Coming off back to back losses, the Betsy Baseball team looked to bounce back last night on the road against Sullivan East. Fueled by an explosive offensive performance that featured four home runs, the Cyclones cruised to a dominant 12-1 win over the Patriots, improving their conference record to 8-1.

Of the four home runs Elizabethton launched, three came off the bat of Bugs Meadows, who turned in a perfect 4-for-4 night at the plate.

"The most important thing on my mind was getting the win," Meadows said. "Conference games are super important, so we just wanted to make sure that we went out there and executed the way we needed to."

Despite the long balls, Meadows said the most memorable moment for him came early.

"The moment that stood out to me wasn't even a home run—it was my first at-bat," he said. "We've had trouble with taking pitches on the outside of the strike zone, but I was able to be aggressive and attack at the plate to get a single. That's what really got everything started for me."

Now nearing the end of the regular season, Elizabethton has posted a strong 16-8 overall record, including a near-perfect 8-1 mark in district play. Meadows credits the team's energy and focus for much of that success.

"We try to maintain a good temperature when we're out there. We don't want to be too hot where we're crashing at the end of the game, and we also don't want to be too cold where we don't have any energy at all. Being focused in on the game has helped us a ton as well. We don't want to waste energy on the other team, just focus on us and playing our game."

Momentum, Meadows says, is crucial down the stretch. "Now we have an understanding that we can put up runs like that, we just want to continue to build on this game and keep things going. Whether it's a home run or a ground ball, if we can consistently put the ball in play then we can be successful."

Head coach Michael Corn has experienced a number of firsts in his inaugural season at the helm of Elizabethton's baseball program. His first win came on March 12 against Montgomery Central, followed by his first shutout on April 2 against Tennessee High. Now, he can add another milestone to the list: witnessing his first three-home-run performance during Tuesday's game

For me, more than the home runs it was the RBI's that Bugs was able to produce in the game. He leads our team in RBI's, so whether it was a home run or a double, Bugs as well as the rest of the guys were able to bring guys home." Corn said. "However, in 27 years of coaching, I have only see one other person do that. It's something you don't see often, so I was happy for Bugs and for our team. More importantly, those hits came at big times for us, so we needed that."

Meadows' ability to produce runs hasn't been a rare sight this season, something Corn says has been a key to the team's success. "He's been hitting in the four hole for most of the season, and when you are in that part of the lineup you typically come up with runners on base. So for him to produce runs and get on base the way that he does, it's the difference between winning and losing every week."

While Tuesday's win helped in the standings, it also gave the Cyclones a needed confidence boost heading into the final stretch.

Last night was a good bounce back off of our two losses, and it was great to see us put some runs on the board. Not only that, but reinforcing the approach that the coaches teach was something good for them to take going forward. When we do what we are supposed to do and execute, we have a chance to score some runs."

With the conference race heating up, the Cyclones will look to continue their success and claim the district crown going into postseason play.