Baseball roundup: Canes, Colonels win Friday night region games
Cartersville baseball trailed 5-4 at LaGrange heading to the sixth inning Friday night before the Hurricanes broke loose for their second double-digit inning in as many nights in an 18-5 win.
Thursday, Cartersville scored ten runs in the first inning on their way to a 15-0 win over Cedartown. Friday night, it was a 14-run sixth inning that planted the Grangers.
Cartersville led 4-0 after two innings on a two-run first inning home run by Josh Davis and another two-run homer by Anthony Seigler in the second.
LaGrange narrowed the margin to 4-3 in the bottom of the third on a two-run homer by Charles Crawford and an RBI single by Ben Farrar.
The Grangers then took the lead 5-3 in the bottom of the fifth on a bases loaded walk and an RBI single by Jake Cardwell.
The Canes followed that by erupting for 14 runs in the top of the sixth.
The rally included a grand slam by Davis — his second homer of the night — and a three-run shot Jake Gooch. The Canes also had three singles and a pair of doubles in the inning and took advantage of seven walks issued by LaGrange pitchers.
Mason Barnett finished the night 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBI. Davis totaled seven RBI with his two home runs. Gooch had two hits including his three-run homer and Preston Welchel contributed two hits including a double. Ian Inaba (RBI) added a hit and Siegler was 1-for-2 with a home run, three walks (one intentional), and three RBI.
Three Grangers had two hits each including Crawford with his home run, Cole Freeman, and Trent Bailey.
Cartersville utilized five pitchers in the game. Mason Barnett (1 IP, 0R, 1H, 1BB), Cohen Wilbanks (1.1 IP, 3R, 2ER, 2H, 2K), Gage Morris (2.1 IP, 2R, 0ER, 3H, 1BB, 1K), Levi Ayers (0.1 IP, 0R, 1H, 1K), and Kolby Adams (1 IP, 0R, 2H) all saw time on the mound.
With their loss, LaGrange falls to 9-20 overall and 6-4 in Region 5-AAAA. Despite the poor overall mark, however, the Grangers have a solid hold on third place in the region.
The Purple Hurricanes have now won 12 of 13 games dating back to March 15. The only loss in that stretch was a non-region loss to Class 7A Lassiter on April 5.
Cartersville (22-6, 10-0) will host second place Troup County Tuesday at 5:55 p.m. and can clinch the region championship with a win. The Hurricanes then travel to Central-Carroll next Thursday for a 5:45 p.m. start.
CASS 15, PAULDING COUNTY 12
The Cass baseball team started hot at the plate Friday night, celebrated their 2018 seniors, and plated runs in five of their six offensive frames while collecting a 15-12 win over visiting Paulding County.
The Colonels scored seven runs in the first inning and led 9-0 after two innings. The Patriots then made their charge with a dozen runs over the next four innings, but Cass added just enough scoring in the latter frames for the Region 7-AAAAA win.
Evan Hinton (4 IP, 9R, 5ER, 11H, 0BB, 4K) was credited with the pitching win for Cass. Logan Nelson (1 IP, 2ER, 4H, 1BB, 2K) and Parker Hardin (2 IP, 1ER, 3H, 1BB, 1K) also pitched with Hardin earning a save.
Stephen Spell had a big night at the plate going 3-for-5 with a solo home run in the third inning and two RBI. Hinton also banged a two-run homer in the first for the Colonels.
Matt Shook had two hits including a double and three RBI. Clay Means had two hits including a double and one RBI. Blaine Ingram had a double included in his two hits. Parker Hardin doubled with two RBI while Nelson and Bryson Markley both added a hit and one RBI.
Cass (11-17, 5-10) and winners of two-straight will conclude their 2018 season Monday at Paulding County (7-18, 2-11).
CARROLLTON 14, WOODLAND 4
The visiting Carrollton Trojans scored six runs in the first and five more in the third inning on their way to a 14-4 Region 7-AAAAA win Friday night at Woodland.
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Wildcats and ended a two-game skid by the 3rd-ranked Trojans who were swept earlier in the week by Villa Rica.
Woodland scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth to narrow the margin to 11-4, but Carrollton answered with three runs in the fifth to minimize the threat.
Will Carney (3 IP, 4R, 2ER, 4H 6BB, 2K) picked up the pitching win for Carrollton. The Trojans used three more pitchers to close out the final two innings.
Ben Ammons (0 IP, 4ER, 2H, 2BB) started on the mound for Woodland and suffered the loss. He did not record an out. Preston Posey (2.2 IP, 7R, 4ER, 5H, 2BB) and Bryce Evans (2.1 IP, 3ER, 4H, 2BB, 1K) both pitched in relief for the Wildcats.
The middle of the Trojans batting order — Asa Awbrey, Brandon Prince, and Chris Gaiter combined for five hits and six RBI to pace the offense. Ty Murray also drove in two runs with a hit.
Third-ranked Carrollton improved to 22-5 overall and 11-2 in Region 7-AAAAA.
Woodland (15-12, 8-5) slips into a three-way tie for third in the region standings.
Kell, now 9-4 in region play, defeated Rome 2-0 Friday night to move back into second place ahead of the Wildcats, Villa Rica and Rome — all 8-5 in the league with three region games remaining.
