Ware County climbed to .500 stretching its seasonbest winning streak to five games with a Region 1-AAAA doubleheader and series sweep of overmatched New Hampstead Friday.
The Gators (7-7 overall, 30 region) followed the Tuesday, March 10 21-3 rout of the Phoenix in Pooler with a five-inning, 10-0 victory Friday in Game 1 and a four-inning, 16-1 triumph in Game 2 for the three-game sweep in a 47-4 scoring blitz.
Ware County entertained Perry Tuesday, March 17 with the series shifting Friday, March 20 with a doubleheader in Perry with 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. starts.
The Gators travel Tuesday, March 24 to Warner Robins. The Demons come to town Friday, March 27 for a twinbill with 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
first pitches.
Game 1 Gators .......................10
New Hampstead..........0
Ware County rode the two-hit pitching effort of Seth Suess to take Friday’s opener.
The right-hander needed just 50 pitches to complete what he started. Suess fanned six and hit a batter.
New Hampstead’s first runner came with one out in the third with a hit batter. The Phoenix would add a two-out single. The visitors collected a leadoff single in the fourth.
Meanwhile, the Gators scored in each of their four at bats plating two runs each in the first, second and third innings. They chased home four runs in the fourth.
Suess (1-for-3) scored the game’s first run after lining a one-out double and stealing third. A two-out walk to Slade Sweat (1-for-2) kept the inning alive.
Landon Smallwood’s (1for-3) ensuing grounder was mishandled allowing Suess to score and Sweat to race to third. Consecutive walks, the first to Isaiah White loading the bases and the second to Keaton Holloway (1-for-2) forcing home a run, followed upping the lead to 2-0.
Garrison Joyner led off the second reaching when his grounder was bobbled. He stole second ahead of Collin Crawford’s (1-for-2) infield hit putting runners on the corners. Both runners scored, Crawford from first, when Suess grounded out pushing the lead to 4-0.
Ware County tacked on two runs in the third. White walked, moved up to second on a balk, stole third and scored on a passed ball during Holloway’s at bat. Holloway singled one pitch later, stole second and third, and eventually scored on Crawford’s oneout sacrifice fly extending the margin to 6-0.
The Gators finished off the scoring with a fourrun fourth. Sweat and Smallwood each singled with one out with a walk to White loading the bases.
A passed ball scored Sweat with the first run. Tanner Larisey’s booted grounder scored Smallwood and White for a 9-0 advantage. Larisey’s courtesy runner, Colt Cox, stole second and third scoring the final run when the third baseman was unable to corral the throw from the catcher.
Game 2 Gators....................16
New Hampstead.......1
The Gators spotted New Hampstead a 1-0 lead in its first at bat before scoring the final 16 runs aided by an 11-run second inning.
The Phoenix scored their lone run in the first against Sweat (3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 6 K, 1 BB) getting a leadoff double down the right field line and a runscoring single to right three pitches later.
Ware County stormed back with a three-run first in opening up a two-run advantage. Crawford (3for-4) opened the Gators’ first with a single and stole second and third ahead of a walk to Walker Hudson (1-for-1).
Sweat (1-for-1) was hit by a pitch after Hudson stole second loading the bases. Consecutive fivepitch walks to Smallwood (1-for-2) and White (1-for-2) forced home the tying and go-ahead runs. Larisey’s ensuing sacrifice fly capped the scoring for a 3-1 lead.
The Gators broke the game open in the second inning sending 15 batters to the plate scoring 11 runs with 10 base hits.
Joyner (3-for-3), Crawford and Suess (3-for-4) each collected two hits and had an RBI in the uprising. Hudson, Sweat and Smallwood stroked an extra base hit apiece and drove home two runs. White had a run-scoring double as the lead swelled to 14-1.
Ware County scored twice in the bottom of the fourth to end the game after Smallwood (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 K, 0 BB) fanned three of the five batters (single, error) he faced in the top of the fourth in relief of Sweat.
Suess lined the first pitch of the inning for a double. After Blake Gunter was hit with a oneout, first-pitch, the two base runners pulled off a double steal. Suess scored on a passed ball one pitch later.
A walk to Smallwood and a White getting hit by a pitch loaded the bases. Emmett Vining (1-for-2) ended the game lining a 30 pitch to center scoring Gunter to have the “15-run mercy rule” inacted.
