FLOWERY BRANCH Ga. — Landon Kemp singled in a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to propel No. 1 Cherokee Bluff to a thrilling 4-3 win over East Forsyth on Wednesday at home.
In the eighth, the Broncos elected to intentionally walk Bryce England to start the inning and then Brett House and Kaden Thompson followed with singles to load the bases.
The win kept the Bears’ (19-0, 5-0 Region 8-4A North) perfect season alive. They trailed 3-2 after East Forsyth (12-8, 5-3 Region 8-4A North) got a solo home run from Mathew Lyons in the top of the eighth inning.
Cherokee Bluff took a 1-0 lead in the second and then reclaimed it 2-1 in the third on a sacrifice fly from Caleb Miele. It stayed that way until the Broncos tied it up in the sixth on a Wyatt Barden RBI single.
Jacob Vokal got the win in relief for the Bears, tossing 2 2/3 innings, allowing one run on one hit and fanning six. Brady Stephens started for Bluff going 5 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and striking out five.
Trey Farr took the loss for East Forsyth, going the distance while surrendering four runs on eight hits in seven-plus innings. He struck out six.
NORTH FORSYTH 10,
JACKSON COUNTY 2
The Raiders ran their win streak to eight with a big road win on Wednesday.
Logan Curry got things going early for North Forsyth (15-6, 10-0 Region 8-6A) blasting a three-run home run in the second innings. Jackson County (9-13, 6-4 Region 8-6A) scratched back a run in the bottom of the second and both teams added single runs in the third for a 5-2 Raiders lead.
But North Forsyth blew it open from there, scoring three more in the fourth on a RBI triple by Brady Holbrook, a RBI single from Kyle Duckwall, and a RBI double by Colin Seabold. The Raiders added two in the fifth and one in the sixth.
Parker Adams went five innings, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out five to get the win for North Forsyth.
The two teams will conclude their season series on Friday in Coal Mountain.
FLOWERY BRANCH 15,
CLARKE CENTRAL 2
The Falcons inched within one-half game of third place in Region 8-5A with a big win in five innings in Athens on Wednesday.
The win for Flowery Branch (12-9, 5-4 Region 8-5A) snapped a two-game losing streak.
Kade Smallwood drove in six runs, including a three-run home run in the first, to jump start the offense. Jave Ojeda knocked in three runs for the Falcons.
The Falcons led 5-0 in the second when they exploded for seven in the third. They added two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to invoke the mercy rule.
Ojeda started and allowed no hits and no runs over two innings, striking out three.
They will close out their series on Friday at the Hog Mountain Sports Complex.
BUFORD 12
CENTRAL GWINNETT 0
The Wolves ran their season-best win streak to four straight after a six-innings road rout of the Black Knights in Region 8-7A action.
The win puts Buford (8-10, 6-4 Region 8-5A) into third place place in the standings.
Senior Wyatt Getz and junior Damien Brown combined on a no-hitter. Get got his first win of the season striking out nine in four innings. Brown fanned five in two innings of work.
Junior Ethan Murray got the Wolves on the board in the first inning with a towering two-run home run to highlight a three-run inning. Buford added two in the third and then invoked the run rule with seven in the top of the sixth.
Murray, sophomore Cannon Goldin, freshman Bubba Coleman, and sophomore Luke Hopper all had two hits for Buford.
The two teams will close out their series on Friday at Gerald McQuaig Field.
LANIER 9,
HABERSHAM CENTRAL 2
The Longhorns kept pace with North Forsyth with a big win over the Raiders in Mt. Airy.
Lanier (15-5, 8-3 Region 8-6A) got all it needed in the top of the first as Logan Laughlin smashed a grand slam and Jordan Wilson followed with a solo home run for a quick 5-0 lead.
Habersham Central (11-9, 5-5 Region 8-6A) cut it to 6-1 in the fourth on a Konner Burrell home run. But the Longhorns scored three more in the sixth to blow it open.
Caleb Fones earned the win for Lanier going five innings, allowing three hits and one run while striking out four.
Konner Burrell took the loss for Habersham Central, surrendering five runs on three hits over 1 1/3 innings, striking out two.
Logan Kay, Maverick Chitwood, Cody Thomas, Mason Dawe, and Burrell all had hits for the Raiders.
APALACHEE 5,
GAINESVILLE 4
Apalachee built an early four-run lead and then held off a furious Red Elephants rally to get a Region 8-6A win.
The loss for Gainesville (10-11, 4-7 Region 8-6A) dropped them into sixth place behind the Wildcats (8-12, 4-6 Region 8-6A).
The Wildcats jumped on Gainesville quickly with four runs in the first inning. The Red Elephants got a run back in the bottom of the inning on a Cooper Reid RBI single.
Apalachee, however, added one more in the third for a 5-1 lead. Gainesville pulled within 5-4 in the bottom of the third on a two-run double by Riley Valentine and a sacrifice fly by Dawson Vaughn.
But the pitchers dominated the rest of the way allowing no runs over the final four innings.
Nate Valles went the distance for Apalachee to get the win. Valles allowed nine hits and four runs over seven innings, striking out seven.
Valentine took the loss for Gainesville giving up five runs on four hits over five innings, striking out five.
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL SCOREBOARD, Wednesday, March 29
Apalachee 5, Gainesville 4*
Buford 12, Central Gwinnett 0*
Cherokee Bluff 4, East Forsyth 3*
Chestatee 4, North Hall 2*
Flowery Branch 15, Clarke Central 2*
Lanier 9, Habersham Central 2*
North Forsyth 10, Jackson County 2*
Towns County 8, Hiwassee Dam 0
West Hall 8, Oglethorpe County 4
(* -- denotes region contest)
