Dragons season ends in Sweet 16
PHS Baseball, Team FYN Sports May 2, 2023
Jasper, Ga — It was a beautiful, windy day on Monday, May 1st as the Pickens Dragons hosted the Gordon Lee Trojans at Dunn Field for the third game of their best of three series in the Sweet 16 of the GHSA 3A Baseball State Tournament. In the end, it would be the visitors getting the win as the Trojans came away with a 3-0 victory.
In the top of the first, Dragons starter A.J. Rice, had a clean start to the game with his 1st strikeout, a fly out, and a ground out. In the bottom of the first, Trey Payne would reach on a 2-out walk, but would be left stranded and they would head to the second with the score all knotted up at 0.
In the top of the second, after getting the 1st out on the first pitch of the inning, Rice, would give up back to back 1-out singles. Rice, worked out of that jam as he picked up his 2nd strikeout and a ground out to send it to the bottom of the frame. In the bottom of the second, Dawson Holland, would lead off with a single. He would advance to 2nd on the same play after an error to give the Dragons their first runner in scoring position.
A sacrifice bunt by Kam Jenkins, advanced Holland over to 3rd with only 1-out. The Trojans, were able to get out of their first jam of the game as they got a pop up and a fly out to center to keep Holland from scoring and send it to the third, still tied at 0.
In the top of the third, the Trojans, would get a 1-out triple to put a runner in scoring position. That runner would come in to score after a close play at the plate as the ball got by Jenkins, his throw to Rice was nearly in time for the tag. After a ground out to 3rd for the second out, the Trojans were looking to add to their lead as they reached with an error and a single. Rice, got out of the jam with just the 1 run to send it to the bottom of the inning.
In the bottom of the third, Colby Brooks led off with a single. Connor Shouse, would then reach on a fielder’s choice as Brooks would be thrown out at 2nd for the first out. Trace Ledbetter, would then draw a walk on four straight pitches to put runners at 1st and 2nd with 1-out. A line drive by Trey Payne looked to be falling in left center field, but a diving catch was made for the second out. Shouse, had to scramble back to 2nd to avoid being doubled up.
The Trojans, got out of the threat with a ground out to send it to the fourth with Gordon Lee Leading Pickens, 1-0.
In the top of the fourth, Rice, settled down after a 22-pitch third inning to get the Trojans in order with a fly out and 2 ground outs. In the bottom of the fourth, the Dragons, would also go down in order after a strikeout and 2 ground outs to send it to the fifth with the Trojans still leading, 1-0.
In the top of the fifth, Rice, needed 9 pitches for a 1-2-3 frame as he forced 2 pop ups and a fly out to send it to the bottom of the inning. In the bottom half of the inning, the Dragons, again couldn’t get anything going as they went down in order after a fly out, a strikeout, and a ground out. Going to the sixth, the Trojans were still ahead, 1-0.
In the top of the sixth, the Trojans, led off with a double. Rice, would get the first out of the inning after his 3rd strikeout. Gordon Lee, added to their lead as they would score 2 runs on three straight hits to make it 3-0. Rice, did a good job of limiting the damage to just 2 runs as he picked up his 4th strikeout and a ground out to send it to the bottom of the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth, the offensive woes continued for the Dragons as they went down in order with a fly out, a strikeout, and a ground out to send it to the seventh with the Trojans now leading, 3-0.
In the top of the seventh, JP Nunn, came on in relief of Rice to try to keep it a 3 run game. Nunn, worked around a 2-out walk as he got three fly outs in a scoreless top half of the inning. In the bottom of the seventh, Holland, led off with a single as the Dragons had their first base runner since the third inning. After getting a fly out for the first out, the Trojans were able to turn a double play to secure the win, 3-0.
Stats for the Dragons:
Trace Ledbetter: 1 walk
Trey Payne: 1 walk
Dawson Holland: 2-3 with 2 singles
Kam Jenkins: 1 sacrifice bunt
Colby Brooks: 1-2 with a single
A.J. Rice: 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K on 93 pitches
JP Nunn: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB on 12 pitches
A historic and record setting season is now in the books for the Pickens Dragons baseball team. The 2023 team set a record for most wins in a season (29), the first region championship, most strikeouts in a season. There were several individual records broken as well as Junior Connor Shouse broke the single season and career RBI record. Junior JP Nunn, broke the career saves record.
