The Long County Blue Tide baseball team is back in the second round of the state playoffs for the second year in a row. They traveled over to Hinesville to take on future region foe Liberty County and swept the Panthers 19-2 and 11-5.
Game one was all Long County as they jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the first inning and never really looked back from there. Seniors Brennan Lee and Dwayne Rowe reached on an error and a walk before sophomore Shannon Filkins bunted to load the bases with no outs.
Senior Joseph Cammack singled to give the Tide a 1-0 lead before freshman Kenny Pickens and senior Seth Struble went down at the plate.
Sophomore Landon Runyon was hit by a pitch to score a second run before senior Blake Holland cracked a single to score two. Senior Cole Moss walked before Lee singled to score two more runs to make the score 6-0.
In the bottom of the inning, Holland sat down a batter with a strikeout. Rowe made a great snag for the third out with a diving catch in centerfield.
Filkins led off the second with a hard hit single and advanced to third and scored on an error to make the score 7-0.
The Panthers were able to get on the board after a hit and an error at third but could not cut more into the Tide’s lead. In the top of the third, the Tide added to their lead with another six-run inning.
Moss and Lee walked before Cammack ripped a single to shallow right to score them both. Pickens walked and Struble smacked a double to the left field wall to score his teammates.
Runyon doubled to score Struble and eventually scored himself on passed ball to make the score 13-1.
In the top of the fourth, Moss led off with a walk before Lee singled to move him around. Filkins was hit by a pitch to load the bases as Cammack singled for his fourth RBI of the game.
Lee scored on a steal to make the score 15-1.
The Tide just continued to roll in the fifth as they added four more runs. They scored on an error, a Rowe RBI single and a Cammack two-RBI double as the they moved on to the 19-2 win.
Cammack was 4-5 with six RBIs. Lee had two RBIs as did Struble and Holland. Runyon, Moss, Rowe all had RBIs in the win.
Game two was not as dominant for the Tide, but they still came out with the 11-5 win. They jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second as they played the home team in game two.
Jacob Struble returned from his two-game suspension and took the mound, recording five strikeouts in the first six batters.
Edwards was hit by a pitch while Cammack singled. Filkins scored Edwards on a sacrifice fly before Steven Wyatt, pinch running for Cammack, scored on a passed ball.
Seth Struble walked before Holland tripled to score another run for the Tide. He was able to steal home to make the score 4-0.
The Panthers took advantage of three hits in the third to make the score 4-2, but the Tide did not let that faze them as they came to the plate in the bottom of the inning.
Jacob Struble singled before Edwards went down to put two outs on the board. Cammack singled to bring Struble home and was able to score himself on a passed ball to make the score 6-2.
Struble struck out two more in the top of the fourth as the score remained 6-2. He allowed one run in the fifth on two hits and a walk, but kept from too much damage happening as the Tide were still up 6-3 as Struble ended his day on the bump with nine strikeouts.
Rowe walked and stole second and third before Struble brought him home as he reached on an error. Edwards was hit by a pitch again as Filkins came up to bat with one out.
He cracked a double to score Edwards and Struble to make the score 9-3 going into the sixth. Runyon took the mound and struck out three straight batters, but not before having to change his glove due to it being the wrong color as GHSA rules state that a glove can be white, but not a very light blue like his was.
Blue or tan glove, he got three straight strikeouts as the Tide came back to the plate.
Rowe and Struble walked before Edwards popped up to score the tenth run. Cammack walked and FIlkins got his fourth RBI with a pop up of his own as the Tide led 11-3 going into the final inning.
The Panthers were able to add two on the board after a three-hit inning, but a great play by Moss at second base to turn the double play and Runyon’s fourth strikeout secured the 11-5 win.
The Tide are now at 20 wins on the year and their playoff lives stay intact. They will travel to Norcross next week to face off against Region 5-AAA champion Greater Atlanta Christian on Wednesday, May 4.
The game will be a doubleheader with the “if game” on Thursday, May 5.