By: Drew HarrisWC_High_School

(Toccoa) The White County Warriors baseball team earned their first region victory on Monday night as they defeated Stephens County 6-3 in Toccoa. The win gave the Warriors a split with the Indians in the opening series of region 8-AAAA play.

The Warriors led from start to finish. Stetson Gearin ripped a 2-run single in the top of the 1st inning. Starting pitcher Trey Cantrell worked around a few base-runners in the first few innings with some timely pitches and solid defense. White County extended their lead to 3-0 in the 3rd on an Ethan Ramey RBI single that scored Joel Pritchett. The Indians plated their first run in the bottom of the 3rd on an RBI single by Caleb Gastley to cut the lead to 3-1. The Warriors then responded next inning by scoring two more runs. After a Stephens County error, Jay Taylor tripled to right to drive in a run. Taylor then crossed home on a Pritchett RBI single to make 5-1 Warriors.

The Indians added two runs in the bottom of the 4th to cut the deficit in half, but that would be as close as they would get. After another Indian error, Jason Ward singled to drive in Parker Applewhite to give White County the 6-3 lead, which would be the final score.

Cantrell got the win for White County as he went five innings and allowed six hits. Aaron Bennett came on in relief to earn the save. Bennett struck out the side in the 7th inning to end the ballgame. Stetson Gearin, Pritchett, Taylor, and Ward all finished with two hits. Tray Gearin, Ramey, and Allen each added one hit. The Warriors finished with a dozen hits for the game.

“Tonight was a good win for our team”, head coach Jay Wright said. “They made some errors but we really hit the ball well tonight, and the pitching from our two young guys was phenomenal.”

White County will open up a two-game set with the North Hall Trojans on Wednesday at Warrior field. First pitch is set for 5:55 p.m. You can listen to the game on Newstalk 1350 WRWH, www.wrwh.com, and TuneIn Radio app. The Warriors will travel to Jody Davis Field for the second game of the series on Friday.

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