(Editor’s note: The Pirates traveled to Buford on Monday to face the Wolves in the semi finals. As of presstime, the Pirates lost to Buford late Monday and were eliminated from the playoffs. However, the community is very proud of the efforts of the players, coaches and supporters for all their hard work during this historic season. Congratulations to you all.)
By David Miller
The 2011 Appling Pirates baseball team has advanced to the semi-final round of the playoffs. They earned their way there by defeating Region 8AA Champion, the Hart County Bulldogs in a best-of-three series in Hartwell. The Pirates won the first game 4-1, lost the second game 12-11 and rallied to win the third game 9-4.
Above, sitting, l-r , Josh Barber, Kyle Fennell, Byron Buxton, and Jeremy Ammons. Kneeling, l-r, Gunner Sellers, Dylan Crosby, Conner Simmons, Gage Patton, Tyler Avera, Colby Griffin, Cole Simmons and Zach Smith. Standing, l-r, Coach Tyler Cason, Dylan Hutchinson, Coach Jarrod Crumpton, Colby Baucom, Justin Javis, Devin Causey, Tyler Sapp, Matthew Shumans, Kyle Miller, Suraj Patel, Josh Deen, Head Coach Jeremy Smith and Coach Andy Dowdney.
Pirates advance to final four
Game 1
The Pirates went on the road Tuesday afternoon to face the Hart County Bulldogs in the third round of the GHSA Class AA playoffs. The Pirates used timely hitting, solid pitching and flawless defensive play to beat the Bulldogs 4-1 to take a 1-0 lead in the best of three series.
Starting pitcher Byron Buxton would allow only one runner to reach in the first. He was erased with no further damage trying to steal second base. The Pirates managed to get only one base runner as well through the first three innings. The Bulldogs would score first on a solo homerun to right field.
The Pirates answered right back in the top half of the fourth inning scoring three big runs. Justin Javis got hit by a pitch to start the inning. Tyler Avera reached on an infield single. After a pop out, Devin Causey delivered a line drive over the right center field fence for a three-run homerun.
The score would stay that way until the top half of the sixth. With two outs, Tyler Avera reached on an error. Kyle Miller drove home Avera with a solid double down the left field line. The score was 4-1 in favor of the Pirates going into the bottom of the sixth inning. In the middle of sixth the game was delayed for more than an hour to allow a thunderstorm to pass.
When play resumed Buxton picked up where he left off striking out five of the last six batters of the game to seal the victory.
Game 2
Hart County was the visiting team in this game. The Bulldogs scored first in the top of the first on two hits and a walk. The Pirates answered with a one out double by Jeremy Ammons. Ammons later scored the only run of the inning on a wild pitch.
The Bulldogs scored three runs in the top of the second. The score after two was 4-1 in favor of the Bulldogs.
The Pirates managed to climb their way back even in the bottom half of the inning on a three-run homerun by Kyle Miller, his fifth of the season. The floodgates opened up in the top of the fourth as the Bulldogs scored four runs on two hits and two costly Pirate errors. The score after four innings of play was 8-4. That lead was stretched to eight in the top of the fifth when Hart scored four more runs to pull away from the Pirates.
The Pirates managed to climb their way back into the game in the bottom of the sixth. They scored four runs in the inning including a homerun by Byron Buxton. The homerun was his ninth of the year. The Pirates held the Bulldogs scoreless in the top of the seventh. The Pirates started another big rally in the bottom of the inning scoring three more runs to make the score 12-11. However, the Pirates came up a little short. The final out was made in game two with the tying run at second base.
Game 3
In game three, the Pirates were once again the visiting team. The home team was decided by a coin flip. Second baseman Jeremy Ammons kept game two’s momentum going for the Pirates as he belted a pitch over the right center field fence to put the Pirates on top 2-0 after the first inning. The homerun was Ammons’ second of the year.
