PREMIER PLAYER OF THE WEEK: TUCKER COTTON DELIVERS WHEN NEW HOME NEEDED HIM MOST

Some moments define a season.

For New Home's Tucker Cotton, that moment came in the biggest game of the year.

With a trip to the State Semifinals hanging in the balance, the Leopards found themselves trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning of the Regional Final against New Deal. Three outs from seeing their season come to an end, New Home needed someone to step up.

Cotton answered the call.

With runners on first and second and the Leopards down to their final strike, the senior battled to an 0-2 count before driving a clutch opposite-field single into left field. The hit allowed Avin Madrid to race home with the tying run, sending the New Home dugout into celebration and keeping the Leopards' season alive.

It was the type of moment every player dreams about.

But Cotton wasn't finished.

After delivering the game-saving hit, he took the ball and went to work on the mound.

The right-hander threw three scoreless innings, striking out four and giving New Home exactly what it needed to complete the comeback and punch its ticket to the State Semifinals.

In a game filled with pressure, Cotton delivered on both sides of the ball.

When the Leopards needed a hit, he provided it.

When they needed someone to shut the door, he did that too.

Those are the moments that define playoff baseball, and they are exactly why Tucker Cotton is this week's Premier Player of the Week, brought to you by Premier Autos.

For New Home, the season continued because one player refused to let it end.