FLOWERY BRANCH Ga. — At times it wasn’t the prettiest of things, but it was good enough for Cherokee Bluff to sweep into the quarterfinals of the Class 4A baseball playoffs on Wednesday at Bluff Ballpark.
The Bears survived a wild 13-9 Game 1 and then took a dominating 13-0 victory in five innings in the second game to win their best-of-three series over Cedartown.
Bluff (28-4) pounded out 22 hits in just 11 innings in the two games with every player having at least hit or an RBI in the series. Caleb Miele (5-for-5) and KT Thompson (3-for-4) led the attack with 7 RBI combined and scored seven runs. As a team, they stole 11 bases in the series.
After a Game 1 that saw Bluff have to use four pitchers, Gabe Gowder settled things on the hill, pitching a complete-game, three-hiitter in the series clincher with six strikeouts.
“Pressure gets to people and we’re going to try to play as aggressive as we can,” Bluff coach Jeremy Kemp said. “We just struggled a little bit in the first game with some arms that are probably a little tired. Gabe gave us a lift and pitched a great game overall.”
The fifth-ranked Bears, who were ranked No. 1 at one point in the season, now will get their first major test of the playoffs in the quarterfinals, playing host to No. 2 Wayne County beginning on Monday. The Yellow Jackets (28-6) swept LaGrange, 4-3 and 8-0, to advance.
“We love playing at home and it matters in the playoffs so we’re excited about the opportunity,” Kemp said.
Game 1: Bluff 13, Cedartown 9
Starter Tucker Holton got the first six Bulldogs in order to start the game while the offense went to work.
And the Bears wasted little time in grabbing the lead in the bottom of the first. They batted around, sending 10 runners to the plate, getting RBI singles from Miele and Jakob Vokal and a two-run double from Caleb Davis as part of a six-run inning.
But Holton ran into trouble in the third. After he walked the lead-off batter, a pair of RBI singles by Ace Allen and Tony Ware cut the lead to 6-2. Sam Formby then cranked a three-run homer to right off the top of the wall to pull the Bulldogs within 6-5.
Bluff responded right back, plating five runs in the bottom of the third. The Bears got a pair of runs on a balk and a wild pitch. Tanaka Mukono and Ty Corbin followed with RBI hits, and a Thompson sac fly pushed the lead to 11-5. They added an unearned run in the fourth and another in the fifth on an RBI double from Vokal.
The Bulldogs made it interesting scoring four in the seventh on five hits and was one batter from bringing the tying run to the plate. But Jack Sparks was able to get the final three batters to put an end to the comeback and preserve the opening game win for Bluff.
Game 2: Bluff 13, Cedartown 0 (5 inn)
The Bears jumped on the Bulldogs quickly again, getting three runs in the first on an RBI double from Ethan England and two runs scoring on a botched rundown by Cedartown.
They continued to hit the Bulldogs pitching hard in the second. Thompson stroked a two-run single to right and two runs scored on a fielder’s choice and an error to push the lead to 7-0.
In the fourth, Thompson added his third RBI of the game and fifth of the series and Vokal had an RBI ground out to make it 9-0. They finished off the Bulldogs with a four-run top of the fifth, highlighted by a two-run double from Miele.
That was more than enough for Gowder, who retired 9 of 10 at one stretch in the middle innings. He had a one-hitter going into the fifth until Cedartown loaded the bases on two hits and a walk with two out. But Gowder got Ace Allen to ground out to second to clinch the series.
