WALNUT GROVE, Ga. — Cherokee Bluff rallied for seven runs over the final three innings to beat Walnut Grove 9-6 on Wednesday in Region 8-4A crossover action.
The No. 1-ranked Bears (9-0) trailed 5-1 and 6-2 before plating four runs in the fifth and three in the seventh. Landon Kemp got the eventual game-winner with an RBI double, breaking a 6-6 tie.
Kaden Thompson had three hits and two RBI to pace the Bluff offense. Six different players drove in runs.
Jacob Vokal tossed three perfect innings in relief, including striking out five, to get the win for the Bears.
JEFFERSON 9,
JACKSON COUNTY 4
Roger Hulsey and Riley Rainey combined for five hits and four RBI to lead the Dragons to a win and a season sweep over their cross-town rivals. It also was the fifth straight win for the Dragons (8-3).
Jefferson never trailed, scoring two in the first. The Panthers (4-9) scored a run in the bottom of the first but the Dragons led 5-1 in the fifth and extended the lead to 8-3 in the sixth.
Brennan Carter got the win for Jefferson allowing three runs on four hits and striking out five in five innings.
Colin Price took the loss for Jackson County giving up three runs on six hits and two walks in four innings.
Spencer Muffuletto had two hits and Samuel Bradley drove in two runs for Jackson County.
Jefferson will open its Region 8-5A schedule on Friday at home against Clarke Central.
The Panthers will jump back into Region 8-6A play on Friday traveling to Gainesville.
LUMPKIN COUNTY 5,
WHITE COUNTY 3
The Class 3A 10th-ranked Indians clinched the season series against the Warriors, rallying for a Region 7-3A win on the road.
Lumpkin County (8-1, 2-0 Region 7-3A) led 2-0 after the first inning but fell behind 3-2 in the third as White County’s Alex Freeman had an RBI hit, and the Warriors (4-6, 0-2 Region 7-3A) scored two runs on an error.
The Indians tied the game in the fifth and took the lead in the sixth on a two-out, two-run single from Mason Hester.
Adian Rogers got the win for Lumpkin County, going the distance, allowing three runs on nine hits and striking out two.
Mark Daniels took the loss for White County, giving up five runs on nine hits while fanning nine.
BUFORD 8,
DACULA 2
On Wednesday, Nate Taylor was a one-man wrecking crew for the Wolves in their Region 8-7A opener.
The junior tossed a complete game, allowing just two runs while scattering two hits and fanning a career-high 12 batters with no walks. He also blasted a three-run home run in the top of the seventh.
Buford (3-5, 1-0 Region 8-7A) pounded a season-high 12 hits for the game. Junior Jayden Clark and sophomore Cannon Goldin both had two hits and two RBI, while senior Eli McElwaney had two hits as well.
The Wolves never trailed, breaking a scoreless tie with two runs in the third. They added two more in the fifth, one in the sixth, and Taylor’s blast in the seventh. Dacula scored its two runs in the bottom of the seventh.
NORTH FORSYTH 4,
APALACHEE 3
North Forsyth also rallied for a win in Region 8-6A play on Wednesday.
The Raiders (6-5, 2-0 Region 8-6A) opened the game with a quick run on an RBI double from Colin Seabold. But Apalachee (3-8, 0-3 Region 8-6A) answered with three runs in the bottom of the first on an RBI triple from TJ Wilson, an RBI double from Zack Bowman and an error.
North Forsyth reclaimed the lead in the third on a Brady Holbrook three-run home run.
Parker Adams took it from there. Adams went 5 2/3 allowing just two earned runs on four hits and striking out nine to get the win.
CHESTATEE 9,
SECKINGER 4
The War Eagles (7-5) won their second straight game and improved to 3-1 in Region 8-4A crossover games.
Chestatee did most of the damage early, scoring three runs in the first and taking a 7-1 lead in the second. Dylan Thompson and Thomas Martens both knocked in runs, and the War Eagles also got a run on a Seckinger balk in the first.
Thompson and Martens struck again in the second. Thompson drove in one run, Martens added a two-run single, and Ethan Andrews made it 7-1 with an RBI single.
Brock Moody and Martens held off the Jaguars from there. Moody went five innings, allowing four runs on five hits and striking out six. Martens pitched a perfect two innings striking out four.
Jordan Oldknow took the loss for Seckinger, giving up seven runs on five hits in just 1 2/3 innings.
Martens finished with three hits to lead the Chestatee offense. Thompson, Joshua Bull, Nick McKoy, and Andrews all had two hits and combined for five RBI in the game.
WEST HALL 10,
DAWSON COUNTY 6
The Spartans evened their best-of-three Region 7-3A series with the Tigers at home on Wednesday.
It has been the theme for the night as West Hall (3-6, 1-1 Region 7-3A) rallied in the sixth to get the win.
Dawson County (5-5, 1-1 Region 7-3A) led 2-0 in the first, but West Hall answered with three in the bottom of the inning. The Tigers tied the game in the fourth and took a 6-5 lead into the bottom of the sixth.
The Spartans exploded for five runs, with Marcus Pugh’s hit-by-pitch tying the game at 6. John Kendrick’s RBI single gave them the lead. Oziel Lopez made it 8-6 with an RBI single, and West Hall scored two more runs on a pair of passed balls with runners at third.
Evan Connor got the win on the mound allowing just one hit over the final 1 1/3 innings.
Sawyer Bearden took the loss for Dawson County, giving up five runs on two hits and striking out three in 2 2/3 innings in relief.
NORTH HALL 21,
CEDAR SHOALS 0 (5 inn)
The Trojans scored in every inning, including eight in the fifth, to invoke the mercy rule.
Landon Lee saw his first action on the mound this season for North Hall (9-3), going 2 2/3 innings surrendering just one hit and one walk, and fanning five.
Luke Sanders had three hits and two RBI, while Mills Lothridge, Nathan Vermeer, and Owen Stowers all had two hits for North Hall.
HABERSHAM CENTRAL 7,
GAINESVILLE 6
On Wednesday, Maverick Chitwood's two-RBI single completed the Raiders' come-from-behind win over Gainesville at Ivey-Watson Field.
The Raiders (8-4, 2-1) avenged Monday's 6-5 loss to the Red Elephants.
Big Red (7-5, 1-1) grabbed the lead in the bottom of the first inning, sending 10 to the plate and recording five hits to go up 4-0.
Lugo doubled, Smith McGarvey, Branson Crawford, Cooper Reid, and Dawson Vaughn all singled in the inning.
The Raiders got their bats going in the fourth inning, crossing the plate three times, highlighted by a Kade Nicholson RBI double and a fielder's choice to cut the lead 4-3.
Gainesville added one run in the fourth, and the Raiders answered in the top of the fifth. But the Red Elephants got one more run in the sixth to go up 6-4.
The top of the seventh was eventful for the Raiders, starting the inning with a walk and a single. Later in the inning, Hunter Tatum doubled, scoring a run, and Chitwood singled in Mason Dawe and Canon Wilbanks for the 7-6 lead.
Tatum picked up the win on the mound, allowing one run on two hits and two strikeouts.
SCOREBOARD, Wednesday, March 8
Buford 8, Dacula 2
Cherokee Bluff 9, Walnut Grove 4
Chestatee 9, Seckinger 4
Habersham Central 7, Gainesville 6
Jefferson 9, Jackson County 4
Lumpkin County 5, White County 3
Madison County 12, East Hall 4
North Forsyth 4, Apalachee 3
North Hall 21, Cedar Shoals 0 (5 inn)
North Oconee 4, East Forsyth 0
West Hall 10, Dawson County 6
