Worth County baseball splits with Thomasville, settles for region’s No. 2 seed

SYLVESTER — It might have been a story book or movie script. The weather started off sunny and warm. The stands were filled with spectators and the chairs of the parents and grandparents lined the field three rows deep in some spots. The top team in the region was the visitor and the home team needed to win to claim the region championship with a team that wasn’t expected to compete for the title after losing eight starters from a year ago.

But here they were, the Worth County Rams with two seniors who have significant playing experience coupled with a couple of other seniors who little game experience and then a bunch of younger players who have no varsity experience.

But it didn’t end the way the folks in Sylvester hoped and the kill came early.

After a scoreless first inning against Worth County pitcher Owen Hancock, the Thomasville Bulldogs loaded the bases and catcher Will Wetherington blasted a long grand slam over the center field fence to give the Bulldogs a big lead early and helped the Bulldogs secure the Region 1-AA championship. The Bulldogs took the first game 8-2 and claimed the top spot in the region. The Rams responded in the second game with five runs in the first inning of the second game and won 12-5 in game two to take second place in the region. Berrien finished in third and Fitzgerald in fourth for Region 1-AA.

“That grand slam was like a dagger in my heart,” said Worth County head coach Will Smith, “but I was really impressed with how our guys responded after that devastating loss. It really showed the character of these guys. I told them ‘Here you go, you just lost the first game of the playoffs, if you lose again your season is over and you go home. What are you going to do? How are you going to respond?’ And I liked the way they responded.”

In the first inning of game two, the Rams put together back to back hits from Owen Fletcher and Jacob Perrin, along with three walks, two errors and a catcher’s interference call to jump on top 5-0 in the first inning. Thomasville came back to close the gap to 6-5 with five runs in the third, but the Rams responded again with four more in the bottom of the fourth.

Chip Cooper started the fourth for the Rams with a double to left field and Derrick Williams followed with a singe to left. That hit put runners at second and third because Williams made it to second on the throw. Cooper scored on an error by the catcher, then Perrin stepped up to the plate and smacked a singled to right to score Williams. Owen Hancock came in as a pinch runner for Perrin after a ground out by Owen Fletcher moved Perrin to second. After a wild pitch and then a walk by Parker Weaver, Hancock scored on a wild pitch and then Griffin Melton singled to score Weaver.

In all the Rams belted nine hits in the game and the region champions suffered six errors in the game, but the Bulldogs had already clinched the top spot.

Melton started the game on the mound for the Rams and claimed the victory, but got strong relief pitching from Worth Smith and Josh Hall. Perrin was 3 for 3 at the plate in game two with three RBI to lead at the plate. Williams and Fletcher each had two hits in game two.

While game one was disappointing, the Rams did have some bright spots including diving, run-saving catches in the outfield by Weaver and Cooper, as well as a nice grab of a hard line drive on the hot corner at third base by freshman Luke Smith.

The Rams had chances on the bases as well, but couldn’t get the big hit to make the comeback. The biggest example of that was the bottom of the fifth when the Rams opened the inning with three straight singles by Griffin Melton, Worth Smith and Chip Cooper. The next two batters grounded out and the third struck out to end the inning. The inning prior, the Rams had the bases loaded with one out, and Thomasville turned an impressive double play to end the inning.

The Rams will enter the state playoffs as the No. 2 team out of Region 1-AA. They will host the first round of the state playoffs Thursday, April 29 in Sylvester. Smith is hoping to see a turn out for the state playoffs like the Rams saw Wednesday for the Thomasville doubleheader.

“I was excited to see how the community turned out,” the coach said. “I saw people I haven’t seen in a while at the stadium and it was really good to have the support. It means a great deal to our guys. Thomasville traveled well, too so the crowd was great.”