LaFayette boys’ win area golf tournament NGAC regular season ends with three-way tie for first
The LaFayette Ramblers won the Region 5 and 6 boys’ area golf tournment at the Highland Country Club in LaGrange last Monday
LaFayette posted four scores in the 70’s for a team score of 304, which was good enough for a 36-shot victory.
Cole Ingram shot a 1-under par 71 and was the only player in the field to post a red number. Gage Smith was the individual runnerup with a 75, followed by Carter Grant and Riley Grant, who each carded a 79. Matthew Ingram (85) and Tyler Jackson (86) also teed it up for the Ramblers.
LaGrange was second at 340 and was the only other team in the field to shoot the Class AAAA state qualifying score (340).
Northwest Whitfield and Cedartown tied for third with a 359, followed by Chapel Hill (364), Cartersville (365), Pickens (367), Heritage (376), Southeast Whitfield (385), Gilmer (388) and Troup (390).
Heritage got an 87 from Logan Self, a 91 from Matthew Redman, a 96 from Trevor Badacour and a 102 from Patrick Redman. Luke Bussey shot a 119 and Sam Williams did not post a final score.
The Class AAAA boys’ state tournament on May 22-23 at the Columbus Country Club. For the first time in GHSA history, the state tournament will be a 36hole event.
LaFayette girls second, Heritage third
Two days after the Ramblers ran away with their area championship, the Lady Ramblers punched their ticket to state by finishing as the area tournament runner-up at the Oak Mountain Golf Club in Carrollton.
LaFayette’s 291 was just three shots behind Central-Carroll’s 288 for the team title. Heritage (307) finished third, followed by Cedartown (326), Northwest Whitfield (329), Troup (335) and Chapel Hill (357) rounded out the standings.
Cartersville, Pickens, Southeast Whitfield, Gilmer, LaGrange, Sandy Creek and Ridgeland all had players competed, but none of those seven teams had the minimum of three players post a score.
Catie Martin carded a 92 to pace LaFayette, followed by McKinley Langford with a 96. Maci Johnson’s 103 rounded out the team total. Hannah Bowman also played for the Lady Ramblers and shot a 117.
Brooke Barnes had a 94 to lead the Lady Generals, followed by Carson Nixon (97), Katie Proctor (116) and Caroline Bentley (117).
The girls’ Class AAAA state tournment will be held May 22-23 at Maple Ridge Golf Club in Columbus.
Last Tuesday in Flintstone, the Heritage Middle School Generals throttled Chattanooga Valley, 14-2. Leading their team to a victory was winning pitcher Alex Mixon, while Nick Hanson led the team with three hits.
Heritage 12, LaFayette 2
The Generals continued to steamroll the competition as they blew out the Ramblers at home on Wednesday.
The Heritage faithful were on hand to witness the home team put a stronghold on their competition from the get-go.
While the score was very much lopsided, the game was competitive in the first inning. The Ramblers—after two singles by Blake Mann and Davis Richardson— were able to score a pair of runs from a Dylan Deering ground ball out to first base and an errant throw to first.
After Heritage’s Dylan Bryan had gotten on base from a fielder’s choice and a single from Hanson, Mixon hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Bryan. Preston Etter later stroked an RBIsingle for the second run, tying the game at two.
Heritage was able to tack on a run in the second and two runs in the third. The game, however, was still in striking distance, but the Generals separated themselves with seven runs in the fourth inning off of just two hits.
Those two hits produced three runs thanks to Etter’s RBI-single and Tyler Ingram’s RBI-double. Two more runs were scored on a balk and wild pitch and two runs came in on errors.
Even with errors contributing to runs for the Generals, several batters produced the conventional way. Etter was 3-for-3 with three RBIs, Ingram was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Cade Kiniry had a 3-for-3 day with one RBI.
Protecting the lead was Caden Snyder, who struck out one and gave up just one earned run in three innings pitched. Hanson and Hayden James pitched in relief without allowing any earned runs.
For LaFayette, Mann went 1-for-3, while Richardson was 1-for2. Deering, though, was the only player to contribute an RBI.
Heritage 3, South Pittsburgh 2
The Heritage Generals continued to stay perfect as they beat the Pirates on Friday.
Jake Cobb notched the win, allowing two earned runs in two innings, while Trey Faulkner threw one scoreless inning. Jeff Bates closed the deal in one inning.
Up 1-0 in the fifth inning, Cobb allowed two runs giving the Pirates a 2-1 lead. However, a sacrifice bunt by Snyder in the top of the sixth aided in Heritage scoring the go-ahead and eventual
winning runs.
