Phoenix remain on a roll in Region 7-4A

Scoring six runs in the first inning, the Sonoraville High School baseball team earned a big 7-4 victory at Heritage Monday night in the first game of their important Region 7-4A series this week.

The victory kept the Phoenix in second place in the league, moving them to 8-2 and putting them two games ahead of the Generals, which fell to 6-4, in the current league standings with the teams to return to the Furnace 5 p.m. Wednesday afternoon to play a doubleheader and the final two games of the series.

“It was a good win for us,” Sonoraville head baseball coach Deron Walraven said. “The kids came out focused and locked in and ready to play. We scored six runs in the top of the first inning and really that set the tone for the game. Anytime we can do that and give ourselves that type of cushion with Zach (Lyles) on the mound, we feel real good about it. But it was great to see the way the kids come out in that first inning and swing the bats like they did and put us in a good spot immediately with six runs.”

The victory also kept the Phoenix just two games behind front-running Cedartown, which went to 10-0 in the Region Monday night with an 18-1 mercy rule win over Southeast Whitfield County. Sonoraville and Cedartown are scheduled to meet next week in the Phoenix’s final three games of the season.

In that pivotal first inning Monday night, the visitors sent 10 men to the plate with first senior catcher Jackson Balliew and then senior first baseman Easton Childs delivering back-to-back two-run singles for the big hits that really fueled the outburst.

In the second inning, Lyles helped his own cause with an RBI single for a 7-0 lead that completed the scoring.

“Anytime you go on the road and play a good team like Heritage is, you want to get off to a good start, so the dugout was feeling pretty good about getting out to a seven-run lead like that,” Walraven said. “But they’re a good team and we knew they would battle back, which they did, but I do feel like with the way Jaxon (Pate) came on in relief and finished it after Zach left and the way Zach battled and the way we swung the bats, especially early in the game, it was one of our better games of the year.”

The Generals did put up four runs to get it back to 7-4 with runs in the third and fourth inning before Pate took over and pitched two shutout innings to end the game.

“It’s a nice combination to have with Zach going five innings and then having Jaxon come on in relief,” Walraven said. “He’s done a great job for us, coming on in relief like he has all year and it is comforting to know we have someone like that, that we can go too to finish out a game. And Jaxon did a great job with not giving up a run in the two innings he pitched.”

Now they have a chance for the sweep Wednesday and Walraven said they just need to come out and play two more good ballgames.

“It will be nice to be back home,” he said. “We were on the road for the three games we did play last week, so when we get on our field Wednesday it will be the first time in 15 days we’ve played at home so it’s been a while. But we’re not going to change anything. We’re going to roll with our starting pitching like we have been and then we’ll have our guys in relief ready to go if we need them. And hopefully we’ll swing the bats like we did (Monday) as well.”

That means senior lefthander A.J. Hensley will be the starting pitcher in Game One on Wednesday with senior right-hander Kannon England to go in the second game.

The win lifted Sonoraville to 16-6 overall on the season.