Dragons sweep season series against Gilmer
PHS Baseball, Team FYN Sports February 25, 2025
Jasper, Ga — It was the start of a busy week for the Pickens Dragons baseball team as they began the week with a little 515 rivalry action as they hosted the Gilmer Bobcats on Monday, February 24th. These same two teams met in Ellijay last week, with the Dragons coming away with a 14-6 win. Behind another stellar performance by Auburn commit A.J. Rice, the Dragons would pick up a 10-0 win in five innings.
Rice, would work around a 1-out walk drawn by Haden West as he would strike out the side in the top half of the first. In the bottom of the first, Rice, would lead off with a single. Christian Starks, would bring Rice in with an RBI double to make it 1-0. Back to back walks drawn by Cade Sutton and Kam Jenkins, would load the bases with nobody out. After an infield fly was called, Sam Hammontree, would drive in Starks with an RBI sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 Dragons.
West and the Bobcats, would get out of the first with a strikeout. Heading to the second, the Dragons led the Bobcats, 2-0.
Peyton Chancey, would look to get something going for the Bobcats in the top of the second as he would draw a 1-out walk. He would be forced out at 2nd as Blake Grizzle would reach on a fielder’s choice. Rice, would end the top of the second with his 5th strikeout of the game to send it to the bottom of the frame. Ezra Faber, would lead off the bottom of the second by reaching on a two base error.
Jennings Allen, would move Faber over to 3rd on a ground out to 1st. Rice, would bring in Faber on a sac fly to make it 3-0. Starks, would reach with a 2-out double. He would then advance to 3rd on a passed ball. Sutton, would drive in Starks with an RBI single to make it 4-0 Dragons. Jenkins, would keep the inning alive for the Dragons as he would draw his 2nd walk of the game.
Dawson Lowitt, would bring in Sutton with an RBI single to make it 5-0 Dragons heading to the top of the third inning.
Rice, would toss a 1-2-3 top of the third as he struck out the side to send it to the bottom of the inning. Dawson Holland, would lead off the bottom of the inning with a single. He would then advance to 2nd after a balk was called. After a strikeout and a ground out, Rice, would drive in Holland with an RBI single to make it 6-0 Dragons heading to the fourth.
After a quick first two outs in the top half of the fourth, Cooper Cochran, would draw a walk in hopes of getting something started for the Bobcats. Landon McClure, would come on to run for Cochran and he would attempt to steal 2nd to get into scoring position. Jenkins, would throw him out to send it to the bottom of the fourth. C.J. Hatchett, who came on in relief, would work a 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth to send it to the fifth with the Dragons leading, 6-0.
Jackson Nunn, would come on in relief of Rice to start the top of the fifth. Chancey, would draw his 2nd walk of the game to lead off the inning. Nunn, would get a little help from his defense as he would get Grizzle to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. Mel Mosely, would keep the inning alive for the Bobcats as he would reach on an error. Mel Mosely, would then steal 2nd to get into scoring position.
Rob Mosely, would draw a 2-out walk to put runners at 1st and 2nd. Nunn, would get Eli Cooper to fly out to right to end the potential scoring threat and send it to the bottom of the inning. Lowitt, would lead off the bottom of the fifth by drawing a walk. Hammontree, would follow with a double to put runners at 2nd and 3rd. Holland, would bring in Lowitt with an RBI single.
Faber, would then drive in Hammontree with an RBI single to make it 8-0. Allen, would walk it off with a 2-RBI double as Holland and Faber would come around to score to give the Dragons a 10-0 win in five innings.
Stats for the Dragons:
A.J. Rice: 2-2 with 2 singles, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored & 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K on 68 pitches
Christian Starks: 2-3 with 2 doubles, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored
Cade Sutton: 1-2 with 1 single, 1 walk, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored
Kam Jenkins: 2 walks
Dawson Lowitt: 1-2 with 1 single, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored
Sam Hammontree: 1-2 with 1 double, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored
Dawson Holland: 2-3 with 2 singles, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored
Ezra Faber: 1-3 with 1 single, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored
Jennings Allen: 1-3 with 1 double, and 2 RBI
Jackson Nunn: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB on 23 pitches
The Dragons, will be back in action on Thursday, February 27th as they host the Fannin Rebels for another non-region showdown. First pitch is set for 5:30 pm.
