SNELLVILLE — Habersham Central scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to hold off Shiloh in a crucial Region 8-6A victory on Wednesday on the road.
The Raiders (9-17, 7-7 Region 8-6A) remained in fourth place in the standings, just one game behind Lanier (10-15, 8-6 Region 8-6A), and can clinch a playoff spot with another win over the Generals on Friday.
Habersham Central and Lanier, which has won five straight and plays Dacula on Friday, open a three-game series on Monday in Mt. Airy with the series winner taking the No. 3 seed into the upcoming state playoffs.
In the ninth with the game tied at 6, Habersham got walks from Logan Hare and Austin Jones to open the inning and then a one-out single by Mason Dawe. But on the play, the Shiloh left fielder misplayed the ball allowing Hare and Jones to score. Dawe, who advanced to second on the error, eventually came around to score on a pair of wild pitches.
Shiloh then got the tying run to the plate against Hare, but Hare got a strikeout to end the game and preserve the win.
Hare pitched the final four innings allowing two runs on eight hits and fanning four.
The Raiders led 1-0 in the first and 3-1 after two innings. After the Generals trimmed the lead to 3-2 in the third, Habersham extended the lead to 5-2 in the fourth. But Shiloh plated two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to send the game to extra innings.
Both teams scored a run in the eighth before Habersham exploded in the ninth.
Kaleb Chastain had two hits and two RBI to lead the Raiders offense. They got one hit each from Cooper Shirley, Dawe, Hunter Tatum, Jones, and Hare.
Shiloh pounded out 15 hits and managed six walks against three Habersham pitchers but stranded 12 men as Tatum, Rhett Addis, and Hare wiggled in and out of trouble the entire game.
