Middle School Baseball: Ringgold closes out Gordon Lee
The Ringgold Tigers are going for their second Northwest Georgia Athletic Conference title in three years.
A sweep over the visiting Gordon Lee Trojans in the NGAC tournament semifinals at Frank Seabolt Field this past Wednesday will give the Tigers another crack at a championship.
Ringgold was set to face Heritage in the championship series, which was slated to get underway on Monday. Results were not available as of press time.
Ringgold 4, Gordon Lee 1
Three runs in the fifth inning of the opener provided the margin of victory. Following a single by Hayden Black, Taylor Pease doubled in a run. Sam Mills later smoked a double of his own, allowing Pease and Kenyon Ransom to find home base.
Ransom, Black, Colin Mountjoy, McCain Mangum, Austin McMahan and Mason Parker each executed a hit in the game, while Eli Norris had an RBI.
Will Carswell, Jake Poindexter and Logan Simerley all had hits in Game 1 for Gordon Lee. Poindexter, who was the Trojans’ starting pitcher, struck out five.
Parker, who started the game on the mound for the Tigers, gave up no earned runs in five innings, while Chase Ghormley struck out one and allowed no earned runs in two innings.
Ringgold 5, Gordon Lee 4
Although the first game was close, the second game proved to be a nail-biter.
Ringgold got things started in the first inning thanks to a triple by Mills, which brought in Mountjoy, to give the Tigers the lead. One batter later, Mangum scorched an RBI-double and an RBI-single from McMahan would cap the inning and give Ringgold a 3-0 lead.
Black started on the hill for the Tigers and gave up just one earned run and struck out one batter in the first three innings, but an RBIdouble by Jacob Neal in the third kept Gordon Lee in striking distance.
Ringgold would tack on two more runs, but Gordon Lee would throw a few more haymakers before the game was decided.
Jackson Moore sliced an RBI-single to left field in the fifth inning, while Brody Cobb blasted a tworun double in the sixth inning, pulling the Trojans within a run at 5-4. However, Gordon Lee would get no closer.
Both Cobb and Neal went 2-for-4 with a double, Moore was 2-for3 and Cade Peterson and Dylan Burnett both doubled in the loss. Burnett also struck out two during his time on the mound.
Ghormley struck out two and allowed one earned run in relief for Black. Mangum closed, striking out one batter in two innings to seal the deal for the Tigers.
Ringgold registered eight hits in Game 2. Mills, Mountjoy and Mangum each had two hits, while Ransom and Ghormley contributed one hit each.
Gordon Lee Coach Jeff Guffey said he was proud of the way his team kept fighting in the game and throughout the season.
“Even though it was an emotional ending to a great season, this eighth grade class has a very bright future in high school baseball,” Guffey said. “The boys played with heart and good character and I’m proud of the year we have had. Ringgold’s depth and numbers were just far too great for us today. I wish Heritage and Ringgold both luck in the tournament.”
Gordon Lee defeated Lakeview, 6-2, in the opening round, but details were not provided as of press time.