the sixth inning, cracking six hits and plating five runs to knock him out of the game.

Neal got the sixth-inning rally started with an infield hit, and Hirt was hit by a pitch before Eric Martinez slapped a single to load the bases.

Marcus Rodriguez hit a single through the drawn-in Sweetwater infield to drive in two runs, and Villarreal added an RBI on another bunt single.

Grimmett added his own RBI infield single before Price finished up the scoring and finished Carrillo’s evening with a two-run double to make it 9-1.

“Bunting was a big key, and it’s a credit to our guys -- they are all unselfish,” Bollinger said. “We can score in different ways, and the guys made it happen against one of the top pitchers in the state.”

Relief pitcher Steven Palma walked or hit six of the eight hitters he faced in the seventh before giving way to Steven Reed, who walked in a run before giving up Neal’s dramatic grand slam that drove the final nail into Sweetwater’s hopes.

The Mustangs (19-5, 8-2) ended the season in second place, and were outscored by the Tigers, 28-4, in the two games the teams played this year

“I knew it was gone,” Bollinger said of Neal’s homer. “I had a feeling (Reed) was going to leave one up, and he got it up on the wrong person. This was fun game to play. The crowd was great. Hopefully, we can carry this over into the playoffs.”

The Tigers formed a pile on the infield after Collier recorded the final out, a celebration that was especially sweet for Bradley Price, who said the team rebounded from the loss at Merkel with a sense of purpose.

“We just told ourselves that whole season boiled down to these last two games,” he stated. “I wanted to hold that trophy on the pitcher’s mound in Sweetwater, Texas, and I can’t wait for state.”

With the championship, the Tigers earned a bye in the bi-district round, and will face the winner of the bi-district game between the number two seed in District 2 and the third-seed in District 3.

Bollinger said the team would try to set up two practice games before its first playoff game, with an eye towards a scrimmage with Post Saturday.