BEARVILLE — Bryson Smith’s two-out, bases loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh capped a three-run rally Thursday night leading Pierce County to a 3-2 win here over Brantley County.
The third-ranked Bears (5-1) completed the home-and-home sweep of the Herons (2-4), who lost a third consecutive game, following a 12-1 victory Tuesday, February 17 in Caney Bay.
Brantley County’s Gavin Grafford (6+ IP, 7 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 K, 2 BB) and PCHS’s Christian Osbourne (4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 7 K, 3 BB) matched pitches for four innings.
Jonathan Stone (3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 5 K, 0 BB) relieved Osbourne giving up two unearned runs in the sixth. Jackson Rowell (.2 IP, 0 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 K, 4 BB, 1 HBP) took over for Grafford in the seventh.
Down 2-0 entering the bottom of the seventh, Pierce County sent eight batters to the plate for the dramatic come-from-behind win.
Beck Hodges (1-for-2) led off the seventh with a single, ending Grafford’s outstanding pitching effort. Rowell walked Chance Williams (1-for-3) and hit Osbourne (2-for-3) one pitch later loading the bases.
After Stone hit into a 52 fielder’s choice nailing Hodges at the plate, consecutive walks to Dylan Johnson and Jack McClellan (2-for-3) forced home Williams and Osbourne’s courtesy runner, James Alonso, tying the game at 2-apiece.
A second fielder’s choice play at the plate retired Stone for the second out. Smith (1-for-3) then worked a five-pitch walk forcing Johnson home with the game-winning run.
PCHS followed a 1-2-3 Brantley County first, putting two runners on in the bottom of the inning. Osbourne doubled with one out with Johnson walking with two outs.
The Herons got a leadoff walk from Carson Coger and a ringing double by Rowell (1-for-2) to start the second. Osbourne sandwiched two strikeouts around a fielder’s choice play at the plate after a diving backhand snag down the third base line by Williams.
Pierce County left Hodges stranded at first in the third after a leadoff walk. BCHS then left two on in the fourth, with a leadoff walk to Kaden Hendrix (1-for-3) and a one-out walk to Rowell.
McClellan’s one-out, line drive single up the middle in the bottom of the inning was the Bears’ first since Osbourne’s double in the first frame.
PCHS threatened in the bottom of the fifth with consecutive two-out singles by Williams and Osbourne.
Brantley County cashed in on a pair of sixth-inning errors by the Bears. Clark Carter (1-for-4) led off with a second-pitch single and was removed for courtesy runner Tallon Collins. Hendrix followed with a single to center.
Following the first out, Rowell reached on an error loading the bases. A second error on a ball hit the outfield allowed Collins and Hendrix to race home for a 2-0 lead.
The Bears threatened in the bottom of the sixth leaving runners on the corners after getting a one-out, infield single from McClellan and a twoout single by Smith.
BCHS left Carter on in the seventh after he reached on a two-out error.