The Dragons, will return a bulk of their team in 2024 as Seniors Colby Brooks, Evan Giddens, Tee Knight, and Harlan Will will move on to the next chapter in their lives. Three of them, Giddens, Knight, and Will, have committed to play baseball in college up till this point.
With a bulk of their team coming back next season, and the JV and Junior High teams having very successful season in their own right, the Dragons could be set up to keep this run going for a bit. We will see what the future holds next season. Until then, congrats to the Pickens Dragons on a fantastic 2023 season.
Dragons and Trojans split Saturday Doubleheader
PHS Baseball, Team FYN Sports April 30, 2023
Jasper, Ga — What another great day for high school baseball it was on Saturday, April 29th as the Pickens Dragons welcomed the Gordon Lee Trojans to Dunn Field for a doubleheader as part of a best of three series in the GHSA 3A State Baseball Tournament Sweet 16. The Trojans, used the long ball in Game one to get the win, 4-1. In Game two, the Dragons, were able to hold on and pick up a 5-4 victory to force a Game three.
Game 1:
In the top of the first, the Trojans, were looking to threaten early as Nate Dunfee reached on a lead off walk, and Blake Rodgers would reach on a 1-out walk. Dragons starter, Connor Shouse, got out of the early jam as he struck out the next two batters to send it to the bottom of the inning. In the bottom of the frame, Trey Payne reached on a 2-out error, and Tyler Payne reached on a 2-out single.
The Trojans, would get out of the potential threat from the Dragons with a strikeout to send it to the second with the ball game still tied at 0.
In the top of the second, the Trojans, got their lead off man on for the second straight inning as Holt Roberts would be hit with a pitch. Shouse, did a good job of collecting himself as he would then strikeout the side looking to send it to the bottom half of the second. In the bottom of the second, James Tilley, worked a full count walk to reach first with 1-out. Tilley, would advance to second after a ground out by Evan Giddens.
The Dragons, would take the lead after a 2-out RBI single from Colby Brooks drove in Tilley to make it 1-0 Pickens going to the third.
In the top of the third, after picking up a fly out to right and his 6th strikeout, Shouse, worked around a 2-out error to get a pop up to 2nd to send it to the bottom of the third. In the bottom of the third, Trace Ledbetter, led off with a ground rule double. Ledbetter, would advance to 3rd after an error. The Trojans, were able to keep it a 1-0 game as Ledbetter would be thrown out at home after a grounder to the shortstop for the first out.
Gordon Lee, would then turn a double play to get out of the bottom of the third with the Dragons still leading, 1-0.
In the top of the fourth, the Trojans, would get back to back singles to start the frame. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to 2nd and 3rd, a 1-out walk would load the bases. Cason Cannon, would come in to try to get the Dragons out of a big jam. Cannon, did just that as he picked up a strikeout and a pop up to 3rd to send it to the bottom of the fourth.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Dragons would go down in order in with a fly out, a ground out, and a strikeout. Going to the fifth, the Dragons still led the Trojans, 1-0.
In the top of the fifth, the Trojans would take the lead as they scored 3 runs on 3 hits including a solo home run and a 2-run home run. Going to the bottom of the fifth, Gordon Lee led Pickens, 3-1. In the bottom of the fifth, the Dragons would go down in order with a pop out, a ground out, and a strikeout. Going to the sixth, the Trojans were leading the Dragons, 3-1.
In the top of the sixth, Tee Knight, came on in relief of Cannon to try to keep it a 2 run game. Knight, did just that as he worked around a 2-out single to send it to the bottom of the inning. In the bottom of the sixth, the Dragons got back to back 1-out singles from Trey and Tyler Payne. The Trojans, once again avoided trouble as they got a double play to send it to the top of the seventh with Gordon Lee leading, 3-1.
In the top of the seventh, the Trojans, extended their lead as they scored 1 run on 2 hits and a hit by pitch to make it 4-1 going to the bottom of the inning. In the bottom of the seventh, Sam Hammontree, pitch hitting for Tilley, reached on a 1-out single. Tilley, would then re-enter to run. Brooks, kept the game alive for the Dragons by drawing a full count walk.
Shouse, who moved to shortstop in the fourth, would just miss a potential game tying 3-run home run as the Trojans took Game 1, 4-1.
