Baseball playoffs: Branch rallies late to complete sweep of Jones Co. in 1st round

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Not only did Jackson Freeman need it, but so did Flowery Branch.

With two on and two out and trailing 5-2, the Falcons' first baseman drilled the first pitch he saw for a towering home run to left that helped propel them to a 7-5 win in 8 innings and a two-game sweep of Jones County in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.

The big home run was part of a seven-run outburst over the final three innings to rally from a 5-0 first-inning deficit to the Greyhounds.

The crowd at Hog Mountain and the entire Falcons dugout knew it was gone the moment he made contact.

“He had been struggling a little bit the last week or two, so that was a huge swing for him and for the team,” Falcons coach Dusty Black said. “I’m happy for him. I knew it was gone the second he hit it.”

Freeman had been 0-for-4 in the series until rapping out a single in the fifth to snap Jones County starter Dalton Lowe’s no-hitter to that point in the game.

“I was looking for that fastball over the heart of the plate, and I got it. And I didn’t miss it,” Freeman said of his third homer of the season. “Words really can't describe it, especially in that big moment. It just felt awesome to get a big hit for the team when we needed it most.”

But it wasn’t over as the Greyhounds (21-7) quickly loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh as they tried to force a deciding third game. But Black turned to senior southpaw Jones Lawler, who induced a pair of ground balls to get out of the huge jam and eventually earn the win.

“The biggest key with me was bringing Jones in and him getting those two outs. To me, that was the biggest part of the game,” Black said.

Branch went back to work in the top of the eighth, getting two runs when Parker Bourrie walked with the bases loaded and Antonio De La Torre followed with a sacrifice fly to give them their first lead of the game.

London Moshiri came on in the bottom of the inning to get Jones County in order, including striking out Junior Holloway to end the game and record the save.

But it was an inauspicious start for the Falcons. They went down in order to start the game, and then Branch starter Riley Castaneda saw 11 Greyhounds come to the plate in the bottom of the first inning.

Jones County opened with three straight hits to load the bases with no outs. Castaneda struck out clean-up hitter Davis Upshaw, but Kaylob Harris beat out an infield hit, and a Branch error on the same play gave Jones County a 2-0 lead. Castaneda was one pitch from getting out without any further damage but Trent Paulk guided a two-run single to right to push the lead to 4-0.

A run on a wild pitch made it 5-0, but Castaneda fanned Cason Taylor to finally get out of the inning after throwing 52 pitches.

Branch was poised to answer right back, loading the bases when Lowe hit three batters. But Jack Stage flew out to left to end the inning for the Falcons.

Castaneda settled down after the first, retiring seven straight through the third inning and 14 of 15 through five innings, needing just 41 more pitches to get to the sixth. The Falcons' offense finally put something together in the sixth.

Freeman broke up the no-hitter with a one-out single to left, and Riley Bourrie got Branch on the board, beating out an infield single and driving in Javier Ojeda, who was hit by a pitch, to cut the lead to 5-1.

The Falcons exploded in the seventh. Folkers and Stage reached to open the inning, but Lowe struck out the next two and was one batter from sending it to a Game 3. But Ojeda singled to right, driving in Folkers, and on the next pitch, Freeman smashed a Lowe fastball into the trees in left.

Now, Branch moves on to play Region 1-4A champion Wayne County in the second round. The Yellow Jackets crushed Southwest DeKalb in a two-game sweep in the opening round, outscoring them 18-2.

“I haven't done any scouting on Wayne County yet. What I remember just from last year is they're going to be really good,” Black said. “It's going to be a great environment in Jessup, and I'm looking forward to going down there. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum going.”