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Patriots meet Chiefs in region play, Landmark bats go cold

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

The play wasn’t always crisp but Sandy Creek picked up their first region win of the season on Monday night, defeating the McIntosh Chiefs 9-5.

Brent Brewer started the scoring for Sandy Creek in the first inning with an RBI triple and the Patriots scored once more as a runner advanced on a passed ball. McIntosh put three runs up in the bottom of the third as Tyson Sandlin hit an RBI single and Dustin Hirschfeld drove in two runs with a triple. Sandy Creek would even the score with Brewer reaching the plate after another McIntosh error. Patriot catcher Kal Cudsik hit an RBI single to give the Patriots the lead for good.

In the fourth, Brewer drove in two more runs with a double and Josh Haney drove in one more with a single to give Sandy Creek a 7-3 lead. Tim Russell drove in Cudsik in the fifth with a double and Philip Sims drove in the final run for the Patriots with an RBI single. McIntosh would put two more runs up in the sixth inning, as Trevor Pippin hit an RBI triple but pitcher Chad Brooks settled down in the seventh inning to earn the complete game win. Brooks gave up four hits and struck out nine batters in the win, while the defense committed six errors. McIntosh’s defense also committed six errors behind pitchers Brendan Hall and Zack Fallon, though their defense improved as the game went along. Cameron Wallis turned a double play in the fifth inning and then made all three outs in the sixth.

This was the third win in a row for the Sandy Creek Patriots. They defeated Cairo in a doubleheader last Friday, winning the first game 8-2 and winning the second game 13-0.

“We’re getting timely hits,” said Coach Eddy Householder. “Those big two out hits make a big difference.” Householder also gave a lot of credit for Monday’s win to Brooks. “He was the difference in the game tonight,” Householder said of the only senior on his pitching staff. Brooks also hit a homerun in one of the games against Cairo.

For McIntosh, Coach Toby Black felt his team fought back hard but admitted that the Chiefs are still in search of their identity this season.

“We’re not a team that handles things well when things go bad,” said Black, who saw his team beat Lovejoy on Saturday 8-1 as his pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter.

For the Patriots, it was the best possible way to start region play. Though it is still early, the Chiefs now have to hope to get some momentum going as quickly as possible. Sandy Creek hosts Woodward Academy today, while the Chiefs host Whitewater. On Friday, Sandy Creek will take on Northgate on the road, while McIntosh will play at Woodward.

Last weekend, Landmark Christian defeated Whitefield Academy 10-0 and then lost to Bremen on Saturday 3-0. Tommy Kinney picked up the win against Whitefield, giving up three hits and striking out six batters. Freshman Luke Griffith went 2-for-3 at the plate and drove in two runs. Against Bremen, Brad Miller pitched well for Landmark, giving up six hits, including a two run home run in the second inning.

Coach Kevin Nix is hoping to see his teams bats come alive this week in games against St. Francis (yesterday after the paper went to press) and Mt. Paran on Friday.

In other games on Monday, Starr’s Mill, currently ranked eighth in AAAAA in a GaSports.com poll, defeated Griffin 2-1, while Fayette County stayed hot by beating Shaw 8-3. The Tigers are scheduled to take on Parkview on the road today at 5:30 p.m. while Starr’s Mill will host Hardaway at 1 p.m on Saturday.