Friday afternoon proved to be a good day to play baseball, despite the weather, as the Liberty County Panthers beat Burke County twice in a Region 3-AAAA doubleheader in Waynesboro.
The Panthers earned a 10-4 win in game one and a 12-6 victory in game two.
“It was two big wins for the program against a really good baseball program,” Liberty coach Tony Glazer said. “The win is credit to the kids and how hard they’ve worked over the last year and a half. I demand a lot from them, and at times it’s not easy. I am glad that their hard work is starting to pay off.”
In the first game, Panther Aric Albertson batted 2-for-2 and scored three runs for the Panthers. Quindon Montgomery was 2-of-3 with a double and two RBIs. Vince Smith hit a sacrifice fly for an RBI and Colby Rhea had two RBIs.
LCHS pitcher Vincent Brunelli got the win, pitching six innings, giving up only two hits and notching seven strikeouts. Albertson closed the game with two strikeouts in the final inning.
In the second game, Panther Jacari Roberts had three RBIs off four hits.
Rhea was 3-of-5 with three RBIs and a home run. Montgomery had two RBIs; and Albertson and Parker Neeley each had one RBI in the win.
Rhea started on the mound, pitching 5 1/3 innings and allowing six hits, six walks and five runs. He tossed five strikeouts. Albertson pitched 1 1/3 innings, walking four batters. Roberts pitched a hitless 1/3 inning to close and get the save.
Liberty, which is 8-1 overall and 2-0 in region play, faces Groves at 4:30 p.m. Thursday in Garden City.