Gordon Lee nine holds off Ringgold, sweeps Darlington
Down 4-3 and batting in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Ringgold Tigers loaded the bases with nobody out as they looked to rally past Gordon Lee at Bill Womack Field.
However, freshman pitcher Bo Rhudy entered the game and retired three batters in a row to leave the sacks full and seal up a 4-3 win for the Trojans on Friday night.
Gordon Lee loaded the bases without the benefit of a hit in the top of the second inning and scored their first two runs on a Ringgold error. Then in the top of the fourth, they would load the bases on two singles and a walk before Nate Dunfee came through with an RBIhit. Will Sizemore was credited with an RBI after he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 4-0.
Ringgold would get three of the runs back in the bottom of the fifth, all coming with two outs. Dylan Wright drew a walk, stole second and scored on an error. Jake Stockburger raced home on a Brayden Broome double and Broome later trotted home on the Trojans’ second error of the frame.
Gordon Lee put two runners in scoring position in the top of the sixth, but failed to get any extra insurance runs home as Colin Mountjoy ended the inning with a strikeout for the Tigers.
The final bit of drama would come in Ringgold’s final at-bat as a walk and two hit batsmen loaded the bases with no outs. But Rhudy would get two strikeouts sandwiched around an infield pop-up, which he fielded for the second out.
Jake Poindexter went six innings to get the victory. He allowed three unearned runs on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts. Rhudy was credited with the save after replacing Cade Peterson, who started the seventh on the mound for Gordon Lee.
Five different pitchers, Chase Ghormley, Eli Norris, Kenyon Ransom, Austin McMahan and Mountjoy, were used by the Tigers. Broome was the only Ringgold player with multiple hits as he delivered a pair of doubles.
Gordon Lee jumped back into region play Saturday at Darlington, while Ringgold (6-5) will open Region 6-AAA play Tuesday at Calhoun.
Gordon Lee 7, Darlington 1
The Trojans actually opened Region 6-A play on Thursday with a victory over Darlington in a game that had to be played at the Lake Point Complex in Emerson due to unplayable field conditions at home.
Gordon Lee scored three times
in the bottom of the first inning and tacked on four more runs in the fourth to put the game away. Cody Thomas and Griff Collins each had three hits and scored a run in the victory.
Blake Rodgers had two hits, including a double, and one RBI. Will Sizemore was 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Peterson doubled and drove in a pair of runs, while Jake Wright helped himself out with an RBI.
Wright got the win on the mound with five innings of one-hit ball.
He walked one batter and struck out four, while the run he allowed was unearned. Tanner Wilson surrendered two hits and a walk in two innings of relief. He finished with two strikeouts.
Gordon Lee 6, Darlington 4
The Trojans closed out the week in Rome on Saturday, but needed to rally in the seventh inning to stay unbeaten in region play.
Down 4-3 going into the top of the seventh, Gordon Lee drew three walks to load the bases with one out before Wright brought in Jacob Neal with a groundout to tie the game. One batter later, a Darlington error allowed Brody Cobb and Kade Cowan to come racing home with the final two runs.
The Tigers would put two runners on with one out in the bottom of the seventh. However, Wright snared a hard-hit line drive in leftfield and threw back behind the runner to Sizemore at second base, doubling off the Tiger runner before he was able to get back to the bag.
J.D. Day had two hits and scored a run for Gordon Lee (6-2, 2-0). Wright finished with a pair of RBI’s, while Rodgers and Cody Thomas had one RBI each.
Riley King got the start and pitched three innings. He allowed three earned runs on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Rhudy pitched the next three innings. He surrendered six hits, but just one earned run as he struck out three batters. Rhudy was credited with the victory, while Wilson pitched the seventh inning to get the save.