It has been awhile since the Sweetwater Wildcats' baseball team has had a big group of upperclassmen to lean on.
It has also been awhile since the Wildcats have had a coach for two consecutive years.
But in 2010, the Wildcats have both a talented and experienced group of seniors on their roster as well as coach Justin Rutherford returning for his second season.

Those two things have the Wildcats feeling like they're in a position to compete for the district title.
"We return a lot of upperclassmen, a lot of seniors," said Rutherford. "We have seven seniors on the team and most of them will play and start. It's one of those things where your expectations go up because you have a lot of returning starters and a lot of upperclassmen."
Rutherford also said it will be interesting to see how the team responds to having the same coach for two consecutive years.

"The big thing that's new to this team is this is my second year and this team hasn't been used to having the same coach for back-to-back years, so it'll be interesting to see what happens this year," said Rutherford.

A trio of Wildcats - seniors Hayden Gibson and Adam Worley as well as junior Shane Cox - will be expected to help Sweetwater reach its goals this year.
Gibson came on strong last season and became one of Sweetwater's best all-around players.
Rutherford has high expectations for the senior again this year and has set the bar high for Gibson.
""Hayden is a guy that's the first one at the ball field and the last one to leave. He likes to sit around and talk like he's a coach and have his input. He's a coaches' dream," said Rutherford.
Worley, a slick-fielding shortstop, will also be relied on for his hitting prowess.

Worley has been one of Sweetwater's most consistent hitters the last two seasons and has the speed to make teams pay once he gets on base.
Cox has established himself as one of the top pitchers in the district and will start the season as the Wildcats No. 1 pitcher.
Rutherford expects Cox to once again be a key to the Wildcats' success.

"We're going to rely on Shane. You could kind of tell from last year, we just handed him the ball and watched him do his thing. We're relying on him to be our "Monday starter" and our district starter and see what he can do for us," said Rutherford.
Rutherford said the team should have several good arms that log innings for the Wildcats this season, including that of Tanner Henry.

Henry sat out most of last season with a broken wrist but will return to catch and pitch when needed.
Rutherford said that while Henry's injury hurt Sweetwater last season, it will help this year.
"Last year, it hurt us losing [Tanner], but this year it's going to help us a lot from what we went through. We now have two catchers. No matter what happens we've got someone with experience behind the plate," said Rutherford.

Randy Watson filled in for Henry last season and will see some time behind the plate when Henry is on the mound.
Having the depth Sweetwater possesses will only help in a district that's stacked from top to bottom.
Rutherford said District 5-AA, which features Sequoyah, Meigs County, Polk County, and McMinn Central, will be tough but he believes it should be competitive.

"In my opinion, this district is very difficult. I really see it as any team can beat anybody on a given night," said Rutherford. "Whoever finishes fifth is going to be a good baseball team. I don't know a favorite out there. I really don't."

Sweetwater opens at Loudon on March 15 and host Greenback the opening day at 5 p.m.