Baseball playoffs: Dawson County upsets No. 4 Franklin to advance; Jefferson, Branch, Towns eliminated

CARNESVILLE, Ga. — Dawson County continues to take out Class 3A top-10 teams in the playoffs. 

The Tigers' latest victim: No. 4 Franklin County. Last week, the Tigers upset No. 7 Bremen in the opening round of the playoffs. 

On the road Monday, Dawson County (20-11 Region 7-3A No. 2 seed) swept the Lions, 6-5 and 4-1, to advance to the Class 3A quarterfinals next week. 

Joshua Priest pitched a game gem, going the distance while allowing just one run on two hits and nine strikeouts. 

The Tigers' offense backed up Priest, recording seven hits for four runs in Game 2. Sawyer Bearden led the way, going 3-for-4 with one RBI. Elijah Odom was 2-for-3 with one stolen base. 

Dawson County gave up one run in the top of the first but made the Lions pay for an error in the third inning that scored Bearden. The Tigers added two more runs in the inning off a single from Odom and a double from Adams to go ahead, 3-1. Bearden drove in an insurance run in the sixth inning, and Priest and the Tiger defense took care of the rest in the seventh, posting two Ks and forcing the Lions to ground into a fielder's choice for the final out. 

In Game 1, the Tigers jumped out to a 4-0 first-inning lead thanks to a two-RBI double from Odon and a two-RBI single from Priest, but Franklin County turned three Tiger errors into runs to take a 5-4 lead after the first. 

Jacson Ricket tied the game on a single in the top of the fourth, and the Tigers took back the lead in the seventh on a Carson Sosebee double, 6-5. 

CARTERSVILLE 1, 10
JEFFERSON 0, 1

Jefferson's season ended Monday night as Cartersville ran away in Game 2 to sweep the Dragons (17-16 Region 8-5A No. 2 seed) in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs at home. 

Andrew Purdy drove in four runs to lead the Hurricanes at the play, including a solo home run in the sixth inning that gave Cartersville a 10-1 lead. 

Jefferson's Steven Tavares drove in the Dragons' only run of the game. 

In Game 1, Purdy drove in the Hurricanes' only run, but a solid pitching performance from Sawyer Wilson shut out the Dragons. Wilson allowed two hits over six innings and struck out seven. 

Jase Peoples led the Dragons at the plate with a 2-for-3 performance. 

GREATER ATLANTA 3, 8,
FLOWERY BRANCH 2, 0

GAC's Eli Hanna drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning, propelling the Spartans to a Game 1 win on Monday in Lilburn in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs. 

The Falcons (15-15 Region 8-5A No. 3 seed) jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first inning off a Jackson Freeman double and extended the lead in the third inning off a Kyle Adamec single. 

GAC tied the game in the bottom of the fifth on a single from Hanna. 

Game 2 was much different. Leading 3-0 after the third inning, GAC added four runs in the sixth off a home run from Hanna and a three-RBI double by Denzell Watkins to seal the game and the sweep.  

SCHLEY COUNTY 11, 8, 
TOWNS COUNTY 1, 4

Second-ranked Schley County scored 19 runs on 19 hits to eliminate the Indians in the second round of the Class A Division 2 playoffs at home on Monday. 

The Indians (18-14 Region 8A D2 No. 3 seed) took the lead in the first inning on a Conner Chastain groundout, but the Wildcats answered in the bottom with two runs to take the lead for good. 

Brody Smith's solo home run and an RBI single by Oscar Lloyd gave the Wildcats a 7-1 lead. The Wildcats added four more runs to win Game 1. 

Game 2 was a bit closer for the Indians. Again, Towns County took the early lead in the bottom of the first inning, 2-0, scoring on a walk and a passed ball. 

Just like in Game 1, the Wildcats roared back with a four-run second inning, adding one run in the third and three in the fifth to take an 8-2 lead. 

Towns County added two runs in the fifth. 

Dawson County swept No. 4 Franklin County in Monday's second round of the Class 3A playoffs. Photo/Seth Chapman, FILE.

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