PERRY — Ware County completed a second straight Region 1-AAAA series sweep here Friday night, handing homestanding Perry 12-1 and 107 defeats in taking the doubleheader matchup.
The Gators (10-7 overall, 6-0 region) stretched their winning streak to eight games March 20 to keep pace with fourthranked Benedictine (17-2, 6-0), which swept Wayne County (8-10, 2-4) in a three-game series. The Cadets have won 17 consecutive games.
Ware County faces Warner Robins (8-8, 2-4) in a three-game series this week. The Gators traveled Tuesday, March 24 to face the Demons. The two teams face off Friday, March 27 in a doubleheader on the WCHS campus, with Game 1 slated for 4 p.m., and Game 2 for 7 p.m.
The Gators have a region bye week the first week of April. They travel Tuesday, March 31 to Douglas to face Coffee at 6 p.m. The Trojans come to town Friday, April 3 for a 6 p.m. start. Ware County goes to Baxley Thursday, April 2 for a 6 p.m., matchup with Appling County.
Game 1 Gators ....................12
Perry........................1
Ryder Kinnon scattered three hits over five innings pitching Ware County past the Panthers in the twinbill opener.
Kinnon was credited with a complete game. He fanned four, walked on and threw a wild pitch among his 67 offerings to the Perry lineup.
The Gators pulled away from a 1-all tie scoring 11 runs over the fourth and fifth innings for the “10-run, five-inning mercy rule” victory.
Collin Crawford (two RBI), Seth Suess (ribbie) and Landon Smallwood (run batted in) each went 2-for-4 to lead the 11-hit attack.
Ware County broke a scoreless tie in the third inning scoring a run after two outs and nobody on base. Crawford legged out an infield hit to keep the inning alive. Suess followed two pitches later with an opposite field single to right.
Both runners moved into scoring position one pitch later on a passed ball. Crawford continued home on an errant throw to third for the 1-0 lead.
Back-to-back two-out doubles in the bottom of the inning by the Panthers evened the score at 1-apiece.
Four consecutive Gators reached to start a six-run fourth inning. Smallwood opened the inning with a firstpitch single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Isaiah White (1-for-4) ripped a run-scoring double down the leftfield line giving Ware County the lead for good at 2-1.
White stole third and raced home on an errant throw to the bag. Tanner Larisey (1-for-2) followed with a walk and was lifted for courtesy runner Brodie Burchett, who stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch ahead of Keaton Holloway’s (1-for-1) single to right upping the margin to 41.
After Holloway stole second, Garrison Joyner’s grounder was thrown away for a two-base error allowing Holloway to score. Crawford followed suit with his grounder thrown away for a two-base error with Joyner racing home advancing the score to 6-1. Crawford reached third on a wild pitch and scored two pitches later on a passed ball for a 7-1 margin.
Ware County’s five-run fifth came after two outs and nobody on base. Holloway walked and Colt Cox was hit two pitches later to keep the inning moving.
A double steal by Holloway and Cox and a throwing error to third produced the first run. After Joyner (1for-2) walked and stole second, Crawford’s liner played both Cox and Joyner stretching the lead to 10-1.
Crawford, who took second on the throw home, scored on a single by Suess. Slade Sweat (1-for-4), after fouling off three consecutive pitches, singled. Smallwood fouled off consecutive pitches before ripping a runscoring single to finish out the five-run rally, for a 12-1 advantage.
Game 2 Gators...................................10
Perry.......................................7
Ware County overcame a 5-4 deficit, scoring six times in the sixth inning en route to the victory in the nightcap.
Down a run, the Gators got a leadoff double from Crawford (1-for-3). After moving to third on a wild pitch, a two-base error on a fly ball to right off the bat of Suess tied the score at 5apiece.
Sweat (2-for-4) followed with an infield hit, putting runners on the corners. After Sweat swiped second, Smallwood was intentionally walked loading the bases.
Following the first out, Larisey (2for-3) ripped a two-run double to break the tie giving the Gators a 7-5 lead. Burchett’s ensuing grounder resulted in a two-base throwing error, scoring two runs for a 9-5 advantage.
Burchett stole third and scored the final run on a dropped third strike increasing the margin to 10-5.
Perry plated the first run of the game in the second inning against Sweat (5 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 5 K, 4 BB, 1 WP). A one-out double and consecutive passed balls scored the run.
Ware County responded with three runs in the top of the third. Holloway (1-for-1) started the fram with a single and raced to third on Cox’s (1-for-2) double two pitches later. Holloway scored on a passed ball to tie the score at 1-apiece with Cox advancing to third.
Joyner’s ensuing grounder plated Cox for a 2-1 advantage. A walk to Crawford, a stolen base and Sweat’s (2-for-4) two-out, run-scoring single gave the Gators a 3-1 lead.
A one-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the inning by Perry’s Jackson Thompson tied the game at 3-all.
The Gators recaptured the lead in the top of the fourth. Holloway was hit by a two-out pitch, with Cox walking on five pitches. The pair executed a double steal with Holloway scoring an errant throw to the bag giving Ware County a 4-3 lead.
Perry came right back with two runs in the bottom of the frame to take the lead at 5-4. A one-out walk and a two-out walk were turned into the tying and go-ahead runs.
An errant pickoff attempt allowed the lead runner to score from second. Following an intentional walk, Perry came through with a go-ahead, runsingle for the one-run advantage.
The Panthers, trailing 10-5, made things interesting in the bottom of the sixth. Janaris Reeves greeted reliever Trace Crosby (0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 K, 1 BB) blasting a 1-1 pitch for a leadoff homer, slicing the deficit to 10-6.
After issuing a walk, Crosby was relieved by Smallwood (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER), who gave up a double and a walk to his first two batters, loading the bases. A one-out walk forced home a run before the left-hander retired the next two batters to end the game.
