STATESBORO — Battling lightning delays totaling nine hours, eight minutes over two days, the Class AA championship series finally completed Game 1 Monday afternoon.
Second-seed Morgan County (35-4) used a fourrun sixth inning following a two-hour, 58-minute lighting delay to rally for a 6-4 victory over the top-seed Bears (33-5). The final out came nearly 52 hours (51 hours, 58 minutes) after Saturday’s (May 23) Game 1 start at 4:05 p.m.
The loss was PCHS’s fifth consecutive in the finals since a Game 1 4-2 victory in Baxley over the Byron Buxton-led Appling County Pirates in 2012. The Bears dropped 1-7 in the championship series.
Saturday’s original start of the series opener was delayed 35 minutes by lightning, the first of four delays in the game. The game was halted at 4:25 p.m., after one inning with PCHS in front 1-0.
Finally at 6:30 p.m., (two-hours, five minutes) GHSA postponed the game with more bad weather in the forecast until Monday, May 25 at 11:30 a.m.
The Bulldogs capitalized on a hit batter and two walks from Jonathan Stone (2.2 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 K, 2 BB, 1 HBP), who mowed down the first five batters he faced in relief of Christian Osbourne (3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 6 K, 4 BB, 1 HBP).
Stone threw 22 pitches with 19 strikes before the two-hour, 58-minute delay. He needed 34 pitches in the sixth with 19 finding the strike zone.
Following the hit batter and consecutive walks, Morgan County closed the deficit to 4-3 on a groundout with all three base runners advancing. PCHS lost track of the runners when they tried to get a force at second with no runner at first allowing the tying run to score.
An ensuing line drive off an 0-2 pitch found grass in left scoring the eventual game-winning run as the Bulldogs grabbed a 5-4 lead. A two-out infield hit plated the final run for a 64 lead.
Morgan County southpaw reliever Caylem Richardson (4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 6 K, 0 BB) retired the final 11 PCHS batters with three balls leaving the infield on routine flyouts. Richardson replaced Ty Tillery (3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 K, 2 BB, 1 WP) following the first delay of three-hours, 30minutes with the game heading to the fourth inning. Osbourne escaped a first inning jam in Saturday’s lone inning. Morgan County’s first two batters singled on Osbourne’s first two offerings. A fielder’s choice high chopper back to the mound for the first out advanced the runners. Osbourne fanned the next two Bulldogs on swings against 1-2 pitches.
The Bears would strike for a run against Tillery in the bottom of the inning. Beck Hodges’s (2-for-3) one-out double down the right field line was followed by a Jack McClellan (1-for-4) single to left putting runners on the corners.
Stone lifted a liner to right with Hodges tagging and sliding across the plate head first for a 1-0 lead before the game was halted.
When play resumed Monday (May 25), Osbourne retired the side in order in the second with PCHS adding to its margin in the home half.
Brantley Willis (1-for-2) reached on an infield hit. Osbourne executed a sacrifice bunt advancing Willis to second.
Three consecutive twoout singles followed. Grayson Arington (2-for-3) blooped a single to right driving home Willis for a 20 lead. After Chance Williams (1-for-4) reached on an infield hit, Hodges blooped a run-scoring opposite field single to right scoring Arington for a 3-0 lead.
The Bulldogs sent seven batters to the plate in the third inning scoring twice to pull to within 3-2. They took advantage of a hit batter and consecutive walks loading the bases with nobody out.
A run-scoring single to center scored the first run. A two-out error allowed the second run to cross the plate. The throw home nailed the trail runner trying to tie the score.
Stone and Willis sandwiched walks around the first out in the bottom of the inning. Morgan County turned a double play to get out of the inning unscathed.
The Bulldogs put two runners on base in the top of the fourth following consecutive one-out walks ending Osbourne’s outing, which was followed by a lightning delay at 12:25 p.m., while PCHS head coach Andrew Evans was making a pitching change.
The game resumed at 3:55 p.m. (three-hour, 30minute delay) with Stone taking the mound in relief. He got the Bears out of the inning with a fielder’s choice grounder and a strikeout.
PCHS tacked on a run in the bottom of the inning against Richardson, who started the fourth. Arington lined a one-out single and moved to second on a Williams’ fielder’s choice grounder sliding in ahead of the throw from third.
After both runners moved up on a passed ball, Hodges dropped down a suicide squeeze one pitch later scoring Arington for a 4-2 advantage.
Both teams went in order for the first time in the game in the fifth inning.
As the Bears took the field for the top of the sixth, the second lightning delay of the day stopped play at 4:19 p.m., with play resuming at 7:17 p.m.
Beck Hodges slides across home plate with Pierce County’s first run in the bottom of the first inning Saturday before the game was interrupted by a lightning delay and eventually postponed. Photo By RICK HEAD
Jonathan Stone lifted a one-out pitch to right field scoring Beck Hodges giving Pierce County a 1-0 lead in Game 1 Saturday of the Class AA championship series against Morgan County. Photo By RICK HEAD