Dragons defeat Bobcats in 515 match up
PHS Baseball, Team FYN Sports February 19, 2025
Ellijay, Ga — It was rivalry Tuesday on February 18th as the Pickens Dragons, took the short bus ride up to Ellijay to battle the Gilmer Bobcats. The Dragons, came into the game with a record of 3-0. The Bobcats, came in with a record of 1-1. While this game was tightly played the majority of the way, the Dragons, pulled away late to pick up the 14-6 win.
AJ Rice, would lead off the game with a single. He would then advance to 2nd on a passed ball and to 3rd on a wild pitch. Rice, would come in to score on another passed ball as Christian Starks would reach on a walk. Cade Sutton, would drive in Starks with an RBI double. Kam Jenkins, would follow that up with his own RBI double as he brought in Sutton to make it 3-0.
A single by Dawson Lowitt, would put runners at the corners with nobody out. Sam Hammontree, would then reach on an error as courtesy runner Coleman Keener, would come in to score to make it 4-0. Lowitt, would come in to score after an RBI knock by Dawson Holland. After a sacrifice bunt by Matthew Davis moved the runners over to 2nd and 3rd, The Bobcats, were able to send it to the bottom of the first trailing 5-0.
The Bobcats, would get 2 runs back in the bottom half of the first as Noah Gutillo would bring in Haden West with a double, and Hayden Berry would drive in Gutillo with an RBI sacrifice fly. Heading to the second, Pickens led Gilmer, 5-2.
Starks, would lead off the top of the second with a first pitch double to center. Sutton, would then bring in Starks with his second double of the game to make it 6-2. After Jenkins drew a walk to reach 1st, the Bobcats, would pick up a fly out and two ground outs to send it to the bottom of the frame. The Bobcats, would cut the lead in half in the bottom of the second as Blake Grizzle would come in to score on a passed ball. Heading to the third, The Dragons led it, 6-3.
The Bobcats, would pick up their first 1-2-3 inning in the top of the third as Cooper Cochran came on in relief of Berry. In the bottom of the third, Mel Mosley, would drive in Eli Cooper to make it 6-4 Dragons heading to the top of the fourth.
Jenkins and Lowitt, would draw a pair of back to back 2-out walks in the top of the fourth. Cochran, in his second inning of relief, would get out of the fourth with no damage done. Jackson Nunn, in his second inning of relief work for the Dragons, would send it to the fifth as the Bobcats would leave Peyton Chancey stranded at 2nd. Heading to the fifth, the Dragons led it, 6-4.
Holland, would lead off the top of the fifth with a double. Davis, would follow with a single. He would make it to 2nd after a throw from the outfield. Jennings Allen, would bring in both Holland and Davis with a 2-RBI double to make it 8-4. After Rice drew a walk, he would steal 2nd to get into scoring position. Starks, would drive in Rice with an RBI triple to make it 9-4.
Sutton, would bring in Starks with an RBI ground out to make it 10-4. The Bobcats, would get out of the inning with a strikeout. Heading to the bottom of the fifth, Pickend led Gilmer, 10-4. The Bobcats, would once again stay within striking distance as they would score two runs off a pair of errors in the bottom of the inning. Heading to the sixth, the Dragons led the Bobcats, 10-6.
The Dragons, got those two runs back in the top of the sixth as pitch runner Coleman Keener, would score on a ground out. Rice, would bring in Holland with an RBI single to make it 12-6 Dragons heading to the bottom of the inning. In the bottom of the sixth, Chase Hulsey, on in relief of Nunn, worked around back to back singles as he forced a fly out, and induced a 5-3 double play to send it to the seventh with the Dragons leading, 12-6.
