Bulldogs Take Two From JD
The Toombs County High School Bulldogs baseball team took on the Jeff Davis Yellow Jackets last week for a three-game Region series and came away with two wins. Both the Jackets and the Bulldogs came into the series as top 10 ranked teams in the state.
Game 1
The first game of the series was in Lyons on Tuesday of last week, and it took a comeback for the Bulldogs to get the win. JD took the early lead with two runs in the top of the first inning on a 2 RBI single. They added a run in the third inning to take a 3-0 lead.
TCHS finally got on the board in the bottom of the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Trayvone Harris that brought in Chandler Lynn to make it 3-1. Toombs put one more on the continued from page
board in the fourth inning. Jason Dukes had reached base on an error. He was moved around the bases and then scored on a ball hit by Kodie Cortez to close the lead to 3-2.
In the top of the fifth inning a solo home run by JD gave them a 4-2 lead, but the Bulldogs came up in the bottom half of the frame and got to work. Chase Musselman picked up a hit, and then Gray Stephens knocked him in with a double. Harris hit one deep to right, and the ball fell in, scoring Stephens to tie the game at 4-4. Dukes came through with an RBI single to put Toombs on top 5-4.
In the sixth inning the Jackets got a run across on a passed ball to tie the game at 5-5. Toombs was held in the bottom of the sixth, but then held JD in the top of the seventh to have a shot to win the game in regulation. And the Bulldogs did just that. Harris picked up a base hit, and then Alex Gordy reached on an error that moved Harris into scoring position. Harris came in to score the winning run on a ball that Dukes hit past the short stop. TCHS won the game 6-5 over the Jackets.
Game 2
The second game of the series was on Wednesday in Hazlehurst. It was a big first inning for Jeff Davis that gave them the win on Wednesday. They scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning to take the early lead. JD added a run in the second as they led 4-0 early in this game.
In the top of the third inning the Bulldogs got something going as Bryson Stanley had a hit and was followed with a bunt for a hit by Cortez. Lynn then reached on an error, which scored Stanley to make it 4-1. Musselman hit an RBI single to close it to 4-2.
In the sixth inning the Bulldogs added another run to make it 4-3 on a bases loaded sacrifice fly by Jesus Quintero. JD answered in the bottom of the inning with a run on an RBI single, making the score 5-3.
The Jackets held Toombs in the top of the seventh inning to pick up the 5-3 win.
Game 3
The third and final game of the series was on Thursday back in Lyons, and it was another win for the Bulldogs. Neither team scored over the first two innings, but in the top of the third JD got on the board with an RBI single to take the 1-0 lead. Toombs answered in the bottom half of the frame. Lynn got things going with a triple and then was driven in by Stephens to tie the game at 1-1. Jeff Davis went back on top in the fourth inning as they plated two runs to take a 3-1 lead over Toombs. Toombs tied the game back up in the fifth inning as Musselman, Stephens got on base. Harris reached on an error and on that play Musselman came in to score. Later in the inning Stephens scored on a double play ball to tie the game at 3-3. In the sixth the Bulldogs took the lead for good as they put four runs on the board. Brantley Upshaw, who was also the winning pitcher, was hit by a pitch, and then Cortez walked to put two runners on base. Lynn reached on another JD error and on the play Upshaw came in to score for a 4-3 lead. Musselman followed with a 2 RBI double, and then Stephens added an BI single as Toombs took a 7-3 lead.
JD did put one more run on the board in the top of the seventh inning, but Toombs closed out the game for the win, 7-4.
Toombs is now 10-5 on the year, and they are 2-1 in Region play. This week they take on crosscounty rival Vidalia High School. They played their first game of the series on Monday after presstime and will be back in action on Wednesday in Vidalia at 5:45 p.m. and will wrap it up on Thursday back in Lyons at 5:45 p.m.
