SYLVANIA — It had been over a year, but the Westside Patriots finally lost a region game. The Screven County Gamecocks celebrated Senior Night by knocking off the previously unbeaten Region 3-AA champs 8-5 Tuesday on the home turf.
The five-run second inning helped, but the pitching stayed calm and collected through seven innings to end the Gamecocks’ season on a high note.
“It’s huge,” said Screven County coach Billy Pollock. “We had an approach to this game where we weren’t going to allow our pitchers to get in any trouble at all.”
Winning pitcher Jack Frankhouser went five-plus innings, allowing just four hits and surrendering four earned runs. When he started the sixth back-to-back free passes, reliever Cameron Hayden came in to finish the job.
“Cameron came in and worked his way into a bases-loaded situation against their No. 1 hitter, who has 13 home runs on the year. Then he walked the next guy and got to a hitter who has 15 home runs on the year, I think. He put both of them down with authority. That’s basically the key to this game — keep those two guys off the bases.”
Screven’s approach to the game on offense was simple —put the ball in play. Using offense to win most of their games with the run rule, the Patriot defense had gone un-worked for much of the season.
“They haven’t really been challenged all year,” Pollock said. “The times I’ve seen where they have been challenged, it’s been a close game.”
Walker Stuart and Derrick Johnson, SCHS No.1 and No. 2 hitters, combined for a huge day, accounting for half of Screven’s runs. Stuart (2-for-3, 2B, BB, RBI) crossed the plate three times.
“His on-base percentage has been right up there around .580 all year long,” Pollock said. “(Johnson) is right around .540. They’ve been unnoticed all year long. (Johnson) has been there to bunt the leadoff hitter over.
“When you play a team with a catcher like Westside’s — I don’t care who you are, you ain’t going to be able to run on him — you’ve got to be able to lay down a bunt.”
Johnson laid down two sacrifices, and the team as a whole combined for four.
In the five-run fifth, the Gamecocks got a little help from Westside. Trailing 2-1, Joe Collins walked, then Frankhouser (2-for-3, run) helped himself out at the plate by beating out an infield single. Michael Johnson loaded the bases on a perfect bunt single down the third base line, and the Patriots took it from there.
Collins and Frankhouser crossed the plate on a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Two more runs crossed the plate when Jeremy Rosier grounded one down the first-base line that was mishandled, and Johnson scored to put Screven up 6-2 on a sacrifice fly by Andrew Reddick.
From there, it was just a matter of keeping the big bats of the Patriots from hitting them back into the game. Frankhouser and Hayden combined to allow just five WHS hits.
Screven County earned the region’s No. 2 seed heading into the state playoffs, and will host a first-round game on Friday, May 9.
Notes: Westside’s last region loss was a 6-4 decision against the Metter Tigers on April 17, 2007.…Screven’s home game on May 9 will mark the first time the Gamecocks have hosted a state playoff game since 2001.…Screven County seniors Philip Reeder, Frankhouser, Reddick, Garrett Bates, Hayden, Jon Rash and team statistician Davis Farley were all honored in a Senior Night ceremony before the game.…Westside and Screven County will join Region 3-AA teams Southeast Bulloch and Swainsboro in the state playoffs.
Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9404.
The five-run second inning helped, but the pitching stayed calm and collected through seven innings to end the Gamecocks’ season on a high note.
“It’s huge,” said Screven County coach Billy Pollock. “We had an approach to this game where we weren’t going to allow our pitchers to get in any trouble at all.”
Winning pitcher Jack Frankhouser went five-plus innings, allowing just four hits and surrendering four earned runs. When he started the sixth back-to-back free passes, reliever Cameron Hayden came in to finish the job.
“Cameron came in and worked his way into a bases-loaded situation against their No. 1 hitter, who has 13 home runs on the year. Then he walked the next guy and got to a hitter who has 15 home runs on the year, I think. He put both of them down with authority. That’s basically the key to this game — keep those two guys off the bases.”
Screven’s approach to the game on offense was simple —put the ball in play. Using offense to win most of their games with the run rule, the Patriot defense had gone un-worked for much of the season.
“They haven’t really been challenged all year,” Pollock said. “The times I’ve seen where they have been challenged, it’s been a close game.”
Walker Stuart and Derrick Johnson, SCHS No.1 and No. 2 hitters, combined for a huge day, accounting for half of Screven’s runs. Stuart (2-for-3, 2B, BB, RBI) crossed the plate three times.
“His on-base percentage has been right up there around .580 all year long,” Pollock said. “(Johnson) is right around .540. They’ve been unnoticed all year long. (Johnson) has been there to bunt the leadoff hitter over.
“When you play a team with a catcher like Westside’s — I don’t care who you are, you ain’t going to be able to run on him — you’ve got to be able to lay down a bunt.”
Johnson laid down two sacrifices, and the team as a whole combined for four.
In the five-run fifth, the Gamecocks got a little help from Westside. Trailing 2-1, Joe Collins walked, then Frankhouser (2-for-3, run) helped himself out at the plate by beating out an infield single. Michael Johnson loaded the bases on a perfect bunt single down the third base line, and the Patriots took it from there.
Collins and Frankhouser crossed the plate on a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Two more runs crossed the plate when Jeremy Rosier grounded one down the first-base line that was mishandled, and Johnson scored to put Screven up 6-2 on a sacrifice fly by Andrew Reddick.
From there, it was just a matter of keeping the big bats of the Patriots from hitting them back into the game. Frankhouser and Hayden combined to allow just five WHS hits.
Screven County earned the region’s No. 2 seed heading into the state playoffs, and will host a first-round game on Friday, May 9.
Notes: Westside’s last region loss was a 6-4 decision against the Metter Tigers on April 17, 2007.…Screven’s home game on May 9 will mark the first time the Gamecocks have hosted a state playoff game since 2001.…Screven County seniors Philip Reeder, Frankhouser, Reddick, Garrett Bates, Hayden, Jon Rash and team statistician Davis Farley were all honored in a Senior Night ceremony before the game.…Westside and Screven County will join Region 3-AA teams Southeast Bulloch and Swainsboro in the state playoffs.
Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9404.