Jackets lose to Winder-Barrow on Monday
Calhoun High School baseball team had its season come to an end Monday night when the Yellow Jackets fell to Winder-Barrow in a best-of-three GHSA 5A best-of-three playoff series near Athens.
The Yellow Jackets played two tough games, but lost the first game 7-4, and then couldn’t get the bats going to force a rubber match, winner-take-all scenario in Game Two, losing 3-0.
The win by the Bulldoggs means they got an extra day’s rest and a chance on Tuesday to scout their second-round opponent, which was to be the winner between the Region 5 champion Villa Rice and Kell, the fourth seed out of Region 4.
Those two teams had to play a third and deciding game Tuesday after the split Monday’s doubleheader to start their best-of-three series. In a tight one, the fourth-place Longhorns won the first game, 5-4, but Villa Rica staved off elimination in Game Two, coming back for a 11-4 triumph to set up the winner-take-all scene.
For Calhoun, the young Yellow Jackets, with just two seniors on the roster, gave a good account of themselves with many of them in just their first or second high school playoff series ever. But Winder-Barrow unfortunately, displayed a hair more firepower offensively to keep its season going.
In the first game, the visitors kept it close all the way with W-B holding a 5-4 lead in the fourth inning before they were able to put it away with a couple of runs late.
In the second game, both teams got outstanding pitching and defense and Calhoun had a couple of chances to make some things happen offensively, but couldn’t quite get that timely hit they needed to make things even more interesting.
On the opening night of the playoffs, it was a mixed big for the four teams out of 7-5A.
Besides Calhoun, which was the third seed out of Region 7-5A, losing; Dalton, which was the fourth seed, were both eliminated by Region 8-5A champion
Loganville in two games.
Meanwhile, Woodland, which was the second seed in the league, forced a third game against Flowery Branch and top-ranked Cartersville looked like they will be in the mix for the 5A state championship with a pair of big wins.
Woodland played Flowery Branch Tuesday afternoon in a one-game playoff after those teams split their doubleheader on Monday. In a real pitcher’s dual, the Wildcats scored an unearned run in the top of the sixth and made it stand in a 1-0 win that gave them a 1-0 lead in the series.
But in the second game, the sticks came alive for Flowery Branch and they put 14 runs on the board to double up the Wildcats, 14-7, and put both teams in a do-ordie situation on Tuesday. (Details of that game were
not available at press time).
Region champ Cartersville improved to 29-2 on the year with two shutout wins over Jefferson, the fourth seed out of the 8-5A in their Monday series.
The Purple Hurricanes won the first game by mercy rule with an 11-0 conquest, but Jefferson put up a fight in the second game before Cartersville got away with a 2-0 win.
The ballgame was one of the Canes’ tougher ones this year as the game was scoreless until the sixth inning when Cartersville got its first run.It looked like it would stay that way until the end but the Canes, who were the visiting team in Home Two, added an insurance run in the top of the seventh.
Cartersville will now face Cambridge in the second round, starting on Friday. Cambridge eliminated Atlanta Jackson in a doubleheader sweep on Monday.
The Calhoun HS baseball team ended the year with a 10-21 record.