Gilmer High crushed Fannin County on the baseball diamond to the tune of 15-0.
The GHS Bobcats hosted the Rebels last Monday, and the game was called because of run differential in the fourth inning.
Gilmer traveled to Brunswick Friday and Saturday for Baseball at the Beach. The Cats faced Class 7A Milton on day one and fell late, 7-6. Next up were Hilton Head Christian Academy and Bremen Saturday. HHCA was able to secure a 5-1 win, while Bremen racked up steals in a 3-1 victory.
“It was definitely well worth going down there,” head coach Jeff Thurman said of the Bobcats’ trip south. “All the teams that are down there, there aren’t many bad ones who play in the tournament.”
Pitcher Dalton Crisp limited Fannin to one hit Monday while striking out eight and walking one. Meanwhile, the Bobcats belted 12 hits. Senior Ethan McCollum recorded three and drove in two runs. Both Austin Zabala and Brandon Davis had two hits and two RBIs, and Hayden Berry knocked in a run and finished with two hits.
Eli Cooper scored a pair of Bobcats with his two-run double in the third. Blake Grizzle and Crisp notched a hit as well.
“We let some guys get on base early on, but did a good job of battling out of that. Defensively, we made some plays, and that was pretty huge for us to get out of the first without allowing any runs,” Thurman said. “That sort of gave us the momentum early. It was one of those games that once we got the momentum, we never let it get away from us. It was good to take advantage of some of their mistakes as well.”
Gilmer’s only scoreless inning was the second. The Cats jumped on Fannin quickly with a four-run first inning. In the third, the Bobcats collected six more hits and added eight runs. The Rebels walked home Gilmer’s 13th run in the fourth, and two more Bobcats crossed home plate on a Rebel error to end the game.
Milton outhit GHS 10-6 Friday. Three hits in the bottom of the first coupled with a walk saw the Eagles open a 3-0 lead. Three more hits in the second inning put the Bobcats in a 5-0 hole.
The Cats got on the board in the third. Berry’s single and Haden West’s walk were followed by a two-run Cooper base hit to left.
Milton errors helped GHS tie the game in the sixth. Noah Gutillo got the offense going with a leadoff single. Crisp drew a walk, and McCollum reached on an error to load the bases. A second error on Grizzle’s grounder to third tied the game, 5-5.
The Eagles used a RBI single with two outs to move back ahead in their half of the inning. However, GHS tied the score on a two out wild pitch in the seventh. Zabala led off the inning with a double and later raced home on the errant pitch.
Milton’s final at-bat started with a single, and the runner moved to second with an ensuing sacrifice bunt. GHS opted to intentionally walk the next Eagle, and a sharply hit ball to left ended the game.
In addition to the aforementioned players, Grizzle also recorded a double.
GHS pitching: McCollum 3 1/3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 K, 3 BB. Cooper Cochran 3 IP, 2 ER, 2 K, 3 BB.
“Milton is a 7A school and plays in a really good region. We were right there with them,” Thurman said. “We got behind early and were able to tie it up late in the game. I was really proud of how the kids played and handled themselves all weekend.”
Gilmer tallied seven hits against Hilton Head, and its only run crossed home plate in the second. Walks by Crisp and Davis, along with a single by Grizzle loaded the bases. Crisp trotted home when West was hit by a pitch.
The Cats led until the fifth where HHCA evened the score, 1-1. Hilton Head added two runs in the sixth and were aided by two GHS errors. HHCA tacked on an insurance run in the seventh.
Gilmer threatened with two outs in its final at-bat. A Crisp walk and singles by Gutillo and McCollum loaded the bases. A final strikeout kept GHS from scoring any more runs.
Cooper and McCollum both recorded two hits. GHS pitching: Zabala 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 5 K, 3 BB. Landen McClure 1 IP, 1 H, 1R, 3K.
“We watched them beat Milton 10-5 before our game, so we knew we were going to have our hands full,” Thurman said. “It was just a really windy day that afternoon and our outfield had trouble with a couple fly balls that kind of hurt us. We got hits, but they were spread out. We just didn’t seem to get timely hits in games two and three.”
Bremen only had two hits versus Gilmer, but the Bulldogs stole 13 bases and one of its runs was unearned. GHS spread out six hits, but had trouble stringing them together.
“Bremen threw a good lefty against us. It was a good pitching matchup (with Crisp taking the mound for GHS), and both guys did an outstanding job,” said Thurman.
“We didn’t do a great job of controlling base runners. They were able to swipe some bags and do some things on the bases that we’ve got to do a better job at. They used some delayed steals that were a pretty big part of the game.”
Gutillo doubled home Cooper in the top of the third for the game’s first run. Bremen plated a pair of runs in its half of the inning. Only one was earned, and the Bulldogs led by one.
In its next at-bat, a trio of walks loaded the bases and a sacrifice fly scored the game’s final run. Gutillo had two hits on the evening, and Cooper, Crisp and Grizzle had one apiece.
GHS pitching: Crisp 4 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 6 K 5 BB. Berry 2/3 IP, 1 H, 2 BB. C.J. Hatchett 1 1/3 IP, 3 K, 1 BB.
“We gave ourselves chances to win each game but just fell a little short,” said Thurman. “Overall, we were proud with how the guys handled themselves over the weekend, and I feel like we came together closer as a team. We got better.
“Obviously, we would have liked to win some of those games, but this weekend was able getting us ready for region play in a few weeks, and we feel like it did that.”
GHS is 4-3 and hosts Armuchee today at 5:30 p.m.