Middle School Baseball: Scrappy LaFayette bows out to Heritage in semis
The LaFayette Ramblers began the 2017 North Georgia Athletic Conference baseball tournament as the No. 5 seed, but advanced to the semifinals and gave top-seeded Heritage a tussle before seeing their season come to a close.
LaFayette 10, Dade County 3
In the tournament opener last Tuesday in Trenton, the Ramblers thumped the fourthseeded Wolverines behind three hits apiece from Davis Richardson and Dylan Deering.
LaFayette put up five runs in the top of the first inning and built a 7-0 lead before the Wolverines finally got on the board. Dade would push home solo runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but the Ramblers would get all three back after a three-spot in the top of the seventh.
Richardson, Hunter Deal and Zach Sharp would collect RBIs in the first frame, while Deering would drive in a run in the second. Richardson would double in the fourth and come home on a Dade County error.
Deering would score in the seventhinning outburst. Carson Jenkins scored on a bad throw by the Wolverines and a Blake Mann single would plate Cody Cook.
Richardson also got the start on the mound and recorded the win for LaFayette. He pitched three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks with two strikeouts. Cade Fisher allowed three runs on three hits and two walks with two strikeouts in three innings of work, while Skylar Cepeda pitched a hitless seventh.
Heritage 4, LaFayette 2
In the best-ofthree semifinal series opener a day later, the Ramblers took a 1-0 lead in Game 1 of the doubleheader after manufacturing a run in the second inning.
Ethan Adams singled and Skylar Cepeda would draw a walk off Heritage starter Cade Kiniry. Deal moved the runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt before Adams would score on a ground ball out off the bat of Sharp.
However, the Generals would answer with three runs in the bottom of the inning. A pair of hit batters and a single loaded the bases and Hayden James would bring in a run with a bases-loaded walk.
Garrett Pennington brought in the second run on a sacrifice fly and a Kiniry single would make it 3-1. Heritage threatened to add to the lead when Dylan Bryan singled, but Fisher threw out a runner at the plate to end the frame.
Kiniry singled home Pennington in
the fourth to give the Generals an insurance run.
LaFayette’s final run of the game came in the sixth inning as Richardson drew a two-walk before taking advantage of three passed balls to score.
Cepeda suffered the loss for the Ramblers, throwing six innings and allowing three hits and four walks. He did not record a strikeout.