Stats for the Dragons in Game 1:
Trace Ledbetter: 1-3 with a ground rule double
Trey Payne: 1-3 with a single
Tyler Payne: 2-3 with 2 singles
James Tilley: 1 walk and 1 run scored
Sam Hammontree: 1-1 with a single
Colby Brooks: 1-2 with a single, 1 walk, and 1 RBI
Game 2:
For the Game 2, the Dragons were the “visitors”. In the top of the first, the Dragons went down in order with 2 ground outs and a strikeout. In the bottom of the frame, Dragons starter James Tilley, fielded a come backer, and picked up 2 strikeouts in a clean bottom of the first. Going to the top of the second, the game was tied at 0.
In the top of the second, Dawson Holland, reached after drawing a full count walk with 1-out. The Dragons, saw a lot of pitches in the top of the second, but the Trojans would leave Holland stranded. In the bottom of the second, Tilley, worked around a 1-out error to strikeout the side. Going to the third, the Dragons and Trojans were still tied at 0.
In the top of the third, Colby Brooks, got on by drawing a full count walk with 1-out. The Trojans, got out of the top half of the frame with a 5-4-3 double play. In the bottom of the third, Tilley, worked around another 1-out error as he induced back to back ground outs to send it to the fourth, still scoreless.
In the top of the fourth, the Dragons struck. Trace Ledbetter and Trey Payne began the top of the inning by reaching on back to back errors. Tyler Payne, then followed with a single to load the bases with nobody out. Ledbetter, would score after Dawson Holland reached on a fielder’s choice. Trey Payne, would come in after a single by Kam Jenkins to make it 2-0.
A.J. Rice, would then draw a walk to load the bases again, this time with 1-out. Evan Giddens, would drive in Holland with the RBI single to make it 3-0. Brooks, reached on the 3rd error of the inning as courtesy runner Tee Knight came in to score to make it 4-0. Rice, would come in to score after a sacrifice fly RBI by Connor Shouse to make it 5-0 Dragons going to the bottom of the fourth.
In the bottom of the fourth, Tilley, after the long wait, gave up a lead off single and a 1-out double, but got a fly out to right and his 7th strikeout to send it to the fifth with the Dragons leading the Trojans, 5-0.
In the top of the fifth, Trey Payne reached with a 1-out single. Holland, would keep the inning going with a 2-out single, but the Trojans got out of it after a grounder to short. In the bottom of the fifth, Tilley, picked up his 8th strikeout and 2 ground outs to send it to the sixth, Dragons leading, 5-0.
In the top of the sixth, Giddens, reached on a single with 1-out. He would be throw out at 2nd for the 3rd out of the top half of the inning. In the bottom of the sixth, the Trojans got back into the game as they scored 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. Going to the seventh, the Dragons now led, 5-3.
In the top of the seventh, the Dragons went down in order after 2 ground outs and a line out to send it to the bottom of the seventh. In the bottom of the seventh, JP Nunn, who came on in relief of Tilley in the bottom of the sixth, was tasked with getting the final three outs of this game. The Trojans, got the inning started by reaching on a lead off walk, followed by a hit by pitch to put runners at 1st and 2nd.
The Trojans, cut the lead down to one run after an RBI single made it 5-4 with nobody out. Nunn, picked up a grounder and threw it to 1st for the first out as runners advanced to 2nd and 3rd. Nunn, got another come backer as he was able to field it and throw it home to get the runner for the second out. With runners at 1st and 3rd with 2-outs, Nunn, got the strikeout for the final out as Pickens defeated Gordon Lee 5-4 in Game 2 to even up the series at one a piece.
Stats for the Dragons in Game 2:
Connor Shouse: 1 RBI
Trace Ledbetter: 1 run scored
Trey Payne: 1-4 with 1 single and 1 run scored
Tyler Payne: 1-2 with a single
Dawson Holland: 1-2 with a single, a walk, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored
Kam Jenkins: 1-3 with 1 single, and 1 RBI
Tee Knight: 1 run scored
A.J. Rice: 1 walk and 1 run scored
Evan Giddens: 2-3 with 2 singles and 1 RBI
Colby Brooks: 1 walk, and 1 RBI
The split doubleheader means a third and final game of the series will be played at Dunn Field on Monday, May 1st. The winner, will advance to the Elite 8 and take on the winner of the Harlem/Thomasville series. First pitch for Game 3 is set for 5:30.
