Thursday March 28th, 2024 12:18PM

Baseball roundup: Bears, Branch, Panthers all take series' wins

By AccessWDUN Staff

CLEVELAND — Braxton Beal scattered four hits and struck out seven in leading Cherokee Bluff to an 8-1 win over White County on Friday at Warriors Field.

The win for the Bears (17-9, 9-6 Region 7-3A) gave them a 2-1 series win over the Warriors (17-9, 12-6 Region 7-3A) and the head-to-head tiebreaker. It also kept the Bears alive for a second place finish in Region 7-3A.

“We’re a young team and I think they’re starting to believe in themselves,” Bluff coach Jeremy Kemp said. “Braxton threw great and the past two weeks have been a playoff-type atmosphere and the kind of experience we need.” 

Cherokee Bluff scored two runs in the first to take a quick lead and added a run in the fourth on a solo home run by Bryce England. Dylan Kautz added a three-run blast in the fifth and Ben Jenkins followed with a RBI double as the Bears eventually led 8-0.

White County got its only run in the sixth on a RBI double from J. Ben Haynes.

Ty Corbin and Jacob Vokal had two hits each for Cherokee Bluff. Kautz had the one home run and drove in four runs. Jenkins, England, Lucas Tritt, Caleb Piland, and Brody Beal all had one hit for the Bears.

Jake Johnson and Dylan Sargent had one hit apiece for White County.

The loss dropped White County, which has completed its region schedule, into third place, one-half game behind West Hall. The Spartans take on No. 2 North Hall next week in a three-game series.

The Warriors will travel to Union County on Monday while the Bears will open their final 7-3A series at home against Gilmer.


FLOWERY BRANCH 10,
MADISON COUNTY 0

The Class 4A fifth-ranked Falcons got a solid outing from Jake Beaver, who fanned six in four innings, and Kaleb Freeman pitched a perfect fifth with three strikeouts in a huge 8-4A win at the Hog Mountain Sports Complex.

Kade Smallwood led the offense with two hits and 4 RBI. Freeman also had two hits with one RBI, JB Bell drove in three runs, and Connor Larson had one hit for the Falcons.

Flowery Branch (19-7, 10-5 Region 8-4A) which sits third in Region 8-4A, next will open a series on Monday against Chestatee needing a sweep and two Jefferson losses to East Hall to finish second.

Madison County (10-17, 8-7 Region 8-4A) heads to No. 7 North Oconee on Monday to begin a three-game series. The Red Raiders are locked in a tie for fourth with Chestatee but the War Eagles (16-11, 8-7 Region 8-4A) won the season series with Madison County.


UNION COUNTY 6-8,
RABUN COUNTY 2-16

The Panthers clinched third place in Region 8-2A with a win in the first game of a doubleheader in Blairsville.

Union County (12-14, 5-6 Region 8-2A) took a 2-0 lead in the second but Rabun County (10-10, 4-7 Region 8-2A) tied the game in the third. The Panthers reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the third and scored twice in the fourth and once in the fifth to run out to a 6-2 lead.

Lake Hughes went 6 2/3 innings allowing two runs on nine hits while fanning seven for the Panthers to get the win. 

Zeke Swartz got the final out as Rabun County left the bases loaded in the seventh.

The Wildcats took the second game scoring eight runs in the top of the seventh inning. Rabun County stormed out to an 8-0 ead after the first three innings but Union County rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth.

Brady Wilson had three hits, including a two-run home run, and four RBI to lead the Wildcats' offense.


BUFORD 3,
WINDER-BARROW 0

The Class 6A No. 1-ranked Wolves scored three first inning runs and made it stand up in completing a sweep of the No. 3 Bulldoggs. 

Riley Stanford knocked in one run Ayden Digiacomo added a two-run double.

That was more than enough for Buford’s Jax Brockett, who scattered just two hits and struck out 12 in a complete-game effort.

Digiacomo finished 3-for-3 on the day. Treyton Rank had two hits and Brant Baughcum, Nathan Smith, and Stanford all had one hit for the Wolves.


AREA BASEBALL SCHEDULE FOR Friday, April 16
(Games listed by visiting team in alphabetical order)
(Area teams highlighted in bold)
(Games begin at 5:55 p.m., unless otherwise noted)

Banks County 10-3, Elbert County 0-4*
Buford 3, Winder-Barrow 0*
Cherokee Bluff 8, White County 1*
Flowery Branch 10, Madison County 0*
Lumpkin County 6, Gilmer 5*
North Oconee 10, East Hall 0*
Riverside Military Academy 13, Notre Dame Academy 2
Shiloh at Habersham Central*
South Forsyth 14, Gainesville 4*
Union County 6-8, Rabun County 2-16*
West Hall 15, Lakeview Academy 4


AREA BASEBALL SCHEDULE FOR Saturday, April 17
Commerce at Lake Oconee (DH), 1 p.m.*

(* -- denotes region contest)

© Copyright 2024 AccessWDUN.com
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.