FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — It has been an up-and-down season so far for a usually-stout North Hall baseball team. Following a 7-0 start, the Trojans went 3-6 and eventually fell to fourth place in Region 8-4A North.
After Monday, however, the Trojans may be ready to put all that behind them. North Hall knocked off No. 1 Cherokee Bluff, 5-3, on the road behind a stellar pitching performance from Kaleb Sexton.
The freshman tossed a complete-game four-hitter, allowing just two earned runs and striking out seven against a Bears offense that led Class 4A with 224 runs (10.1 runs/game).
The win for the Trojans (14-7, 4-3 Region 8-4A North) moved them within two games of first place. Bluff (20-1, 6-1 Region 8-4A North) still leads the subregion by 1 1/2 games over East Forsyth despite having their longest win streak in program history snapped.
North Hall scored single runs in the first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth inning to take a 5-0 lead. Three of the runs scored on Cherokee Bluff errors and Mills Lothridge had an RBI double in the fourth.
But the Bears did not go away. Caleb Miele and Bryce England doubled in runs and KT Thompson drove in a run on a fielder’s choice in a three-run sixth. But Sexton was able to get out of the jam with the tying run at the plate and the Bears went down in order in the seventh.
Braxton Beal took the loss for Cherokee Bluff. Beal allowed four runs, just two earned, on five hits in 4 1/3 innings, striking out eight.
The two teams will continue their series on Wednesday at Cottrell Field.
EAST FORSYTH 10,
EAST HALL 0 (6 inn)
Wyatt Barden threw a one-hit shutout and Will Moffit smacked a three-run home run to lead the Broncos to a six-inning win at home in Region 8-4A North play.
Barden went the distance striking out 10 and walking none. Moffit had two hits and finished with four RBI to pace a 12-hit attack.
East Forsyth (13-9, 6-4 Region 8-4A North) scored in all but one inning.
Chace Hall, Moffit, Lucas Kniola, Blake Riley, and Joseph Gurr all had two hits for East Forsyth.
APALACHEE 8,
HABERSHAM CENTRAL 2
The Wildcats moved into a fourth-place tie with Habersham Central in Region 8-6A with a win on Monday in Bethlehem.
Apalachee (10-12, 6-6 Region 8-6A) got all it needed with a four-run second inning. The Raiders (12-10, 6-6 Region 8-6A) pulled within 5-2 in the fourth on a RBI double from Kaleb Chastain.
That’s as close as they could get. Apalachee scored once in the fourth and twice in the sixth to put the game away.
Traver Park got the win for Apalachee giving up two runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings.
Hunter Tatum lasted just four innings for Habersham Central giving up six runs on 10 hits.
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL SCOREBOARD, Monday, April 3
Apalachee 8, Habersham Central 2*
East Forsyth 10, East Hall 0*
North Hall 5, Cherokee Bluff 3*
Jackson County 13, Shiloh 1*
(* -- denotes region contest)
