Veterans baseball sweeps Northside in doubleheader

KATHLEEN — On Friday the Veterans Warhawks (11-8, 5-7 Region 1-6A) swept the Northside Eagles (1-16, 0-11 Region), both games ending with the mercy rule 11-1 and 12-2.

Northside scored a run in the first inning, but from there it was all Warhawks.

With the bases loaded, Senior infielder Gavin Pike delivered a two-out single to score freshman outfielder Kason Flowers and freshman infielder Jackson Eaton and make it 3-1 Veterans.

Freshman Bradley Lenz hit a leadoff double in the third, and junior infielder Bryce Dryden hit a RBI single to bring him home.

Senior outfielder Jacob Beach walked in a bases-loaded run to make it 5-1 Warhawks.

Northside escaped a bases-loaded situation with two outs, catching a fly out to end the inning and hold Veterans scoreless.

The fifth inning, unbeknownst to both clubs, was the final one.

Eaton landed the first blow with a RBI double, and six consecutive players made it onto the diamond before senior outfielder JJ Howe sealed the Eagles’ fate with a three-run homer to make it 11-1 Warhawks.

As it moved to the bottom of the inning, senior Jake Maxwell struck out all three of the batters he faced.

Veterans 12, Northside 2

The Warhawks had to overcome a deficit to take down the Eagles in game two.

Veterans left the first inning with a 1-0 lead, but two hit-by-pitches puts two Eagles on base in the bottom.

Both runners come across home plate, and for the first time Northside had an advantage, 2-1.

“Well, I didn’t like being down 2-1, especially the way we were hitting early. We were underneath everything and hitting fly balls and really not doing a good job at the plate. But, in the fourth or fifth they kinda turned the tide a little bit and started doing some good things at the plate,” Veterans coach Jeff Sans said.

From here, the game lay stagnant with the Eagles in the lead until the fourth inning.

The Warhawks started to get their feet under them in the fourth inning, with a strong double from junior outfielder Joshua Chavous starting the comeback.

With two outs Beach brought Chavous home with a double, and the pattern repeated with Pike, who hit the Warhawks’ third double of the inning to score Beach.

With that, Veterans took and kept their 3-2 lead through the bottom of the inning.

Something clicked for the Warhawks, and the fifth inning was the last as they scored nine runs.

Veterans had the bases loaded three times, and with the Eagles unable to make a dent in the bottom, the game ended with a 12-2 Warhawks victory.

With a strong series behind them, and juggernaut Tift County on the horizon, Sans reflected on the season so far:

“It’s been up and down. We’ve had some good games and definitely some games we wished we could take back. We’ve lost a few games by one or two runs where a hit here and there would’ve turned the ride. So we’ve got to get over that hump,”

UP NEXT

With spring break here, the Warhawks don’t have a game until Friday, April 5 and Saturday, April 6, both on the road. Friday they’ll head up to Macon to take on the Academy for Classical Education at 6:30 p.m. and on Saturday they’ll hit the road to take on Jones County at 1 p.m.