Sutton, would lead off the top of the seventh with his 3rd double of the game. Jenkins, would drive in Sutton with an RBI double to make it 13-6. Lowitt, would bring in courtesy runner Daven Abernathy, with an RBI single to make it 14-6. Hammontree, would then reach with a single to put runners at 1st and 2nd. Holland, would line out to 1st and Hammontree would be tagged out by the 1st baseman for a double play.
A ground out, would get the Bobcats out of the top half of the inning and send it to the bottom of the seventh. In the bottom of the seventh, Hulsey, would force a pair of ground outs and pick up a strikeout in a 1-2-3 seventh to secure the 14-6 win for the Dragons.
Stats for the Dragons:
AJ Rice: 2-3 with 2 singles, 1 walk, 2 steals, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored
Christian Starks: 2-3 with 1 double, 1 triple, 1 steal, 1 RBI, 3 runs scored & 2 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 K, 1 BB on 33 pitches
Cade Sutton: 3-5 with 3 doubles, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored
Kam Jenkins: 2-2 with 2 doubles, 3 walks, and 2 RBI
Dawson Lowitt: 2-4 with 2 singles, 1 walk, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored
Sam Hammontree: 1-5 with 1 single and 1 RBI
Dawson Holland: 3-5 with 2 singles, 1 double, 1 steal, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored
Matthew Davis: 1-3 with 1 double, 1 walk, and 1 run scored
Jennings Allen: 1-4 with 1 double and 2 RBI
Coleman Keener: 2 runs scored
Daven Abernathy: 1 run scored
The Pickens Dragons, will be back at home on Wednesday, February 19th as they play host to East Paulding. First pitch is set for 4 pm.
Dragons hand Bobcats first loss of the season
PHS Baseball, Team FYN Sports February 25, 2022
Jasper, Ga — The 515 rivalry made its way to the baseball diamond on Thursday, February 24th as the Pickens Dragons welcomed the Gilmer Bobcats to Dunn Field for non-region action. This, was the first game between the two teams as they will play in Ellijay next week, This time next year, these two teams will be in the same region again. The Dragons, came into this game at 2-0 after a home and home sweep against Dawson. The Bobcats, came in with a 3-0 record on the early season. The Dragons, got runs from the 2nd inning to the 6th inning as they took the first game against the Bobcats, 10-5.
J.P. Nunn took the mound to start for the Dragons and he got off to a quick start in the top of the first getting two quick outs. The Bobcats, were able to find some two out magic as Ethan McCollum and Grant Cochran reached base. The starting pitcher for Gilmer, Seth Darling, brought both McCollum and Cochran home on a double to give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead going to the bottom of the first. In the bottom of the first, the Dragons tried some two out magic of their own as Anthony Antinozzi got on with a two out double. The Bobcats were able to get out of the first inning with no damage done and still holding a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the second, Nunn settled down and got the Bobcats in order in a quick 1-2-3 top half of the frame. In the bottom of the second, The Dragons were able to tie things up at 2 a piece after James Tilley was hit by a pitch, and Colby Brooks drew a walk. Both scored after several throwing errors were made by the Bobcats. Going to the top of the third, we were tied at 2.
In the top of the third, Nunn again got the first two outs of the inning rather quickly. McCollum, got on again, this time via a two out single. Cochran then drew a walk as Gilmer was looking to retake the lead. Nunn, was able to rally and get a strikeout to send us to the bottom of the frame still tied at 2. In the bottom of the third, things got going for the Dragons after Trace Ledbetter reached base with one out. Antinozzi, hit one into the gap and brought Ledbetter home with a triple. Antinozzi then scored on an errant throw to make it 4-2 Pickens. After a double by Harlan Will, Trey Payne was able to bring him home with an RBI single. Tilley, then reached first after drawing a walk. Brooks, looked to keep the bottom of the third going, but would fly out to center to send us to the top of the fourth with the Dragons ahead, 5-2.
