Dragons pick up series win against Indians
PHS Baseball, Team FYN Sports April 15, 2023
Dahlonega, Ga — The weather was touch and go, but the Pickens Dragons and the Lumpkin County Indians got the series finale in on Friday, April 14th. After the Indians took game 1 on Tuesday, the Dragons came back on Thursday to even up the series and to capture the 7-AAA region championship. In a game dominated by pitching, the Dragons got another great start from Freshman A.J. Rice as they won game 3, 2-1.
In the top of the first, Trey Payne, reached on a full count walk with 2-outs. Indians starter Alejandro Narvaez, got a fly out and 2 ground outs to send it to the bottom of the frame. In the bottom of the inning, Narvaez led off with a double. After a strikeout by Dragons starter A.J. Rice, Narvaez advanced to 3rd on a fly out to left. Narvaez, would be left stranded at 3rd as Rice picked up his 2nd K to send it to the second with the game still scoreless.
In the top of the second, Dawson Holland led off with a single. Holland, would advance all the way to 3rd as Kam Jenkins laid down a bunt and Narvaez overthrew 1st and allowed Jenkins to advance to 2nd. James Tilley, kept the line moving as he drove in Holland with an RBI single to make it 1-0. Senior Young Harris commit Evan Giddens, brought in courtesy runner Tee Knight with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 Dragons.
Colby Brooks, reached on a fielder’s choice as Tilley would be out at 2nd for the second out. Junior Ga Tech commit Connor Shouse, kept the inning alive with a double. Narvaez, would get out of the inning with just the 2 runs as they’d go to the bottom of the 2nd with the Dragons leading, 2-0. In the bottom of the second, the Indians loaded the bases with no one out after a lead off reach on error, a walk, and a hit by pitch.
The first out of the inning came when Rice got Dakota Bennett to ground into a fielder’s choice and Hayden Gilbert was thrown out at home. Rice, with the bases still loaded, picked up his 3rd and 4th strikeout to end the bottom of the 2nd and keep the Indians scoreless. Going to the top of the third, the Dragons led, 2-0.
In the top of the third, Tyler Payne, reached on a 1-out single. Holland, reached with a walk on 4 straight pitches. Jenkins, loaded the bases with a 1-out single. Narvaez, got Tilley to fly out to shallow right field for the 2nd out. A ground out to short ended the top of the third and the Dragons threat. In the bottom of the third, Adian Rogers, reached on a 2-out bunt single. He would be thrown out by Jenkins trying to steal 2nd to end the third.
Going to the fourth, the Dragons still maintained a 2-0 lead over the Indians.
In the top of the fourth, the Dragons got a 2-out single by Trace Ledbetter, but he would be left stranded as Narvaez got a line out to center for the final out of the top half of the fourth. In the bottom half of the fourth, Gilbert led off with a double. The Indians, would cut the Dragons lead in half as Mason Hester drove in Gilbert with an RBI double to make it 2-1.
Much like he’s done all season, Rice kept his cool and got back to back strikeouts to strand Hester and keep the Dragons ahead going to the fifth, 2-1.
In the top of the fifth, Narvaez picked up his first strikeout of the game and his first 1-2-3 inning of the game to send it to the bottom of the fifth. In the bottom of the inning, Narvaez, led off with a single. The Dragons, then turned a double play as Cooper Scott lined it to Giddens at 3rd and Giddens would toss it over to Ledbetter at 1st to get Narvaez. Rice, then got a fly out to right for the 3rd out to send it to the sixth with Pickens leading Lumpkin, 2-1.
In the top of the sixth, Narvaez, going over 100 pitches on the night, picked up his second straight 1-2-3 inning with his 2nd strikeout, a ground out, and a line out. In the bottom of the sixth, Rice, struck out the side for the 2nd time in the game to give him 10 on the night. Going to the seventh, the Dragons led it, 2-1.
In the top of the seventh, Scott, came on in relief of Narvaez and picked up where he left off as Scott got a pop up, a fly out, and a ground out to send it to the bottom of the seventh. In the bottom of the seventh, Junior Jacksonville State commit JP Nunn, came on in relief of Rice to try to pick up the save. Nunn, got a quick welcome to the game as Hester lined one right at him. Nunn, was able to catch the line drive for the first out.
