The Gilmer High Bobcats stopped their region baseball skid on the final day of the season.
GHS faced West Hall last week, and the series mirrored much of the season through the first two games. The Bobcats fell 5-0 at home last Monday before Wednesday’s away doubleheader.
The Spartans started the day with a dominating 10-0 victory ahead of one of Gilmer’s best offensive performances. GHS tallied 10 hits in game two and stormed to an 8-3 victory.
The Bobcats were held to two hits and struck out 12 times in the series opener. Six GHS errors led to three unearned runs for the Spartans, and they scored a run in the first and third innings.
WHHS loaded the bases in the fourth and drew a walk before a double for the game’s final runs and a 5-0 lead.
Bobcat senior Carter Jones pitched all seven innings. He struck out three, walked two and gave up seven hits. Brock Titus and Noah Gutillo each had a hit for GHS.
“We knew were going to be facing a pretty good arm, as their pitcher has been pretty successful all season long. We struggled to get guys on base,” head coach Jeff Thurman said.
All of West Hall’s runs were earned in game two. The Spartans belted 12 hits and plated two runs in their first at-bat and led 7-0 after the third. WHHS added two more runs in the fourth and another in the fifth for a run-rule win.
Austin Zabala got the start for GHS and tossed 2 1/3 innings and struck out four and walked six. He surrendered four hits for seven earned runs. Tyler Pittman took the mound for two innings and gave up eight hits, three earned runs and struck out one.
Zabala, Gutillo, Haden West and Eli Cooper all recorded a hit for the Bobcats.
“We just didn’t play very well and struggled some to find the zone pitching,” said Thurman. “We just didn’t play very well, and I was kind of concerned going into the last game of the season and doubleheader. I was concerned our guys would let that affect them, but they came out and played really well.”
Gilmer’s bats were on fire to end the season in game three. The Cats racked up 10 hits, and Titus was there for three. Mel Mosley collected two RBIs off two hits, and Gutillo blasted a two-run home run in the top of the first inning for Gilmer’s first runs of the series.
GHS notched three hits when it plated a trio of runs in the third inning. Cooper drew a lead off walk, and Titus followed it with a single. Even though Gutillo’s ensuing grounder resulted in a double play, Gilmer added a third run.
Ethan McCollum kept the momentum rolling with a double, and the Cats led 4-0 when Mosley singled to left. A fifth run crossed home plate when West’s grounder to second resulted in an error.
A walk, wild pitch and base hit gave the Spartans a run in their half of the inning, and the Bobcats were back at it in the fourth.
Hayden Berry started the frame with a lead off walk. A single by Zabala was followed by consecutive RBI base hits by Cooper and Titus. Mosley’s single to left gave GHS an 8-1 cushion.
Gilmer was held scoreless in its final three at-bats, and WHHS added a run in the fourth and seventh innings to close out the season.
McCollom got the victory, and he pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed a pair of earned runs. He struck out seven, walked two and gave up five hits. Berry got the final two outs as he fanned two, walked one and surrendered a hit.
“Ethan pitched a great game, and the pitch count got him in the seventh so we brought in Berry,” Thurman said. “That was how I had hoped we would play all season long. There were times when we did play like that, but we couldn’t do it for an entire game. We were able to put a full game together, and while it wasn’t perfect, we’ve been telling the kids all year long we don’t expect perfection, but we don’t want to let one mistake snowball.”
The win improved Gilmer’s overall record to 7-21, which included a 1-17 record versus region opponents.
“I hope the guys were excited by the win and that it at least gives us a little momentum going into the summer and into the offseason,” Thurman said. “We had a lot of young kids get experience this year. It’s not going to get any easier because some of the top teams in our region were young, too.”
Making changes
Thurman noted he plans to reassess the entire program beginning at the youth level. He hopes to meet with park and rec leadership and coaches to expand playing opportunities against better competition.
“We have to reevaluate how we do things with the youth programs and get more involved,” he said. “Holding summer camps and showing up to rec games isn’t enough. In every age group, we’ve got to get them playing some competitive games. We’re going to start with that in the offseason to see if we can make a shift toward that.”
Thurman mentioned the possibility of starting “select” teams beginning with the 8-under age division. He would like to see teams play locally against each other within the league during the week with select teams playing together on weekends.
“It doesn’t have to be every weekend, but starting in March all the way through June or July,” he said. “Maybe a couple weekends a month we can get them to play someone aside from our folks here. Over night that isn’t going to help us at the high school, but hopefully in years to come it will start paying some dividends.”