The Dragons scored first when Taylor Wilkes scored on a RBI fielder's choice by Andy Nicolaus in the first inning.
Tift County rallied with single runs in the second and third innings off Jefferson starter Micah Carpenter for a 2-1 lead. Jefferson answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth when Jake Franklin scored from third on a balk call.
Balks would play another major factor later.
In the decisive sixth inning, Tift County's Alex Abbott walked, moved to second on another balk call, and then scored on a one-out double for a 3-2 lead.
Jefferson got a pair of runners on base in the bottom of the sixth but could not push a run across. The Dragons went down in order in the seventh.
Carpenter went 5 1/3 innings in the loss for Jefferson yielding six hits and striking out eight. Wilkes pitched the final 1 2/3 innings allowing no hits and fanning two.
Wilkes also finished with two hits and Max Ford, Franklin, Nicolaus, Hanon Price, and Trent Sorrells each had one hit for the Dragons.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2014/2/271811