The Bradwell Institute Tigers dropped a non-region game by six runs to the Long County Blue Tide Saturday afternoon. The loss came just after the Tigers took their first victory over regional opponent, Windsor Forest, last Tuesday.
This makes the Tigers 1-9 overall but still 1-1 in 3-AAAAA.
The Tigers and Tide entered the fourth with only one run separating them (4-5 in Tide's favor) but the Tide were quick to swing away and the Tigers struggled with errors, allowing the Tide to extend the lead by 5 runs to end the fourth (5-11).
Tigers' DeAnted Day and Kentrell Hargrove took the mound.
"De Ante Day and Kentrell (Hargrove) did a great job today," Tiger coach Rhett Hellgren said. "They had only 5 walks, 3 hit by pitches and just did a fantastic job. Day is starting to get the feel of the game and doing better. But the errors killed him. When you start throwing more pitches because of errors it hurts you."
The Tigers held the Tide to a quick 3-and-out in the fifth inning and started a rally in the sixth after allowing one run scored by the Tide (5-12).
Dustin Bellety was 4 for 5 and Jeff Polk hit a homer, sparking a string of hits and that scored three runs (8-12).
Sensing the shift in the momentum, Tide coach Brian Thomas talked to his players between innings.
"I told them to relax, compose themselves and just try and get one out at a time," he said. "Don't force the issue, take a deep breath and relax."
In the seventh inning Paul Lewandowski relaxed a hit right out of the ballpark. It was the second home run for the Tide as John Lindsay hit one earlier. The Tide then scored four additional runs to close the seventh with 12 hits and 17 runs and a nine point lead (8-17).
The Tigers fought back and scored three runs to end the game 11-17. Tide Brit Horne pitched for 3-2/3 innings, Tyler Chambliss pitched for 2-1/3 and Earl Freeman closed out the game pitching the seventh inning.
The Tigers and Tide each had 12 hits in the game but the Tigers’ 5 errors made the difference on the scoreboard.
"Our hitting is coming around," Hellgren said. "We spent so much time working on our hitting. Sometimes when you spend too much time working on one or two things other areas will get lost in the focus. It's coming around but sometimes you have to give or take and I chose hitting and gave away defense and it hurt us today."
The Tide has two losses this season as they prepare for back-to-back regional games.
Thomas said the post season or playoffs have not crossed his mind yet and he plans to take one game at a time. He knows the challenging games are going to be against Pierce, Appling, Savannah Christian and Jeff Davis, who they were scheduled to play Tuesday night.
The Tigers were scheduled to play Beach High Tuesday night in their third regional game.
"Beach is not among the elite teams in our region but you have to be ready to play," Hellgren said. "Anybody can beat anybody on any given day, so you have to be ready to play. And we will be ready to play. I'm still excited about the season and the region games. We are still doing fine. Everybody has asked me why we play these tough teams and it's because it will make us stronger in the region. It's hard on the kids because they don't understand it like I do. But we are getting better and if we can continue to improve we will be fine. We just have to get the kids to believe."
This makes the Tigers 1-9 overall but still 1-1 in 3-AAAAA.
The Tigers and Tide entered the fourth with only one run separating them (4-5 in Tide's favor) but the Tide were quick to swing away and the Tigers struggled with errors, allowing the Tide to extend the lead by 5 runs to end the fourth (5-11).
Tigers' DeAnted Day and Kentrell Hargrove took the mound.
"De Ante Day and Kentrell (Hargrove) did a great job today," Tiger coach Rhett Hellgren said. "They had only 5 walks, 3 hit by pitches and just did a fantastic job. Day is starting to get the feel of the game and doing better. But the errors killed him. When you start throwing more pitches because of errors it hurts you."
The Tigers held the Tide to a quick 3-and-out in the fifth inning and started a rally in the sixth after allowing one run scored by the Tide (5-12).
Dustin Bellety was 4 for 5 and Jeff Polk hit a homer, sparking a string of hits and that scored three runs (8-12).
Sensing the shift in the momentum, Tide coach Brian Thomas talked to his players between innings.
"I told them to relax, compose themselves and just try and get one out at a time," he said. "Don't force the issue, take a deep breath and relax."
In the seventh inning Paul Lewandowski relaxed a hit right out of the ballpark. It was the second home run for the Tide as John Lindsay hit one earlier. The Tide then scored four additional runs to close the seventh with 12 hits and 17 runs and a nine point lead (8-17).
The Tigers fought back and scored three runs to end the game 11-17. Tide Brit Horne pitched for 3-2/3 innings, Tyler Chambliss pitched for 2-1/3 and Earl Freeman closed out the game pitching the seventh inning.
The Tigers and Tide each had 12 hits in the game but the Tigers’ 5 errors made the difference on the scoreboard.
"Our hitting is coming around," Hellgren said. "We spent so much time working on our hitting. Sometimes when you spend too much time working on one or two things other areas will get lost in the focus. It's coming around but sometimes you have to give or take and I chose hitting and gave away defense and it hurt us today."
The Tide has two losses this season as they prepare for back-to-back regional games.
Thomas said the post season or playoffs have not crossed his mind yet and he plans to take one game at a time. He knows the challenging games are going to be against Pierce, Appling, Savannah Christian and Jeff Davis, who they were scheduled to play Tuesday night.
The Tigers were scheduled to play Beach High Tuesday night in their third regional game.
"Beach is not among the elite teams in our region but you have to be ready to play," Hellgren said. "Anybody can beat anybody on any given day, so you have to be ready to play. And we will be ready to play. I'm still excited about the season and the region games. We are still doing fine. Everybody has asked me why we play these tough teams and it's because it will make us stronger in the region. It's hard on the kids because they don't understand it like I do. But we are getting better and if we can continue to improve we will be fine. We just have to get the kids to believe."