Jackets are region champs
Jeff Davis High’s baseball team wrapped up the 2023 Region 1-AA baseball championship last week by winning two of three games against Worth County.
The Jackets edged the Rams 2-0 Tuesday in Hazlehurst, fell 8-0 to Worth in the first game of a double header Wednesday, then took a 7-2 victory in Wednesday’s nightcap.
In the series opener, the Jackets got both their runs in the first inning, then Duke Stone kept the lead safe as he threw a 4-hit shutout.
Hayden Turner opened the bottom of the first with a walk and Treyton Webster sacrificed him to second. Alex Mason and Carter Mullis then got back-to-back singles with Turner scoring on Mullis’ hit. Then Stone got the third single of the inning as Mason scored.
Stone struck out the side in the second and got help in the third after giving up a single as catcher Dylan Carelock threw out a Ram trying to steal second.
In the fourth, Worth got a 1-out triple to threaten to get on the scoreboard but Stone fanned the next two batters to end the inning.
With the Jackets leading 2-0 entering the final inning, the Rams got runners at 1st and 3rd with two outs and Stone ended the game with a strikeout.
Mason led the JD offense with a single and a double, Stone and Mullis both had run-scoring singles and Ethan Picanso, Eli Saunders and Cason Clance each singled.
Stone went the distance on the mound, did not give up a free pass and fanned 16.
Wednesday’s second game may have been the worst performance by the Jackets this season, and the 8-0 loss snapped JD’s 13-game win streak.
The Yellow Jackets got two runners on base in the third, fourth, fifth and seventh innings but couldn’t get anyone to score.
Turner led the offense with a pair of singles and Picanso, Mullis, Stone and Saunders each had singles.
Andrew White started on the mound and took the loss. He gave up three runs on six hits, walked one and struck out two. Jonathan Bohannon pitched one inning, giving up five runs on three hits, three walks and no strikeouts. Colby Beach threw the final two innings, blanking Worth on one hit, a walk and a strikeout.
Mason took the mound for Wednesday’s final game in the series and blanked Worth through six innings. An error put a Ram runner on in the seventh and, with two outs, a 2-run homer spoiled Mason’s shutout. But both runs were unearned.
After a scoreless first, JD put two runs on the board in the second as Mullis singled and
Ethan Griffin walked to start the inning. Webster then reached on an error to load the bases with one out. Jackson Sayer drew a walk to make it 1-0 and Cason Clance grounded out to second to score Griffin.
Mason got out of a jam in the bottom of the second by picking off a runner at second with two on base.
A Picanso walk, a Mason double and an error made it 3-0. After a pair of strikeouts, Webster hit a short fly ball to left which the left fielder muffed allowing two more runs to score to up the tally to 5-0.
In the fourth, Saunders led off the inning with a walk, went to second on Picanso’s sacrifice bunt and took third on Mason’s second double of the game. Mullis then lofted a sac fly to center to score Saunders. Pinch runner Kamo Munsayac scored as Griffin reached on an error to make it 7-0.
The Jacket defense executed double plays in both the fourth and fifth innings, the first with shortstop Saunders fielding a grounder, throwing to Picanso at second and to Stone at first. The second twin killing came with Picanso-to-Saunders-to-Stone.
Mason had a pair of doubles, Mullis had a single and two RBI, Sayer and Clance both had a single and an RBI, and Griffin singled.
Mason yielded two unearned runs on five hits, two walks, two hit batters and six strikeouts.
Score by innings:
WCHS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -0
JDHS 2 0 0 0 0 0 x -2
JDHS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -0
WCHS 2 0 1 5 0 0 x -8
JDHS 0 2 3 2 0 0 0 -7
WCHS 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 -2
