By: Drew Harris
3-26-15
(Danielsville) The White County Warrior baseball team has been on the short end of six games decided by two runs or less already this season. On Wednesday in rainy Danielsville, the Warriors got one to go their way. White County used a big 2nd and 4th inning to grab a lead over the Red Raiders, then held on for the 11-10 victory.
The Red Raiders jumped out quickly in the 1st inning scoring four runs. Warrior starting pitcher John Henry Mullis, coming off his fantastic outing vs North Hall, had some early command issues in the rainy weather as he walked three and threw a few wild pitches allowing the four runs to score. But he settled down nicely in the next three innings, minimizing damage after several Warrior errors. The White County bats came to life in the 2nd. The first three batters, Joel Pritchett, Parker Applewhite, and Ethan Ramey, all reached to load the bases with nobody out. Chris Jackson then walked to drive in their first run. Jason Ward followed with an RBI single to right. After another bases loaded walk to Trey Allen, Tray Gearin grounded out to drive in the tying run. The final two runs of the inning came across on wild pitches to give the Warriors a 6-4 lead.
After Madison County added another run in the bottom 2nd, the Warriors got it back on a Trey Allen sacrifice bunt to make the score 7-5. The Red Raiders then tied things up next inning after a few more Warrior errors. The tie didn’t last long as the Warriors jumped back out by putting up three more runs in the 4th inning. Pritchett hit a sac fly to drive in Tray Gearin. That was followed by a 2-run single by Ramey to make it 10-7.
The Red Raiders added another run in the bottom of the 4th, but again, the Warriors got it back in the next inning. This time, Stetson Gearin ripped an RBI single to score Nick Moore to make it 11-8. Chris Jackson came on to pitch the 5th and 6th innings for the Warriors only allowing two hits and two runs. Joel Pritchett pitched a scoreless 7th inning to pick up the save.
Pritchett, Ramey, and Ward had two hits each, and Sean Kennedy, Stetson Gearin, and Jackson all had one hit a piece. Allen and Ramey led the way with 2 RBI each. The Gearin brothers, Pritchett, Jackson, and Ward all had one RBI.
The win gives White County a 4-10 overall record, and 2-4 record in region 8-AAAA play. Their next contest is Friday night in Watkinsville against the North Oconee Titans. Our next broadcast is Monday afternoon at 5:55 pm in Cleveland as they take on North Oconee in game two of the series.
