The HoCo Bears made the trip to South Georgia to take on the Tift Co Blue Devils in a critical region doubleheader that resulted in a Bears sweep yesterday evening and night. HoCo jumped on the Blue Devils quickly in game one by plating three runs that came in via an Andrew Dunford rbi single and a Hunter Chiappetta two rbi single in the top half of the first inning.
Tift Co would respond in the bottom half of the first by plating two runs that came in via a Brady Moretz rbi single and a Mac Brooks rbi single. The Blue Devils tied the game at three in the bottom half of the second when John Dorman hit a sac ground out that ran in Tyler VanSumeran.
The next four innings would go scoreless as the Bears had several fly outs and pop outs while Tift Co got runners on base but stranded them as HoCo’s defense stayed stout. The Bears retook the lead in the top half of the seventh when Kai Decker hit a rbi single that ran in Drew Burress to give HoCo the 4-3 lead. Ryker Chavis brought in the fifth Bear run by grounding into fielder’s choice that ran in Christian Wahiwe.
HoCo added to it’s lead when Ethan Buffone hit an rbi single that ran in Hudson Sherman. The Bears prevented the Blue Devils from scoring any runs in the bottom half of the seventh which gave HoCo the 6-3 win in game one to take the series.
Bears SP Andrew Dunford surrendered three runs (one earned) on six hits, walked two, and struck out four in a complete game on the mound while Tift Co SP John Davis gave up three runs (all earned) on six hits, walked four, and struck out four in six innings of work.
Hunter Chiappetta led HoCo in rbis with two followed by Andrew Dunford, Kai Decker, Ryker Chavis, and Ethan Buffone with one each. John Dorman, Brady Moretz, and Mac Brooks each had one rbi for the Blue Devils. The Bears had 10 hits and committed two errors while Tift Co had six hits and committed no errors.
Game two started out with HoCo failing to plate a run in the top half of the first after Kendall Jackson was out at home plate and later…. Andrew Dunford being picked off at first base resulted in two outs and Hunter Chiappetta struck out looking to end the frame.
The Bears scored the night game’s first run via a balk by Blue Devils SP Ryan Whitley and added a second run on an Eli Stephens rbi single that ran in Vick Gann in the top half of the second. HoCo turned a double play to get out of a jam in the bottom half of the second after the bases were loaded with one out on the board.
The Bears extended it’s lead to 3-0 in the top half of the third via an Ethan Buffone rbi single that ran in Andrew Dunford and Kai Decker tried to bring in the fourth run but was out at home plate. Tift Co closed the gap down to one in the bottom half of the third when Brady Moretz hit a two rbi double to right field that brought in Tyler VanSumeran and John Davis.
HoCo brought the lead back to two in the top half of the fourth via an error & added a fifth run when Hunter Chiappetta hit an rbi single that ran in Kendall Jackson. The Bear’s sixth run came in via a wild pitch and HoCo added a seventh run in the top half of the fifth when Andrew Dunford hit an rbi double that ran in Kendall Jackson to push the lead to five heading into the bottom half of the fifth.
Tift Co tried to make a late inning comeback in the bottom half of the seventh in which they plated two runs via a John Davis two rbi double that ran in Luke Ellerbee and Tyler VanSumeran to cut the gap down to three with one out on the board. The Blue Devils were unable to get any closer as the Bears got the last two outs to take game two 7-4 and sweep the season series over Tift Co.
HoCo SP Carson Small surrendered two runs (both earned) on four hits, walked two, and struck out five in six innings of work while the Blue Devils pitchers combined to allow seven runs (two earned) on six hits, walking 11, and striking out six.
Eli Stephens, Andrew Dunford, Hunter Chiappetta, and Ethan Buffone each had an rbi for the Bears while Brady Moretz and John Davis each had two rbis for Tift Co. HoCo had six hits and committed one error while the Blue Devils also had six hits but committed four errors.
The Bears have improved to 22-4 overall; 12-0 in region play and are one win away from taking their fourth consecutive region title while Tift Co fell to 20-5 overall; 8-4 in region play. HoCo will travel to Leesburg next Tuesday to play Lee Co at 6pm while the Blue Devils will host Veterans next Tuesday at 5:30pm.
The Perry Panthers were shutout on the road by West Laurens on Wednesday 10-0 in five innings to fall to 18-6 overall; 9-3 in region play while the Raiders improved to 18-3 overall; 11-0 in region play. The Panthers will travel to Spalding Co to take on the Griffin Bears next Wednesday at 5:30pm while West Laurens will travel to Macon to take on Westside in a doubleheader on Monday April 10th.
