Dragons Stay on Summer Hot Streak: Swagger Stays Swollen with Sweep of Gordon Central

The Pickens High School Dragons baseball team kept its undefeated summer streak alive with a two game sweep of the Warriors of Gordon Central High School in Calhoun on the Warriors’ own home field. Fresh off sweeping the Wildcats of Woodland 3-0 and 8-5 in a double header the previous day; Pickens picked apart Gordon Central with two straight shutouts of 6-0 and 15-0. Both games ended via mercy rule.The Dragons hot day began in the top of the first inning when Dylan Childer’s RBI single put Pickens up 1-0. The score remained the same until the top of the third when the Dragons caught fire, scoring four runs to take a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the third.

Pickens secured the win when another run scored in the top of the fifth, forcing the game to be called when the Warriors were held scoreless in the bottom of the fifth.

Sean Stargel starred on the mound for the Dragons, throwing five innings of shut out baseball with six strikeouts. Stargel never faced more than five batters in any inning of the game.

For the second game of the sweep, Jake Klein took the mound for Pickens. The transfer from Woodstock was only able to pitch three innings, as the Dragons quickly dismantled the Warriors with a 15 run onslaught. Klein did procure four strikeouts.

The Dragons poured the heat on early, as Childers sparked the flame first again, with a two run double that scored Eric Justice, and Cameron Gregory. Jared Gordon’s RBI double scored Childers and Stargel’s RBI Double scored Gregory to put the Dragons up 4-0 heading into the bottom of the first.

The bottom of the first saw the Dragons allow only one batter to reach base, on an error; an error that was pointed out loudly by the Warriors’ dugout.

The Dragons turned up the heat in the top of the second, scoring a whopping seven runs to take an 11-0 lead into the bottom of the second. During the run, on more than one occasion the Dragons returned the error acknowledgment, much to the Warriors’ chagrin.

Pickens picked up the win by running out to a 15-0 lead in the top of the third. The Dragons summer “Swag” (as they say) is swollen, evidenced by the confidence displayed on the field and in the batters box; so much so, that despite head coach Jason Nunn wanting none of it, Gregory gave a go at switch hitting, reaching base while batting lefty on a single shortly before the game was called.