The Bulldogs would not go down without a fight as they scored two of their own in the bottom of the second to tie the game. The Pirates took the lead again 3-2 when Byron Buxton scored as Tyler Avera broke up a double play at second base. The Bulldogs once again tied the game in the bottom of the third as they scored one run on two hits.
The score stayed tied until the top half of the fifth when the Pirates exploded for five runs on four hits. Four walks allowed by Hart County pitchers aided the outburst.
Josh Barber got the start on the mound for the Pirates and pitched six plus innings before giving way to Buxton to close it out with two on and no outs in the seventh. Final score was 9-4. The Pirates will travel to Buford on Monday to face the number one ranked Buford Wolves in the semi-final round.
The Pirates went on the road Tuesday afternoon to face the Hart County Bulldogs in the third round of the GHSA Class AA playoffs. The Pirates used timely hitting, solid pitching and flawless defensive play to beat the Bulldogs 4-1 to take a 1-0 lead in the best of three series.
Starting pitcher Byron Buxton would allow only one runner to reach in the first. He was erased with no further damage trying to steal second base. The Pirates managed to get only one base runner as well through the first three innings. The Bulldogs would score first on a solo homerun to right field.
The Pirates answered right back in the top half of the fourth inning scoring three big runs. Justin Javis got hit by a pitch to start the inning. Tyler Avera reached on an infield single. After a pop out, Devin Causey delivered a line drive over the right center field fence for a three-run homerun.
The score would stay that way until the top half of the sixth. With two outs, Tyler Avera reached on an error. Kyle Miller drove home Avera with a solid double down the left field line. The score was 4-1 in favor of the Pirates going into the bottom of the sixth inning. In the middle of sixth the game was delayed for more than an hour to allow a thunderstorm to pass.
When play resumed Buxton picked up where he left off striking out five of the last six batters of the game to seal the victory.
Game 2
Hart County was the visiting team in this game. The Bulldogs scored first in the top of the first on two hits and a walk. The Pirates answered with a one out double by Jeremy Ammons. Ammons later scored the only run of the inning on a wild pitch.
The Bulldogs scored three runs in the top of the second. The score after two was 4-1 in favor of the Bulldogs.
The Pirates managed to climb their way back even in the bottom half of the inning on a three-run homerun by Kyle Miller, his fifth of the season. The floodgates opened up in the top of the fourth as the Bulldogs scored four runs on two hits and two costly Pirate errors. The score after four innings of play was 8-4. That lead was stretched to eight in the top of the fifth when Hart scored four more runs to pull away from the Pirates.
The Pirates managed to climb their way back into the game in the bottom of the sixth. They scored four runs in the inning including a homerun by Byron Buxton. The homerun was his ninth of the year. The Pirates held the Bulldogs scoreless in the top of the seventh. The Pirates started another big rally in the bottom of the inning scoring three more runs to make the score 12-11. However, the Pirates came up a little short. The final out was made in game two with the tying run at second base.
Game 3
In game three, the Pirates were once again the visiting team. The home team was decided by a coin flip. Second baseman Jeremy Ammons kept game two’s momentum going for the Pirates as he belted a pitch over the right center field fence to put the Pirates on top 2-0 after the first inning. The homerun was Ammons’ second of the year.
The Bulldogs would not go down without a fight as they scored two of their own in the bottom of the second to tie the game. The Pirates took the lead again 3-2 when Byron Buxton scored as Tyler Avera broke up a double play at second base. The Bulldogs once again tied the game in the bottom of the third as they scored one run on two hits.
The score stayed tied until the top half of the fifth when the Pirates exploded for five runs on four hits. Four walks allowed by Hart County pitchers aided the outburst.
Josh Barber got the start on the mound for the Pirates and pitched six plus innings before giving way to Buxton to close it out with two on and no outs in the seventh. Final score was 9-4. The Pirates will travel to Buford on Monday to face the number one ranked Buford Wolves in the semi-final round.
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#1
Anon
on
05/23/11 at 07:37 AM
[Reply]
Way to go Pirates!