Earlier this afternoon, the HoCo Bears baseball team traveled to Fayette Co earlier today to play the Whitewater Wildcats and it was also the first time the Bears have played there since they won their first state title over Whitewater back in 2014 almost ten years ago. This game would feature both teams getting on runs but the visitors got the last laugh by winning 11-4.
HoCo got the scoring started quickly in the top of the first when Vick Gann scored on an error to make it 1-0 and then Eli Stephens hit a sac fly to drive in Kendall Jackson to make the score 2-0 Bears. The Black, Silver, and White doubled it’s lead in the first of the third when Troy Carpenter hit a 2-rbi single that drove in Isaiah Galason and Vick Gann to make the score 4-0 HoCo.
The bottom of the fourth is where Whitewater got the bats going and they cut the lead in half to 4-2 after a single turned into two runs scored via a Bears error and later in the frame, the Wildcats cut the gap to one on a wild pitch and would tie the game at four via a sac groundout and the game would stay tied at four after six innings of play.
HoCo would retake the lead in the top half of the seventh when Eli Stephens was walked on a full count that would carousel the bases and make the score 5-4 Bears and the visitors would just be getting started in this frame. Troy Carpenter would come in and record his second 2-rbi double of the day and this one would drive in Vick Gann and Kendall Jackson and Carpenter advanced to second on the throw to make the score 7-4.
Ty Waters came in to bat and he would hit a three-run jack to right to drive in himself, Christian Wahiwe, and Troy Carpenter to make the score 10-4 to blow the game open and later, Christian Wahiwe would hit an rbi single to run in Will Allen and make the score 11-4 HoCo going into the last of the seventh where the Bears shut down the Wildcats to secure the 11-4 victory.
Troy Carpenter led the Black, Silver, and White with 4 rbis followed by Ty Waters with three, Eli Stephens with two, and Christian Wahiwe with one. Nicholas Ruotolo had Whitewater’s lone rbi of the contest. HoCo’s SP Will Allen surrendered four runs (three earned) on three hits, walking two, and striking out three in four innings of work.
Landon Tankersley and Tucker Hale relieved Allen and they combined to allow no runs on one hit, walking none, and striking out five. The Wildcats’ pitchers combined to allow 11 runs (10 earned) on 11 hits, walking two, and striking out 10. In honor of HoCo’s 2014 state championship win, the Bears wore the very caps and jerseys they wore to win Game 3 8-7 over Whitewater back in 2014. Whitewater had four hits and three errors while HoCo had 11 hits and 1 error.
The Bears improve to 2-1 on the season and will get ready to welcome in North Paulding, Flowery Branch and Mary Persons for a mini round robin tournament next Friday and Saturday and they will start by hosting the North Paulding Wolfpack (a team that made it to the Final Four last season in the AAAAAAA Playoffs and would lose to the eventual state champ Lowndes Vikings) on Friday Night.
Whitewater will host Locust Grove next Monday, a team they beat 14-3 last Thursday in Henry County.