Rice tosses shutout; Dragons advance to Sweet 16
PHS Baseball, Team FYN Sports April 26, 2023
Jasper Ga — It was win or go home on Tuesday, April 25th for both the Pickens Dragons and Hart County Bulldogs as they took the field for the 3rd and final game of their best of three series in the first round of the GHSA 3A State Baseball Tournament. The Bulldogs, won game 1, 4-3 in 9 innings, while the Dragons won game 2, 5-4 on Monday. The Dragons, got a complete game shutout from Freshman A.J. Rice as they won game 3, 8-0.
In the top of the first, Rice tossed a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout and 2 ground outs to send it to the bottom of the inning. In the bottom of the frame, the Dragons, went down in order also with a fly out and 2 ground outs to send it to the second with the game tied at 0.
In the top of the second, Rice needed 12 pitches to get a pop out and 2 more ground outs in another clean inning. In the bottom half of the inning, designated hitter Tyler Payne, led off with a single. Dawson Holland, would move pitch runner Ezra Faber over to 2nd with a sacrifice bunt. After Kam Jenkins reached on a walk, ’23 Young Harris commit Evan Giddens, came through with a 2-out RBI single to bring in Faber to make it 1-0 Dragons going to the third.
In the top of the third, the Bulldogs, picked up their first base runner and first hit of the game with a 1-out single. The Bulldogs, would then get another runner on after being hit with a pitch with 2-out. Rice, as he’s done all season it seems, kept his composure and was able to induce a ground out to 3rd to send it to the bottom of the third. In the bottom of the third, ’24 Ga Tech commit Connor Shouse, led off by drawing a walk.
Trace Ledbetter, followed that up by reaching on a fielding error to put runners at 1st and 2nd. Trey Payne, would then be hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. Shouse, would come in to score on a wild pitch. Ledbetter and Trey Payne would advance to 2nd and 3rd on the same pitch. Tyler Payne, would reach on a full count walk to load the bases again.
Holland, would reach on a fielder’s choice as Ledbetter would be thrown out at home after a grounder to 3rd for the first out. The Bulldogs, got out of the jam with only the 1 run given up as they induced an inning ending double play. Going to the fourth, the Dragons, now led the Bulldogs, 2-0.
In the top of the fourth, Rice, found himself in a little bit of a jam again as he gave up a single, and then hit a batter with 1-out. His defense, which had been making plays behind him all game, got some more help from them as his Freshman battery mate Jenkins, threw out a runner trying to steal 3rd for the 2nd out. Rice, finished off the top of the fourth in strong fashion with his 2nd strikeout to send it to the bottom of the frame.
In the bottom of the fourth, Giddens and Colby Brooks, both reached on back to back fielding errors with 1-out. Shouse, would then get hit with a pitch on an 0-2 count to load the bases. Giddens, would come in to score on a fielder’s choice by Ledbetter. Ledbetter, would catch the Bulldogs off guard and steal 2nd. Trey Payne, would then drive in Brooks and Ledbetter with a single to make it 5-0 Dragons going to the fifth.
In the top of the fifth, Rice, picked up his 3rd strikeout and 2 ground outs in a 9-pitch top half of the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, Sam Hammontree, pitch hitting for James Tilley, sent the first pitch he saw down the left field line for a 2-out double. Tilley, would then re-enter to run for Hammontree. Giddens, drove in Tilley with an RBI single to make it 6-0 Dragons going to the sixth.
In the top of the sixth, after giving up a lead off single, Rice, picked up his 4th strikeout, a ground out, and a fly out to send it to the bottom of the inning. In the bottom of the sixth, Lebetter, reached on a 1-out single. Davin Abernathy, would come in to pitch run for Ledbetter. Abernathy, would then get to 2nd on a wild pitch. Trey Payne, would reach base with a single. Abernathy and Payne, would then advance on a wild pitch.
With Senior Harlan Will at the plate, he would drive in both Abernathy and Payne with a 2-RBI double to make it 8-0 Dragons going to the seventh.
In the top of the seventh, Rice, ended his very impressive outing with a 1-2-3 frame as Shouse made three great plays at short for all three outs. The Dragons, get the win 8-0 in game 3 to take the series, 2-1.
