Dalton rallies late to put away Wildcats

Dalton broke open a tight game Thursday night with a six-run seventh inning on their way to a 12-4 win at Woodland.

The win completed a three-game sweep of the Wildcats this week and kept Dalton atop the Sub-Region A standings in Region 7-AAAAA.

Dalton scored four runs in the first inning and two more in the fourth to take a 6-0 lead, but the Wildcats battled back into contention with a four-run sixth.

Garrett Cornett singled and Jacob Frye was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Hunter Reaid then reached on an infield error that allowed Cornett to score. Brandon Allen followed with an RBI double and Cauy Williams drove home two more with another double to make the score 6-4.

In the next half inning, the Catamounts struck for three singles, two doubles, three walks, and a hit batsmen to put the game away, 12-4.

J.P. Tighe and Cade Gabriel combined for seven hits and seven RBI to lead the Dalton offense.

Harrison Hughes picked up the pitching victory with 5 and 1/3 innings of work. He allowed three earned runs on five hits and struck out three.

Williams (4 IP, 6R, 2ER, 5H, 5BB, 6K) was saddled with the pitching loss for Woodland. Grayson Bagwell (2.2 IP, 6ER, 4H, 4BB, 4K) and Kolby Stansel (0.1 IP, 0R, 1H, 1BB) also pitched for the Wildcats.

Williams had two hits, including a double and two RBI. Grant Robinson, Zach Woods, Reaid (RBI), Allen (RBI), Stansel, and Cornett had the other Woodland hits.

Dalton improved to 19-4 overall and 15-3 to win the sub-region. They will play a best-of-three series next week against the sub-region B winner (either Forsyth Central or Cambridge) for the Region 7-AAAAA championship.

Woodland (5-18, 4-14) will play a cross-over opponent from sub-region B next week in a three-game series to conclude the season. The Wildcats could face North Springs, Riverwood, or Sprayberry pending outcomes of games on Friday.