WCHS meets Benedictine with region title in the air
Collin Crawford’s squeeze bunt in the bottom of the sixth inning scored what proved to be the winning run in Ware County’s come-from-behind victory Friday over visiting Coffee.
The Gators (16-7) trailed for the second straight game before rallying for a 14th consecutive victory. The Trojans (12-11), who lost for a fifth straight game including Tuesday’s series opener at home to Ware County, led 4-2 entering the bottom of the sixth.
The Gators, 9-0 in Region 1AAAA, get the pendulum series of the season against current second-ranked Benedictine (19-4, 8-1 region), who has dropped two of three since ripping off an 18-game winning streak after an 0-2 start.
Games 1 and 2 of the series were played in a Tuesday, April 7 doubleheader in Savannah. The Cadets visit the WCHS campus Friday for a 6 p.m. first pitch.
BC has been winning behind a mix of veteran leadership and an influx of young talent.
The Cadets have a senior leader at catcher in Mason Diamond, who has signed with South Georgia State College. Senior pitcher Colvin Proto has signed with Marion Military Institute, while classmate Mason O'Neil, a standout first baseman and pitcher, is headed to Flagler College.
Junior shortstop Omari Burse is a University of Alabama- Birmingham commit. Sophomore twins Noah and Landen Harris are drawing attention for third-year head coach Jason Pascual.
In Friday’s series finale with Coffee, the Gators’ Isaiah White (1-for-3) got the gamesaving sixth inning started reaching on an error. Tanner Larisey (1-for-3) followed two pitches later with single up the middle. After Keaton Holloway bunted into a fielder’s choice out at third, pinch-hitter Lucas Howard (1-for-1) delivered a first-pitch, run-scoring double cutting the deficit to 4-3.
Garrison Joyner’s ensuing nine-pitch fielder’s choice grounder plated Holloway with the tying run and put runners on the corners. Collin Crawford followed with a squeeze bunt pushing the ball up the first base line scoring Howard for a 5-4 lead.
An errant pickoff attempt by the Coffee pitcher moved Joyner over the third. Seth Suess (1-for-4) grounded out driving home Joyner for the two-run advantage.
Ware County scored in the first inning after two outs and nobody on base. Slade Sweat (1-for-4) drilled a first-pitch single to center to keep the inning moving. He moved over to second on an errant pick off and scored on a Landon Smallwood (1for-3) single for a 1-0 lead.
The Trojans, who stranded one batter in the first two innings against Sweat (5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 K, 4 BB, 3 WP), broke through in the third. A leadoff double and a one-out, run-scoring double tied the score. An ensuing single led to a tag out at the plate on a throw from Crawford in left to Larisey at the plate keeping the score tied.
The Gators broke the tie in the bottom half of the inning to take a 2-1 lead. Suess doubled down the line in left, moved over to third on Sweat’s groundout, and scored when Smallwood followed suit with a groundout.
Coffee tied the score at 2-all in the fifth with a run. A leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt put the Trojan runner in scoring position. A two-out, run-scoring single tied the game.
The Trojans scored two runs in the sixth to claim a short-lived 4-2 advantage. A leadoff double, stolen base and walk put runners on the corners. A wild pitch plated the lead runner.
Two walks sandwiched around the second out loaded the bases. A passed ball allowed the runner from third to score for the two-run margin.