Nunn, would go on to have a clean inning as he picked up a strikeout, and then a fly out to center as the birthday boy picked up the save and the Dragons got the win, 2-1.
Stats for the Dragons:
Connor Shouse: 1-4 with a double
Trace Ledbetter: 1-4 with a single
Trey Payne: 1 walk
Tyler Payne: 1-2 with a single
Dawson Holland: 1-2 with a single, a walk, and 1 run scored
Kam Jenkins: 1-3 with a single
Tee Knight: 1 run scored
James Tilley: 1-3 with a single and 1 RBI
Evan Giddens: 1 sacrifice fly
A.J. Rice: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 10 K on 91 pitches
JP Nunn: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K on 8 pitches
The Dragons, finish up region play having won every series and with a record of 16-2. Overall their record is 24-4 on the season. Pickens, will finish up the regular season with a pair of non-region games. First up, a date with the Shiloh Generals on the road on Wednesday, April 19th. First pitch is set for 5:30 pm.
Dragons capture first Region Championship
PHS Baseball, Team FYN Sports April 14, 2023
Jasper, Ga — While the weather outside at times looked uncertain, it held off enough so that the Pickens Dragons and the Lumpkin County Indians could get in game 2 of their 3-game 7-AAA series on Thursday, April 13th. Coming into the game, the Indians were up 1-0 in the series after winning 4-0 in Dahlonega on Tuesday. The Dragons, needing just one more win to secure a region championship, got it after James Tilley threw a complete game no hitter in a 2-0 victory.
In the top of the first, the Indians got their lead off man on as Harper Davenport reached on an error. Davenport, would be thrown out at 2nd as Narvaez reached on a fielder’s chioce. Dragons starter James Tilley, picked up his first K of the night for the second out. Catcher Kam Jenkins, would then throw out Narvaez trying to steal 2nd to send it to the bottom of the first inning.
In the bottom of the first, Junior Ga Tech commit Connor Shouse, led off by reaching on a first pitch single to left field. Shouse would then advance to 2nd after a balk was called. After a pop up for the first out, the Indians picked up a double play to get out of the first inning as they got another pop up to 2nd and threw out Shouse who over-slid 3rd base trying to tag from 2nd. Going to the second, it was tied at 0.
In the top of the second, Tilley, sat the Indians down in order with his 2nd strikeout, and two ground outs. In the bottom of the second, Dawson Holland reached after drawing a full count walk. Jenkins followed with a single to left center to put runners at 1st and 2nd. A.J. Rice, who was looking to bunt the runners over, reached after there was miscommunication between the Indians defense and there was no one covering 1st.
Young Harris commit Evan Giddens, brought in Holland and the Dragons took a 1-0 lead. Colby Brooks, kept the inning going as he reached on a fielder’s choice. Indians starter Adian Rogers, got a fly out to center to get out of the bases loaded jam and keep the deficit to just 1-0 going to the top of the third.
In the top of the third, Tilley, got the first two outs of the frame with his 3rd strikeout and a grounder to 1st. After Tyler Boggs drew a 2-out walk, Davenport would line the next pitch to center where Brooks made a diving catch for the third out of the top half of the inning. In the bottom of the third, Trace Ledbetter, led off by getting hit with a pitch. The Indians, got another double play with a line out to Rogers and pitch runner Sam Dart was throw out at 1st.
Rogers, would then get designated hitter Tyler Payne to ground out to short to end the third and send it to the fourth with the Dragons leading, 1-0.
In the top of the fourth, Cooper Scott, would reach after a dropped third strike. Peyton Wood, would reach on a fielder’s choice as he beat out the throw to 1st. Tilley, picked up his 5th strikeout of the game to send it to the bottom of the fourth. Rogers, got his first 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fourth as he picked up a ground out, a fly out, and his first strikeout to send it to the fifth with the Dragons still leading, 1-0.
