LYONS — Pierce County scored a run in the seventh inning, and pitchers Brantley Willis and Emmitt Hall scattered nine hits as the Bears edged Toombs County 1-0 in a non-region game.
PCHS, 6-2 and ranked third in Class AA, scored the game’s lone run on a leadoff walk to Grayson Arington, a sacrifice by Chance Williams and a single to right field by Beck Hodges (2-for-3) in the Tuesday, February 24 non-region matchup.
Toombs County (2-4) put two runners on in the bottom of the seventh with one out, but failed to score. The game featured 16 hits, all singles.
Willis pitched 5.2 innings allowing eight hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. Hall got the last four outs, giving up a hit and a walk with two strikeouts.
Ty Hutchinson tossed a complete game for the Bulldogs. He scattered seven hits, walked two and fanned five.
Willis joined Hodges with a 2-for-3 performance to lead the Bears, which entered the game coming off a 5-3 loss to Wayne County.
Jack McClellan, Christian Osbourne,and Dylan Johnson added singles for PCHS.
In the decisive seventh, Arington led off with a walk. Williams laid down a bunt on the first pitch to advance Arington. Hodges followed with a line drive single to right field to bring home Arington with the only run the Bears needed.
Hall gave up a walk to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Following a strikeout, he surrendered a single. A fly out and a ground ended the game.
The Bears stranded two runners in the first when Hodges drew a one-out walk and McClellan (1-for-4) reached on an error two pitches later. Willis was left standing in the second after a one-out single.
Osbourne (1-for-4) reached on a one-out error in the fourth with Willis driving a two-out single up the middle. Hodges and McClellan had backto- back two-out singles in the fifth.
Osbourne and Johnson (1-for-3) slapped consecutive one-out singles in the sixth.
Willis induced inningending double play grounders in the first and second innings following base hits. He surrendered a two-out single in the third and consecutive one-out singles in the fourth.
Willis allowed a two-out single in the fifth and consecutive one-out singles in the sixth.