In the top of the fourth, the Bobcats clawed their way back into the game as Noah Gutillo drew a 1-out walk, Carter Jones followed that up with a 1-out single. Trey Payne, who came on in relief of Nunn, got a strikeout for the 2nd out of the frame. Branson Teague, got Gilmer within a run after a 2 RBI double to make it 5-4. Austin Zabala followed that up with a walk to put runners on 1st and 3rd as Teague was running on the 3-2 count. With McCollum up, Tyler Payne was able to throw out Zabala who couldn’t get back to first in time. Going to the bottom of the fourth, Pickens led Gilmer, 5-4. In the bottom of the fourth, Connor Shouse was able to draw a 1-out walk. After Ledbetter popped up to the second baseman, Antinozzi continued his big night with his third extra base hit of the game as he brought in Shouse with an RBI double to make it 6-4. Will followed that up with an RBI single to bring in Antinozzi to make it 7-4 Dragons going to the fifth.
In the top of the fifth, McCollum led off with a single. After Cochran popped out to third baseman Evan Giddens, Darling reached on a fielders choice. Tate Hales, who came on in relief of Trey Payne, got Billy Goswick to ground out to Giddens to end the top half of the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, the Dragons looked to add to their three run lead. Trey Payne got things going with a lead off single. Tilley followed that by drawing another walk. Brooks, brought in Trey Payne with an RBI single to make it 8-4. After Giddens drew a walk to load the bases, Shouse was hit by a pitch to bring in Tilley to make it 9-4 Pickens going to the sixth.
In the top of the sixth, Hales continued a good outing as he got the Bobcats in order with three fly outs to send us to the bottom of the inning. In the bottom half of the sixth, Tyler and Trey Payne drew back to back 1-out walks. Tilley, was then able to drive in a run with an RBI double to make it 10-4 Dragons. Gilmer was able to get out of a jam as Pickens left the bases loaded as we’d head to the top of the seventh with the Dragons leading the Bobcats, 10-4.
Shouse took the mound for the Dragons in the top of the seventh to try to shut this one down. Teague, was hit by a pitch, then Zabala followed it up with a single. Cochran, brought home Teague on a 1-out single to make it 10-5 Pickens. After a lengthy discussion by the umpires with themselves and both head coaches for Pickens and Gilmer, it was determined that Cochran would be called out. Reason being, the Dragons were able to pull off a hidden ball trick. Shouse, was able to collect himself after a bit of a delay, and strikeout Darling for the final out. The final from Jasper, Pickens 10 Gilmer 5.
Stats For Gilmer:
Branson Teague: 1-3 with a double, 1 hit by pitch, 2 RBI and 1 run scored
Austin Zabala: 1-3 with a walk and a single
Ethan McCollum: 2-3 with 2 singles, 1 walk, and 1 run scored
Greg Cochran: 1 single, 1 walk, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored
Seth Darling: 1-4 with 1 double and 2 RBI
Noah Gutillo: 1 walk and 1 run scored
Carter Jones: 1-3 with 1 single and 1 run scored
Stats For Pickens:
Connor Shouse: 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored
Trace Ledbetter: 1-4 with a single and 1 run scored
Anthony Antinozzi: 3-4 with 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored
Harlan Will: 2-4 with 1 double, 1 single, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored
Tyler Payne: 1 walk
Trey Payne: 2-3 with 2 singles, 1 walk, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored
James Tilley: 1-1 with 1 double, 2 walks, 1 hit by pitch, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored
Colby Brooks: 1-3 with 1 single, 1 walk, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored
Evan Giddens: 2 walks
The Dragons, now move to 3-0 on the season. They will now head down to Baseball at the Beach for a Saturday double header as they take on both North Springs and Long County. Baseball at the Beach is played at Edo Miller Park in Brunswick Georgia. The first game of the day for the Dragons will be against North Springs at 10 am. After playing that one and getting some lunch, the Dragons will then play Long County at 4 pm.
