Winning streak puts Warriors back in the thick of region race

Thanks to a four-game winning streak, the White County Warriors are back in hunt for a state playoff spot.

The Warriors (14-9) finished off a three-game series sweep last week over West Hall with a pair of blowout wins, and then knocked off Cherokee Bluff 10-7 Monday in Flowery Branch.

The four-game winning streak moved the Warriors' 7-AAA record to 8-8, one game behind East Forsyth (9-7)  for the fourth place spot heading into Wednesday's games, and Cherokee Bluff fell to 10-6 with Monday's loss. North Hall leads the region with a 16-0 record, while Dawson County is second at 11-5.

The Warriors now have total control of their playoff scenario, with two games left against Bluff, and three games next week against East Forsyth to close out the regular season.

“We talked to the guys after the Gilmer series and told them to focus on controlling what they can control,” WCHS head coach Jim Waits said. “We can't control what East Forsyth is doing when we are playing them, we can't control what Cherokee Bluff is doing when we aren't playing them. We just want to have quality at-bats, quality pitching and quality defense.”

The Warriors have been dominant during the current four-game streak, outscoring West Hall 37-5 in three games, and taking a 10-7 win against Cherokee Bluff. The offensive onslaught has been paced by Mark Daniels, Nate Bray, and Dylan Sargent.

Daniels is 9-15 (.600) at the plate during the winning streak, and has driven in five runs, and scored five times. Bray is 8-16 (.500) with three doubles, and has also scored five times and driven in five runs. Sargent is 6-15 (.400) with two doubles, a home run, four runs and three RBI. Jake Johnson has driven in seven runs and scored four times during the streak, while Billy Carder has five RBI.

“Our guys have started swinging the bats, and we've played real well all the way around,” Waits said. “We're hitting it, and we've pitched it well and played defense. A lot of the credit goes to the kids and Erich and Brett for what they've done. Monday night, I think eight guys in the lineup had at least one hit, and three or four guys have really been hot,” Waits said. “Everybody in the lineup has been doing their job. We're being selfish with our at-bats; even with two strikes we've been able to extend the at-bats.”

Daniels and Sargent have also been stellar on the mound over the past two weeks.

In his last four starts, Daniels  has worked 24.2 innings, allowing 20 hits and five earned runs, with 15 strikeouts and 14 walks. Sargent has made three starts and one relief appearance over the past two weeks, working 19. 1 innings. He has allowed 20 hits and only three walks, while striking out 15 and allowing just two earned runs.

“Mark and Dylan have been lights outs,” Waits said. “They both compete with all their pitches, and they come right at you. They pound the strike zone and let the defense make plays behind them.”

Cherokee Bluff

The Warriors opened up a 9-0 lead in their first three turns at the plate, but the Bears made things interesting and had the tying run at the plate before the Warriors closed the door on a 10-7 win.

The Warriors scored four times in the first inning, with the first two runs scoring off an error after a single by Bray. Sargent followed with an RBI double, and Devin Norton added RBI single.

In the second inning, Ryan Fowler hit his first home run of the season, lifting a solo shot over the left field fence for a 5-0 lead.

In the third inning, Sargent doubled and scored on a single from Daniels. With two on and two out, Fowler came up with his second home run of the game, hitting a fly ball over the center field fence for a 9-0 lead.

Bluff took advantage of an error in the bottom of the inning to climb back in the game. Bryce England capped off the inning with a two-run home run to cut the Warriors' lead to 9-5.

Sargent got one of the runs back in the top of the fourth inning, hitting a solo home run on a 3-2 pitch for a 10-5 lead.

Daniels got out of a bases loaded situation in the bottom of the sixth inning, getting the final two outs on a pair of fly balls.

Bluff had one last run in them in the bottom of the seventh inning. With two outs, England ripped his second home run of the game, hitting a two-run shot to left field to cut the deficit to 10-7.

After a walk to Caleb Piland, Waits turned to Sargent to get the final out. Sargent gave up a single to Brett House, but he struck out Lucas Tritt on three pitches to end the game.

Waits said getting up early and then having to fight off the Bears down the stretch was important for the team's psyche.

“Even going back to the North Hall series, I thought we played pretty well, and we've been playing with confidence,” Waits said. “We got up big Monday, and then had a tough inning, but we fought through it. These kids keep batting no matter what. Beating Bluff like that gives us confidence the rest of the way.”

Sargent finished with two doubles and a home run, drove in two runs and scored three times. Fowler had two home runs with four RBI, and scored a pair of runs. Bray had two hits, including a double, and scored a run.

Daniels had two hits and an RBI, while Jake Johnson, Landon Roberts, and Carder all had a hit and scored a run. Norton had a hit and an RBI.

Daniel worked 6.2 innings to pick up the win, allowing three earned runs on six hits and five walks, while striking out five.

West Hall

The Warriors outscored the Spartans 27-5 in the final two games to sweep the series.

In the second game, the Warriors posted a 10-0 win behind Sargent's complete game. Sargent allowed five hits and struck out four in the five inning game.

Carder had two hits and drove in three runs, while Bray had a hit with two RBI and a run. Daniels had a hit, scored two runs, and had an RBI, Roberts and Norton each had a hit, RBI, and a run, and Sargent had a hit.

Johnson walked three times, and had an RBI and a run, while Kyler Mayo walked three times, scored twice, and drove in a run, and Fowler scored a run.

In the series finale, the Warriors scored early and often on the way to a 17-5 win.

Daniels led the way with a 4-for-4 performance at the plate, finishing with three runs and RBI. Bray had three hits, two RBI, and two runs, while Johnson had two hits, including a triple, driving in a season-high five runs and scoring a run.

Mayo had two hits, two runs, and an RBI, while Roberts had two hits, an RBI, and a run.

Carder had a hit with two RBI and a run, and Norton had a hit with two runs and an RBI. Fowler scored two runs, and Luke Dockery and John Bannon each scored a run.

Johnson picked up the win, allowing five runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out four over five innings.