Veterans falls against Lee County in doubleheader

KATHLEEN, Ga. — The Veterans Warhawks (8-7, 2-6 Region 1-6A) faced a devastating double loss to the Lee County Trojans (10-7, 4-4 Region) this past Thursday during a doubleheader.

The dawn of the first game began with a 0-0 finish by the end of the first inning.

So, the Trojans took this opportunity to come back fighting.

During the second inning, the Warhawks failed to stop the Trojans from advancing on the diamond. From first base, one opponent managed to steal third and this led to their first run of the game.

Immediately, a timeout was called by the Warhawks.

Sadly, the Warhawks still struggled to finish out the rest of the inning, even when it was their turn at-bat. The score settled at 3-0 with the Trojans in the lead.

In any case, this fueled the Warhawks’ spirit as, once again, the third inning served as a buffer to both teams. Neither the Warhawks nor the Trojans could break past the others’ defense.

The fourth inning served as another leg-up for the Trojans, gaining a total of two runs by the end of the inning.

Once more, the score settled at a wounding 5-0 for the Trojans. It remained here until the end of the first game.

Lee County 7, Veterans 5

As the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader came to a close, the Lee County Trojans (11-7, 5-4 Region 1-6A) finished with a 7-5 lead over the Veterans Warhawks (8-8, 2-7 Region), marking their second victory of the night.

From the beginning of the game, things were not looking good for the Warhawks. With last game’s defeat on their shoulders, the pressure was on.

According to Veterans coach Jeff Sans, it wasn’t so much physical endurance as it was mental.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily physical endurance. For us it’s more mental and staying focused, and just doing the things we need to do. And we’re getting a little better at that,” Sans said.

Still, the second game proved to be a difficult obstacle for the Warhawks. Two different errors during the Trojans turn at-bat in the first inning threw them into a two-run lead over the Warhawks.

Tensions set across the field, and pressure demanded a performance from the Warhawks.

And for the first time during the doubleheader, the Warhawks gained their first run, and a lead, over the Trojans.

The first sign of hope began when freshman left fielder Kason Flowers struck the ball and made it to first base.

Next at-bat was freshman third baseman Jackson Eaton. From here, the Trojans made a detrimental error, allowing Flowers to steal third base.

The Trojans’ pitcher mistakenly hit Eaton while attempting to strike him out, and he walked.

The Trojans continued to struggle the rest of the way through the inning as another error led to Flowers making it home.

This signified the first gain for the Warhawks and a turn of the tide on the field. Feelings of optimism grew across the field with the Warhawks’ bases loaded and ready to go.

Junior shortstop Brandon Mercer scores a double, allowing Eaton and senior designated hitter Jacob Beach to cross home plate.

Mercer marked the Warhawks’ final push of the inning as he took the opportunity to run home during another error.

With this, the Warhawks took the lead 4-2 over the Trojans.

Unfortunately, the fifth inning marked the beginning of the Warhawks’ demise.

The Trojans managed to gain three runs, and took a lead over the Warhawks once more.

Two different timeouts were called during the Trojans turn at-bat. During these timeouts, Sans recalled:

“I think I was just trying to calm them down. There were a lot of calls that didn’t go our way, plays that didn’t go our way. So, any time that happens you want to get their focus back on what we’re doing and let me deal with all the other things,” he said.

A one-run lead took the Trojans all the way to the final inning of the game.

With two outs on the board, the Trojans still pushed ahead to finalize their turn with two more runs and a 7-4 lead.

However, the Warhawks didn’t go down without a fight as they gained one last run in the final minutes of the evening.

The score resolved at a 7-5 lead for the Trojans.

UP NEXT

The Warhawks have two more region series to go, this weeks is against Northside. They’ll start the week at home on Tuesday, before traveling to the Eagle’s Nest on Friday, Mar. 29 for a doubleheader starting at 4:30 p.m.

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