The Long County Blue Tide baseball team took on the Appling County Pirates on Thursday, April 16 to close out the regular season. It was a heartbreaking game for the Tide as they gave up a five-run lead to fall to the Pirates 8-5 in eight innings.
It looked as though the Tide were poised to blow the game wide open after they ended the top of the first with a double play.
They then got to work at the plate with Charlie Johnson leading off with a single. Dylan Lester reached on an error to set up Braedon Chambless with two runners and no outs.
A passed ball allowed Johnson to score and Lester to get to third after stealing second. Chambless brought home Lester to give the Tide a 2-0 lead.
Peyton Batt reached on an error to bring home another run for the Tide before Dalton Lester singled to push Batt’s courtesy runner around to third.
The Tide got a run on a passed ball before Jehmiel Pettis crushed a ball to centerfield to bring home another run on a sacrifice fly.
The Pirates slowly worked their way back into the game. Over the next four innings, the Pirates scored four runs off four hits, two walks and two hit batters while the Tide saw their next eight batters go down without getting on base.
In fact, the Tide only next got a base runner in the bottom of the fourth as Pettis reached on an error.
In the top of the seventh, the Pirates tied the game on two hits before a sacrifice fly made the score even at 5-5.
Three straight batters went down for the Tide in the bottom of the inning as fans got free baseball with the Tide’s first extra innings game of the season.
The top half of the inning went about as bad as they could have hoped, however, as the Pirates turned it on at the plate.
Two walks and a double to centerfield gave the Pirates the 6-5 lead before a passed ball added to their lead, all with no outs on the board.
A sacrifice fly brought home another run as the Pirates held an 8-5 lead going into the bottom of the inning.
Pettis singled and Isaiah Miller was hit by a pitch as a pinch hitter as Poppell came to the plate with two runners and only one out. He singled into a fielder’s choice before Gerdale Cannida struck out to end the game.
With the loss, the Tide finish the regular season 13-10 and now look toward the state playoffs next week. They finish as the number three team in Region 3-AAA after Southeast Bulloch swept Jenkins this week.
The Yellow Jackets’ sweep means the Tide finished with the No. 24 spot in the Class AAA power rankings. They will open the state playoffs at North Hall, the No. 9 seed. The winner advances to meet the winner of the Whitewater vs. Monroe Area series.