Adairsville opens region play with a win; Woodland drops doubleheader to Blessed Trinity

Adairsville and North Murray swapped the lead Saturday afternoon and runs were at a premium, but the hosting Tigers took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning and made it stand up to start Region 6-AAA play with a win.

North Murray scored a run in the top of the first inning on an error and an RBI single. Adairsville then grabbed a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by Dawson Craig and an outfield error by the Mountaineers.

North Murray tied the score 2-2 in the top of the third. The Mountaineers had a baserunner reach on an error and Daniel Skojac drove in the runner with a double into centerfield.

Adairsville got the game-winning run, however, in the bottom of the fourth. Brendan Carroll singled, moved to second on a Braden Powell sacrifice, and scored on an RBI hit by Jack Whitley.

North Murray (4-9, 0-3) loaded the bases in the top of the fifth inning, but Adairsville starting pitcher Evan Sanders got out of the jam with a strikeout and a groundout. Sanders surrendered just two unearned runs in five innings. He allowed three hits and three walks while striking out five. Jack Whitley retired the final six outs for the Tigers allowing no hits or walks and he struck out three.

Five Tigers finished with one hit each. Peyton Bowen doubled. PJ Weeks, Carroll, Craig (RBI), and Whitley (RBI) each contributed singles.

Adairsville (6-4, 1-0) completes the two-game, home-and-home series with the Mountaineers Tuesday in Chatsworth at 5:55 p.m.

BLESSED TRINITY 11, WOODLAND 5

BLESSED TRINITY 5, WOODLAND 1

The 7th-ranked Blessed Trinity Titans swept a Region 7-5A doubleheader with Woodland Saturday night in Roswell, winning 11-5 and 5-1.

Blessed Trinity pitchers kept the Woodland bats silent for much of the night limiting the Wildcats to only six hits in the doubleheader.

Max Puckett had two hits including a triple plus a sacrifice fly and three RBIs for the Titans in the opening game win. Jackson Morgan also drove in two runs for the Titans.

Justice Haynes (4.2 IP, 2R, 1ER, 3H, 5BB, 6K) picked up the opening game pitching win for Blessed Trinity. Ethan Chernik (1.1 IP, 0R, 2K) and Parker Spring (1 IP, 3ER, 1H, 4BB, 1K) closed out the final 2-and-1/3 innings.

Julian Wright had three hits for the Wildcats. Jakiyon Porter added one hit. Jacob Gravett drove in a pair of runs with two bases loaded walks and Ayden Ray contributed one RBI with a base on balls.

Wright (2 IP, 7R, 5ER, 4H, 6BB, 3K) was saddled with the pitching loss in Game 1. Connor Stermer (3.1 IP, 1ER, 4H, 1BB, 1K), Nate Rosser (0.2 IP, 0R, 1H), and Tore Foss (1 IP, 3ER, 1H, 4BB, 2K) also pitched for Woodland.

In the nightcap, Blessed Trinity — batting first as the visitors — took a 3-0 lead through five and a half innings with single runs in the first, third, and fourth innings.

Woodland narrowed the lead to 3-1 in the sixth inning, but the Titans put the game away in the seventh with two more runs.

Three Blessed Trinity pitchers — Evan O’Neill, Sean Wylie, and Porter Buursema — combined for the Titans’ win. O’Neill struck out five in 4-and-1/3 innings.

The Wildcats managed only three hits in the game. Porter doubled in the sixth inning and scored on an RBI single by Ray. Chase Carson had a two-out single in the seventh.

Hunter Shirley (4 IP, 3R, 2ER, 3H, 12BB, 4K) took the pitching loss for Woodland. Coby Barrett (3 IP, 2ER, 4H, 4BB, 2K) retired the final nine outs.

Blessed Trinity moved to 9-6 on the season and 3-0 in region play.

Woodland (7-8, 0-3) begins a three-game series Tuesday at home against Cartersville.