ROME- The Shorter Baseball team (10-10, 2-10 CC) earned their first conference series win Saturday afternoon against the King Tornado (7-14, 5-6 CC). The Hawks' late push came up short in game two, falling 10-8, before responding with a resounding 9-3 win in game three to clinch the series.
GAME ONE
King would draw first blood with a double on the first pitch of the game, followed by an RBI double two pitches later. Shorter countered in the bottom of the first with a sac-fly from Isaiah Sims to bring in Griffin Tamucci from third. King responded in the second with a three-run home run to give them the 4-1 lead early, but Shorter quickly mitigated the damage with a Wilmer Henriquez sacrifice fly that brought in Jonathan Vigoa. Amidst the play, Micah Shipman capitalized on the distracted King defense and stole home to put the Hawks within one.
In the fifth, King rolled on with back-to-back homers to give the Tornado the 8-3 lead. In the bottom half, Reece Newberry, who entered early for Griffin Tamucci, drove in Jonathan Vigoa on an RBI double. Michael Barron followed up with an RBI double of his own in the bottom of the sixth that sent around Josh Tattershall, putting the game within three. In the seventh, King continued to add runs with a hit-by-pitch and a walk with the bases loaded, making it a 10-5 ballgame.
Shorter almost rallied back, with a Wilmer Henriquez blast over the left field wall that drove in two, followed by a Drake Cobb solo shot immediately after. However, with the bases loaded, Shorter grounded out to third to drop game two in a 10-8 final score. The Hawks' pitching staff picked up nine total strikeouts while walking seven. Grady Parsons started on the mound and struck out three while walking two in three innings.
Notable Performances
Wilmer Henriquez: 1-1, HR (6), 3 RBI, R
Drake Cobb: 1-4, HR (8), RBI, R
Isaiah Sims: 2-3, RBI
Reece Newberry: 1-2, RBI, R
GAME TWO
The Hawks' offense exploded in the opening frame of game two, with Micah Shipman scoring the first run on a wild pitch. Drake Cobb followed with an RBI double that plated two for the Hawks as Michael Barron drove in the last run of the inning for the Hawks on an RBI single.
After a quiet three innings thanks to a great showing on the mound from Jay O'Neal, the visitors would strike with an RBI single before plating two more on a walk and a hit-by-pitch to put a dent into the Shorter lead. Tanner Folds calmed the storm by getting the Hawks out of a bases-loaded jam. Folds continued to lead the charge the rest of the way, showcasing his dominance on the mound. The Hawks would not score again until the bottom of the seventh, when they plated four on a series of wild pitches from the Tornado to take the 8-3 lead.
Wilmer Henriquez landed the final blow with a solo shot to left field for some extra insurance to make it 9-3 heading into the final frame. Folds prevented the visitors from striking with another quiet inning to secure a dominant showing on the mound as well as a 9-3 win for the Hawks.
Notable Performances
Tanner Folds: W (2-3), 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 7 K
Drake Cobb: 3-5, 2 R, 3 RBI
Wilmer Henriquez: 1-3, HR (7), 2 R, RBI
Michael Barron: 1-2, R, RBI
"Tanner Folds, right?" said Head Coach Wes Timmons, "Really, that's enough. We had a conversation yesterday where he reminded me of who he was…and him entering wasn't the plan, but he came in and said, 'Give me the ball, yesterday wasn't enough.'" Timmons concluded with, "Man, we did it. He did it. One of those things where we will talk about that for years and years to come, because you don't see that kind of stuff today. If nothing else, he put himself in the folklore of Shorter baseball for sure."
UP NEXT
The Hawks will have a short break before they travel to Emmanuel this Friday for a weekend series against the Lions.
