Veterans loses to Tift County after late game push

KATHLEEN — On Tuesday the Veterans Warhawks (12-10, 5-8 Region 1-6A) varsity baseball team met a 17-2 demise against the Tift County Blue Devils (20-4, 11-2 Region).

The first player the Blue Devils put on base made his way to third, but junior pitcher Brandon Mercer struck out two to end the side with no damage done.

The Blue Devils came back in the second inning with a hard push against the Warhawks’ defense, leaving Veterans at a disadvantage after gaining three runs.

With the Warhawks at-bat junior catcher Brooks Masters hit a single, the first one to make it onto the diamond for Veterans.

After Masters stole second base, junior left fielder Joshua Chavous hit the ball into the outfield and made it to first base.

Masters took this chance to sprint home, earning the first run for the Warhawks.

The Warhawks failed to make any more advances and the second inning left the Blue Devils in the lead 3-1.

Tift County started the fourth with a leadoff walk, but the Warhawks turned a double play on the next at-bat.

The Warhawks faced the same fate, with their first two players being caught out as well.

With two outs, senior center fielder JJ Howe landed a double. Junior first baseman Bryce Dryden followed with a double to score Howe and make it a 3-2 game.

Even so, the fifth inning marked the beginning of a major loss for the Warhawks.

Even though the Blue Devils are one of the top teams in the state, Veterans coach Jeff Sans thought the Warhawks were on the cusp of victory.

“I thought we could beat them. I think we’ve played with Houston County pretty good and they’re pretty solid, and we’ve played with everybody in the region pretty good. It was 3-2 for three to four innings so we could play with them,” he said.

After the Blue Devils managed to gain two runs right off the bat, tensions rose for the Warhawks.

Seemingly each player managed to hit the ball and gave way for another to make it home. By the end of their turn at-bat, the Blue Devils scored a jarring eight runs.

Left in shock from this defeat, the Warhawks walked away from their turn at-bat without gaining any runs.

The end of the fifth inning left the Blue Devils with an alarming lead of 11-2.

The next inning marked the same fate.

While junior Tyler Knight managed to strike out the first player, the Blue Devils took the chance to push harder against the Warhawks.

Once again with their bases loaded, the end of the game seemed just in sight.

By the end of the Blue Devils’ turn at-bat, they were ahead 17-2. With a 15-run lead, the Warhawks had to gain some runs or else the game would be over.

Unfortunately, the Warhawks were not able to secure any more runs and the game ended early with the Blue Devils still in the lead with 17-2.

Reflecting on this loss, Sans stated:

“It wasn’t just the fifth inning, it was the entire game. We got players that don’t know how to win. They don’t know how to get in front of the balls and take one off the chest, they don’t know how to dive. They just want to make the easy little plays and get back to the dugout. And they got to learn how to win.”

UP NEXT

After the series against Tift County finishes up, the Warhawks have two more games to end the regular season.

Wednesday, April 17 they play at home against Peach County at 6:00 p.m. and on Thursday, April 18 they will hop over to Perry for the regular season finale at 6:30 p.m.