Stats for the Dragons:
Connor Shouse: 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch, and 1 run scored
Trace Ledbetter: 1-4 with a single, and 1 run scored
Trey Payne: 1-2 with a single, 2 hit by pitch, and 1 run scored
Tyler Payne: 1-2 with a single, and 1 walk
Harlan Will: 1-1 with a double and 2 RBI
Dawson Holland: 1 sacrifice bunt
Kam Jenkins: 1 walk and 1 runner thrown out
Sam Hammontree: 1-1 with a double
Evan Giddens: 2-3 with 2 singles, 2 RBI, and 1 run scored
Colby Brooks: 1 run scored
Davin Abernathy: 1 run scored
Ezra Faber: 1 run scored
James Tilley: 1 run scored
A.J. Rice: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 HBP, 4 K on 89 pitches
The Dragons, will now look towards Saturday, April 29th as they begin a best of three series with the Gordon Lee Trojans with a doubleheader. The Trojans, are representing region 6 as the #2 seed. They are 20-8 overall. The Trojans, swept Cedar Grove in the first round to get to this point. It should be an entertaining series between a pair of good teams.
Dragons split doubleheader with Hart County
PHS Baseball, Team FYN Sports April 25, 2023
Jasper, Ga — It was a beautiful day for playoff baseball on Monday, April 24th as they Pickens Dragons welcomed the Hart County Bulldogs to Dunn Field for a doubleheader in the first round of the GHSA 3A State Baseball Tournament. The Bulldogs, are the #4 seed out of region 8, and the Dragons are the #1 seed out of region 7. After the Bulldogs took game 1 in 9 innings, 4-3, the Dragons came back to take game 2, 5-4, to force a game 3 on Tuesday, April 25th.
Game 1:
In the top of the first, Dragons starter and ’24 Ga Tech commit Connor Shouse, worked around a 2-out single as he picked up 2 strikeouts and a line out to send it to the bottom of the inning. In the bottom of the frame, Shouse, led off with a double. Shouse, would advance to 3rd, but the Bulldogs got out of the early threat to send it to the second with the score tied at 0.
In the top of the second, Shouse, needed 8 pitches for a 1-2-3 inning with two ground outs and a strikeout. In the bottom of the second, Kam Jenkins, reached on a 1-out walk. His courtesy runner, Tee Knight, would be left stranded and they’d go to the third, still scoreless.
In the top of the third, Shouse, continued the good start to his outing as he sat the Bulldogs down in order on two ground outs and a strikeout. In the bottom of the inning, the Dragons, went down in order as well and the game would move to the fourth, with both teams still scoreless.
In the top of the fourth, Shouse, worked around a 2-out single as he struck out the side. That gave him 7 for the game. In the bottom of the frame, the Dragons, again would go down in order as we officially had a pitcher’s duel on our hands. Going to the fifth, the Dragons and Bulldogs were still tied at 0.
In the top of the fifth, the Bulldogs would break the tie as they scored 3 runs on 1 hit, 4 walks, and 1 hit by pitch to take a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the fifth, the Dragons, got a run back as Jenkins led off with a single. A.J. Rice, then reached on a fielder’s choice. ’23 Young Harris commit Evan Giddens, moved them over on the sacrifice bunt. An RBI grounder from Colby Brooks brought in courtesy runner Tee Knight to make it 3-1 Bulldogs going to the sixth.
In the top of the sixth, Cason Cannon, who came on in relief of Shouse in the top of the fifth, worked his first full inning of relief and kept the score where it was to send the Dragons bats back up. In the bottom of the sixth, Trey Payne got on with a 1-out double. He’d come around to score after an RBI single from Tyler Payne. Jenkins, drove in pitch runner Ezra Faber on a 2-out, RBI double to tie things up at 3 going to the seventh.
In the top of the seventh, ’24 Jacksonville State commit JP Nunn, came on in relief of Cannon. Nunn, kept the Bulldogs off the board in the top half of the inning to send it to the bottom of the seventh. In the bottom of the inning, the Dragons, would go down in order. They would head to extra innings with the score tied at 3.
In the top of the eighth, Nunn, in his 2nd inning of work, worked around a 1-out walk to keep the Bulldogs off the board. In the bottom of the eighth, Shouse, now at shortstop, sent a ball for a ride in center field, but it was just shy of the fence. The Bulldogs, would get out of the bottom of the eighth and we’d head to the ninth with it still tied up at 3.
In the top of the ninth, the Bulldogs, were able to plate a run on 2 hits to retake the lead, 4-3. In the bottom of the ninth, Dawson Holland would reach on a 1-out single. The Bulldogs however, were able to get a double play to end the game as Hart County took game 1, 4-3.
