The Long County Blue Tide baseball team has not hosted a playoff game since the 2003 season, but after their series win over Brantley County, they are just two wins away from doing so.
They avenged Thursday’s loss to the Herons by going to Nahunta Friday, April 15 and holding off their region rival to win in shootout fashion. This was a stark change from the first two games, which saw a total of five runs scored across both.
The Tide opened the game by scoring two runs off RBI singles from senior Joseph Cammack and sophomore Shannon Filkins.
Freshman pitcher Kenny Pickens, who closed out the 1-0 loss to the Herons on Thursday, got the start and gave up one hit in the first with a sacrifice RBI making the score 2-1.
Senior Cole Moss led off the second with a walk and fellow senior Jacob Struble brought him home on a RBI single with one out. Daniel Edwards walked to load the bases before Dwayne Rowe was caught stealing home.
The score remained 3-1 going into the third as Filkins led off with a single. Pickens moved him to third with a double before Blake Holland got a sacrifice fly to make the score 4-1.
Senior Brennan Lee walked with two outs before Pickens was able to steal home on an attempted pickoff at second. The Tide led 5-1 going into the bottom of the inning.
The Herons got on base with a single and a walk before a shot to left field brought home two on a double. They added a third run on a passed ball to make the score 5-4 going into the fourth.
Struble opened the fourth with a standup double before Cammack scored him on a single with one out. Filkins singled for his third hit of the game as did Pickens to score Cammack and make the score 7-4 before the Herons made a pitching change.
The Herons did not score in the bottom of the inning and the Tide could not in the top of the fifth. It was close, however, as Edwards was hit by a pitch for the second time to load the bases with two outs.
However, Cammack grounded out as the score remained 7-4 going into the bottom of the fifth.
Lee took the mound and opened with a walk. A committed error at second base kept the Tide from turning a double play.
This error proved to be costly as a walk loaded the bases after a strikeout from Lee. A passed ball scored a run for the Herons and after just a third of an inning, Lee was pulled and replaced by Edwards.
Edwards got hit with back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game at 7 before throwing back-to-back strikeouts to close out the inning.
Filkins walked to open the sixth before Pickens and Holland singled to load the bases. Moss singled to give the Tide an 8-7 lead and a passed ball made the score 9-7.
Lee walked to set up Rowe with the bases loaded and no outs. He crushed a shot to the centerfield wall and got all the way to third, clearing the bases in the process to make the score 12-7.
The Herons made another pitching change before Struble smacked a sacrifice fly to score Rowe and make the score 13-7 going into the bottom of the inning.
The Herons led off with a single and an RBI single to make the score 13-8. Another RBI single and an error at third made the score 13-10. An RBI triple made the score 13-11 before sophomore Landon Runyon took the mound.
With one on and one out, a walk set up the Herons in scoring position. A passed ball made the score 13-12 before Runyon got a strikeout and a fly out to end the inning with the Tide giving up five runs.
Runyon led off the seventh with a walk and was replaced by sophomore Steven Wyatt on the bases. Holland fouled out, but Wyatt was able to steal second.
Moss lined out to centerfield as Lee came up. Wyatt stole third and an error on the attempted throw out allowed him to get home to make the score 14-12 going into the bottom of the inning.
The Herons singled to open the inning before a pop up near the mound led to confusion for the Tide as the ball dropped and set up the Herons with two on and no outs.
The Herons popped up a bunt for the first out and a passed ball gave the Herons one on first and third with one out.
Runyon recorded his second strikeout of the game as the Heron runner on first moved to second with two outs.
The sophomore ace got ahead 0-2 in the count before the dropped third strike led to the a third strikeout and the throw out from Cammack to first to end the game.
With the 14-12 win, the Tide move to 17-5 and 6-3 in the region. They will host the Appling County Pirates on Tuesday, April 19 and Friday, April 22.
With a series win, they will host the first round of the playoffs. With a series sweep and if the Herons sweep the Pierce County Bears, the Tide will win the Region 1-AAA championship.