JESUP — Wayne County made a five-run third inning stand up in a 5-3 victory here Friday over Pierce County in a battle of top five programs.
The Class 4A fifth-ranked Yellow Jackets (4-2) used three pitches to stymie Class 2A third-ranked PCHS's offense. The Bears’ Emmitt Hall threw just 70 pitches in a complete game performance. He allowed three consecutive base hits to start the third. Hall fanned six, walked none, hit a batter and uncorked two wild pitches.
PCHS returned to action Tuesday, February 24 traveling to Lyons to face Toombs County. The Bears return home Friday, February 27 to host Southeast Bulloch at 6 p.m.
Pierce County plays three times the following week starting with a Tuesday, March 3 rematch with Wayne County at 6 p.m. PCHS wraps up the week with a Thursday, March 5 and Friday, March 6 home-and-home series with current Class A DI second-ranked Vidalia. The series opener is in Bearville at 6 p.m., with the finale in Vidalia at 5:45 p.m.
The Bears plated a two-out, first inning run against Wayne County’s Max Strickland (5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 K, 2 BB, 2 HBP). Christian Osbourne (1-for-3) drew a one-out walk with Jonathan Stone (1-for-4) drilling a single to left. Jack McClellan’s (1-for-4) two-out single off a 1-2 Strickland offering plated Osbourne’s courtesy runner James Alonso.
Hall, who retired six of the first seven batters, allowed consecutive singles to Gunner Campbell (1-for-2) and Cam Lynn (1-for-2) to start the bottom of the third. After a wild pitch moved the runners up, Hall was called for a balk allowing Campbell to trot home tying the game at 1-all. Easton Detki (1-for-2) followed with a runscoring double giving Wayne County a 2-1 lead.
Dekan Yeomans reached on a fielder’s choice grounder putting runners on the corners. After Yeomans swiped second, Haddy Peel reached on a dropped third strike with Detki racing home for a 3-1 advantage and Yeomans taking third.
Consecutive run-scoring ground outs from Jeb Craven and Maddux Wilkerson scored the final two runs of the inning giving the Yellow Jackets a 5-1 lead. Hall retired the final 12 batters he faced starting with the first run-scoring groundout. He retired Wayne County in order in the fourth, fifth and sixth.
Pierce County plated two runs in the top of the fourth cutting the deficit in half. Brantley Willis was hit by a one-out pitch to set up the inning. Following the second out, Grayson Arington (2-for-3) legged out an infield hit to keep the inning alive. Both Willis and Arington raced home on a Beck Hodges (2-for-2) single two pitches later cutting the deficit to 5-3.
The Bears had a runner gunned down at the plate in the top of the fifth and stranded a runner at third.
They loaded the bases loaded in the sixth with one out and did not score. Willis led off the inning getting hit by a pitch. Arington reached on his second infield hit with one out. Hodges was hit two pitches later. Wayne County escaped with consecutive called third strikes.
PCHS went down in order in the seventh.
