OAKWOOD — The Chestatee seniors on Friday played as if their future baseball careers were on the line.
They very well could have been after War Eagles coach Jon Brewer had a very candid heart-to-heart with the four upper-classmen after an 8-3 loss to West Hall on Tuesday -- their sixth straight loss.
“I just told them that we expected more of them and that if they weren’t going to take on bigger leadership roles and perform like we thought they could, then maybe it was time we to go with the younger kids and look more toward the future,” said Brewer, who also felt his seniors would be up to the challenge.
Senior pitchers Austin Sargent and Braxton Nicholson obviously took it to heart. The pair stymied West Hall batters all night and led the War Eagles to a crucial Region 7-AAAA doubleheader sweep, 4-0 and 7-1, at Spartan Field.
Senior centerfielder Sean Irick sparked a pair of three-run innings in the second game and reached base four times and scored three runs in the doubleheader. Senior left fielder Kyle Garrett had two hits and an RBI in the second game.
Sargent went the distance in the first game giving up just two hits and walking two while fanning five. Nicholson scattered five hits and struck out five in the second game.
“Coach told the seniors that we needed to bear down or lose our spots,” Sargent said. “I think we needed that as a group. We were definitely thinking about it. We definitely played better today.”
“I think the talk really made a difference,” Nicholson said. “(The seniors) talked about it as a group. We just tried to stay focused. I thought we did that.”
Despite the rough two weeks prior to Friday night, the wins pushed Chestatee (8-12, 2-4 Region 7-AAAA) back into the playoff race.
“This was a huge day for the program,” Brewer said. “We feel we have the talent. Now we feel we have something to play for. We told the guys that rebuilding wasn’t good enough. I think (Friday) is something we can build on.”
West Hall coach Chad Sage was just the opposite. Sage was not pleased with how his group performed. The Spartans committed three errors and were plagued by a rash of wild pitches and passed balls in both games.
“We did not help our pitchers at all but they also didn’t pitch like we feel they can,” Sage said. “We still have the toughest part of our schedule coming up so we can’t play like that and expect to win.”
The Spartans (10-6, 3-3) still have three-game region series left with both Marist and defending Class AAA state champion Blessed Trinity. They open a series with Marist at Spartan Field on Tuesday.
Chestatee has already played Marist and will open a three-game series with Blessed Trinity on Tuesday in Roswell. The two teams will play a doubleheader next Friday at Chestatee.
Game 1
In the opening game, Chestatee took advantage of an early West Hall mistake when Cooper Wilson singled and later scored on an error for a 1-0 lead. The War Eagles added on in the second when Joe Sutton homered to left to push the lead to 2-0.
Chestatee used a pair of dropped third strikes to extend its lead to 3-0 in the fourth. Kyle Garrett and Storm Yarbrough both reached on third strikes as West Hall southpaw Charlie Cochran struck out three in the inning. Pinch-runner Ryan Irick scored on a wild pitch after moving to third on Yarbrough’s at-bat.
Sargent was steady on the hill for Chestatee. He gave up just a first inning walk to Tanner Ahmad through the first three innings. Cameron Shirley broke up the no-hitter with a sharp single through third to start the fourth inning. But Sargent retired six of the next seven into the sixth inning.
Cochran kept the Spartans close getting out of a tough spot in the fifth. The War Eagles loaded the bases with two outs with a chance to blow the game open but Cochran got Atticus Tomcho to ground into a fielder’s choice at third to get out of the jam.
Cochran scattered eight hits and allowed just one earned run in 5 1/3 innings while striking out four. He was lifted in the sixth for Erik Ayala with runners at first and third. Ayala fanned Sargent and got Micah Flanagan to line out to left to get out of another jam.
In the seventh Chestatee’s Sean Irick was hit by a pitch and then moved all the way around to third on an errant pick off attempt. Two pitches later he scored on a wild pitch for a 4-0 advantage and then Reggie James doubled to left chasing Ayala. Cole Wilson come on for the Spartans and got a pair of outs to limit the damage.
Sargent worked around a one-out walk in the seventh to close out the complete-game win. He finished with five strikeouts and walked just two scattering just the two West Hall hits.
Game 2
Chestatee again got the early lead, again taking advantage of a West Hall miscue.Flanagan reached on an error and went to second on a wide throw to first on the play. Ahmad, who started the second game for West Hall, was poised to get out the inning striking out Sean Irick and Reggie James. But Garrett ripped a single to left scoring Flanagan for a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
The Spartans tried to answer right back in the bottom of the inning. Jeffrey Jenkins walked, Wilson reached on an error, and both moved up a base on Carter Lott’s sacrifice bunt. But Nicholson fanned Cochran, and after a walk to Tyler Grindle to load the bases, Nicholson got Bailey Kosloski to ground out to third to end the inning.
West Hall finally broke through in the third, however. Shirley singled to left to lead off and then eventually came home on a two-out single by Jenkins to tie the game 1-1 heading to the fourth.
The War Eagles answered back in a big way. Sean Irick, James, and Garrett all reached with singles to open the frame, with James knocking in Irick to reclaim a 2-1 lead. Tomcho walked to load the bases and Ahmad was replaced by Dylan Simpson.
Sutton drove in James with a sacrifice fly and Garrett was gunned down at third on a bunt attempt by Wilson. Will Cantrell followed with a single to reload the bases and Sargent was hit by a pitch driving in Tomcho for a 4-1 advantage.
The Chestatee offense continued its assault in the fifth with Sutton driving in Sean Irick and Tomcho with a two-out double and Wilson singled in Sutton for a 7-1 lead.
Ahmad went just three-plus innings surrendering five hits, four walks, and three earned run. Simpson lasted just 1 2/3 innings yielding three runs on two hits.
Meanwhile, Nicholson settled down after Jenkins’s RBI hit in the third. He retired five straight and 10 of the next 11 batters into the seventh. West Hall got a pair of singles in the seventh but Nicholson got Ayala to ground out to second to end the game.
After Brewer said his team had been struggling to find some offense, they went 5-for-17 with runners-in-scoring-position in the second game. The War Eagles had scored just four runs over their last three games and the seven runs were the most they scored since beating Hart County 8-4 on March 4.
For West Hall, it was the lowest consecutive-game offensive output of the season.
NOTES: Friday Night was SAGE STRONG night for the West Hall program. The program recognized head coach Chad Sage and his wife Dallas Sage, who is battling breast cancer. ... The field was adorned in pink for breast cancer awareness, and the Kohl’s Department Store foundation ran the concession stand and donated $500 to the Inflammatory Breast Cancer Foundation for research. ... The Sage’s were recognized between games with Dallas throwing the ceremonial “first pitch” for the second game. ... West Hall also held a moment of silence for the Comb’s family. Sharon Combs, who works in the Front Office at West Hall High School, lost her son Jason during the storms that blew through the area on Tuesday when a tree crashed through his roof and killed him instantly.
