Floyd fans Model
The junior pitcher strikes out 13 as Rockmart completes the season sweep against the Blue Devils.
A seven-run first inning gave the Rockmart baseball team the boost it needed and pitcher Ty Floyd put the game away with his performance on the mound to cap off a week where they remained undefeated in region play.
The Yellow Jackets pushed their Region 7-AA record to a perfect 10-0 on April 5 with a 12-1, sixinning win against Model in Shannon. Floyd struck out 13 batters in the win and allowed only one hit and two walks through five innings of play.
“He’s thrown the ball really well,” Rockmart coach Kenny Yanzetich said. “When he’s in the zone, he’s really tough to hit. He does a good job.”
The 13 strikeouts was a season high for the junior pitcher who’s committed to play for LSU.
“At the beginning of the game I felt good,” Floyd said. “One of the main reasons I was successful tonight was I was able to throw my breaking ball for strikes. That throws hitters off because most of the time people expect a fastball from me.”
The win was the second against Model this week for Rockmart with the Yellow Jackets winning the first game of the series at home 9-5 last Tuesday. The Yellow Jackets were coming off a 6-0 loss last Thursday against Gordon Lee in a non-region contest.
“We got beat last night by a really good team,” Yanzetich said. “We play a lot of really good teams late in the season to prepare for the playoffs. We’re playing pretty good. We’re just trying to get ready for the playoffs.”
Rockmart’s Cooper Yanzetich followed up a tworun shot by Brayden Cole and an RBI single by Reed Couch with a three-run double in the opening inning to make the score 6-0. Andruw Morris then singled to score Cooper Yanzetich to make it 7-0.
Dylan Bailey had three hits for the Yellow Jackets (16-6), including a solo home run over the left field wall that put his team up 8-0 in the top of the fourth. Evan Ratcliff and Yanzetich finished with two hits and two RBIs apiece.
Daulton Waddel had two hits and an RBI for the Blue Devils (13-6, 6-4), and Connor Yarbrough had a double and a run scored. Yarbrough took the loss on the mound for Model pitching 1 1/3 innings with three strikeouts. Gavin Freeman and Rett Edwards pitched in relief.
The loss was the third straight for the Blue Devils who sit in fourth place in the region behind Rockmart, Chattooga and Dade County.
“We can’t let this week impact the next week,” Model coach Josh Mitchell said. “There’s a lot of pride and a lot of heart in this group. We’re going to respond next week.”
Rockmart is at Gordon Central on Tuesday after press time for more Region 7-AA action.