Playing in front of hometown fans, the Blue Tide were hoping to get back on the winning track Thursday against Metter in a big 2-AA Region showdown.
Long County never quit, but two loose innings gave the Tigers an easy, 11-3 win.
Zach Duncan got the start for Long County but only lasted one and one third innings. Tiger batters put up three hits and six runs, including three earned. Duncan also struck out a batter and walked one.
Cody Fleck relived Duncan and went four innings. He gave up four hits and five runs, including four earned. Fleck also walked three batters and struck out one.
Cole Ray finished the game, going one and one third innings, striking out two batters and walking two.
Blue Tide hits came from Clay Strickland, who went 2 for 4, Phillip Swindell, who was 1 for 2, Tristan Goodro and Duncan, who were both 1 for 3, and Fleck, who was 1 for 4.
Blue Tide Head Coach Tyler Rogers said his team can play better.
“We didn’t play the best game defensively. Two big innings for Metter due to our lack of defense… They did a good job of putting us in tight spots and we didn’t make the plays that needed to be made.” Rogers said.
“Metter is a solid team that does not make many mistakes,” Rogers said. “They were the better team.”
With the loss, the Blue Tide fell to 6-7 overall and 3-4 in the region. Metter improved to 9-2 overall and 6-1 in the region.
On Friday, Long County was back at home again, taking on Bryan County in another important region game. Results for that game will be in Wednesday’s Courier. Tuesday, the Blue Tide takes on Atkinson County in Pearson. The Rebels are 8-5 overall and 3-4 in the region. That game begins at 5:30 p.m.

Go to www.coastalcourier.com to see more pictures from the game.