By By Adam Robinson – Sports Editor
After splitting a doubleheader Friday night with the Thomasville Tigers and forcing a tie-breaking on Saturday, W.S. Neal Eagle baseball suffered an 11-2 defeat to end their season with a 15-12 record.
With the win, Thomasville won the series 2-1 and will advance to next weeks round two games against either Alabama Christian or Dadeville.
Game one: W.S. Neal 4, Thomasville 15
In game one Thomasville jumped out to an early 10-0 and pounded out 13 hits while holding the W.S. Neal Eagles to only three hits to take a 1-0 lead in the best of three series.
Tyler Cross took the loss on the mound for the Eagles. Cross allowed 15 runs (14 earned) 13 hits, walked two and struck out six.
Reid Johnson was 1-for-3 on the day for the Eagles. Cross and William Shell picked up the other two hits for the Eagles. Cross and Shell had an RBI each with Aaron Nelson also landing an RBI.
In the game, Thomasville led the game with a single, a triple, and a double and benefited from an Eagle error to claim a 4-0 lead.
Thomasville added three runs to their lead in the top of the second inning after three singles and another Eagle error gave them a 7-0 lead after two innings of play.
In the top of the third inning, Thomasville took a 9-0 lead after a two-run homerun over the right field fence.
Cross kept the Tigers off the board in the top of the fourth, but Thomasville made it a 10-0 lead in the top of the fifth after a leadoff walk. A stolen base and two wild pitches later gave the Tigers a 10-0 lead after the top of the fifth inning.
Needing a run to stay alive, the Eagles picked up two runs the bottom half of the inning to cut the lead to 10-2 and force the sixth inning.
In the inning, Jake Hunsinger and Jake Hodge gave the Eagles runners at first and second with one out. A double by Cross scored Hunsinger and a single by William Shell scored Hodge for the Eagles.
Thomasville threatened to end the game by 10-run rule in the sixth inning after scoring two runs on another two-run homerun to give the Tigers a 12-2 lead. But the Eagles scored one run in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the lead to 12-3.
The Tigers added three runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 15-3 lead. The Eagles added a run in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead to 15-4 but failed to get any closer as they lost by 11 in game one.
Game two:
W.S. Neal 6, Thomasville 1
Game two between the Eagles and the Tigers was a totally different scenario than the first outing. After managing only three hits in game one, the Eagles broke lose in game two and pounded out 11 hits while Thomasville was held to only four.
The 11 hits allowed six Eagle runs to score as W.S. Neal evened the series at 1-1 and forced a game three on Saturday.
William Shell took the win on the mound for the Eagles and improved his record to 9-2. Shell went the full seven innings to pick up the win and allowed one runs on four hits and walked five while striking out 11.
Reid Johnson had the hot bat in the game for the Eagles going a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs and four singles.
Hunsinger was 3-for-4 with a RBIS as Cross, Tyler Nall, Aaron Nelson and Tyler Brown were 1-for-4 and Jake Hodge was 1-for-3.
Cross and Nelson had one RBI each. Nall's RBI was a solo homerun in the top of the third inning.
In the game, the Eagles got on the board first in the top of the third inning (W.S. Neal was visiting team in game two) when Tyler Nall led the inning off with a solo homerun to left field to give the Eagles an early 1-0 lead.
Tyler Brown and Johnson both singled after the homeruns to put runners on first and third with two outs when Nelson singled in Brown to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead after the top of the third inning.
After Shell held Thomasville scoreless, the Eagles jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning when Jake Hunsinger led the inning off with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball. Jake Hodge then advanced Hunsinger to third on a sacrifice bunt and then was balked in for a 3-0 lead.
The Eagles would then benefit from two Tiger balks in the top of the fifth inning and several passed balls and an error to score three runs in the top of the fifth to grab a 6-0 lead after five innings.
Thomasville would later add a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the lead to 6-1, but Shell would get three strikeouts with runners on second and third for the Eagles win in game two.
Game three:
W.S. Neal 2, Thomasville 11
In the runner match of the series, both teams came into the game knowing a win would advance them farther into the playoffs.
After a tight first four innings that saw the game tied at 2-2, Thomasville broke the game open with four runs in the fifth inning and five in the sixth inning to take a n 11-2 lead and hold on for the nine run victory to advance to the second round of the playoffs that begin on Friday.
Tyler Nall took the loss on the mound as he surrendered five runs (four earned) on four hits and struck out two and walked two in four innings.
Wesley Booker, Tyler Brown and Gary McGraw all pitched in relief of Nall.
Aaron Nelson led the Eagles at the plate with a 2-for-3 showing, as Cannon and Johnson were 1-for-3.
Tyler Nall was 1-for-3 on the day and drove in the lone RBIs for the Eagles with a fourth inning homerun down the left field line.
Thomasville struck first in the game scoring on a single after an Eagle error. The Tigers made it 2-0 in the top of the fourth, but Tyler Nall tied things a two with a two RBI homerun in the bottom of the inning after a walk to Tyler Cross.
Thomasville added nine runs over the fifth and sixth innings to take an 11-2 lead after six complete innings.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Nelson connected for an one out double but failed to plate for the Eagles as the season ended with the third out for the Eagles.
W.S. Neal 6, Georgiana 4
In a tune-up to Friday's first round playoff game against Thomasville, the W.S. Neal Eagles took a 6-4 win over Georgiana to improve to 14-10 on the season.
The win was against former W.S. Neal football coach Shane Smothers who is now coaching at Georgiana.
The Eagles used five pitchers in the game with the third one of the afternoon picking up the win as Tyler Nall went two innings of relief to earn the win of Tyler Cross and Wesley Booker.
Gary McGraw and Williams Shell closed out the win for the Eagles.
Nall went two innings and allowed one hits and struck out one. Cross started and went two innings and struck out three.
Booker relieved Cross and went one inning and allowed one run on one hit and struck out two and walked two.
After Booker was winning pitcher Nall and McGraw relieved Nall and went one inning and allowed three runs (one earned) on two hits and struck out one. Shell closed the game and earned the save allowing one hit and struck out one.
Tyler Cross and Reid Johnson were both 1-for-2 in the win with Johnson having an RBI. Tyler Brown was 1-for-3 in the win.
Aaron Nelson, Jake Cannon and Jake Dixon both had RBIs in the win.
The Eagles got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning when Brown led the inning off with a single and then advanced to second on a passed ball and then stole third.
Nelson then drove in Brown with a fielder's choice for the 1-0 lead.
Georgiana tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the third and the game stayed that way until the bottom of the fourth inning when the Eagles scored two runs to claim a 3-1 lead.
Brown reached on a Georgiana error and then advanced to third on a passed ball before being singled in by Reid Johnson. Johnson would make it a 3-1 lead when Jake Dixon sacrificed Johnson across the plate.
The Eagles took a 6-1 after five innings of play benefiting from three Georgiana errors.
The Panthers cut the lead to 6-4 in the top of the sixth inning, but the Eagles were able to hold on for the two-run lead and take the win.
With the loss to Thomasville in game three, the W.S. Neal Eagles ended their season with a 15-12 seasonal record.