In the top of the fifth, Tilley kept rolling with a 1-2-3 frame as he picked up two fly outs and his 6th strikeout. In the bottom of the fifth, Rogers, who was pitching just as well as Tilley, got three straight fly outs to send it to the sixth with Pickens still ahead of Lumpkin, 1-0.
In the top of the sixth, Tilley, picked up strikeout number 7 and 8 in-between a ground out to short to send it to the bottom of the inning. In the bottom of the sixth, Ledbetter led off with a double. Trey Payne, moved Ledbetter over to 3rd with a sacrifice bunt. Brewton Parker College commit, Harlan Will, came on to hit for Tyler Payne and did his job as he brought in Ledbetter with the sacrifice fly RBI to make it 2-0 Dragons going to the seventh.
In the top of the seventh, Tilley, finished off his masterpiece with a fly out to right, a ground out to 2nd, and his 9th strikeout to give the Dragons the 2-0 win and to secure their first region championship.
Stats for the Dragons:
Connor Shouse: 1-3 with a single
Trace Ledbetter: 1-2 with a hit by pitch, a double, and 1 run scored
Trey Payne: 1 sacrifice bunt
Harlan Will: 1 sacrifice fly and 1 RBI
Dawson Holland: 1 walk and 1 run scored
Kam Jenkins: 1-2 with a single
A.J. Rice: 1-2 with a single
Evan Giddens: 1 RBI
James Tilley: 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K on 101 pitches
7-AAA Standings:
Pickens: 23-4 (15-2) Region Champions
Wesleyan: 14-7 (11-3)
Lumpkin: 19-6 (10-4)
Dawson: 13-13 (8-7)
White County: 11-14 (6-9)
West Hall: 6-18 (2-12)
Gilmer: 6-19 (0-15)
The Dragons, will be back in Dahlonega on Friday, April 14th as they will finish off the 3-game series with the Lumpkin County Indians. First pitch is set for 5:55 pm weather permitting.
Dragons defeat Lumpkin after wild game
PHS Baseball, Team FYN Sports March 2, 2022
Jasper, Ga — After a tough weekend down in Brunswick which saw the Dragons fall to North Springs 7-1 and Long County 7-4 for their first two losses of the season, they came back to Jasper on Tuesday, March 1st looking to get back on track. The Lumpkin County Indians, came into the game with a 4-2 record with early wins over Riverwood and Lamar County. As well as a sweep of Johnson-Gainesville. After a big fourth inning, the Dragons come away with a 7-5 win over the Indians.
James Tilley started on the mound for the Dragons and he pitched fairly well during his time on the mound. In the top of the first, Tilley collected his first two strikeouts as the Indians were held scoreless to start the game. In the bottom of the first, Connor Shouse lead things off with a double for Pickens. after a fly out and a strikeout, Harlan Will came through and brought Shouse home with an RBI double to make it 1-0 Dragons going to the second.
In the top of the second, Lumpkin was able to tie things up at 1 a piece after drawing a couple of walks, and taking advantage of some miscues by Pickens. In the bottom of the frame, the Dragons were looking to work some two out magic as Colby Brooks drew a walk to keep the half inning alive. Evan Giddens hit a pop fly into no man’s land in the outfield, but was called out at 2nd base trying to stretch it into a double. Going to the third, the game remained tied at 1.
In the top of the third, the Indians again took advantage of some mistakes by the Pickens defense to plate a run and take a 2-1 lead heading to the bottom of the inning. After a lead off single by Shouse, he would be left stranded at third base as we’d head to the top of the fourth with Lumpkin leading, 2-1.
JP Nunn came on in relief of Tilley in the top of the fourth and he was able to keep the Indians offense at bay and keep it at 2-1. Tilley, now the 2nd baseman, led off the bottom of the fourth by getting hit with a pitch. Trey Payne then came up and advanced the runner to 2nd with a single. Nunn then came up, and laid down a picture perfect bunt to advance the runners to 2nd and 3rd with only one out. Brooks, drew his 2nd walk of the game to load the bases up with Dragons. Giddens, drew a walk as well to bring in Tilley. Shouse, drew the third straight walk to bring in Payne to make it 3-2 Pickens. Here’s where it gets weird. Trace Ledbetter hits one to left field, Brooks scores, Giddens scores, a throw over at 2nd to try to get Ledbetter, Shouse comes home from third after the throw to 2nd. During that, Ledbetter takes 3rd base, or so we think. Ledbetter would be called out at 3rd due to catcher interference. All total, three runs scored on that play to make it 6-2 Pickens going to the fifth.
