Patriots get past Jackets in extra innings
Mar. 30—Three days after knocking off one 2022 state runner-up, Lee County had a chance to do it to another, but couldn't close the deal.
The Yellow Jackets tied up their Sandhills Athletic Conference baseball game with Pinecrest on a two-run homer by BJ Brown in the bottom of the fifth inning, then got the leadoff man on base in the seventh with a chance to walk off with the win, but couldn't close the deal. The Patriots, who won the SAC regular-season and tournament titles last year and then advanced all the way to the 4A state championship series, scored two runs in the top of the eighth and held Lee to claim a 4-2 win.
It was the first conference loss of the season for the Jackets (10-2, 4-1 SAC), who moved all the way to the No. 4 spot in the 3A East rankings after beating Grove City, the 2022 Ohio Division I state runners-up, on Saturday. Lee remains tied with the Patriots (11-2, 4-1) for first place in the conference, but will have to beat them in Friday's rematch at Pinecrest to stay atop the league.
Meetings between the two teams have all been significant games since Lee and Pinecrest became conference rivals again two years ago. The Jackets and Patriots include many players who are actually teammates in the summer as part of C35 Baseball. Two of them dueled on the mound in this game, with Bryant Kimbrell taking the hill for Pinecrest and Walker McDuffie for Lee County.
Both held their own against the other. Kimbrell pitched around a two-on, two-out jam in the first inning, and then McDuffie did the same in his turn. The Patriots took a 1-0 lead in the second, thanks to a leadoff single by JC Woolard, a walk to Grayson Hudgins, and a sacrifice fly that produced the game's first run.
Lee threatened again in the fourth, when Dylan Kelly led off with a double and Thomas Frazer walked with two out, but Kimbrell got out of it. He was immediately rewarded, as Pinecrest increased its lead to 2-0 in the top of the fifth. Connor Tepatti and Hunter Huneycutt had back-to-back singles to start the inning, and Pinecrest loaded the bases when McDuffie misplayed a sacrifice bunt attempt.
Lee's defense, and McDuffie himself, immediately redeemed themselves, but at a cost. Colby Wallace flew out to left fielder Luke Sheets, and both courtesy runner Ilyas Kalila and Huneycutt tried to tag up and advance. Kalila scored, but McDuffie played cutoff man and nabbed Huneycutt at third for a double play. He then induced a flyout from Kimbrell and the inning ended.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Jackets finally got to Kimbrell. Carson Beal walked with one out. McDuffie hit into a fielder's choice, erasing Beal but making it to first himself.
Then Brown hit a towering fly over the left-field fence and tied the game on the first pitch he saw.
Lee could have easily as not taken the lead that inning. Kelly walked, and Pinecrest replaced Kimbrell with Noah Arnett. Arnett walked Sheets on a full-count pitch, bringing up Presley Patterson. With the count 2-0, Patterson smashed a rope into center field, but the Patriots' Ryan Norris was well positioned and snagged the lineout to end the inning.
McDuffie and Arnett sailed through the sixth, and McDuffie retired the first man in the seventh before giving way to the pitch count. Thomas Frazer finished the inning.
Beal led off the bottom of the seventh with a single, and Lee tried to end it there. But McDuffie missed connections on a sacrifice attempt, and then, swinging away, hit a slow grounder that turned into a 6-4-3 twin killing. Brown could have still won it with another homer, but grounded out.
Kimbrell led off the eighth with a double, and scored on a one-out hit by Woolard, who scored on a double by Hudgins later in the inning.
Lee had Kelly, Sheets and Patterson up in the bottom half of the inning, but the Jackets were out of bullets.
Kelly, who went 2-for-3 with a walk, was the only Yellow Jacket with more than one hit. Beal had a perfect day at the plate, 1-for-1 with two walks. McDuffie allowed six hits and one earned run in 6 1/3 innings of work, striking out eight.
For the Patriots, Woolard had three hits, while Tepatti, Kimbrell, Huneycutt and JD Scarborough all had two.
