Haggard and Crew lead Tigers in rout
RINGGOLD, Ga. — Sebastian Haggard rolled the baseball around in his right hand before coming set and firing a pitch past a Heritage batter for his 12th and final strikeout of Ringgold’s 8-2 home victory Thursday night.
The junior starter was lights out in the nonregion matchup of Catoosa County rivals. Haggard mixed his 88 mph fastball with a solid breaking ball as he allowed four hits and one unearned run in six innings, and he also drove in three runs for the Tigers (7-4).
“Heritage is our rival, and I wanted to go out there and shove it down their throats,” Haggard said. “I really wanted this game. It meant a lot to me. I just want to do my best every time out there for my team. Stay focused and give my best every pitch. I love pitching because you are in complete control.”
Haggard has formed a potent 1-2 duo with senior Ross Norman, as both have 40-plus strikeouts already this season. Ringgold has allowed just five runs over its past seven games, with six of those wins.
The Tigers also came up with clutch hits all night, with senior Sam Crew roping a double down the left-field line with two outs in the bottom of the third inning for the game’s first two runs. Crew later followed a two-out, two-run single by Haggard in the sixth with a towering two-run homer to leftcenter for an 8-1 lead.
“That was my first home run ever,” Crew said. “This was a great win for us. Conner (Christopher) set us up at the top of the order getting on base every time, and we really rolled with the momentum from the great game Seabass threw for us. We have great pitching, and tonight we really had some clutch at-bats.”
Christoper singled and walked three times for his GHSA Class AAA program, and behind the plate, the junior caught a great game from Haggard, who walked one batter while throwing 64 of his 95 pitches for strikes.
Norman scored twice in the win over Class AAAA’s Generals (6-2), whose Maddox Henry had two hits and drove in a run, along with Brady Chandler.
“Seabass is as consistent as can be,” Ringgold coach Drew Walker said of Haggard. “He k nows how to locate and really pitch. He is a competitor out there on the mound and kept Heritage off-balance.
“It was awesome to see Sam step up and have a big game at the plate. Hopefully we can really build on this confidence.”