Habersham Central High School’s baseball team ran into a nationally-ranked Cherokee Bluff High School squad that, ultimately, snapped a 10-game win streak for the Raiders with a 15-6 defeat at Raider Park on Thursday night.
The Bears (12-2, 3-1 Region 8-AAAA) jumped on HCHS (11-2, 4-0 Region 8-AAAAAA) early, putting three runs up in the top of the first.
A hit batsman, bunt single and, what was marked as an error on the left fielder, posted the first two runs and left a runner on third. Then a one-out, RBI double pushed in the third run of the frame for the visitors.
With the bears being ranked nationally and averaging just under nine runs per game, it seems near-game ending to spot them three runs in the first inning. But not for the Raiders.
HCHS came out swinging in the first inning as well and got the runs back.
Konner Burrell delivered a one-out double to right-center field to get the offense going. Two batters later, an error on the defense on a ball hit by Charlie Mills to the right side scored Burrell.
Hayden Gailey followed with a single to plate Mills. Kreed Barrett delivered a hit two move Gailey over before Kaleb Chastain delivered a two-run triple, taking the lead back from the Bears, 4-3.
In the second inning, both teams changed pitchers and held each other to back-to-back scoreless innings.
The Bears added a pair of runs in the fourth with a bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly. Then, in the fifth, Cherokee Bluff put up a big five-hit, six-run inning.
The Raiders added a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame, but that would be the end of their day.
Bubba Coleman, a sophomore and LSU commit, hit a solo home run to center field in the sixth inning. The Bears added their final three runs in the seventh inning.
HCHS Head Coach Chris Akridge said he scheduled the matchup with Cherokee Bluff because he knew they would be a quality opponent.
“The whole reason we scheduled those guys is so that if we did not play perfect, they would abuse us and beat us,” Akridge said. “I’m a firm believer that you can’t sharpen a knife with a Kleenex. Iron sharpens iron. They’re a top 10 team in the state for a reason and so are we.”
The Raiders were just one inning removed – that six-run fifth – from being tied with the Bears heading into the final inning. That’s not something that’s lost on Akridge.
“You take away one inning, it’s a tied game in the seventh. They’re a top-30 team in the country, a very, very talented team,” Akridge said. “That’s the reason we play teams like them, like North Hall is so that we’ve got to play almost perfect in order to be successful.
“I’m a firm believer that’s going to help us down the road in the big picture,” he continued. “Our kids are tough enough and understand that.”
Another positive to come from the game is that the head man was able to get some of his young players, like sophomore pitcher Carter Crane who closed out the game on the mound, into the game, getting them experience against fierce competition
Getting the youngsters high-level game experience is invaluable late in the season when making a push for a region title or playing into the state playoffs. In the four games prior to Thursday, the Raiders had used just three pitchers in their rotation and got three complete-game efforts out of it.
“We expect our pitchers to go deep and we want them to go deep into games, but three complete games in a row is unheard of. Riding three pitchers throughout the grind of a region schedule is just not sustainable,” Akridge said. “You’ve got to develop guys. That was one of our goals coming into tonight was to throw some guys in the fire, especially some young guys, against one of the best teams in the country and watch them compete and help them develop and get sharper.”
The last loss for HCHS came on February 17 against North Hall, another top 10 team in the state. After that, the Raider rattled off 10-straight wins, including four wins in region play.
“It’s been 10-straight wins since the North Hall loss. Our guys responded well after that loss and I’m confident they’ll respond well after tonight,” Akridge said.
Next up on the schedule is a home matchup with Jackson County at 5:55 p.m. Monday. The Raiders will go on the road to Jackson County Wednesday with the same start time before hosting North Forsyth at 6 p.m. Friday, March 22.
