GREENE COUNTY
ELLAVILLE – Lake Oconee Academy’s baseball season came to an end last week at Schley County.
The Wildcats swept the Titans on Thursday, advancing to the next round of the Class A Division II playoffs.
Schley County took game one by a score of 6-0 over Lake Oconee Academy. The Titans were competitive, although the Wildcats finally started to break through in the bottom of the third inning.
Schley County’s Owen Lamb and LOA’s Garrett Payne were locked in a pitcher’s dual through two innings. The two team’s aces only gave up only one hit between them in the first full pair of frames.
However, the Wildcats started out the bottom half of the third with two straight runners reaching base.
Payne hit Ashon Raybon by a pitch before Jake Little singled to right field. During Little’s single, Raybon reached third base and then scored on a sacrifice bunt by Jay Kanazawa to go up 1-0.
The Wildcats added a run as a Carson Westbrook groundout to the left side of the Titans’ infield scored Little. Payne finally got the last out during the next at-bat as he mowed down Brody Fuller.
Lamb shut down LOA in the next two innings as he retired six of eight hitters before Schley County plated four more runs off Payne in the fifth. The Titans had several costly defensive mistakes, which led to the Wildcats taking a 6-0 advantage heading into the top of the sixth inning.
In the fifth, Westbrook picked up another RBI on a double as it scored Little. Fuller then reached safely as Payne couldn’t field his bunt before Jack Clark loaded the bases for Schley County with a walk.
During the next two at-bats, Payne walked home one run as the Wildcats’ lead extended to four runs. A wild pitch then brought in Fuller and a Trenton Stubbs’ fly ball plated Clark as he tagged up.
Lamb, who entered the game with a 0.97 ERA, got the win on the hill for Schley County. He pitched a full game, allowing three hits but zero runs. Lamb also struck out seven and walked one.
The Wildcats’ momentum carried over into game two as they defeated Lake Oconee Academy, 10-3.
A pair of mistakes by the Titans’ defense let Schley County score two runs in the top of the first inning; however, LOA didn’t roll over it as it came back with a run in the bottom half of the frame.
Cameron Kelley and Harrison Tolleson took walks off Jake Little during the Titans’ first two plate appearances. Kelley then scored a few batters later on a Will Moore fielder’s choice to third base.
Still, Schley County’s offensive attack stayed hot as it scored five more runs over its next two at-bats. The Wildcats led 7-1 before LOA added another run in the third as Kelley scored once again.
Schley County plated three more runs in the fifth inning to take a 10-2 lead heading into the sixth.
The Titans used three pitchers on the mound - Tolleson, Trace Wood and Dylan Hiter - in the loss. Their defense also had a series and playoff-high four errors against the Wildcats in game two.
Lake Oconee Academy’s season came to an end as it went 18-13 overall. The Titans were competitive, but defensive mistakes and strikeouts on the offensive side proved to be costly for them.
Schley County (25-7) advances to the third round of the state playoffs, where it will face Wilcox County (23-5).