Baseball scoreboard: Bluff, NHall, NoFo, Lumpkin, Buford, Banks, Commerce, Hab Centrall all take big region wins

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Class 4A No. 1-ranked Cherokee Bluff completed a Region 8-4A sweep of East Forsyth on Friday on the road.

The Bears (20-0, 6-0 Region 8-4A North) jumped out to a 7-0 lead with Garrett Harper and Jacob Vokal leading the way with RBIs in a four-run second. East Forsyth (12-9, 5-4 Region 8-4A North) pulled within 7-2 with a pair of runs in the third but the Bears scored two runs each in the sixth and seventh to put the game away.

Tucker Holton got the win for Cherokee Bluff giving up just one hit in three innings while striking out five.

Bradlee Hamby took the loss for East Forsyth, surrendering four runs on seven hits over four innings. He struck out five.

Cherokee Bluff racked up 12 hits as every starter had at least one hit. Vokal went 3-for-5 and Ty Corbin had two hits for the Bears.

NORTH HALL 8,
CHESTATEE 5

The Trojans scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally for a huge Region 8-4A win on Friday at Cottrell Field.

The win gave North Hall (12-7, 3-3 Region 8-4A North) the series win over the War Eagles (11-10, 4-5 Region 8-4A North) in the all-important head-to-head tiebreaker in the event of a tie at the end of the season.

Chestatee led throughout, getting three runs in the first on a RBI double from Colton Wilbanks and RBI singles from Dylan Thompson and Ethan Andrews. The War Eagles added a run in the second on a Wilbanks RBI hit and a bases loaded walk in the third.

The Trojans began to chip away, getting a pair of runs in the third and two more in the fifth on a two-run home run from Mills Lothridge.

That set the stage for the big sixth inning, when Ajay Jones squeezed in a run to tie the game at 5 and then Andrew Hlavacek gave North hall the lead for good with an RBI single one batter later. The Trojans got two more runs on a sacrifice fly by JonJon Read and a RBI groundout from Lothridge for an 8-5 lead.

Chestatee got a runner on base but North Hall turned a double play to end the game.

NORTH FORSYTH 5,
JACKSON COUNTY 4

Logan Curry’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh scoring Colin Seabold capped a two-run rally for the come-from-behind win in Region 8-6A action.

The win kept the Raiders (16-6, 11-0 Region 8-6A) unbeaten atop the region standings with now a four-game lead over Lanier following the Longhorns loss to Habersham Central on Friday. 

Jackson County (9-14, 6-5 Region 8-6A) had led the entire way after scoring four runs in the second, highlighted by a two-run home run from Karson Wheeler and a two-run double by Weston Skinner.

North Forsyth chipped away with single runs in the second, third, and fourth. But the Raiders could not get the equalizer until the seventh.

LUMPKIN COUNTY 5,
DAWSON COUNTY 1

The Indians salvaged the final game of their three-game series with a win on the road.

The win pushed Lumpkin County (16-4, 9-3 Region 7-3A) back into second place in the region, one game ahead of the Tigers (12-8, 8-4 Region 7-3A).

Lumpkin County led just 1-0 on a Mason Hester homer in the third. The Indians exploded for four runs in the fifth inning as Alejandro Narvaez, Peyton Wood, and Cooper Scott all had RBIs in the frame. 

Dawson County got its only run in the seventh on a RBI groundout.

Harper Davenport got the win on the mound for Lumpkin County. Davenport scattered two hits over five innings and struck out six.

Joshua Priest took the complete-game loss for Dawson County. Priest gave up five runs on seven hits  while striking out seven.

BUFORD 10,
CENTRAL GWINNETT 0 (5 inn)

The Wolves completed a sweep of the Black Knights to win their fifth straight game.

Four Buford pitchers combined on a two-hitter.

Buford (9-10, 7-4 Region 8-7A) jumped on Central Gwinnett (5-13, 0-9 Region 8-7A) early with six runs in the opening frame. Eli McElwaney had an RBI double, Tyler Dushane smashed a two-run homer, and Brayden Bickers capped the inning with a two-run single.

The Wolves added two runs each in the second and third innings and then Buford pitching retired six of the final eight batters to get the run-rule victory.

BANKS COUNTY 5-16
EAST JACKSON 2-1

The Leopards pushed their win streak to seven straight and moved into second place in Region 8-2A after completing a sweep of the Eagles at home.

In the first game Banks County (12-8, 7-2 Region 8-2A) never trailed scoring two runs in the first inning to grab the quick lead. Nolan Angel. had three hits and three RBI to pace the Leopards offense. Gavin Spears had three hits as well for Banks County.

Judd Spear led the way on the mound going 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out 10. Cam Davis threw the final two-thirds of an inning in relief.

In the second game, Banks County scored five each in the first second, and fourth innings to invoke the mercy rule.

COMMERCE 11-11,
RABUN COUNTY 0-1

The Tigers (10-9, 7-2 Region 8-A Division 1) pushed their win streak to three with a doubleheader sweep on the road.

In the first game, Cayden Lord tossed a one-hitter and drove in three runs. Hampton Hutto hit a home run and he Coleson Smith combined for four RBI. Cohen Thomason had three hits for the Tigers.

In the second game, Commerce never trailed and scored in every inning but the first. Lord, Hutto, and Thomason combined for five RBIwhile three pitchers allowed just four Rabun County hits.

HABERSHAM CENTRAL 6,
LANIER 4

The Raiders snapped a four-game losing streak with a huge Region 8-6A road win.

Habersham (12-9, 6-5 Region 8-6A) remained in fourth place and one game ahead of Apalachee in the standings.

Hunter Tatum had a RBI ground out in the fifth to break a 2-2 tie and the Raiders added on from there.

Maverick Chitwood got the win for the Raiders, going five innings, allowing three runs on six hits. Tatum recorded the last six outs to earn the save for Habersham Central.

The loss dropped Lanier (15-6, 8-4 Region 8-6A) four games behind region-leader North Forsyth.