Game 3 domination of Loganville sends HCHS Bears back to top of 5A

The strength of pitching depth served Houston County High baseball well for the third time in the 2016 Georgia High School Association Class 5A playoffs. Controversy over a fair or foul home run notwithstanding, senior left-hander Tanner Hall pitched his second straight one-hit shutout in a Game 3 setting – this one only lasting five innings – Tuesday to clinch Houston County’s second state title on the diamond in three years. Jake Fromm hit that home run that led to the ejection of two coaches, but it was only a mere fraction of the scoring domination by the Bears over the Loganville High Red Devils. The final on the Bear Den scoreboard read 12-0.

Houston County and Loganville split two games Monday forcing the third and deciding contest. While the Red Devils, a No. 3 seed from Region 8-AAAAA, only had one other playoff series this season go three games (the semifinals at South Effingham), Jason Brett and the Bears were playing a Game 3 for the third time. That included the 2-0 shutout Hall threw last week at Gainesville.

The only Loganville hit off Hall was by University of Georgia signee Timothy Elliott in the third inning. But the Bears already had a 6-0 lead. Hall walked three and struck out six.

Coming off a day where they left around 20 runners on base in the doubleheader, the Red Devils staged threats in the first and second innings Tuesday without using any base hits. Hall walked the leadoff batter of the game, catcher Morgan Copeland, and courtesy runner Marcellus Campbell was on second from a wild pitch.

It was a day where MLB’s video challenge rule would have been useful, for there was a strange play involving Jonathan Lee’s grounder to shortstop. Fromm, at first base, was not on the base when he caught Tucker Garland’s throw. But he tagged Lee on his way back to the bag, and Lee was called out for missing the base himself.

Campbell was on third base when Elliott popped out in foul territory, but he did not tag up as Dillon Strickland, the second baseman, made the tumbling catch. With Bryce Fowler grounding out, Loganville lost its chance for an early lead.

The Bears batted as the visiting team and faced Ryan English. He pitched a perfect first inning, but walked Hall to lead off the second. Tyler Flewellyn stole second running the bases, and with two outs Tony Locey’s ground single down the left-field line put Houston up 1-0.

Carson McCullers of Loganville led off the home second bunting and reaching on a throwing error. Rhett Mixon hit the next ball in play to Garland, and he tried for the out at third base. Umpires ruled safe (again drawing some argument), and with runners on the corners the Devils kept trying to bunt. Gabe Knight struck out and Hall caught Robert Marchman looking with both runners in scoring position.

Cody Mixon walked on four pitches, but Copeland popped out to leave the bases full.

Things fell completely apart for Loganville as the Bears scored five in the third and five more in the fourth. English walked designated hitter Austin Langford to start the third, and leadoff man Blake Dawson bunted. Langford scored from a badly thrown baseball.

Fromm, with one out, drilled the ball towards the yellow pole in left field. It took a few minutes for the umpires both at third base and home plate to signal home run, and the fury of Loganville coaches held the game up even longer.

Baseball resumed at 4-0 Bears, and English walked Hall ahead of Austin Hittinger’s double to right. Strickland scored one run from a sacrifice fly and Locey singled for his second RBI and 6-0.

Langford led off the fourth, and he would have two hits in this turn. Dawson’s bunt was thrown away a second time, and Loganville changed pitchers to Drew Franklin. He walked D.L. Hall, Fromm (7-0) and Tanner Hall (8-0), Hittinger earned a second RBI from a sacrifice fly and Langford’s infield hit plated one.

Hittinger made it three RBI on the day with a two-out fifth inning base hit.

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