BAXLEY, Ga. — Take away the unearned runs and Cherokee Bluff is in the game until the end against Appling County.
But that wasn't the case on Tuesday. The Bears (25-12 Region 7-3A No. 2 seed) gave up five unearned runs on mistakes to fall in Game 3, 14-4 and was eliminated in the Class 3A quarterfinals on the road Tuesday.
The Bears had the lead in the third inning, 4-2, and just like the 11 inning in Game 2, a 6-3 loss for the Bears, the Pirates exploded for seven runs to take control of the game, 9-4.
Bluff had two errors in the inning but even more daunting was the six Pirate hits.
The Bears, however, quickly jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Dylan Kautz and Jacob Vokal began the inning with singles and a batter later, Bryce England doubled to left field to bring Kautz home for a 1-0 lead. Bradley Beal then popped a sacrifice fly to right field to get Jenkins home, who reached on a fielder's choice. Tino Mukuno, courtesy running for England, scored on a passed ball for a 3-0 lead.
The Bears added one more run in the second. Appling, on the other hand, hammered out four more runs over the next two innings to run-rule Bluff.
