Warriors knock off No. 1 North Hall; jump to the top of the region standings

The White County Warriors made a big statement Monday night, handing North Hall, the No. 1 team in the latest Class AAA state poll, a 4-1 loss to take over sole possession of the top spot in the Region 7-AAA race.

The Warriors (12-3) moved to 7-0 in the region play and are the only undefeated team left in the region. North Hall (6-1) and Cherokee Bluff (3-1) are next heading into Wednesday's action, with West Hall sitting in the fourth spot at 4-2. The Warriors and Trojans played the second game of the series Wednesday, with the final game set for North Hall on Friday.

On Monday, the Warriors got some solid pitching and stellar defense to lead the way to the win.

WCHS assistant coach Brett Westmoreland said the win was indicative of the way this team has most of the season and goes back to something he told head coach Jim Waits earlier in the season.

“I've been telling Jim since the first week there's something special about this group,” Westmoreland said. “We just keep playing, just keep playing. We came down here on a 6-0 start (in the region) and I don't think this program has a 6-0 start in the last 15 years. But we still have the motto that we're 0-0, and we are going to keep taking it one game at a time.”

Things didn't exactly start well for the Warriors. WCHS starter Bailee Patterson hit North Hall's Tate Brooks with the fourth pitch of the game. Brooks stole second, went to third on a ground ball, and then pinch runner Grayson Kirby scored on a wild pitch to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead.

Patterson settled down in the second inning, retiring the Trojans in order, but North Hall's Eli Reece kept the Warriors' bats silent through the first three innings.

In the top of the fourth, J. Ben Haynes got things started, ripping a pitch down the third base line for a double. Nate Bray followed with a single, and Haynes scored on a throwing error on the play to tie things up at 1-1. Evan Chambers singled and Dylan Sargent was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Kyler Mayo gave the Warriors the lead with a sacrifice fly to right field, pushing home Bray for a 2-1 lead. Patterson delivered the big blow of the inning, doubling on a deep fly ball to right field, plating a pair of runs for a 4-1 lead.

“You get a leadoff double in the heart of the order, it's usually a good thing,” Westmoreland said. “We preach about competing at the plate, hunting pitches at the plate. That inning we did a great job of attacking the pitches and executing when we got them. Since I've been here since 2018, we've preached about competing, giving yourself a chance in the batter's box. Put the ball in play and see what happens. In that inning, we found the barrel a couple of times, and some things fell our way. This group is starting to buy in, and that's starts with a lot of good senior leadership. They are buying into what we believe.

North Hall out runners on second and third in the bottom of the inning, but Patterson got out of trouble by getting the final out of the inning on a fly ball to centerfielder Rylee Higgins.

North Hall had another chance to get back in the game in the bottom of the fifth inning.

With one out, the Trojans used two errors and a single to load the bases. Patterson got a big out, coaxing an infield popup to Haynes at shortstop for the second out of the inning.

With two outs, White County's Jake Johnson came up with a potential game-saving play in left field.North Hall's Hudson Barrett ripped a line drive in the left field gap, but Johnson made a diving catch for the final out.

“If he doesn't make that catch, the ball probably gets all the way to the wall,” Westmoreland said. “They score at least three runs, and it probably would have been an inside the park home run.”

That pitch was the final one for Patterson, who turned the ball over Sargent in the sixth inning.

Sargent,  who has been the team's primary catcher since his freshman season, had never pitched in a high school game before taking the mound against the No. 1 team in the state.

“I've seen him throw a couple of pens (bullpen sessions), and I thought he looked good,” WCHS pitching coach Eric Stahl said. “He's a smart guy and I knew if we put him on the mound, he'd compete, and that's what we got. He went right  at the hitters and made them hit it, and we made some plays behind him. Whoever we put out there is going to compete. If we can attack the strike zone, we've got eight guys behind them that can make plays. We have to trust them and play team ball.”

Sargent did exactly what Stahl wanted, attacking the zone and getting three outs on 10 pitches.

Sargent gave up a single to Jay Johnson, but he got Jace Bowen to ground into a 1-6-3 double play to end the inning. Bray made a nice play on the backend of the double play, diving up the line to catch the throw while somehow keeping his foot on first base.

Sargent caught all 93 of Patterson's pitches through the first five innings, so it didn't take a lot to get him ready to pitch.

“I never expected to pitch,” Sargent said. “Coach Stahl always tells me “maybe next year,” so I wasn't expecting it. (During the game) he told me to be ready, and I said alright. I threw one ball as hard as I could outside the dugout and then went to the mound.

In the seventh inning, Sargent got the first out on a strikeout, and then Mayo ran down a ball in deep right field for the second out, and the Cooper Helton flew out to Mayo near the right field line to end the game.

“I just wanted to go in there and throw it across the plate and let us make a play,” Sargent said. “I wanted to throw it across the plate and make them put it in play. Bailee pitched five innings of great ball and I just wanted to go in there and keep it rolling. It's huge. It's the first year we've really played well in region and its a big win for our program to beat the No. 1 team in the state and stay undefeated in the region.”

Haynes said the win means a lot to the seniors and the entire program.

“This means a lot to us,” Haynes said. “We've been through it all in our high school career and we haven't been very good in the past. This year we've had a lot of success, but it didn't just happen. We've put in a lot of work, especially the seniors, but we've also got a lot of underclassmen making big plays for us. It's fun, it feels good. North Hall is the powerhouse baseball school in the area. We weren't scared of them; a lot of people come in here and get beat when they walk off the bus. We knew we had a chance to win and we played our baseball, and came out on top.”

Patterson needed 93 pitches to get through five innings and get the win. He allowed four hits and four walks, while striking out one. Sargent worked the final two innings for the save, allowing two hits with one strikeout.

“I think Bailee and the rest of our guys are learning that if we go out there and compete, we've got eight guys behind them that can make plays,” Stahl said. “We played a great team ballgame. It wasn't just one person. Bailee got behind in some counts, but he kept battling and let his boys behind him make the plays. We tell our kids we can't control the strike zone, we have to push through it; it's always about the next pitch.”

Johnson and Evan Chambers both had two hits for the Warriors, while Haynes, Bray, Sargent, Mayo, Patterson, and Mark Daniels each had a hit.

Last Saturday, the Warriors posted a 13-2 win over Dawson County to finish off the three-game sweep of the Tigers.

Haynes had a big day at the plate with three hits, including a double, with three runs and three RBI.

Patterson had two hits with a run and RBI, while Chambers had a hit, drove in three runs, and scored a run.

Johnson had a hit and scored twice, while Bray and Daniels each had a hit, scored a run and drove in a run, with Sargent getting a hit and driving in a run. Higgins had two walks and scored two runs from the leadoff spot.

Caleb Reddy earned the win with four innings of work, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out  one. Daniels pitched the final inning, allowing two hits and a walk with one strikeout.