Jackets have big week ahead against Cass

MTenney@CalhounTimes.com

The Calhoun High School baseball team will look to get back into the Region 7-5A playoff picture this week when the Yellow Jackets face Cass three times.

The league is in a different place this year with just five teams instead of six fighting for four playoff spots and that odd number of team means the Yellow Jackets were off from Region games last week while the other four teams squared off in threegames series.

it also means the Calhoun diamondmen have some catching up to do starting this week when they are to play Cass three times, with two of those meetings at Cass High School. The teams were scheduled to play each other Tuesday night at Cass (details of that game were not available at press) before they return to Calhoun Thursday night for a 5:55 p.m. first pitch for Game Two of their series. They then wrap up their season set Friday afternoon back at Cass with Game Three.

The Jackets enter this week 0-3 in the Region and alone in fifth place while Cass, which defeated Dalton three times this week, is tied for first place in the 7-5A with Cartersville with a 3-0 record. All three of the Colonels’ ballgames with Dalton were tough and tight ones with Cass taking Game One 5-4, Game Two 7-4 in nine innings, and then 7-2 in the finale.

Cartersville, which swept Woodland last week, remains the team to beat as the Purple Hurricanes are 6-0 in the Region to start the week with Cass 3-0 and right behind them as both teams are tied in the loss column.

Woodland is in third place in the league at 2-4 and a game ahead of Dalton, which stands 1-5 and in fourth place. Besides Calhoun playing Cass, Dalton and Cartersville have a threegame series this week while Woodland is the team that is off.

Calhoun High School head baseball coach Matt Montgomery said the fiveteam league is strong one through five.

“I think our Region is very tough,” he said. “And I think it’s really wide open. I know Cartersville kind of ran away with it last year and they’re off to a good start this year, but I really and truly believe it’s wide open. You’ve got five good, well-coached teams fighting for four playoff spots so that means a lot of intense, close ballgames. So you just have to buckle in and be ready for that type of game every time out.

“But I think it’s hard to say if there is a favorite. Cartersville would probably be the one just based on the recent track record, but I really and truly believe that in our Region, it’s going to be really hard to duplicate what they did last year. So I think it’s wide open. But in our Region you’ve got to come ready to play every night so it’s going to be fun to be a part of. We just need to make sure we’re focused and take it one game at a time, one pitch at a time. Whether we’re at the plate on in the field.”

While the Yellow Jackets did not play Region games last week, they did play twice and lost both games, giving them an eight-game losing streak to start the week.

JACKETS,

They began the week with a tough 5-4 loss to 7A North Paulding and then dropped a 6-3 decision to Notre Dame in Chattanooga last Thursday. On Friday, they were supposed to host North Paulding to wrap up their two-game series, but the game was rained out and it doesn’t appear that it will be made up.

In the loss to Notre Dame Thursday

in Tennessee, the Yellow Jackets scored the first run of the game in the top of the first inning, but the Fighting Irish would score the next six to take control pretty quickly.

The home team scored four runs in the first and then added solo runs in the second and third to go in front, 6-1, before Calhoun completed the scoring with two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Calhoun would finish the game with just five hits and they played error-free baseball.

So now they try to put the past couple of weeks behind them and get

right back into the 7-5A playoff picture and a couple of victories over Cass (a team they swept in three games last year) would do exactly that.

After this week’s games. the Yellow Jackets are back out of Region play next week, starting on Tuesday when they host nearby Sonoraville at Chip Henderson Field at 5:55 p.m. In addition, they will play Etowah and Newton next Friday, April 5, starting at 3:30 p.m. before they are back in Region play the second week of April.

The Yellow Jackets start this week with a 4-11 record overall.