Dragons win 9th straight game; sweep Bobcats
PHS Baseball, Team FYN Sports March 30, 2024
Jasper, Ga — It was another beautiful day for high school baseball as the Pickens Dragons welcomed the Gilmer Bobcats to Dunn Field on Friday, March 29th for the third and final game of their series in 7-AAA. The Dragons, by virtue of taking the first two games, won the series and were looking to complete the sweep. The Bobcats, came in looking to steal a game. Prior to the ball game, PHS recognized Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day. A 5-run 2nd and a 4-run 6th helped the Dragons get the sweep, 10-3.
In the top of the first, Eli Cooper reached on an infield single with 1-out. Cooper, would advance to 2nd as Noah Gutillo grounded out to 1st. Dragons starter A.J. Rice, would then get Ethan McCollum to ground out to send it to the bottom of the inning. In the bottom of the frame, Connor Shouse, would lead off by getting hit with the first pitch. Shouse, would then steal 2nd to get into scoring position.
Shouse, would then steal 3rd. He would come in to score on a throwing error by the catcher to make it 1-0 Dragons going to the top of the second.
In the top of the second, Hayden Berry would be hit by a pitch to reach base to start the inning. A sacrifice bunt by Austin Zabala would advance Berry to 2nd. Rice, would collect his 2nd and 3rd strike outs to send it to the bottom of the 2nd. In the bottom of the inning, Dawson Holland would reach with a 1-out double. Christian Starks, would drive Holland in with a 2-out double to make it 2-0 Dragons.
Rice, would then be hit with a pitch to put runners at 1st and 2nd. Shouse, would reach with a single to load the bases. Trey Payne, would bring in Starks and courtesy runner Ezra Faber in with a 2-RBI single to make it 4-1 Dragons. Shouse and Payne, would then pull off a double steal. A single by Cade Sutton would drive in Shouse and Payne to make it 6-0 Dragons going to the third.
In the top of the third, Rice, would collect his 4th strikeout for the first out. Blake Grizzle, would put the Bobcats on the board with a solo home run to left field to make it 6-1. Gutillo, would keep the inning alive with a 2-out single. McCollum, would bring Gutillo around to score with an RBI double to make it 6-2. Berry, would then be hit with a pitch to put runners at 1st and 2nd.
Rice, would get out of the third by picking up his 6th strikeout of the game to keep the score at 6-2 in favor of Pickens. In the bottom of the third, Trace Ledbetter, would lead off with a double. After a long at bat, Holland would send a fly ball out to right field that would advance Ledbetter to 3rd. Bobcats starter Dalton Crisp, would get out of the third with a strikeout and ground out. Going to the fourth, Pickens led Gilmer, 6-2.
Mel Mosley, would lead off the fourth with a single. After Rice picked up his 7th strikeout, Haden West and Grizzle would hit back to back singles to load the bases with 1-out. Cooper, would bring in Mosley with sacrifice fly RBI to make it 6-3. Gutillo, would then reach base as Sutton couldn’t get the ball out of his glove cleanly. Rice, showed off some quick reflexes as he caught a come backer from McCollum to send it to the bottom of the fourth.
Crisp, would fire his first 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fourth as they would head to the fifth, with Pickens leading Gilmer, 6-3.
Cason Cannon would come on in relief of Rice in the top of the fifth. Berry, would lead off the fifth with a double. Cannon, would then get Zabala with a strikeout for the first out. Mosley, would draw a 1-out walk to put runners at 1st and 2nd. A grounder by Brandon Davis, would advance Berry and Mosley up to 2nd and 3rd with 2-outs. Cannon, would get out of the jam by forcing a fly out to left to send it to the bottom of the fifth, Dragons leading, 6-3.
Kam Jenkins, would look to get things going in the bottom of the fifth as he reached with a 1-out single. The Bobcat defense, would turn an inning ending double play to send it to the sixth with the Dragons still leading, 6-3.
Starks, would come on in relief of Cannon in the top of the sixth. Starks, would get the first two out of the sixth on 2 pitches. Gutillo, would keep the inning going for the Bobcats as he reached with a 2-out double. McCollum, looked like he had at least a double and it looked like the Bobcats would score a run, but Trey Payne would have other ideas as he made a diving catch in right field to send it to the bottom of the sixth, Pickens still ahead, 6-3.
