HOMERVILLE — Brayden Tanner's leadoff homer in the sixth inning broke a 3-all tie giving Ware County a 4-3 lead en route to a 6-5 victory here Wednesday over Clinch County in jayvee action.
Tied at 3-all entering the sixth of the March 25 matchup, Tanner (1-for-4) blasted a 2-1 pitch over the fence in leftcenter for the lead. The Gators (10-5) added two more runs to open a 6-3 advantage. Hayes Sweat (2-for-3) followed the first out of the inning with a firstpitch double.
Brayden Davis lined a run-scoring double three pitches later, scoring Sweat for a 5-3 lead. Jaccheus Cooper's two-out single plated Davis with the final run of the inning.
Clinch County scored two runs after two outs and nobody on base in the bottom of the inning to tighten the score at 6-5. Cooper (3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 K, 3 BB, 1 HBP) hit a Panther with two outs to keep the inning alive. Consecutive walks loaded the bases. A passed ball scored the first run with an errant throw to third on a double steal attempt, allowing the second run to score before the final out was recorded.
Both teams would strand a batter in the seventh.
Clinch County scored in its first at bat against Chaden Carter (4 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 K, 4 BB). A leadoff triple and consecutive walks loaded the bases with nobody out. Carter induced a double play allowing the lead runner to score for a 1-0 lead.
After leaving a runner on base in each of the first two innings, the Gators scored twice in the second on a two-run homer off the bat of Lucas Howard (2-for-3) for a 2-1 lead. Ryder Gilbert (1-for-3) led off the inning with a single to center. One out later, Howard launched a 3-2 pitch over the fence in right-center.
Ware County plated a run in the fourth to extend the margin to 3-1. Sweat tripled with one out and scored on an ensuing Davis single to left.
The Panthers countered with two runs in the bottom of the inning tying the scoring at 3-all. Consecutive one-out singles were followed by a two-base throwing error allowing both runners to race around the bases to score.
