Generals put in overtime in first round
This past Thursday was a very long day at the ballpark for the Heritage Generals and their fans, but both groups went home happy after the Region 7 champs swept the visiting Panthers from Southwest DeKalb in the opening round of the Class 4A state tournament.
Traffic issues resulted in Southwest DeKalb not arriving to Heritage until approximately 45 minutes after the scheduled 3 p.m. start time for Game 1 and the series opener went on to last 10 innings.
However, Heritage gutted out the extra inning affair before posting a much more comfortable victory in the nightcap.
In the opener, Heritage gave up a two-out, run-scoring double in the top of the second, but Max Owens answered for the Generals in the bottom of the inning with his ninth home run of the season, a solo shot.
After leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the third, Heritage finally got back on the board in the fifth. Maddox Henry delivered a oneout single and was moved to second on a bunt by Cody Bryan. Henry later scored on an error.
The Panthers answered with a run in the top of the sixth to tie the game and were threatening for more, but Owens — the starter for Game 1 — was able to strand a runner at third base and the game ultimately moved into extra innings.
A scoring chance by Heritage in the top of the eighth was snuffed out on a double play and the Generals loaded the bases in the ninth, only to leave them stranded once again.
In the 10th, a walk, a fielder’s choice, a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly plated the go-ahead run for the visitors, but the lead would be short-lived.
jump-started a huge sevenrun inning as the Tigers finally put away Gilmer, 8-1, to win their opening-round series in the Class 3A state playoffs.
Runs were at a premium through the first five innings. The Tigers loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the first, but hit into a double play to end a scoring chance. However, they finally broke through in the third.
Hudson Moss singled and eventually scored on a Haddon Fries single, while starting pitcher Eli Crew was perfect through the first four innings, including striking out the side to start the game.
The Bobcats were finally able to dent the scoreboard in the top of the fifth on a pair of hits, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly. However, Crew was able to pitch out of further trouble and leave the game tied.
Tiger reliever Aidan Hickman left a pair of runners stranded in the sixth and the game changed for good a half-inning later.
A one-out error, a walk and a Jack Mealor single loaded the bases for Edgar, who poked a 1-1 fastball into right field to drive in two runs and give Ringgold the breakthrough hit they needed.
But Ringgold was far from done.
Moss singled to reload the bases and Hickman pushed a single into left as two more runs scored. Moss, however, caught the Bobcats not paying attention at the end of the play and was able to motor all the way from first to push the lead to 6-1.
Fries followed up with an RBI-double to right and Conner Christopher added an RBI-single to cap the frame.
All that was left was for Hickman to sit the Bobcats down in order in the top of the seventh to send Ringgold through to the second round for the 14th consecutive season.
Crew gave up just the two hits and struck out four batters without allowing a walk in five innings.
Hickman, Fries and Moss paced the Ringgold offense with two hits and one stolen base each.
Ringgold (23-7) was scheduled to take on Oconee County (18-13) in the second round earlier this week. Due to newspaper deadlines, coverage was not available in today’s edition. Coverage can be found on our website and additional coverage will be included in the May 8 edition of this publication.
The Warriors, the No. 3 seed from Region 8, had an easy time in the first round as they thumped Carver-Atlanta, 23-0 and 13-1.
In Game 1 last Tuesday, the Tigers were outhit 9-4 in the opener, but found themselves in a 2-2 tie after six innings of play.
Down 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, Hickman doubled and scored on a twoout home run to center by Sebastian Haggard.
However, three straight two-out hits led to the tying run for Gilmer in the top of the fifth and the Bobcats added a two-run homer of their own in the top of the seventh.
Hickman was the only Ringgold player with multiple hits as he went 2 for 4, while Edgar also had a single. Haggard struck out 11 batters in seven innings and allowed just two walks. All four runs he gave up were earned.
Playing as the visitors in Game 2, Ringgold took the lead in the top of the third. Hickman had a two-out single and Fries drew a walk, while Christopher and Haggard delivered RBI-singles.
Gilmer cut into the lead in the fourth, but in the top of the fifth with Hickman and Fries on the corners, Christopher blasted a first-pitch offering to the deepest part of the park, boosting the lead to 5-1.
The Bobcats added two final runs in the top of the seventh, but Jackson Black would slam the door on the crew from Ellijay. He tossed a complete game with four strikeouts, allowing three earned runs on nine hits and a walk, while also picking up a double at the plate.
Christopher finished 2 for 3 with a walk and four RBIs. Moss also went 2 for 3, while Crew and Ryder Fairchild also had singles.