GAINESVILLE — After a pair of wild walk-off finishes in the first two games, Habersham Central’s Peyton Irvin brought the Raiders’ big three-game series with Gainesville back under control.
The senior right-hander tossed a complete-game, two-hitter striking out 10 to lead the Raiders to a series’ clinching 6-3 win in the two teams’ series finale Friday at Ivey-Watson Field.
Gainesville won the opening game on Monday 7-5 with a walk-off home run while the Raiders answered on Wednesday with a walk-off home run in a 7-5 victory in nine innings in Mt. Airy.
On Friday, Irvin (4-1) was dominating throughout. He retired 12 straight at one point, and 15 of 16 Red Elephants into the sixth inning. Gainesville’s two hits did not come until the sixth inning. He also contributed at the plate with a hit, two RBI, and scored a run.
Habersham Central coach Chris Akridge said he got just what he expected from Irvin in a big game.
“Peyton’s been a competitor all year. He wants the ball every game and likes the big moments,” Akridge said.
For the Raiders (16-5, 4-2 Region 8-6A) the win also gave them their first series win over Gainesville (7-12, 2-4 Region 8-6A) since the two teams joined the region three seasons ago. It also kept them in second place in the region standings.
“We have a good mix of talent on the mound and in the lineup and they’re playing with a lot of confidence,” Akridge said. “But we’ve also told them that region play is a marathon and not a sprint. There is still plenty left to do and we’re just focused on one at a time.”
Meanwhile, it was a rough beginning for Gainesville starter Grady Vardeman. Habersham’s Alex McFarlane doubled to lead off the game and Colby Jones reached on a bunt hit. Vardeman’s attempt to get Jones at first sailed high allowing McFarlane to score and Jones to move to second. An errant pickoff attempt by Vardeman moved Jones to third and he scored on an Irvin ground out for a 2-0 lead.
Gainesville got a run back in the bottom of the first when Corbin Lindsay was awarded second after a Raiders error, stole third, and scored on an RBI groundout by Dalton Kyle.
The Raiders, however, scored another unearned run in the second on two more Gainesville errors and an unearned run in the fourth. They put it away in the fifth with two more runs as Jones singled, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Irvine’s RBI hit. Irvine later scored on a single by Logan Hare for a 6-1 lead.
Cannon Bishop relieved Vardeman in the fifth and set down eight of the nine batters he faced to give the Red Elephants a chance to chip away.
Gainesville finally tallied its first hit of the game on a one-hit single by Lindsay in the sixth. He scored on a Kyle RBI single. The Red Elephants scored a run in the seventh on a Habersham error.
Gainesville coach Adam Miller, who is still tinkering with the lineup midway through the season, said it’s not time for urgency yet.
“The one thing we do need to do better is challenge ourselves to compete more at the plate and on the mound,” Miller said. “We’re still trying to find the right combinations. But I also feel we’re close.”
NOTES: Habersham improved to 9-1 on the road in 2019. ... The Raiders already have surpassed last year’s entire win total (13) ... The Red Elephants already have exceeded their loss total for 2018 (11) ... Gainesville is just 5-5 at home this season.