In the top of the fifth, the Indians didn’t let what happened in the bottom of the fourth deter them as they came back and scored a run to cut the Dragons lead down to 6-3. In the bottom of the frame, after Trey Payne drew a 2-out walk, he was able to come around and score to make it 7-3 Dragons going to the sixth.
In the top of the sixth, Nunn finished off his three innings of work by holding the Indians scoreless and keeping the score at 7-3 in favor of the Dragons going to the bottom of the sixth. In the bottom of the inning, the Dragons would go down quietly as Lumpkin forced two pop fly outs and got a strikeout to send us to the seventh, with Pickens up 7-3.
Trace Ledbetter took over for Nunn in the top of the 7th looking to close this one out. The Indians, were not going down without a fight as they scored two runs to make it 7-5. With 2 outs, Ledbetter was able to get the final one to preserve the 7-5 lead and the win for the Dragons.
Stats for the Dragons:
Connor Shouse: 2-3 with a double, a single, 1 walk, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored
Harlan Will: 1-3 with 1 double, and 1 RBI
James Tilley: 1 hit by pitch, and 1 run scored
Trey Payne: 1-2 with 1 single, 1 walk, and 2 runs scored
Colby Brooks: 2 walks, and 1 run scored
Evan Giddens: 1-1 with 1 single, 1 walk, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored
The Dragons, will be back on the field on Wednesday, March 2nd as they head up 515 to Ellijay to take on the Gilmer Bobcats in the finale of their home and home series. First pitch is set for 5:30 pm.
Dragons shutout Indians to move to 4-0
PHS Baseball, Sports, Team FYN Sports February 26, 2020
In a game that was pushed back to Wednesday due to weather, the Pickens Dragons welcomed the Lumpkin County Indians to PHS for some baseball action. In a game that only featured six combined hits between the two teams, it was the pitching performance by the Dragons that helped lead to a 6-0 victory.
Nothing was doing for either team in the first inning as both teams went down in order to start the game. In the top of the second, Lumpkin got a two-out hit, but the runner was left stranded. In the bottom half of the inning, back to back walks would come into score for the Dragons as they took a 2-0 lead going to the third.
Senior Colby James collected his second and third strikeouts in the top of the third to keep the Indians offense at bay. Pickens, had a potential threat going in the bottom of the third after first baseman Chad Pacas was hit by a pitch and catcher Austin Chester drew a walk with two outs. Lumpkin was able to get out of it to send us to the fourth with the Dragons still on top, 2-0.
In the top of the fourth, the Indians were looking to cut into the Dragons lead after Nick Turner got hit by a pitch and was able to swipe second base. After going to his first full count of the game, James ended the threat with his fourth strikeout of the game. James then led off the bottom of the fourth with a single, the first hit of the game for Pickens. The Dragons added to their lead when Alex Snelgrove drove in Colby Brooks to make it 3-0 going to the fifth.
In the top of the fifth, Lumpkin again was looking to cut into the Dragons lead after a walk and a single with two outs. James was able to get the ground out he needed to end the scoring chance and send us to the bottom of the frame. In the bottom of the fifth, Seth Densmore added to the lead for Pickens as he was able to bring in Tyler Vreeland. Going to the sixth, the Dragons led the Indians 4-0.
In the sixth, Snelgrove came on in relief of James and he would strikeout two of the three batters he faced as he sat them down in order to send us to the bottom of the inning. After a lead off single and a steal of second by Parker Rhodes, Snelgrove would drive him in with his second RBI of the game to make it 5-0. Snelgrove would also come into score as Hunter White would drive him in to make it 6-0 Dragons going to the seventh.
