After big comeback victory, WRALL ousted by Northern

Warner Robins American Little League baseball met up with Northern Little League one more time in the Georgia championship tournament at Holland Park in Athens. Northern, out of Columbus, put WRALL in the loser’s bracket by a hair’s margin, but in the rematch Wednesday it made for an emphatic exit 13-2 with two five-run innings.

Warner Robins American staged a huge comeback on Tuesday to beat host Athens Little League 8-7 and stay alive, but Northern – put in the loser’s bracket by Peachtree City American – defeated Hart County in a much easier elimination contest 20-8. A contrast in results meant a pitching edge for the Columbus squad, but WRALL manager Scot Ethridge was able to use one of his flamethrowers – Justin Thigpen – as the starting hurler Wednesday.

Thigpen struck out seven batters working into the top of the third inning. Northern scored one time on two hits in the first frame and added a second point in the next turn. But Northern, after going up 2-0, had the bases loaded with no outs.

It was a situation WRALL found itself in during a key spot in Tuesday’s game and got out of it only giving up one run. One night later, Thigpen worked out of this trouble keeping the score 2-0.

The Warner Robins bats, however, had just one hit from Gage Harrelson over the first two innings.

In the third, Northern put its first five-spot on the board on four hits, one of them a two-out bases-loaded triple.

Harrelson, the relief pitcher for WRALL, went on to allow just one more run over the fourth and fifth on one hit. The only scoring for his team, however, was in the fourth inning. Jackson Nipper doubled and scored on Mason Morris’ home run.

Going into the sixth, Northern led 8-2, but then padded the advantage with five more. WRALL pitching issued five walks and gave up a grand slam.

• Warner Robins American and Athens staged perhaps the game of the state up to Wednesday, one where WRALL had to battle from four runs down but did so using the strategy of wearing down a quality pitcher to the point where he had to leave early after his total reached 85.

Each team hit a baseball over the fence in the first inning, but only the one from Warner Robins produced any scoring. Athens batted first, and Harrelson, the centerfielder, robbed one batter of a long ball.

As described by Ethridge, “It was a line shot, not a pop-up, and it was out. Gage leapt up to catch it beyond the fence.”

Blake Ethridge didn’t get robbed of a two-run shot. WRALL’s lead went away in a hurry when Athens scored six runs on four hits – two home runs – against two pitchers.

Morris allowed a homer on the first pitch he threw, but recorded a shutout for the rest of his mound time. He scattered three hits and got a double play started by Coleman Willis at second base in the fourth.

On offense, Warner Robins scored two times in the third, both with two outs showing. Athens was able to retire Ethridge after two walks for that second out, but then Nipper singled and Morris doubled to make it 6-4.

In the top of the fifth, Athens loaded the bases while facing Ethridge in relief. There were no outs, and though one touched home on a walk, Ethridge fanned two to get out of the inning with his team down 7-4.

Athens had to make its pitching change due to the pitch count with one out in the bottom half. In very few pitches, the game turned into a 7-7 tie as Ethridge singled and both Nipper and Morris homered.

To win the game, Carter Fink led off with a double. Christian Davis ran the bases for him and Jeremy White drove him home.

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