Wednesday, May 21, 2003
|
Wednesday, May 21, 2003 |
|
A busy week for baseball By MONROE
ROARK Four local baseball teams are still alive in three classifications of the state playoffs, and all of them are scheduled to take the field this afternoon for the second round.
Fayette County The Tigers, ranked sixth in the state in AAAAA last week, moved to 23-4 on the season with a two-game sweep of Effingham County last Friday. They will now host Eagle's Landing in a doubleheader today at 5 p.m. If the two teams split, the third game is tomorrow at 6 p.m. The first game against Effingham was a 13-2 win, with Joseph Edens getting the win with a complete game (shortened to five innings by the 10-run rule). The second game was a bit less smooth, as Fayette County needed some extra-inning dramatics to pull out a 10-7 victory. Effingham County capitalized on errors to pick up five unearned runs in a single inning and tie the game in regulation. The Tigers then went up 7-5 before a two-run homer by Effingham County tied the game in the seventh. Since this was game two, Effingham County was the home team and batted in the bottom of the inning. Fayette County went ahead in the top of the tenth and hung on for the win, as Lee Hyde came in to pitch an inning of relief. Nursing a sore arm after being hit in batting practice, he walked three and struck out three to close out the game after solid work by Justin White and Austin Wilkes, who combined to give up only two earned runs on the seventh-inning homer. As for the Tigers' next opponent, Eagle's Landing was a region opponent last season, and Fayette County won 5-4 in their only meeting. They have not faced each other so far in 2003.
McIntosh The Chiefs boarded a bus last Wednesday and rode all the way to Jesup, where they faced Wayne County in a doubleheader. After winning their own region, Wayne County may not have known what to expect from McIntosh, seeded fourth in Region 4-AAAAA, but what they got was a 19-hit explosion in the first game and a 13-10 Chiefs win in eight innings. McIntosh climbed back from a 10-4 deficit to force the extra inning, with Brett Boron hitting a two-run double in the seventh to tie. Tim Battle capped off a superb all-around game by launching a three-run homer in the top of the eighth. He then picked up the win on the mound, pitching the seventh and eighth innings. The game-winning homer was the second of the game for Battle, who was 4-for-6 at the plate with a double and five RBI, scoring three times. Boron was 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored, while J.T. Thompson hit a pair of doubles and drove in a run, going 3-for-4. John King started on the mound, with relief help from Ryan Schwartz. The nightcap was the polar opposite of a slugfest, with the Chiefs winning 4-1 as Drew Grant pitched six innings and struck out six before giving way to Schwartz. McIntosh is on the road again, with a doubleheader today at Colquitt County beginning at 5 p.m.
Sandy Creek After putting together an impressive run the final few weeks of the season, which they needed just to make the playoffs, the Patriots came back from Augusta last weekend with a satisfying first-round win over Cross Creek. The home team prevailed 2-1 in the first game Friday despite a fine pitching effort by Sandy Creek's John Fields, but the Patriots bounced back and rode a complete-game shutout by Eric Williams to win 5-0 and force a third game the next day. After Cross Creek jumped out on top with a pair of homers to lead 3-0, Dusty Bennett drove in Sandy Creek's first run in the third game with a double in the top of the fifth. Bennett got to the plate that inning when Josh Haney hustled to first on a dropped third strike that would have ended the inning. Eli Williams drove home Haney and Bennett to tie the game, and after a rain delay of more than an hour, Griffin Hall doubled home Eric Williams in the sixth for the game-winning run. Eric Williams also relieved Hall on the mound after the rain stopped and struck out five in the last three innings. The Patriots now travel to Cordele for a doubleheader today against Crisp County.
Landmark The War Eagles came back from the brink of elimination to advance, winning two out of three from Lakeview Academy. David Yates pitched a complete-game shutout to lead Landmark to a 7-0 win in the first game, but Lakeview came roaring back with a 12-1 win in the second game. Lakeview then went up 6-2 in the deciding game before Landmark rallied to win a game in which they hit five home runs, two by catcher Kurt Swigert. Now 14-7-2 on the season, Landmark hosts Temple in a doubleheader today beginning at 2:30 p.m.
|
