Canes finish PG event 2-2 following extra innings loss to Winder-Barrow
The Cartersville baseball team concluded play at the 2020 Perfect Game High School Showdown in Hoover, Alabama Saturday with an extra innings 8-7 loss to the Georgia Class 6A third-ranked Winder-Barrow Bulldoggs. The two teams battled to a 6-6 tie through regulation and both teams plated a run in the ninth inning before Winder-Barrow took the lead in the top of the 12th inning and made it stand up. It looked good early on for Cartersville. The Canes grabbed a 5-0 lead in the second inning on three hits, two hit batsmen, a walk, and a Bulldoggs’ outfielder error.
Winder-Barrow scored twice in the top of the fourth on a pair of singles, two walks, and a Cartersville error, but the Hurricanes pushed their lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the frame.
Curt Bonner lined a single into left field to score Parker McPherson in the Canes’ half of the fourth inning.
The Bulldoggs’ biggest inning was the sixth when they scored four times to tie the game at 6-6. Three consecutive hits followed by a Brady House triple narrowed the Cartersville lead to 6-5 and a two-out single by Jhaydon Sullivan tied the game and ultimately sent it to extra innings.
Cartersville had a pair of baserunners in the seventh and eighth innings but could not convert them into a run, but after Winder-Barrow took a 7-6 lead in the top of the ninth the Canes got an RBI groundout by Josh Davis to score Tyler Williamson who had doubled earlier.
The Hurricanes loaded the bases in both the tenth and eleventh innings without pushing a run across and a flyout that led to a double play ended a Cartersville threat in the bottom of the twelfth.
Drake Carver (3 IP, 1R, 0ER, 1H, 4BB) suffered the pitching loss for Cartersville after working the final three frames on the bump. Colt McKibben (3.2 IP, 2R, 0ER, 5H, 3BB, 1K) started for the Hurricanes. Davis Williams (2.1 IP, 4ER, 6H, 1BB) and Phillip Schiltz (3 IP, 1ER, 3H, 3K) also pitched for Cartersville.
Trevor Maddox (3.1 IP, 1ER, 4H, 4BB, 3K) picked up the pitching win for Winder-Barrow in relief of starter Andrew Lewis (3 IP, 5R, 4ER, 4H, 2BB, 2K) and middle reliever Sullivan (5 IP, 1R, 0ER, 6H, 2BB, 5K).
Sullivan had a four-hit game for the Bulldoggs including a double, triple, and one RBI. Four other Winder-Barrow starters had two hits each. McPherson and Bonner (RBI) had three hits each for Cartersville. One of McPherson’s hits was a double. Williamson contributed two hits including a double. Davis (2 RBI), Eastin Elliott (2 RBI), Ben Williams, Sam Melton (double), Clay Ross, and Jake Brasfield finished with one hit each.
After winning the first two games at the Showdown, Cartersville wrapped up the Perfect Game event with a 2-2 mark. The Canes (7-5) are scheduled to play Woodberry Forest (Virginia) Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. at LakePoint before traveling to Alexander Thursday in their final two tune-ups before starting Region 5-AAAA play March 16.
