Canes Storm Back Twice in Sweep

advanced to the quarterfinals of the state AAA baseball playoffs Wednesday with a doubleheader sweep of the North Hall Trojans from Gainesville, 4-3 and 8-4. The Purple Hurricanes had to come from behind in both games.

“We’ve been behind before,” Coach Stuart Chester said. “I try to keep ’em on that even plane, try not to get too high or too low.”

The Canes won Game 1 4-3 on a walk-off single by Harris Battle, driving in courtesy runner Trey Graves from second, after a leadoff home run by North Hall’s Cody Fowler in the top of the seventh tied the game at 3 and stopped senior lefthander Sam Howard’s bid for a complete-game win.

Left fielder Michael Willard, batting at the bottom of the order, provided the offensive spark for the Canes in Game 1.

After North Hall scored an unearned run in the second, Willard got Cartersville’s first hit when he led off the bottom of the third inning with a double to right-center field. He scored two pitches later when Connor Justus blooped a double down the right-field line.

Cartersville took the lead in the third when Luke Daniel, who had walked, scored on an error by third baseman Andrew Smith. That was one of seven errors North Hall committed during the doubleheader.

Willard padded that lead with a solo home run off Trojans starter Preston Graham in the fourth inning.

“Michael Willard did a good job at the plate,” Chester said. “We’ve got a couple injuries that kind of mixed the lineup up.”

While Howard struggled with his control, walking three and hitting a batter, he looked unhittable for much of the game and retired eight Trojans in a row in the middle innings.

Mason Savage hit a solo home run in the sixth to cut the Cartersville lead to one run, but Chester sent Howard out in the seventh to try to finish the game.

That lasted one pitch. Fowler crushed a fastball over the left-field fence to tie the game, and Chester brought in Kendall Hawkins to retire the Trojans.

Hawkins became the winning pitcher when Graves just beat the throw home on Battle’s one-out single to left in the bottom of the seventh. Graves was running for first baseman Colin Bennett, who led off with a walk. Zach Ross sacrificed Graves to second, and after Taylor Wilson walked, Battle delivered the winning hit.

Game 2 got off to a rocky start for the Canes and senior starting pitcher Ben Dittmer. He gave up three singles, a walk and a run before he recorded an out, and Cartersville trailed 3-0 after one inning.

But the Canes, who batted first in the second game, bounced back and scored two runs with two outs in the second inning, and Dittmer held the Trojans scoreless in the second despite giving up two more hits, thanks to a slick double play started by Ben Venters and turned by Justus.

Dittmer “definitely was a little bit out of sync, but he did what he had to do, got the plays behind him in defense and kept us in there and gave an opportunity to produce at the plate,” Chester said.

That set the stage for a wild top of the third, when Cartersville sent 11 men to the plate and scored six runs on five hits and most of the Trojans’ five errors for the game. Every bounce seemed to go the Canes’ way that inning.

“I don’t care how talented you are, to win championships … the ball’s got to bounce your way, no matter who you are,” Chester said.

All eight runs came against Trojans starter Chris Stevens, and they were all the Canes needed.

Dittmer gave up one more run in the third but survived by limiting North Hall to singles. The Trojans outhit the Canes in the game, 11-9, but were undone by the five errors and failed to score over the final four innings.

Drew Flatford pitched the fourth and fifth innings for Cartersville, then Hawkins came in for the sixth and seventh innings to close out the 8-4 win.

“I thought Kendall Hawkins did a great job coming in in relief in both games, throwing strikes and using that fastball,” Chester said.

Cartersville, ranked No. 3 in the state, next will play a doubleheader Tuesday in Griffin at top-ranked Spalding, which swept Cross Creek on Wednesday.