Drake Sutton came in for the Dragons in the top of the seventh to try and close this one out. A two-out walk is all Sutton would surrender as Pickens held on to defeat Lumpkin, 6-0.
Stats:
Brady Moore: two walks drawn
Hunter White: one RBI
Tyler Vreeland: one run scored
Chad Pacas: one walk, one hit-by-pitch, and one run scored
Austin Chester: three walks drawn
Seth Densmore: one RBI
Colby James: 1-3 with a single and five innings pitched, four K’s, one walk, one HBP, zero earned runs on 69 pitches
Drake Sutton: one walk drawn and one inning pitched with one walk, zero hits or runs on 22 pitches
Parker Rhodes: 1-1 with a single, one stolen base, and one run scored
Alex Snelgrove: 2-3 with two singles and 2 RBI and one inning pitched with two K’s, zero hits, runs, or walks on 12 pitches
Colby Brooks: one run scored
Jarod Whitmore: one run scored
Dragons shutout Indians to move to 4-0
Sports, Team FYN Sports February 21, 2020
In a game that was pushed back to Wednesday due to weather, the Pickens Dragons welcomed the Lumpkin County Indians to PHS for some baseball action. In a game that only featured six combined hits between the two teams, it was the pitching performance by the Dragons that helped lead to a 6-0 victory.
Nothing was doing for either team in the first inning as both teams went down in order to start the game. In the top of the second, Lumpkin got a two-out hit, but the runner was left stranded. In the bottom half of the inning, back to back walks would come into score for the Dragons as they took a 2-0 lead going to the third.
Starter Colby James on the mound
Senior Colby James collected his second and third strikeouts in the top of the third to keep the Indians offense at bay. Pickens, had a potential threat going in the bottom of the third after first baseman Chad Pacas was hit by a pitch and catcher Austin Chester drew a walk with two outs. Lumpkin was able to get out of it to send us to the fourth with the Dragons still on top, 2-0.
In the top of the fourth, the Indians were looking to cut into the Dragons lead after Nick Turner got hit by a pitch and was able to swipe second base. After going to his first full count of the game, James ended the threat with his fourth strikeout of the game. James then led off the bottom of the fourth with a single, the first hit of the game for Pickens. The Dragons added to their lead when Alex Snelgrove drove in Colby Brooks to make it 3-0 going to the fifth.
Dragons at the plate
In the top of the fifth, Lumpkin again was looking to cut into the Dragons lead after a walk and a single with two outs. James was able to get the ground out he needed to end the scoring chance and send us to the bottom of the frame. In the bottom of the fifth, Seth Densmore added to the lead for Pickens as he was able to bring in Tyler Vreeland. Going to the sixth, the Dragons led the Indians 4-0.
In the sixth, Snelgrove came on in relief of James and he would strikeout two of the three batters he faced as he sat them down in order to send us to the bottom of the inning. After a lead off single and a steal of second by Parker Rhodes, Snelgrove would drive him in with his second RBI of the game to make it 5-0. Snelgrove would also come into score as Hunter White would drive him in to make it 6-0 Dragons going to the seventh.
Dragons looking to get out of a jam
Drake Sutton came in for the Dragons in the top of the seventh to try and close this one out. A two-out walk is all Sutton would surrender as Pickens held on to defeat Lumpkin, 6-0.
Stats:
Brady Moore: two walks drawn
Hunter White: one RBI
Tyler Vreeland: one run scored
Chad Pacas: one walk, one hit-by-pitch, and one run scored
Austin Chester: three walks drawn
Seth Densmore: one RBI
Colby James: 1-3 with a single and five innings pitched, four K’s, one walk, one HBP, zero earned runs on 69 pitches
Drake Sutton: one walk drawn and one inning pitched with one walk, zero hits or runs on 22 pitches
Parker Rhodes: 1-1 with a single, one stolen base, and one run scored
Alex Snelgrove: 2-3 with two singles and 2 RBI and one inning pitched with two K’s, zero hits, runs, or walks on 12 pitches
Colby Brooks: one run scored
Jarod Whitmore: one run scored