Holland, would lead off the bottom of the sixth with a double. He would then advance to 3rd after a passed ball. Tyler Payne, who came on to pitch hit, would reach on a fielder’s choice as Holland would be thrown out at home. Starks, would reach on a fielder’s choice as there were now two outs. Ezra Faber, would come in to run for Starks. Rice, would drive in Faber with an RBI double to make it 7-3 Dragons.
Rice, would advance to 3rd on the throw. Shouse, would bring in Rice with an RBI single to make it 8-3. Shouse, would then steal 2nd to get into scoring position. Trey Payne, would reach base on an error. Shouse, would come in to score on the play to make it 9-3. After Payne stole 2nd, he would advance to 3rd as Sutton reached on an infield single. Jenkins, would then draw a walk to load the bases with 2-outs.
Ledbetter, would drive in Payne with an RBI single to make it 10-3. Sutton, would be tagged out at home trying to score from 2nd on the play. Going to the seventh, Pickens led Gilmer, 10-3.
JP Nunn, came on in relief of Starks in the top of the seventh. Berry, would lead off the inning by getting hit with a pitch. Nunn, would come back and get the first out of the frame with a strikeout. Mosley, would draw a walk to put runners at 1st and 2nd with 1-out. Nunn, would then start a game ending 1-6-3 double play to seal the 10-3 win for the Dragons.
Stats for the Bobcats:
Blake Grizzle: 2-4 with a single, a home run, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored
Eli Cooper: 1-4 with a single and 1 RBI
Noah Gutillo: 2-4 with a single, a double, and 1 run scored
Ethan McCollum: 1-4 with a double, and 1 RBI
Hayden Berry: 1-1 with a double and 3 hit by pitch
Austin Zabala: 1 sacrifice bunt
Haden West: 1-2 with a single and a walk
Mel Mosley: 1-2 with a single, 2 walks, and 1 run scored
Stats for the Dragons:
Connor Shouse: 2-3 with 2 singles, 1 hit by pitch, 4 steals, 1 RBI, and 3 runs scored
Trey Payne: 1-4 with a single, 2 steals, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored
Cade Sutton: 2-4 with 2 singles, 1 steal, and 2 RBI
Kam Jenkins: 1-3 with a single, and a walk
Dawson Holland: 2-3 with 2 doubles, and 1 run scored
Trace Ledbetter: 2-4 with 1 single, 1 double, and 1 RBI
Christian Starks: 1-3 with a double, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored (1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB on 10 pitches)
A.J. Rice: 1-2 with a double, 1 hit by pitch, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored (4 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 7 H, 7 K, 2 HBP on 79 pitches)
Ezra Faber: 2 runs scored
Cason Cannon: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K on 20 pitches
JP Nunn: 1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 HBP, 1 BB, 1 K on 17 pitches
7-AAA Baseball Standings:
Pickens: 18-3 (11-1)
Dawson: 14-6 (8-4)
Wesleyan: 8-9 (5-4)
Lumpkin: 10-10 (6-6)
White County: 10-11 (2-7)
Gilmer: 8-11 (2-7)
West Hall: 5-14 (2-7)
Next week, the two top ten ranked teams from 7-AAA will face off in a 3-game series as the Pickens Dragons will take on the Dawson Tigers. Game one of the series is set for Tuesday, April 2nd in Dawsonville with a first pitch start time of 5:55 pm. As of now, there is a chance for rain on Tuesday. We’ll keep you updated on any schedule changes that occur during the week.
Dragons take series from Bobcats
PHS Baseball, Team FYN Sports March 29, 2024
Jasper, Ga — It was a perfect afternoon for high school baseball on Thursday, March 28th as the Pickens Dragons welcomed their rivals to the north, the Gilmer Bobcats to Dunn Field for game two of their three game set in 7-AAA play. The Dragons, took game one in Ellijay on Monday, and looked to win the series on their home turf. Meanwhile, for the Bobcats, they looked to even up the series, and tighten up the race for the 4th seed. Behind a solid pitching performance and busy bats, the Dragons were game to win game two, 11-1 in six innings.
