Gilmer High continued its region baseball schedule against top ranked opponents.
The GHS Bobcats previously faced No. 6 ranked Lumpkin County before taking on No. 4 Pickens two weeks ago. Last week the Cats met Wesleyan for a three-game series, and the No. 7 Wolves came away with three wins.
Game one was played Tuesday at Wesleyan, and Gilmer never got its offense going in an 11-0 loss. The series concluded Thursday in Ellijay with a double header. GHS errors spotted the Wolves five runs in a 12-1 defeat in game two.
Wesleyan claimed the series sweep with another strong pitching performance in a 10-0 game three win.
A hit by Ethan McCollum accounted for all of Gilmer’s offense in the series opener.
The Wolves collected seven hits and three were solo home runs, while three Bobcat errors led to a pair of unearned runs. A four-run second inning was followed by a run in the third. When Wesleyan added six runs in the fourth and Gilmer was unable to score in its half of the fifth, the game was called.
GHS pitching: McCollum 3 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 4 K, 5 BB. Haden West 1 IP, 2 K, 1 BB. C.J. Hatchett 3 ER, 1 BB.
Gilmer was able to tally five hits in game two, and Brock Titus had two of them. McCollum, West and Eli Cooper each had a hit, and the Cats plated a run in the fourth when McCollum raced home on a wild pitch.
The Wolves belted 10 hits and stole eight bases. While they were able to garner a 3-0 edge after three innings, Wesleyan’s five-run fourth inning blew the game open. Four more runs in the sixth brought an early end to the game when GHS was unable to respond in its half of the inning.
GHS pitching: Austin Zabala 3 1/3 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 1 K, 6 BB. Hayden Berry 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 K, 2 BB. Aiden McClure 2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 K.
The Wolves outhit Gilmer 9-1 in game three, and Wesleyan scored in all five innings. A four-run first and three-run third were the Wolves’ best at-bats. They added a run in the second, third and fifth innings and claimed another run-rule victory.
Carter Jones had the Cats’ lone hit, and he also pitched four innings and struck out one and walked one. He gave up eight hits and eight earned runs. Noah Gutillo took the mound for an inning. He allowed an earned run off one hit while striking out one and walking one.
Gilmer has a 6-16 overall record and is 0-12 in region play. GHS will face White County this week, and game one was played at press deadline. Gilmer hosts game two Thursday, and the series will wrap up Friday in Cleveland.
All games are set to begin at 5:55 p.m.