Dragons stay hot to open the season, defeat Bobcats
PHS Baseball, Team FYN Sports February 25, 2021
Pickens, County Ga — The Pickens Dragons baseball team (4-0) have started the 2021 season off on an exciting note. They opened the season with an 8-7 comeback win at Dawson on February 17th. The Dragons again defeated the Tigers at home, 10-7 on February 18th. On Tuesday, February 23rd, the Dragons traveled to Lumpkin and defeated the Indians, 16-7. On Thursday, February 25th, Pickens welcomed their rival, the Gilmer Bobcats (1-3), to Dunn Field for a non-region contest. This game, was originally scheduled for Friday, but was moved up due to impending weather. The Dragons kept their hot start to the season going with a 13-3 win over the Bobcats in 5 innings.
In the top of the first inning, the Bobcats were unable to take advantage of two Dragon errors as Dragons starter Seth Densmore forced a ground out to send us to the bottom of the inning. In the bottom of the first, Connor Shouse led off with a walk, Anthony Antinozzi reached on an error, Hunter White drove in Shouse with a single, Densmore drove in Antinozzi and White with a double, Drake Sutton walked, Jarod Whitmore drove in courtesy runner Parker Rhodes and Sutton with a 2 RBI ground rule double, and Trace Ledbetter drove in Whitmore. Going to the 2nd, the Dragons led the Bobcats, 6-0.
In the top of the 2nd inning, Brock Titus led off with a double for the Bobcats. With 1 out and the bases loaded, Densmore got out of the jam by striking out the batter for the second out, and picking off the runner at 2nd to send us to the bottom of the frame. In the bottom of the 2nd, Antinozzi led off with a walk, White followed with a double, Densmore drove in Antinozzi on a ground out, and Sutton drove in White with another grounder. Going to the 3rd, Pickens led Gilmer, 8-0.
In the top of the 3rd, Jess Buckner led off with a single, Spencer Merritt drove in Buckner with a single, Titus then drove in Merritt with a single. A 3rd run came across to score after Seth Darling was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The Bobcats were looking for more, but a Kobe Stonecipher line drive was caught by James Tilley to send us to the bottom of the 3rd with the Dragons ahead, 8-3. In the bottom of the 3rd, after a 1-out single by Tilley, Shouse reached on a fielders choice, Antiozzi walked, then White walked to bring in Tilley. Densmore, drove in Shouse and Antinozzi with a double, and Sutton brought in White after a grounder to make it 12-3 Dragons going to the 4th.
JP Nunn came on in relief of Densmore in the top of the 4th for the Dragons and pitched well. Nunn collected a strikeout, and got the Bobcats to fly out to Rhodes on consecutive at bats to send us to the bottom of the inning. Pickens, looked to add to their lead in the bottom of the 4th, but left two runners stranded as we would head to the top of the 5th, still 12-3 Dragons.
Nunn needed just three pitches to get out of the top of the 5th as he induced a line out to Tilley, a grounder to Tilley, and a fly out to left field on consecutive pitches to send us to the bottom of the 5th. Rhodes got things started with a 1-out single, Nunn followed that with a single, Harlan Will got hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Whitmore drove in Rhodes to give the Dragons the 13-3 win over the Bobcats in 5 innings.
Dragons Stats:
Connor Shouse: 1 walk, 2 runs scored
Anthony Antinozzi: 2 walks, 3 runs scored
Hunter White: 2-2 with a single, a double, a walk, 1 RBI, & 2 runs scored
Parker Rhodes: 1-1 with a single & 2 runs scored
Seth Densmore: 2-2 with 2 doubles, & 3 RBI & 3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 K, 1 walk
JP Nunn: 1-1 with a single & 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 walks, 1 K
Drake Sutton: 1 walk, 2 RBI, & 1 run scored
Jarod Whitmore: 2-4 with a double, a single, 3 RBI, & 1 run scored
Trace Ledbetter: 1-2 with a single, a walk, & 1 RBI
Trey Payne: 1 single
James Tilley: 1-2 with a single, a walk, & 1 run scored
The Dragons, will be back on the diamond on Saturday as they host the Murray County Indians and the Wheeler Wildcats. The baseball filled day starts off with Dragons taking on Murray County at 10 am. Murray will then turn around and play the Lumpkin County Indians at 12:30. Lumpkin, will then play Wheeler at 3. The final game will see the Dragons take on the Wildcats at 5:30.