In the top of the first, the Bobcats looked to strike early as Blake Grizzle, Eli Cooper, and Noah Gutillo all reached on three straight singles to load the bases with nobody out. Dragons starter James Tilley, remained poised and picked up 2 strikeouts and a ground out to get out of the jam. In the bottom of the first, Bobcats starter Ethan McCollum, got two quick outs before Cade Sutton drew a walk to reach base.
Sutton, would steal 2nd to get into scoring position for Kam Jenkins who would drive him in with an RBI single to make it 1-0 Dragons going to the second.
After Tilley got the first two batters in order on two ground outs to start the second inning, Haden West would keep the inning going with a single to center. Grizzle, would drive in West with an RBI double to tie the game at 1. Tilley, would force a pop out for the 3rd out to send it to the bottom of the second. In the bottom of the frame, Trace Ledbetter led off by drawing a walk. Coleman Keener, who pitch ran for Ledbetter, would steal 2nd to get in scoring position.
A grounder by Dawson Holland would advance Keener to 3rd with 1-out. Christian Starks, would bring in Keener with a sacrifice fly RBI to give Pickens a 2-1 lead over Gilmer going to the third.
In the top of the third, Gutillo would lead off with a single for his 2nd hit of the day. After a strikeout by Tilley, Gutillo would be forced out at 2nd as McCollum would reach on a fielder’s choice. Tilley, would force a fly out for the 3rd out to send it to the bottom half of the inning. In the bottom of the third, Jenkins would keep the inning alive by making it to 2nd after an error in the outfield. That would be it as Pickens led Gilmer, 2-1 going to the fourth.
Tilley, would have his first clean inning of the game in the top of the fourth as he got a pop out and 2 ground outs. Ledbetter, would lead off the bottom of the fourth by drawing a walk. Holland, would follow with a single. After Starks advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt, Ledbetter would come in to score on a wild pitch. Holland, would advance to 3rd on the play. A.J. Rice, would reach by being hit with a pitch to put runners at the corners with 1-out.
Connor Shouse, would smack a liner past the shortstop who was running to cover 2nd as Rice was attempting to steal 2nd. That liner would score both Holland and Rice to make it 5-1 Dragons. Shouse, would make it to 3rd on the play as the incoming throw got away from the Bobcat defense. Trey Payne, would bring in Shouse with an RBI ground out to make it 6-1 Dragons going to the top of the fifth.
In the top of the fifth, Tilley worked around a 1-out single by Cooper as the Dragons were able to turn an inning ending double play. In the bottom of the fifth, Tyler Payne would lead off by getting hit with a pitch. Ledbetter, would then hit a 2-run home run as he drove in Tilley who was pitch running for Tyler Payne. Starks, would reach 2nd on a two base error. Starks, would advance to 3rd on a balk.
Starks, would come in to score on a grounder by Rice to make it 9-1. Shouse, would hit the 2nd home run of the inning for the Dragons as he sent a shot over the left field fence to make it 10-1. A 2-out double from Trey Payne would keep the inning alive. The Bobcats, would record a strikeout to get out of the fifth, as Pickens took a 10-1 lead into the sixth.
Brodie Keener came on in relief of Tilley who went 5 strong innings. Keener, would toss a scoreless top of the sixth as he worked around a single by McCollum. McCollum, would be thrown out at 2nd trying to stretch it to a double. Going to the bottom of the sixth, Pickens led Gilmer, 10-1. In the bottom of the sixth, Sam Hammontree, who came on to hit for Tyler Payne, would draw a walk with 1-out.
Hammontree, would be out at 2nd as Ledbetter reached on a fielder’s choice. Kyle Grno, would came on to pitch hit for Holland, reached on a bloop single. The ball would get away from the Bobcat outfielder and Grno would advance to 2nd while Ledbetter advanced to 3rd. Starks, would follow that up with another bloop single as Ledbetter would come in to score to give the Dragons the 11-1 win in six innings.
With the win, the Dragons take their fourth straight region series. They are now 17-3 overall, and 10-1 in 7-AAA. The Gilmer Bobcats fall to 8-10 overall and 2-6 in 7-AAA. Game three of the series will be right back in Jasper at Dunn Field on Friday, March 29th. First pitch set for 5:55 pm.