BASEBALL ROUNDUP: Lee County edged out by No. 6 Houston County; Worth County wins

LEESBURG — A sixth inning grounder by Houston County’s Drew Burress scored the winning run Tuesday afternoon as the sixth-ranked Houston County Bears came from behind and beat the Lee County Trojans 4-3.

The Trojans (9-16, 3-1) had pushed three runs across the plate in the fourth inning to take a 3-1 lead with strong pitching from senior Smith Pinson and a defense which committed no errors in the field.

The Trojans scored three runs in the fourth inning even though pitcher Brodie Chestnut struck-out the side and allowed only one hit — a double by designated hitter Jeff Bryan. Cooper Ray started the inning with a walk and Bryan doubled to put runners at second and third with no outs. After one out, Smith Pinson walked to load the bases before Ray scored on a passed ball, while Bryan and pinch runner Andrew Willis raced ahead for the next base. Cameron Paul followed with a ground ball to third that the Bear’s third baseman Drew Burress couldn’t handle and Paul reached first while both Bryan and Willis scored to give the Trojans that 3-1 lead.

Pinson took the loss on the mound for the Trojans. He pitched a complete game, giving up 10 hits and four earned runs. He struck out five batters.

Chestnut got the win for the Bears (17-6, 3-1) and Coleman Willis came on in the sixth inning to record a save.

“Our guys played hard,” said Lee County coach Brian Trivette. “Overall we played well against a great Houston County team. It was a 50-50 game that we came up short on.”

The Trojans will get another chance at the Bears Friday when they travel to Warner Robins for a doubleheader.

Worth County 4, Cook County 3

Cameryn Lewis doubled to break a 2-2 tie and Griffin Melton followed with a single and another RBI to give the fourth-ranked Worth County Rams a 4-2 lead in the sixth inning Tuesday afternoon in Adel.

Cook County (8-17, 2-9) tried to rally in the seventh, scoring a run with two singles, a sacrifice bunt and two walks, but Melton struck out first baseman Landon Rentz with runners on second and third to end the game. The win improves the Rams’ record to 16-3 overall and 9-2 in the region.

Melton pitched the final three innings of the game to take the win for the Rams. He followed Owen Hancock who started the game and pitched four innings. Together the two Ram hurlers struck out nine Cook County batters.

Lewis, Melton and Parler Weaver each had two hits for the Rams.

Worth County will travel to Nashville to play a doubleheader against Berrien County (8-17, 4-7) Friday.

Baconton Charter 17, Miller County 0

The game lasted only three innings Tuesday, but Baconton pitchers Hayden High and Bernardo Marquez-Cruz combined for a no-hitter and the Blazers scored 11 runs in the third inning to beat Miller County 17-0.

Will Worsham, Frank Venn, Caden Brooks, Jimmy Woods, Landon Jones and Marquez-Cruz each knocked in runs in the big third innings. Nine Blazers drew walks in the third and two more were hit by pitches. Marquez-Cruz started the inning with a single and Worsham followed with a double to get things going.

The win moves the Blazers to 11-8 overall and 9-4 in the region. The two teams will meet again Friday in Colquitt for another region game.

Terrell Academy 11, Crisp Academy 1

The Terrell Academy Eagles scored seven runs in the sixth inning to pull away from region foe Crisp Academy Tuesday in Dawson and beat the Wildcats handily, 11-1.

The Eagles were leading 4-1 heading into the sixth when Quindon Wright started the inning with a single to center. The defense of Crisp Academy had difficulty that began when Kade Mulliford followed with a hard hit ball to third which the third baseman couldn’t handle and he reached base on the error while pinch runner Brack Solis advanced to second. An error by the first baseman allowed Solis to score and then Kevin Harrison reached base and then advanced to second on another error. Harrison went to third on a ground out by Travis Shipley. The bases were loaded with Eagles after Daylor Drawdy was hit by a pitch and Jay Murdock walked. A single by Lawrence Carpenter scored one run, and a single by Will Denham scored two. Solis came to bat again and walked and Muliford ended the game with a single to right to score Denham and put the lead at 10 runs.

In all the Eagles racked up 10 hits and Denham led with four RBIs on the day.

Carpenter claimed the win on the mound for the Eagles, pitching six innings. He gave up one run on four hits and struck out two.

Terrell Academy (9-4) will host Brookwood (12-5) Thursday in Dawson at 4 p.m

Joe WhitfieldJoe Whitfield