Stats for the Dragons in Game 1:
Connor Shouse: 1-4 with a double
Trace Ledbetter: 1 walk
Trey Payne: 1-4 with a double and 1 run scored
Tyler Payne: 1-1 with a single and 1 RBI
Dawson Holland: 1-4 with a single
Kam Jenkins: 2-3 with 1 single, 1 double, 1 walk, and 1 RBI
Colby Brooks: 1 RBI
Tee Knight: 1 run scored
Ezra Faber: 1 run scored
Game 2:
The Dragons, were the “visitors” for game 2 and they looked to put up some early runs in the top of the first as Trey Payne and Tyler Payne got on with a pair of 2-out singles, and Dawson Holland reached with a full count walk. The Bulldogs, got out of the bases loaded threat to send it to the bottom of the first. In the bottom of the frame, the Bulldogs, did strike for early runs as they scored 4 runs on 3 hits, 2 walks, and 1 error.
Going to the second inning the Bulldogs, held a 4-0 lead over the Dragons.
In the top of the second, the Dragons, would go down in order to send it to the bottom half of the inning. In the bottom half of the second, Dragpns starter James Tilley, bounced back after a tough first inning to get the Bulldogs in order with a grounder to 1st base, and 2 strikeouts to send it to the third, Bulldogs leading, 4-0.
In the top of the third, the Dragons struck. Connor Shouse, led off by drawing a full count walk after being down 0-2 in the count. Trace Ledbetter, followed that up with a single. After a double steal by both Shouse and Ledbetter, Trey Payne would bring them home with a 2-RBI single to make it 4-2 Bulldogs. After Tyler Payne worked another full count walk, Holland, laid down a bunt to move Trey Payne to 3rd and pitch runner Sam Dart to 2nd with 1-out.
Freshman Kam Jenkins, once again came through with a big hit as he drove in Trey Payne and Dart with a 2-RBI single to tie the game up at 4 going to the bottom of the third. In the bottom of the third, Tilley, worked around a 1-out single to send it to the fourth with the game now tied at 4.
In the top of the fourth, Colby Brooks, reached with a 1-out single. Shouse and Ledbetter, got on by drawing back to back walks to load the bases. Trey Payne, would bring in Brooks with the sacrifice fly RBI to give the Dragons the lead 5-4, going to the bottom of the fourth. In the bottom of the fourth, Tilley, was able to work around a 2-out walk to get out of the inning. Going to the fifth, the Dragons now led it, 5-4.
In the top of the fifth, the Dragons, would go down in order on a pop up and 2 ground outs. In the bottom of the inning, Tilley, kept the Bulldogs from scoring as he picked up 2 big strikeouts to keep the runner at 3rd after he reached on an error and advanced to 3rd on a sacrifice bunt. Going to the sixth, the Dragons maintained their 5-4 lead.
In the top of the sixth, Brooks, reached on a 1-out walk. Shouse, would then get hit by a pitch on a 3-2 count and the Dragons had runners at 1st and 2nd with 1-out. The Bulldogs, somehow, were able to get out of it with no damage done to send it to the bottom of the sixth. In the bottom of the inning, Tilley, sat the Bulldogs down in order with a ground out, a fly out, and a strikeout to send it to the seventh with the Dragons up, 5-4.
In the top of the seventh, Holland, would make it to 2nd after an error by the shortstop. Jenkins, followed up with a single. As the throw was going home, Jenkins took the opportunity to advance to 2nd to give the Dragons 2 runners in scoring position with 1-out. Once again, the Bulldogs found a way to get out of the jam and keep it at 5-4 going to the bottom of the seventh.
In the bottom of the seventh, Tilley, nearly crossing the 100 pitch mark, finished the ball game off by striking out the side to keep Pickens alive as the Dragons took game 2, 5-4.
Stats for the Dragons in Game 2:
Connor Shouse: 2 walks, 1 hit by pitch, and 1 run scored
Trace Ledbetter: 1-3 with a single, a walk, and 1 run scored
Trey Payne: 2-3 with 2 singles, 3 RBI, and 1 run scored
Tyler Payne: 1-1 with a single, and 1 walk
Dawson Holland: 1 walk
Kam Jenkins: 2-4 with 2 singles and 2 RBI
Colby Brooks: 1-2 with 1 single, 1 walk, and 1 run scored
Sam Dart: 1 run scored
With the two teams splitting the doubleheader, we now turn to the deciding game 3. The winner of game 3, will advance to the sweet 16 and face Gordon Lee on Saturday. First pitch for game 3 between Pickens and Hart County is set for 5 pm.