Baconton Charter baseball team wins sixth straight

BACONTON — Baconton Charter School baseball coach Bubber Birdsong congratulated Turner Shiver after a triple.

He told Jarrett Bryant that he put a good swing on an infield fly ball.

These kind of victories are fun, especially for a team that potentially could make a strong run to the postseason.

Birdsong and the Blazers maintained their hold atop the Region 1-A standings with a 15-0 victory over Pataula Charter Thursday afternoon in four innings in Baconton. The win improved them to 9-1 overall, 3-0 in region play.

With seven seniors, Birdsong is hoping the 2016 edition could be something special.

“I like the way these guys work every day,” Birdsong said. “We’re going to turn around Saturday and play an in class game against Lanier County, so we’ll see where we are against other regions.”

The Blazers, for now, are one of the top teams in Region 1-A. Will Bush didn’t allow a hit in four innings and improved to 3-0 on the mound, while seven of the team’s nine hitters had at least a hit or more on Thursday. Spencer Culp went 3 for 3 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs, while Taber Raley went 3 for 4 with a double and three RBIs to pace Baconton’s 13-hit attack.

Brooks Pinson and Shiver also added two hits each. Pinson’s RBI double in the first inning gave the Blazers an early 2-0 advantage.

It was the Blazers’ sixth-straight victory since their only loss of the season — a 9-8 setback at Class AAAA Worth County on Feb. 22.

But Birdsong hopes the Blazers can continue to ride the team’s momentum. In 2013 when the current group of seniors were freshmen, the Blazers went 22-2 and he has challenged the team to “complete the circle.”

“I thought last year we underachieved a little,” Birdsong said. “We’ve got to get back to playing like we did when these guys were freshmen. But we had a good nucleus three years ago. The reason we did well was because we had these guys pushing our older guys. We’ve got some good younger players that are playing well. I like the way these guys are playing together.”