FLOWERY BRANCH — Cherokee Bluff scored six runs over the final two innings to pull away for an 11-5 win over Lumpkin County on Wednesday in Region 7-3A play.
The win for the sixth-ranked Bears (14-3, 7-1 Region 7-3A) was their sixth straight and kept them within a game of first place North Hall, which beat White County 5-3 on Wednesday.
Bluff opened the game with a pair of first inning runs on a two-run home run from Bryce England. But the Indians (5-11, 0-8 Region 7-3A) scored four runs in the top of the second, highlighted by a RBI double from Gannon Flakes and a two-run double from Harper Davenport.
The Bears answered back with three in the bottom of the inning on a Landon Kemp RBI double and a two-run double from Caleb Miele for a 5-4 lead.
Lumpkin County tied it at 5 with a run in the fifth before Bluff exploded over the final two innings, with Brett House and Brody Beal both knocking in runs to give them the lead for good.
Caleb Piland had three of Bluff’s 14 hits on the day.
Lucas Tritt got the win for Cherokee Bluff pitching the final 2 2/3 innings allowing just two hits and no runs and striking out six. Chandler Shope tossed three innings in relief giving up just one run on one hit.
Brady Rice took the loss for Lumpkin County allowing eight hits and six runs in four innings.
NORTH HALL 5,
WHITE COUNTY 3
The Class 3A No. 1-ranked Trojans battled back from an early deficit to win their eighth straight game on Wednesday at Cottrell Field.
North Hall (13-4, 8-0 Region 7-3A) led 2-0 after the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Jace Bowen, scoring Ajay Jones, with Luke Erickson scoring on an error on the play.
The Warriors, however, came right back with three runs in the top of the second, highlighted by a two-run single from Jake Johnson for a 3-2 lead. It stayed that way until the fifth as the Trojans’ Hunter Brooks and White County’s Trevor Butler took over on the mound.
Hunter would give up just one more hit over the next three innings while Butler fanned four before running into trouble in the fifth.
After singles by Brooks and Eli Reece and a walk to Hudson Barrett to load the bases, Bowen struck again with a bases-clearing, two-out double to give North Hall a 5-3 lead.
Baker Dyer then shut down the Warriors (9-6, 3-5 Region 7-3A) allowing no hits and walking just one over the final two innings to preserve the win for the Trojans.
