NHS tops PHS behind Monserratt

mbrown@sunmulti.com

With a string of 12 outs recorded consecutively, Jason

Gifford pitched the Northside High baseball Eagles to a 13-1 seven-inning

runaway from the Perry High Panthers Wednesday at the Panther Pit.

From the leadoff spot in the order, shortstop Jesus

Monserratt went 4-for-4 with four runs scored, four stolen bases and one RBI

(coming on his fifth plate appearance).

As the Eagles were coming off a tough Region 2-AAAAA loss at

Houston County High the frigid evening before, Gifford gave coach Chris

Harrelson six full innings of mound work for the non-region start. Perry’s one

run against Gifford plated in the bottom of the first on two of the three

Panther hits for the entire contest. Gifford fanned seven batters and walked

only one, that also taking place in the first frame.

Perry and head coach Shawn Masters also had a rough Tuesday

playing a Region 2-AAAA road game, falling by one run to West Laurens High.

Myles Sowell pitched in that game in Dexter, but only faced one batter in

relief of Seth Moss. So Masters gave Sowell the baseball for the start against

Northside.

In Sowell’s four innings of work, the Eagles scored five

runs. He only gave up four hits and issued one walk (to Monserratt as the

game’s first batter) while striking out five.

Each team sent six batters to the plate in the first inning,

and it ended with Northside leading 2-1. Both Gifford and Sowell would then fan

the side in their respective second-inning turns.

As Monserratt was on second base in the top of the first,

his fellow middle infielder Derek Byrne bunted down the third-base line for a

single. Ethan Broome drove Monserratt home on a fielder’s choice grounder.

Broome, Harrelson’s big first baseman, stole second with

designated hitter Tyler Mize at the plate. As Mize singled up the middle,

Broome scored his team’s second run.

For Perry’s run, catcher J.W. Gentry grounded a single to

left with one out. Freshman Drew Martens, with two down, hit a ball to left

trapped by Trey Payne.

Deonte Solomon worked a full-count walk out of Gifford to

keep the first going for Moss. On the first pitch, though, Moss lined out to

Tyler Flood in center.

Monserratt lined a single to right leading off the third.

That was one pitch after the Panther infield lost a foul pop in play in the

setting sun. Byrne’s next bunt was a sacrifice after Monserratt stole second,

and Broome had his second RBI without a hit (6-3 grounder).

The Eagles used two errors to score in the fourth inning.

Panther shortstop Jake Farrell made a nice fielder’s choice out, but had to

shake off the contact at the bag. Griffen Nauss then sent Farrell a tough

grounder and reached base on the second miscue.

With two outs, Flood singled to center upping the lead to

5-1. Gentry ended the inning throwing out Flood trying to steal second, Farrell

making the tag.

Monserratt scored on a wild pitch in the fifth (6-1). Flood

registered a third RBI in the sixth when both Mize and Bryan Dyson singled.

Byrne also drove in two with a single (10-1).

Flood would finish with four RBI and Byrne with three as

Northside scored three in the seventh.

Gifford’s string of 12 straight outs ended with a Parker

Stahlman infield hit with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. Cory Leverette

pitched the home seventh and struck out two.

PERRY FALLS AT WL

The Panthers had an 8-3 lead on the West Laurens Raiders

Tuesday after batting in the top of the fourth inning. In the sixth inning,

West Laurens scored four times to win 9-8.

Solomon had Perry’s big hit with a three-run triple. J.W.

Gentry also drove in two of Perry’s runs. The Panthers dropped to 1-3 in

2-AAAA.

BEARS BLAST EAGLES

Nine doubles in a month would be good for any high school

baseball team. Houston County High had nine two-bag hits in one game Tuesday.

The Bears improved to 11-1 overall with the 12-4 sub-region win in 2-AAAAA

against city rival Northside High.

Jordan McIlwain, throwing 92 pitches, was the winning hurler

with three strikeouts in six complete frames. The Eagles only had three hits,

and one of those was a solo home run from Alex Vanderstock.

Houston led the game 5-0 after two complete, but Northside

made it interesting cutting the margin down to one, 5-4, through four. The

Bears answered with seven unanswered.

Dalton Carriker and Hunt Smith each had two of the nine

doubles. Justin Jones doubled, hit two singles and drove in one run. Smith had

two RBI, as did Hunter Phillips, who doubled and singled.

Other doubles came off the bats of Blake Jackson (RBI), Josh

Profit (RBI) and Conner Smith. David Umphreyville singled twice with one RBI.

HC ALSO BEATS JONES

Due to the unpredictability of the weather forecast on March

22, Houston County High moved its scheduled home baseball game with Jones

County High to Monday, March 25 (It was incorrectly stated in the March 27

edition that the game was rescheduled for April 11. That is an originally

scheduled date between the two schools as all teams in the 2-AAAAA sub-region

are playing each other three times this season).

Just like with Tuesday’s matchup with Northside, Houston

pitching only gave up three hits to the Greyhounds. In terms of runs, the game

went back and forth a couple of times with the Bears holding on to win 8-5. It

was 3-0 Houston after two innings, but Jones surged on top 5-3 in the top of

the fifth.

Umphreyville matched all of the Greyhound hit total with

three. Profit doubled twice with one RBI. Carriker and Jones each doubled, and

Carriker, Hunt Smith, Andy Moore and Jackson each batted home one run.

DEMONS BLANK HOUNDS

Caden Johnston threw a one-hit shutout Tuesday for Warner

Robins High’s baseball club at home in a 2-AAAAA sub-region contest with Jones

County. Throwing 105 pitches, Johnston struck out four and walked two. The 2-0

final was the Demons’ first win in the sub-region.

A.J. Priaulx had three hits with one RBI.

The next day, Warner Robins went to Peach County High and

beat the Trojans for the second time this season. Both games, home and away,

were by a 5-2 final score.

The Demons scored in each of the first four innings

Wednesday. Trey Maddox, who earned a save on the mound for Landon Hopf, doubled

at the plate. Jarrod Crum and Josh King each had two hits, and Brannon Green

batted in two.

Hoph, in six innings, fanned five Trojans.

VETERANS 10, MP 2

R.J. Skeen and Keaton Allen combined for six strikeouts over

seven innings, and the Veterans High Warhawks ran their baseball winning streak

to seven in a row Tuesday at Mary Persons High. Veterans also left Forsyth

unbeaten in Region 2-AAAA.

The home Bulldogs gave the Warhawks seven errors. Veterans

also had seven hits to five for Mary Persons. Four of David Coffey’s hits were

for extra bases, doubles by Zane Conlon, Tyler Daughtry, Zach Johnson and David

Shipplett.

WESTFIELD, SOUTHLAND COMBINE FOR 31

No, Landon Beamon didn’t take the field to kick a

game-winning field goal for the Westfield Hornets against the Southland Raiders

on Monday. Rob Fitzpatrick’s baseball team went to Americus on a windy Monday

and extended a winning streak to seven straight. The final was 17-14 in the

Hornets’ favor though the Raiders outhit Westfield 12 to 10.

Southland had five errors.

The Hornets led 5-0 after two innings and 5-4 after three.

The visitors never trailed as they increased the margin to six in the fourth

only to see Southland pull back within one, 11-10, in the fifth. The teams

combined for nine runs in the seventh inning alone.

Dustin Hall, Gehrig Broxton and Garrett Brown each drove in

two runs. Brown homered while Hall and Broxton both doubled. Evan Williams also

doubled in a run while Reid Hudson had two hits.

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