NASHVILLE — Clark Carter’s solo blast leading off the seventh inning broke a 3-all tie and Brantley County added an insurance run en route to beating Berrien here in the Region 1-A opener Tuesday.
Carter drove a 2-1 pitch into the March 17 night sky to left giving the Herons (7-8 overall, 2-2 region) a 4-3 lead over the Rebels (6-10, 1-6), who lost their sixth consecutive game, in the first matchup of the three-game series.
Kaden Hendrix (2-for-3) followed with a walk and Jackson Rowell (1-for-2) reached when his sacrifice bunt was booted. A two-out walk to Carson Coger loaded the bases with Parker Rentz’s (1-for-2) bloop single scoring Hendrix for a 5-3 lead.
Gaven Grafford (7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 K, 0 BB, 3 HBP) retired Berrien in order in the bottom of the seventh to complete the route-going performance.
Brantley County struck for two runs in the first inning after two outs and nobody on base. Carter (2-for-4) blasted his first homer of the game to left off an 0-2 pitch for a 1-0 advantage.
Hendrix’s ensuing grounder was bobbled. A first-pitch, infield hit by Rowell was followed by Cain Roberson’s (1-for-4) run-scoring single upping the margin to 2-0.
The Rebels got one run back in the bottom of the inning on a two-out, run-scoring double cutting the deficit to 2-1. Berrien got a leadoff double and a single to start the inning.
Grafford escaped trouble in the second after hitting consecutive batters, following a double play popup on a sacrifice bunt wiping out a leadoff single. Grafford induced an inning-ending grounder to get out of the jam.
BCHS stretched the lead to 31 in the third inning. Dennis Raulerson led off reaching on an error. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a Hendrix double to left.
Berrien scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to knot the score at 3-apiece. A leadoff double scored on a one-out fielder’s choice in the fourth closing the gap to 3-2. A solo home run leading off the fifth evened the score.
Both teams left a runner stranded in the sixth. Grafford (2-for-5) singled with two outs and surrendered a two-out single in the home half of the inning.
