GAINESVILLE — East Forsyth rallied from an early deficit to beat Chestatee 4-1 on Monday at the Lynn Cottrell Complex in the first game of a crucial three-game series in Region 8-4A North for both teams.
It was the first subregion loss for Chestatee (10-7, 3-1 Region 8-4A North) while the Broncos (10-6, 3-1 Region 8-4A North) moved into a tie with the War Eagles.
The War Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on an RBI groundout from Jake Hitchcock. But that would be all they could muster against East Forsyth starter Wyatt Barden, who went 4 1/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits and striking out five.
East Forsyth tied the game in the third on a bases-loaded walk to Bradlee Hamby. The Broncos plated a pair of runs in the fourth on two more bases-loaded walks and added another in the fifth.
Hitchcock took the loss for Chestatee, going 3 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on two hits, and striking out five. Wesley Gossett went the final 3 1/3 allowing one run on two hits and two walks while fanning three.
Colton Wilbanks and Nick McKoy each had two hits for Chestatee.
Joseph Gurr had two of East Forsyth’s four hits.
The two teams will continue their series on Wednesday at East Forsyth.
CHEROKEE BLUFF 10,
EAST HALL 0 (5 inns)
The Class 4A No. 1-ranked Bears (15-0, 1-0 Region 8-4A North) opened their region schedule with a dominating win in five innings at home on Monday.
Braxton Beal scattered two hits and struck out eight in going the distance for Bluff. To get the win.
At the plate, every starter had at least one hit, with Landon Kemp getting a pair of base knocks and driving in three runs.
Cherokee Bluff took a 1-0 lead in the second on a Brett House solo home run. The Bears pushed the lead to 4-0 in the third on a two-run triple from Kemp and an East Hall error. They scored five runs in the fifth to invoke the mercy rule.
Carter Gillespie and Caleb Pruitt had the two East Hall (4-12, 0-4 Region 8-4A North) hits.
The two teams will meet at East Hall Park in the second game of the series.
NORTH FORSYTH 15,
SHILOH 1
North Forsyth stayed unbeaten and in first place in Region 8-6A play after hammering Shiloh on the road on Monday.
The Raiders (10-6, 5-0 Region 8-6A) jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first and extended the lead to 8-0 in the third. Brady Holbrook blasted a two-run home run in the fourth for a 10-0 lead.
The Generals (4-11, 0-9 Region 8-6A) got a run in the fourth to keep the game going before North Forsyth scored five in the seventh as Jake Prince, Colin Seabold, Austin McCabe, and Thomas Aucoin all had RBI hits in the inning.
Andrew Elkhill got the win for the Raiders, allowing no hits, walking one, and striking out eight in four innings. Gavyn Seitz went the last three innings for the save surrendering just two hits.
HABERSHAM CENTRAL 12,
JACKSON COUNTY 1 (6 inns)
Habersham Central kept pace with North Forsyth with a lopsided win of its own in six innings on Monday in Hoschton.
The Raiders (10-5, 5-1 Region 8-6A) pounded out 13 hits put led just 4-1 until exploding for eight runs in the sixth.
Kaleb Chastain had an RBI hit in the big inning, which was capped by a three-run double from Cooper Shirley.
Hunter Tatum, Shirley, and Chastain finished with nine combined RBI on the day. Tatum had three hits, and Shirley and Mason Dawe had two hits each for Habersham Central.
Tatum also got the win on the mound for Habersham, going the distance scattering three hits, and giving up just one run while striking out two.
Jack Venable took the loss for Jackson County (7-11, 4-2 Region 8-6A). The right-hander allowed five hits and three runs over three innings.
GAINESVILLE 6,
LANIER 0
On Monday, the Red Elephants snapped a four-game losing streak with a huge Region 8-6A win at Ivey-Watson Field.
Gainesville (8-8, 2-4 Region 8-6A) took a quick 3-0 lead in the first, highlighted by a two-run double from Branson Crawford. The Red Elephants added two more in the second on RBI singles from Dawson Vaughn and Cooper Reid.
That was more than enough for Reid, who went six innings scattering two hits and allowing no runs. Vaughn threw one inning in relief out of the bullpen.
Vaughn, Baxter Wright, Reid, Phillip Williams, Jeremy Medina, and Crawford all had hits for Gainesville.
FLOWERY BRANCH 7,
EASTSIDE 4
The Falcons won their second straight Region 8-5A game, rallying for a win on the road.
Flowery Branch (10-7, 3-2 Region 8-5A) led 1-0 after the first but fell behind 2-1 in the second and 3-2 in the third as the Eagles (10-7, 1-3 Region 8-5A) got to Branch starter Aaron Attaway early.
But the senior settled down from there, giving up just a seventh run the rest of the way while going the distance. Attaway surrendered 10 hits but walked just one.
The Falcons took the lead for good with four runs in the fourth inning. They scored runs on a pair of errors, a fielder’s choice, and an RBI single from Mason Compton.
Both teams added a run each in the seventh.
JEFFERSON 12,
HERITAGE-CONYERS 0
The Dragons (12-4, 4-1 Region 8-5A) remained in second place in the region with a blowout win in 5 innings.
Jefferson scored in every inning and put the game out of reach with a 6-run fourth inning.
MILL CREEK 3,
BUFORD 1
Mill Creek’s Nick Bennett outdueled the Wolves’ Nate Taylor in the first of a key three-game Region 8-7A series for both teams at Gerald McQuaig Stadium.
The win for the Hawks (9-7, 4-0 Region 8-5A) was their third straight and kept them in first place. It was the second straight.
Mill Creek struck first with a pair of runs in the first. Buford (4-10, 2-4 Region 8-5A) pulled within 2-1 in the bottom of the inning when Taylor singled in Ayden Lockett.
But Bennett allowed just two Buford hits and three walks the rest of the way in a complete-game effort.
Taylor also settled down, surrendering just one hit over the next five innings. He finished with 11 strikeouts.
Taylor, Lockett, Cannon Goldwin, and Madden Young all had one hit for Buford.
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY 19,
RIVERSIDE PREP 0
The Lions scored 16 runs in the first inning en route to a win in three innings.
Lakeview had just five total hits and took advantage of eight walks by Riverside pitching and five Eagles' errors. Only nine of the 19 runs were earned.
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL SCOREBOARD, Monday, March 20
Cherokee Bluff 10, East Hall 0*
East Forsyth 4, Chestatee 1*
Flowery Branch 7, Eastside 4*
Gainesville 6, Lanier 0*
Habersham Central 12, Jackson County 1 (6 inns)*
Jefferson 12, Heritage-Conyers 0*
North Forsyth 15, Shiloh 1*
Mill Creek 3, Buford 1*
(* -- denotes region contest)
