Hurricanes finish fourth in PG High School Showdown
The Cartersville baseball team lost the third place game of the 2018 Perfect Game High School Showdown to Class 7A 2nd-ranked Parkview 3-1 Saturday afternoon at LakePoint in Emerson.
Cartersville, fresh off an 11-inning loss to Providence School (Jacksonville, FL) in the 16-team tournament semifinals, received strong pitching again in their loss. In fact, the Class 4A second-ranked Hurricanes out-hit the Panthers six to two.
Parkview took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning without benefit of a hit. Logan Cerny was hit by a pitch and moved all the way to third after another walk and a double steal. One more base on balls loaded the bags and Cerny swiped home for the game’s first run.
The Canes tied the game 1-1 in the top of the fifth. Jordan Wilkie started the inning with a line drive single and Anthony Seigler tripled him home with one out. Two walks eventually loaded the bases, but the Hurricanes were unable to produce another run.
The Panthers regained the lead later in the inning.
Jon Ponder walked and reached third on a pair of wild pitches before Michael Bryant singled him home. Bryant then stole second before taking third and home on two more wild pitches for a 3-1 advantage. Parkview produced another single and a walk in the inning, but did no more damage on the scoreboard.
Xander Stephens (5 IP, 1ER, 5H, 3BB, 9K) was the pitching winner for Parkview. Jarrett Embry (2 IP, 0R, 1H, 1BB) earned a save for the Panthers.
Curtis Wilkes (0.2 IP, 2ER, 1H, 2BB, 1K) was tagged with the pitching loss for the Hurricanes. Cohen Wilbanks (3 IP, 1ER, 0H, 2BB, 1K) started the game on the mound. Gage Morris (1 IP, 0R, 1BB, 1K) entered in the fourth inning and Luke Schiltz (1.1 IP, 0R, 1H, 2BB, 2K) worked the sixth after retiring the final out of the fifth inning.
Bryant and Robert Bennett had the Panthers only hits.
Seigler’s triple produced the only run for the Purple Hurricanes but Ian Inaba had two hits, Jake Gooch doubled in the second inning while Wilkie and Josh Davis had singles in the game.
Parkview finished third in the tournament and improved their season mark to 11-3.
Cartersville (10-5) now turns its attention to Region 5-AAAA play. The Canes are scheduled to travel to Sandy Creek Thursday at 5:55 p.m. and will host Chapel Hill Friday at Richard Bell Field.
In the tournament championship game, Blessed Trinity (12-1, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A) defeated Providence (FL) 11-8.
