The Long County Blue Tide baseball team fell just short of clinching the number two seed in the state playoffs and will now be in a familiar spot when the playoffs start this week.
On Friday, April 22, the shorthanded Tide fell to the Appling County Pirates by a score of 11-1 in six innings. The Tide came into the game without starting pitcher Jacob Struble, who was ejected in Thursday’s game two, which the Tide lost 3-0.
After a controversial play where he dove over the Pirate catcher, Struble was ruled as intentionally trying to injure the catcher and thus ejected from the game. An ejection results in a two-game suspension, meaning he would miss Friday’s game and the first game of this Friday’s firstround playoff doubleheader.
In place of Struble, freshman Kenny Pickens took the mound. He had a full count before freshman Pirate Dayson Griffis sent a ball out at the centerfield wall for a rare Fulcher Field solo home run.
Pickens did not let the leadoff homer rattle him, though, as he and his defense rattled off three straight outs to get to the bottom of the inning.
Senior Brennan Lee singled to open the bottom half of the inning while Dwayne Rowe walked. Sophomore Shannon Filkins advanced them both on a sacrifice bunt as Daniel Edwards was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Joseph Cammack scored Lee on a sacrifice RBI before Pickens grounded out into a double play to end the inning with the score tied at one.
A Pirate reached on an error in the top of the second, but the Tide kept them off the board. Pickens closed out the half inning with a pickoff at third.
After Cammack’s sacrifice RBI, the Pirates would retire the next nine Tide batters all the way back to Pickens in the fourth.
The Pirates added a run in the top of the third after two straight hits at the plate. Griffis nearly went yard again as his second hit of the game fell just short of the centerfield wall to make the score 2-1.
Lee took the mound in the top of the fourth and Pickens went behind the plate. The youngster made another good play, getting the second out at second on a pickoff before Lee finished the Pirates off with a strikeout.
Pickens got a single to break up the Tide’s hitless streak, but they could not take advantage of his hit. The Tide trailed 2-1 going into the fifth as the game was paused for a 34-minute sun delay.
As the shadows fell on The Ray, the Pirates came up to bat in the sixth. Lee walked his first two batters and was replaced by sophomore Landon Runyon.
Runyon got back-toback strikeouts, but not before an error at third made the score 3-1. Then, the Pirates seemed to wake up after the long delay as they went four straight batters with hits and increased their lead to 6-1.
The Tide came up to bat in the bottom of the inning and both seniors Blake Holland and Cole Moss singled, but the former was thrown out at second on a force out.
The Tide did not get another hit, but the Pirates added to their lead in the sixth as Edwards took the mound.
Four straight hits, a hit batter and a fifth hit gave the Pirates an 11-1 lead as they got the run rule win in six innings.
With the loss, the Tide finish the regular season 18-7 and 7-5 in the region. They will still be in the playoffs, but once again miss hosting a playoff game.
The Tide will face off against the Liberty County Panthers in the first round of the state playoffs this Friday, April 29. The first two games will be played Friday, with the third “if ” game on Saturday, April 30.
