After dropping their first region series of the 2022 season, the Long County Blue Tide baseball team bounced back and completed the series sweep over the Tattnall County Warriors.
They did this by beating the rival Warriors 11-1 in game three on Friday, April 8. It was a dominant, five-inning run rule victory that sent the Tide to 15-4 and 4-2 in the region.
The Tide sat down the first three Warrior batters and started off the bottom of the inning in a big way. Seniors Dwayne Rowe and Jacob Struble walked to open the inning.
Rowe stole second and scored on an error before fellow senior Joseph Cammack brought Struble home on a two-out single to give the Tide a 2-0 lead going into the second.
Cammack recorded his third strikeout of the game and got the third out at home on an attempted Warrior steal. Senior Seth Struble led off the second with a walk before fellow seniors Blake Holland and Cole Moss both singled to set up Brennan Lee with two on and one out.
Lee doubled to score Holland and put Moss on third. With two outs on the board and the left-handed Struble on the opposite side of the plate, Moss took a chance and sprinted toward the plate.
He was able to beat the throw home and get the fourth run of the game. The Tide led 4-0 before exploding in the third.
The Warriors got their second hit of the game in the top of the third and looked to put two on the bags, but only got one on first after an attempted double play was stopped by an error on the second throw.
Cammack hit a batter and then got his fourth K of the game before walking a Warrior to load the bases with two outs. However, he finished off his Senior Night outing with his fifth strikeout of the game to get out of the inning with only one run allowed.
Senior Daniel Edwards opened the inning with a walk and Cammack singled. Sophomore Shannon Filkins walked to load the bases with no outs, but Edwards was able to score on a passed ball to make the score 5-0.
Seth Struble walked to load the bases again before Holland and Moss both singled to make the score 7-0. Lee got a sacrifice RBI to make the score 8-0 before Rowe came up and got the crowd on their feet again.
He roped a shot down the first base line and to the right field wall. Lee scored and everyone at Fulcher Field knew Rowe was getting three.
However, he kept going and beat the throw home to complete the inside- the-park home run, his second home run in the span of five days as the Tide led 10-1 going into the fourth.
Sophomore Landon Runyon took the mound for Cammack and started off rough, throwing five straight balls and walked a Warrior. However the sixth pitch was connected for a hopper to short as the Tide turned the double play.
Runyon was still struggling, however, as he threw another five straight balls to get another runner on base. However, the fourth batter he faced was the charm for him as he fanned him with a looking strikeout.
The Tide got one base runner in the fourth, but the inning was mostly uneventful. Their defense held strong as they allowed just one hit and Runyon got his second strikeout, bringing the Tide’s total to seven on the game.
Lee singled to open the fifth inning and stole second to set up the winning run. Just like Thursday’s game, Rowe singled to score Lee and finish off the game 11-1.
The Tide will now have an away series against the Brantley County Herons, who are also 4-2 in the region. They will play in Nahunta on Tuesday, April 12, and Friday, April 15, while the game on Thursday, April 14, will be in Ludowici.
This is a very important series for the Tide, as a win would give them sole possession of second place in the region going into the final series of the season the following week against Appling County.
