CHS-SHS rematch scheduled for Saturday
The showdown is set for high noon Saturday in Sonoraville.
The Calhoun and Sonoraville High School baseball teams meet for the second time this season — the rematch if you will — Saturday at 12 p.m. at The Furnace in the regular season finale for both teams.
The original schedule had the teams playing Game One between the neighboring town son Tuesday, Feb. 22 and, despite rain that morning, they got that game in with Calhoun winning 4-0 with three different Yellow Jackets pitchers combining to throw a no-hitter.
The game was close all the way with Calhoun taking a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning and then scoring two more runs in their final at-bat to seal the win.
But the second game between the two, which was to be Calhoun’s last before the start of Region 7-5A, on March 8 didn’t happen because of lousy weather. The coaches pushed the game back 24 hours but when it became apparent the rain wasn’t going to let it up, they moved it back to the last Saturday of the regular season.
And that day is this Saturday, when both teams will know their playoff fates and when and where they start the postseason.
Both clubs come into the game having just finished high-pressure Region series with Calhoun facing Blessed Trinity and Sonoraville taking on Coahulla Creek in a pair of matchups that had playoff implications for everyone involved.
In other words, both teams might use a few different pitchers in one final opportunity to get them some work before the playoffs next week.
And it is seriously doubtful that either team would start someone and have them pitch the entire game. It might have been that way when they were supposed to play on March 8 but with bragging rights the only thing on the line, the coaches probably aren’t going to burn a starter with the elimination games right around the corner.
For the Yellow Jackets, they are simply trying to right the ship and get back on course going into the playoffs. After
starting out like a house on fire with 10 wins in 11 games and a number three ranking in the state to start the year, the offense has struggled in a big way at times and they are now in the middle of Region 7-5A instead of near the top.
Entering this week, they had outscored their opponents, 188-84, this year, but in their nine losses, they have scored just 21 runs and been shut out twice.
They have a young group of pitchers in junior Cooper Evans and freshmen starters Jax Bishop, Avery Shiflett, and Andrew Purdy, but all have done well as only one team — West Nassau back in March — has scored double-digit runs in any game this year against Calhoun. Cartersville scored eight in one of their three wins over the Jackets and Woodland had seven in a 7-4 win last Tuesday, but after that, the team just hasn’t allowed the opposition to score a lot.
For the Phoenix, they took a four-game win streak into this week and they were hoping to extend that even farther going into the postseason.
They are also a young team, with only four seniors, but have played good baseball
all year. They haven’t had any long winning streaks in Region 6-3 this year, but have avoided the long losing streak, which has them near the top going into their big series with Coahulla Creek.
In fact, Ringgold had dominated the league the last five years, but the Tigers have to win games this week and hope someone defeats league-leading Rockmart if that stretch is too continue.
The Phoenix have outscored their opponents, 169-97 this year and like the Yellow Jackets, when they have scuffled, it has been mainly because they can’t come up with a big hit when they need it.
Only twice this year in 26 games going into the finales here, have they given up double figure runs. They lost their last game in February to White County, 14-4 and they gave up 13 runs to LaFayette, but beat the Ramblers, 14-13, in the Game of the Year this spring/winter in Region 6-3A.
In their seven losses going into this week, they have scored a total of 20 runs.
Both teams started this week with 17 wins as Sonoraville was 17-7 and Calhoun was 17-9.