The Indians snapped a two-game skid with crucial region wins at #6-ranked Elbert County on Thursday night. #4-ranked TFS took a 3-2 nail-biter in the opening game, and won 7-3 in the second contest. In both, Tallulah Falls held a lead throughout.
The Indians are now 7-3 overall and 2-1 in region play. Both TFS and Elbert were ranked inside the top-10 in four separate state polls.
GAME 1
The Indians set an early lead and held it to the final out, taking a 3-2 win against Elbert in the opening game of the double-header. BJ Carver had an RBI single as part of a 2-run opening frame. Diego Gonzalez had gotten an RBI the hard way in the previous at-bat, getting plunked with the bases loaded.
Starter Rohajae Pinder was cruising through the contest, inducing an inning-ending double-play grounder in the first. Up 2-0 in the fifth, TFS added an insurance run when Gonzalez lined a single to left to plate Danny Grant, who had opened the inning with a leadoff double. Elbert got a 2-out rally in the home half, and a 2-run single made it a 3-2 game. Pinder finished out the inning with a lead in hand.
Andrew Skvarka pitched a perfect sixth, and Cole Bonitatibus worked a flawless seventh to earn a save. Pinder (2-1) picked up the win, going five innnings with eight hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. Skvarka and Bonitatibus had a strikeout apiece. Grant went 3-for-3 with two runs, while Gonzalez notched two RBI.
W: Rohajae Pinder (2-1)
S: Cole Bonitatibus (1)
RBI: 2 – Diego Gonzalez; BJ Carver
GAME 2
TFS won the nightcap 7-3. The Indians held a 4-0 lead after the first two innings, though the Blue Devils battled back.
Gonzalez remained hot, singling in Caden Walker in the first. Chase Pollock put down a bunt to give himself up and bring in Grant. In the second, Tallulah Falls added to the lead with a Walker RBI double that scored Ashton Roache, and Grant bringing in Walker with an ensuing single to left.
Bonitatibus, the starter in the second game, was backed with the 4-run lead. The Blue Devils chipped away, and got one run in each of the third, fourth, and fifth innings to pull within 4-3 heading into the sixth. Back-to-back singles had TFS in business, and Zaiden Cox had an RBI groundout to get a run back. Chris Waldron followed that with a sac fly. Walker then singled in Roache, who doubled with two outs to help make it a 7-3 lead.
Bonitatibus (2-0) earned the victory, going 4.1 innings while giving up three runs (one earned) on four hits, three walks, and five strikeouts. Skvarka pitched in relief again, and went 2.2 innings with a pair of strikeouts. Walker was 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs, while Grant had two hits, an RBI, and a run. Gonzalez also had two hits and an RBI.
W: Cole Bonitatibus (2-0)
RBI: 2 – Caden Walker, Danny Grant, Diego Gonzalez, Chase Pollock, Zaiden Cox, Chris Waldron
JV
The JV Indians shut out Franklin County 7-0 on Thursday night to remain unbeaten on the season, but the box score showed the oddity of how TFS won. While Griffin Harkness was hurling one of the best games of his career, the offense was putting up runs – yet tallied just one hit in the victory but recorded 14 walks.
A scoreless tie was broken in the third when Drew Barron worked a bases-loaded walk. Merrick Carnes had a sacrifice bunt to score Asa Popham in the fourth, and a 4-run fifth was highlighted by a 2-run single off the bat of Popham. It was the game’s only hit for TFS, which got one more in the sixth.
Harkness dazzled with a 10-strikeout game while going five innings and allowing just one hit and two walks. Barron pitched the final inning, striking out the side around a hit. Jackson Savage scored two runs and had three walks. Popham had two RBI and a run along with two walks. Six different players had multiple walks.
The Indians are now 4-0 on the season.
