Bulldogs get a region sweep
The Cedartown Bulldogs started off last week with a win, and ended it with an 11-9 record and Friday win over Trion on the road as they headed into more region play to open the week.
Cedartown stood at 3-1 in region play after they rounded out play against Sandy Creek with a pair of wins, but couldn’t get a win over Model and Spring Garden in non-region play as they week wore on, but came out top ahead of getting back into 5-4A play after press time.
Here’s a rundown of how the team did during a five-game week in and out of the region as March rolled into April and the season begins to wind down.
Cedartown sweeps Sandy Creek
The Cedartown Bulldogs baseball improved to 3-1 in region play and 10-7 overall in a March 26 region win. The Bulldogs traveled down to Tyrone to cap off a clean sweep in a 4-2 matchup over the Sandy Creek Patriots.
Last Tuesday’s win was the second in a week over Sandy Creek for Cedartown baseball. Scoring opened in the top of the second inning, as Michael Walker scored on a RBI hit by Tyler Gosdin.
They increased the lead in the top of the fourth, as Dalton Bowman and Gosdin’s courtesy runner came across on wild pitches. This gave the Bulldogs a 3-0 advantage over the Patriots.
They increased the lead in the top of the fourth, as Dalton Bowman and Gosdin’s courtesy runner came across on wild pitches. This gave the Bulldogs a 3-0 advantage over the Patriots.
Sandy Creek’s offense would inch closer over the final few innings. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Jordan Thomas doubled then touched home to put the hometown Patriots on the board. They added another run in the fifth via Brian Siefort to make it a one-run ball game, 3-2.
However, a Cedartown pinch runner served as an insurance run in the top of the sixth, effectively putting the game out of reach. The Bulldog defense held on to secure the two-run triumph.
Gosdin, the senior pitcher, earned another win on the year, improving to 5-0 in 2019. He went 7 full innings allowing two runs on three hits and one walk. He also recorded five strikeouts on the day.
Following the win, Cedartown became only the second team in the Region 5-4A (along with Cartersville) to have an above .500 record in region play. The next game for Bulldog baseball would be yesterday, hosting Model in a non-region matchup.
Bulldogs attempt comeback, fall short against Blue Devils
The Model Blue Devils capitalized on early scoring opportunities to put the midweek non-region game out of reach in Cedartown. The hometown Bulldogs brought a 6-run deficit all the way down to a one-run game, but failed to bridge the gap on March 27 against Model.
Scoring opened in the bottom of the second inning. Walker scored on a RBI hit by Bowman to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately this lead did not last long, as a disastrous top of the third brought across six runs for Model. Carden Lynch, Patrick Lloyd, Davis Chastain, Brody Pearson, Brody Pace, and Daulton Waddell touched home to give the Blue Devils a 6-1 advantage. Another run in the following inning increased their lead to 7-1.
Despite being down by the biggest margin all season, Cedartown’s baseball squad kept playing hard, chipping away at the Model lead to make it a manageable deficit. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Jacob Bradshaw and Taji Hudson scored on RBI hits by MJ Holiday and the aforementioned Walker.
In the fifth, Easton Oxenreider scored on a RBI groundout by Bradshaw. Jerry Simmons came home on a RBI double by Cade Smith, and his courtesy runner Hudson scored on a RBI double by Gosdin. This made it a 7-6 ballgame, but the big inning ended after Gosdin was caught trying to steal home. Sadly, this is as close as the Bulldogs would get.
Model added an insurance run in Gaven Freeman in the top of the seventh that would sure up the two-run triumph.
The March 27 game was only the third home loss of the year for the Bulldogs, with the previous two coming to Chapel Hill and Calhoun.
Starting pitcher Corben Cuzzort was tagged with the loss, allowing 5 runs in 2.1 innings.
Holiday pitched most of the game in relief, going 3.2 innings allowing two runs on six hits and two walks. Bowman pitched the final inning, allowing an unearned run on one hit. He recorded one strikeout while Holiday and Cuzzort finished with four each.
Despite not getting the win, a few Bulldogs had impressive days at the plate. Smith was 3-4 on the day, batting in one run on a single and two doubles. Walker made the most of his plate appearances, going 2-2 with one RBI and a run scored. Bowman had a two hit day, going 2-4 with two singles and one run batted in. Holiday was 1-3 with a RBI single, and Oxenreider finished with a single and a run scored.
Gosdin was 1-4 against Model with a RBI double, and Simmons went 1-4 with a double and a run scored. Bradshaw also netted a hit yesterday, going 1-4 with a single, a RBI, and a run.
Mixed bag at the end of the week, back to region play
Cedartown then had road games on Thursday and Friday, facing down an opponent across the state line and then traveled northward to Chattooga County in a non-region contest to end the week.
Spring Garden hosted the Bulldogs for an 8-6 loss on the road on Thursday before the Bulldogs capped off the week with their 10-4 win over Trion.
They get back on the bus for another trip as the week got started on Monday after press time with hopes of avoiding an April Fool’s trick from the Grangers in region play in LaGrange. They host the region opponent again today for a 5:55 p.m. first pitch before ending the week on the road in Carrollton on Friday playing against Central.
The Bulldogs have the rest of the region schedule ahead of them and no other non-conference games in play going into April. They start next week hosting Central for the second of the series, then head to Troup County next Wednesday to start their series against the Tigers before hosting them again on April 12. Then backto-back games against Cartersville on April 15 and April 17 are heading, opening the coming weeks on the road before Senior Night and the regular season’s end at home for 2019.