Gainesville, Ga — It was the start of arguably the biggest series in 6-AAA as the Pickens Dragons traveled down to Gainesville to take on the North Hall Trojans on Tuesday, March 11th. The Dragons, came into the game 11-1 overall, 3-0 in 6-AAA, and ranked 2nd in AAA. The Trojans, came in at 7-3 overall, 3-0 in 6-AAA, and ranked 4th in AAA. The game would live up to the hype as the final inning saw the lead change hands twice as it would be the Trojans who would come away with the win in game one, 3-2.

The Dragons, were looking for some early 2-out magic in the top of the first as Cade Sutton and Kam Jenkins would reach on back to back singles to put runners at 2nd and 3rd. Trojans starter Campbell Payton, would induce a ground ball for the 3rd out to send it to the bottom of the inning. Dragons starter A.J. Rice, would strikeout the side in the bottom of the frame to send it to the second with the score still tied at 0.

Dawson Holland, would lead off the top of the second by reaching on an error. A 1-out single by Dawson Lowitt, would put runners at 1st and 2nd. Jennings Allen, would then reach on a fielder’s choice as Lowitt would be forced out at 2nd. Holland, would move up to 3rd on the play. The Trojans, would get out of the inning after picking off Allen at 1st. Rice, would continue his hot start to the game in the bottom of the second.

Rice, would force a ground out in addition to picking up his 4th and 5th strikeouts in a scoreless bottom of the second. Heading to the third, Pickens and North Hall were still tied at 0.

The Dragons, would go down in order in the top half of the third after a pop out, a ground out, and a fly out. In the bottom of the frame, Custis Honeycutt, would pick up the first hit of the game for the Trojans as he would lead off with a double. A sacrifice bunt by Payton, would move Honeycutt over to 3rd. Rice, would get out of the jam by inducing a ground ball and forcing a pop out to send it to the fourth with the game still scoreless.

In the top of the fourth, Jenkins would reach 1st with a lead off walk. Matthew Davis, would then reach on a fielder’s choice as courtesy runner Zach Williams, would be forced out at 2nd. After a fly out by Holland, Sam Hammontree looked to keep the inning alive with a single, however, Davis, would be thrown out at 2nd to send it to the bottom of the fourth.

The Trojans, looked to get something going in the bottom of the fourth as they drew a pair of walks and picked up their 2nd hit of the game to load the bases with 1-out. After Rice picked up his 6th strikeout for the 2nd out, Smith McGarvey, would come in to score the game’s first run after a wild pitch. Rice, would force a fly out to limit the damage and send it to the fifth with the Trojans leading, 1-0.

Lowitt, would lead of the top of the fifth with his 2nd hit of the day, but would be thrown out at 2nd trying to stretch it into a double. Payton, would pick up his 3rd and 4th strikeout of the game to send it to the bottom of the inning. Rice, would bounce back in the bottom of the fifth as he would strikeout the side to send it to the sixth with the Trojans still ahead, 1-0.

Christian Starks, would lead off the sixth by drawing a walk. Sutton, would follow with his 2nd hit of the game to put runners at 1st and 2nd. Starks, would be forced out at 3rd as Jenkins reached on a fielder’s choice. After a line out by Davis, Holland, would reach as the ball would fall out of the center fielders glove allowing Sutton to score to tie the game at 1.

Rice, would carry that momentum over to the bottom of the sixth as he would force a fly out, and pick up his 10th and 11th strikeout of the game to send it to the seventh with the score tied at 1.

Lowitt, would lead off the top of the seventh by drawing a walk. Caden Kirchoff, would then come in to pitch run for Lowitt. Allen, would follow that up with a single to put runners at 1st and 2nd with nobody out. After a strikeout of Rice for the first out, Starks, would reach on an error that would allow Kirchoff to come in and score to give the Dragons a 2-1 lead. Allen and Starks, would end up at 2nd and 3rd after the play.

Mills Lothridge, who came on in relief of Payton, would limit the damage as he would force a ground out, and pick up a strikeout to send it to the bottom of the seventh. Rice, looking to finish the game, picked up his 12th strikeout of the game and a fly out for the first two outs of the seventh. Honeycutt, would tie the game with a solo home run to left field.

McKinley Kemp, would keep the inning going with a 2-out single. Cole Cable, would follow that by drawing a walk. Lothridge, would then drive in pitch runner Brayden Martin with an RBI single to give the Trojans a 3-2 win in game one.

Stats for the Dragons:

A.J. Rice: 6 2/3 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 H, 12 K, 2 BB on 107 pitches

Christian Starks: 1 walk

Cade Sutton: 2-4 with 2 singles and 1 run scored

Kam Jenkins: 1-3 with 1 single and 1 walk

Dawson Holland: 1-3 with 1 single and 1 RBI

Sam Hammontree: 1-3 with 1 single

Dawson Lowitt: 2-2 with 2 singles and 1 walk

Jennings Allen: 1-3 with 1 single

Caden Kirchoff: 1 run scored

The series will shift to Dunn Field on Thursday, March 13th as the Dragons will look to tie the series as they host the Trojans for game 2. The first pitch is scheduled for 5:55 pm.