Gordon Lee 6, Heritage 5
The Generals came up a little short of perfection as they lost a 6-5 decision to Gordon Lee on Saturday afternoon in their final regular season game of the year.
The Trojans were up 2-1, but then Heritage responded with four runs in the fifth inning. Hanson impacted the inning with his RBIdouble, while Mixon also had a single in the inning.
Six errors by the Trojans aided the Generals’ cause, but Heritage would commit three errors of its own, allowing Gordon Lee to put up their own fourspot in the seventh. A 5-4-3 double play in the bottom of the seventh helped the Trojans seal the victory.
Jake Poindexter was 2-for-4 with an RBI for Gordon Lee, while Jacob Neal was 1-for-4 with an RBI.
For Heritage, both Kiniry and Hanson were 1-for-4 with an RBI.
Poindexter, who was the starting pitcher for the Trojans, struck out two and allowed two earned runs in four and a third. Kiniry struck out three in four innings for the Generals.
Ringgold 3, Gordon Lee 2
For the first time in seven years the Tigers knocked off the Trojans in a regular season game.
But it didn’t come easy as the game was won in the 10th inning at Frank Seabolt Field. With runners on first and third in a 2-2 game, McCain Mangum sliced the ball to left field just a few feet in front of the foul line.
Ringgold faithful erupted in a frenzy as Mangum delivered the walk-off hit.
Sam Mills began the inning for the Blue-and-White with a single before courtesy runner Jordan Garnica eventually trotted home on Mangum’s hit.
The Trojans were up 1-0 through the first four and half innings, thanks to the pitching of Poindexter, who struck out six, gave up no hits and only allowed one earned run in four and a third.
The Tigers tied the game in the fifth. Two walks and a fielder’s choice would put pinch runner Kyle White on third and White would scamper home after Taylor Pease beat out a swinging bunt at first.
Still, the Trojans quickly responded with a run in the sixth and Gordon Lee looked end the game in the seventh. But an error would allow Alex Otting to score the tying run for the Tigers.
Gordon Lee outhit Ringgold, 7-6. Both Brody Cobb and Grayson Smith were 2-for-5 with a double. Burnett struck out four, gave up five hits and one
earned run in five and two thirds.
Pease and Mangum’s contributions were critical, but the comeback kids also had heroic efforts thanks to Colin Mountjoy’s two hits. Starting pitcher Hayden Black allowed one earned run in four innings and Mangum threw six innings of relief, giving up two hits and no earned runs.
Ringgold 11, McCallie 2
Last Thursday, the Tigers rapped out 11 hits and dominated McCallie.
Mountjoy, Mangum and Parker each had a hit and two RBIs, while Chase Ghormley had two hits and an RBI. Black and Kenyon Ransom added one hit and one RBI each, while Pease, Garnica, Mills and Brodie Spurgeon each had one RBI.
Ringgold 11, East Hamilton 1
The Tigers concluded the regular season with a victory over the Hurricanes on Friday.
In a game where the Ringgold outhit the Canes, 9-2, the Blueand-White were able to get contributions from their regulars. Pease had two doubles with an RBI, Mills doubled and picked up an RBI, while Mountjoy and Parker each had a hit and an RBI.
Ransom, McMahan and Brody Gann all hit once.
Black struck out four and allowed one earned run and one hit in two innings. Ghormley had three strikeouts, no earned runs and one hit allowed in one inning or work. Parker did not allowed a hit or an earned run in his one inning on the mound and Mountjoy threw one hitless, scoreless inning with one strikeout.
Lakeview 5, Trion 4
The Warriors tuned up for the NGAC tournament with a win over the Bulldogs on Saturday.
Superlative efforts from an assembly of players contributed to the victory, which put the Warriors at 10-7 overall.
Tied at 4-4 in the fifth inning, Isaiah Blackburn stroked a two-run double giving the Warriors the lead for good. Blackburn had two hits on the day, while Blake Thornburg and Gage Kelley both had two hits for a day’s work as well. Other contributors were Matt Daniel and Hayden Wolfe, who both had singles.
Josh McAfee moved to 5-1 on the year by striking out four and giving up seven hits in the complete game. All four runs he gave up came in the first inning.
Gordon Lee (14-2, 8-1), Ringgold (18-3, 8-1) and Heritage (121, 8-1) ended up with a three-way tie atop the NGAC standings. A coin flip determined that Heritage would be the No. 1 seed, followed by Ringgold and Gordon Lee as the three seed.