Gators hammer New Hampstead in series opener
BLOOMINGDALE — Ware County continued its baseball dominance Tuesday against New Hampstead with a 21-3 romp in the Region 1-AAAA opener for both teams.
The Gators, 5-7 overall after a third straight win, blanked the Phoenix 46-0 in three contests last season. That followed nine games in 2017-19 in which the Gators went 8-1, with a combined run advantage of 80-14. In this contest March 10, Ware scored in every inning of the mercy-rule shortened affair and every player had at least one hit. The Gators scored five runs in the first two innings then broke the game open with a five-run third before capping the rout with an eight-run fifth.
WCHS pounded 17 hits and was aided by 11 errors by the Phoenix (3-5, 0-1). Two Gators pitchers scattered three hits with eight strikeouts, allowing runs in only the third and fifth innings.
Landon Smallwood led the hit barrage by going 3-for-3 with three runs knocked in and three scored. Collin Crawford was 3-for-5 with a double and a pair knocked in and three scored.
Seth Suess had two hits, including a double, and three RBI while Isaiah White had a triple and a single with three knocked in. Tanner Larisey had two hits and batted in two while Walker Hudson had a double and a triple.
Slade Sweat, Keaton Holloway and Garrison Joyner also had hits.
Ryder Kinnon pitched the first four innings, allowing a hit and two runs — one earned — with three walks and six strikeouts. Blake Gunter covered the final inning, giving up two hits and a run while fanning two.
The Gators got two runs in the first after two were out. Hudson tripled and scored when the shortstop booted Sweat’s grounder.
Sweat promptly stole second and went to third when the catcher’s throw sailed into the outfield. Smallwood’s first of three singles in the game scored Sweat.
Just as in the opening frame, Ware scored its secondinning runs with two out. Larisey, Joyner and Crawford followed with singles, and two throwing errors and another in the field allowed all three two score for a 5-0 lead.
In the third, Smallwood led off with a line single to center that got through the fielder and rolled to the fence accounting for the first run. Holloway followed with another single to center that the fielder misplayed allowing him to move to third base.
White then plated Holloway with his triple before Larisey walked. Courtesy runner Ashton Suess stole second and advanced to third on Joyner’s grounder booted by the second baseman that allowed White to score.
Joyner stole second, and after Crawford fanned, Seth Suess doubled two left scoring home both runners before being thrown out at third trying to stretch the hit.
After the Phoenix broke through with two runs in their half of the third, the Gators stretched the advantage to 13-2 in the top of the fourth combining a single, two walks, a hit batter and a double. With one out, Sweat singled and walks to Smallwood and Holloway loaded the bases.
White was hit to score Sweat before Larisey delivered a two-run double.
The Gators added insult to injury by closing the issue with an eight-run fifth that included six hits, two hit batters and two errors — one fielding and another throwing. Crawford and Hudson had doubles in the onslaught around the first out of the inning while Smallwood, White, Crawford and Seth Suess later had the other hits to finish things off.
