Wildcats and Panthers get region wins before tournament play over break

Saturday was a good day for baseball and a good day for Whitewater and Starr’s Mill.

The Wildcats (9-4, 5-2 region) hosted Northgate and won 6-4 on a walkoff two run home run from Alex Liquori. It was Whitewater’s fourth win in a row. Earlier in the week, the Wildcats defeated Banneker 20-1 in four innings and beat Fayette County 10-5. This week, Whitewater is in Charleston, S.C. in the HIT Tournament. Whitewater hosts Sandy Creek on Monday at 5:30 p.m.

One of Whitewater’s chief rivals, the Starr’s Mill Panthers, are in South Carolina as well but the two teams won’t meet unless it is in the tournament finals.

Starr’s Mill (7-5, 4-3 region) picked up some big wins last week but perhaps none was bigger than Saturday’s 7-6 win over the McIntosh Chiefs in eight innings. The Panthers trailed McIntosh 5-2 in the fifth after a three run home run from Dwight Smith but fought back to earn their third win in a row. Among others driving in runs in the game were Sam Mittelman for Starr’s Mill and Tyler Gressens for McIntosh. Earlier in the week, Starr’s Mill beat Mays 8-1 and Sandy Creek 7-5. In tournament play on Monday, Starr’s Mill lost to Ridge View, S.C. 7-6.

Starr’s Mill hosts Northgate on Monday at 5:30 p.m. in a rematch of last year’s Class AAAA state final.

McIntosh’s loss to Starr’s Mill on Saturday snapped a two game winning streak. The Chiefs (6-7, 2-3 region) followed last Monday’s win over Sandy Creek with a 10-1 win over Douglas County. McIntosh will host Pike County at 5:30 on Monday.
Sandy Creek (8-5, 4-3 region) has lost three in a row, falling to Alexander 9-8 in between losses to McIntosh and Starr’s Mill. They are taking on Bleckley County at Middle Georgia College today.

Fayette County (3-14, 0-7 region) got a 10-3 win over Tri-Cities last Wednesday but followed it with the loss to Whitewater. They are off until next Wednesday when they host Alexander.

In Class A, Landmark Christian (16-0, 6-0 region) stayed perfect with three lopsided wins last week. The War Eagles beat Whitefield Academy 13-3 in five innings, Our Lady of Mercy 20-4 in five innings and Bremen 10-0 in five innings. They will host Fellowship Christian at 3 p.m. Saturday and play at Walker next Tuesday.

Our Lady of Mercy (1-10, 1-6 region) will host Whitefield Academy Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.