CANEY BAY — Third-ranked Pierce County’s Brantley Willis and Emmitt Hall combined on a four-hitter and five Bears recorded multi-hit games in a 12-1 victory here Tuesday over Brantley County.
The Bears (4-1) bounced back from the first loss Saturday, February 14 against then Class A DII third-ranked ECI, scoring at least one run in each of the seven innings against three BCHS hurlers.
The February 17 loss was the second straight for the Herons (2-3), who fell 74 a night earlier to visiting Charlton County, who entered ranked third in Class A DII, replacing ECI who fell to fifth.
PCHS scored a first inning run just four batters in against Kaden Hendrix (3.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 5 K, 3 BB, 2 HBP, 1 WP).
Chance Williams (2-for-3) drew a leadoff walk and stole second ahead of Jonathan Stone (2-for-4) getting hit by a one-out pitch. After the runners advanced on a wild pitch, Dylan Johnson (1-for-3) lifted a 1-2 pitch to center, plating Williams.
BCHS evened the score at 1-apiece in the bottom of the inning against Brantley Willis (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 11 K, 0 BB), doing the damage after two outs and nobody on base.
Hendrix (1-for-3) lined a 1-0 pitch for a double and raced home on Carson Coger’s (1-for-3) first-pitch, bloop single to right.
The Bears strung together scores of two, one, two, two, one and three over the final six innings.
Willis (2-for-4) started the second reaching on an error. After Bryson Smith (2-for-3) was hit by a pitch, Grayson Arington dropped down a sacrifice bunt, advancing the runners 90 feet. Beck Hodges followed by lining a 2-2 pitch for a two-run single giving Pierce County the lead for good at 3-1.
PCHS scored once in the third after loading the bases with one out. Jack McClellan (2-for-3) and Willis blooped consecutive one-out singles ahead of a walk to Smith. Arington’s ensuing squeeze bunt scored McClellan for a 4-1 advantage.
Williams opened the two-run fourth against Jackson Rowell (3.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 K, 3 BB, 1 HBP) with a double, stole third and scored on Stone’s one-out double. Johnson followed with a runscoring single for a 6-1 lead.
The Bears extended the lead to 8-1 with two runs in the fifth. Hodges got the rally started with a one-out walk and raced to third on a Williams’ single. After Williams’ theft of third, Stone lined a two-out single to center, driving home both runners.
Pierce County tacked on a run in the sixth on Smith’s run-scoring single. McClellan led off with a walk with Willis drawing a four-pitch walk. Smith’s hit came off a 3-2 offering pushing the margin to 9-1.
PCHS did all of its damage in a threerun seventh after two outs and nobody on base. Johnson and McClellan kept the inning alive with consecutive two-out walks.
Willis singled up the middle off Dennis Raulerson (.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 K, 2 BB, 1 WP) plating Johnson. Following a wild pitch moving the runners up, Smith tripled down the right field line, driving home both runners.
After 18 of 19 Brantley County hitters were retired (Rowell fourth-inning single) from the first inning through one out in the seventh, the Herons put back-toback runners on base against Hall (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 K, 1 BB).
Rowell (2-for-3) drilled a one-out, first-pitch single with Raulerson working a walk. A 4-6-3 game-ending double play followed one pitch later.
