Veterans turns the tide against Bleckley County with 8-4 win

KATHLEEN, Ga. — The Veterans Warhawks (6-1) varsity baseball team made a comeback against the Bleckley County Royals (2-3) in the last innings of the game on Monday to win 8-4.

In the beginning, things were not looking up for the Warhawks.

By the end of the first inning, the Royals were up 1-0.

During the second inning, freshman pitcher Bradley Lenz stopped the Royals from gaining any more runs, allowing his teammates to rise up when they were at-bat.

“He’s better than most freshmen, he’s throwing hard and he’s got good stuff. He’s going to probably get some big region starts for us too,” head coach Jeff Sans said.

When the Warhawks were at-bat in the bottom of the second, they took the chance to seize their first runs of the game.

Senior center fielder JJ Howe kicked off the beginning of the Warhawks’ turn, sending the ball flying and landing a triple.

From there, junior third baseman Brooks Masters hit as well, making it to first base and giving Howe the chance to make it home.

Unfortunately, the Warhawks’ streak ended there and the game is left tied at 1-1.

Suddenly, the Royals begin a series of strong pushes against the Warhawks, leaving them in the dust during the following innings.

The Warhawks failed to make another dent in the scoreboard and by the time they were at-bat during the fifth inning, the Royals were up 4-1.

From here, the Warhawks began to make their comeback. The energy was up both on the field and in the dugout as the Warhawks prepared for their eventual comeback.

“I just think we had a loss on Friday and they were ready to kind of avenge themselves for that,” Sans said.

A domino effect began as freshman Jackson Eaton, left fielder Kason Flowers, and designated hitter Jacob Beach made it onto the diamond.

With the bases loaded, junior right fielder Joshua Chavous walked to ensure Eaton crossed home plate.

When senior second baseman Gavin Pike stepped up to bat, he landed a single and drove in Flowers.

Despite making some progress, by the end of the inning the Royals were still up 4-3.

Senior Jake Maxwell stood at the mound at the dawn of the sixth inning, stopping the Royals in their tracks.

Now that the Warhawks were back at-bat again, they were ready to go.

Junior first baseman Bryce Dryden walked to first base. Then, Chavous hits a single. When senior Alex Washington hits, Dryden takes this chance to gain the first run for the Warhawks this inning.

Eventually, the Warhawks had their bases loaded once again. Chavous, back at-bat again, took this opportunity to hit a double and both Howe and freshman left fielder Kason Flowers cross home plate.

Then, Pike goes for the triple allowing Beach and Chavous to slide through home plate once more.

As the Warhawks began to go for riskier plays, it was clear the comeback would end in a victory,

“Yeah, we’re just trying to be real aggressive on the bases and putting defense on their heels as much as we can,” Sans said.

This inning sealed the Warhawks’ fate and they walked away with a 8-4 lead over the Royals.

When the turnaround began Sans noted: “I just think it’s fun to watch the kids. They don’t give up, they just keep fighting. And I know sometimes it’s not gonna turn around for us like that, but as long as we fight and play like winners… you can kind of hang your hat on that and be happy about it.”

UP NEXT

The Warhawks will start region play next week against Thomas County Central. They play in Thomasville on Tuesday in a one-off before returning home to finish the series with a doubleheader on Friday starting at 5 p.m.

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