The big battle for first place in the Mid-Piedmont 3A conference lived up to the HYPE and turned out to be a near-classic on Wednesday evening at Southeast Guilford. The Falcons topped the Ragsdale Tigers 9-5 and now SEG is the top team in the conference. Ragsdale was ranked #1 in the state by the Impact Baseball poll on the way in and SEG was listed as #4 in the state.
Austin Moyer turned in a superb pitching performance for SEG in his starting role but with the way this game was turning, he couldn’t hang around long enough to get the win. Moyer struck out 11 Tiger batters through 5 and two-thirds innings before he had to leave the game in the sixth.
SEG had built a 5-0 lead over Ragsdale going into the top of the sixth but again, the Falcons couldn’t hold on and Nick McBride’s bases-loaded double which he tried to stretch into a triple tied the score at 5-5 Falcons and Tigers, as McBride was tagged out at third on Tanner Hodgin’s throw in from right field. McBride got his shot off of Trey Gilmore who came on in relief of Moyer and Gilmore ends up getting the win for SEG as the Falcons scored the go-ahead run after Gilmore turned a double into a triple to start things off in the bottom of the sixth innning. Gilmore is the winning pitcher and he scores the game-winning run for SEG.
Lead-off man Justin Venable scored three runs for the SEG Falcons and #2 hitter Josh Tobias had three hits and drove in two runs for SEG including his two-run double in the 4th inning. Austin Moyer scored one run for the Falcons after he got on board in the 6th when DeSean Anderson dropped Moyer’s deep fly ball to centerfield. Moyer also reached base twice on walks. Cam Cockman got the save for the Falcons by coming on to pitch the top of the seventh inning and he got the Tigers three-up, three-down.
Catcher Jeff Medley hit a two-run double for SEG and he worked a steady game behind the plate covering for Moyer, Gilmore, and Cockman. Pat Nisbet had a great running catch heading into foul territory out in left field and Eric Seders scored for SEG after drawing a lead-off walk in the 4th inning. We mentioned Trey Gilmore’s heroics earlier and again they included his two runs scored from the number nine spot in the batting order and the huge triple that proved to be the game-winning run in bottom of the sixth.
Ragsdale scored all of their runs in the top of the sixth inning and the Tigers defintely had problems early in the game getting anything going against Falcon starter Austin Moyer. DeSean Anderson had the first hit of the game for the Tigers and it came in the top of the fourth. Anderson later walked and scored in the sixth inning. Shortstop Kyle Brandenburg had a single, an RBI, and he scored a run for the Tigers. RF Ryan Andrejco walked and scored in the sixth inning.
Billy Stone made some nice defensive plays in left field for the Tigers and he drew a bases-loaded walk for an RBI and scored a run in the sixth. Nick McBride had that three-run double for the Tigers on his only hit of the game and P/3B David Coffey got into the act in the sixth with a single and a run scored for the Ragsdale Tigers.
Ragsdale used four pitchers with David Coffey the starter, then Bennett Hixon, Nick McBride, and side-winder Kyle Brandenburg cloesd things out for the Tigers. Ragsdale coach Donnie Maness said in the pre-game interview that the man out in the middle of the field would be the most important factor in the game and he was referring to the pitchers and that was the key difference in this ballgame. SEG had the game with Moyer and let it get away, Coffey struggled at times for Ragsdale and the Tiger defense let him down a little bit in the back-up department.
Trey Gilmore was able to survive for SEG when Nick McBride tried to turn that double into a triple and was tagged out at third in the top of the sixth inning. If McBride stays at second and holds there with a three-run double, we might still be playing. Cam Cockman comes on and gets the Tigers, one-two-three, when they come to the plate for the last time in the top of the 7th…..
I enjoyed the entire game and I really got a kick out of watching that last Ragsdale pitcher, the side-winder who was bringing it from way down-under, Kyle Brandenburg. The BIG GAME lived up the BIG HYPE from GREENSBOROSports.com and now SEG stands at (10-2/6-0) and Ragsdale is (12-2/5-1). SEG is #1 in the Mid-Piedmont 3-A conference.
In other action on Wednesday it was Southwest Guilford over Western Guilford 11-0 and to be totally honest with I was shocked at that score. Not that SWG(7-6) topped WG(8-3) but the difference? Eleven runs and a shut-out? Playing that tough early schedule is starting to pay off for SWG and WG got off to a (6-0) start and now the Hornets have gone (2-3) since then. Blaine McCraw got the win for SWG and another name we haven’t heard that much from previously, Michael Frazier, had 4 big RBI’s and went 2-2 for the Cowboys.
Grimsley improved to (8-4) and the Whirlies have now won four straight games since that 4-3 loss to East Forsyth back right before the Easter break. Catcher Gabe Dimock was the big man for the Whirlies at the plate with a home run and 3RBI’s. The homer by Dimock was a three-run shot that gave Grimsley a 6-4 lead and they held on to go on and defeat Southwestern Randolph 6-4 on Wednesday. Jon Wilkinson had strong start for Grimsley and Kevin Rose came on in relief to get the win for the Whirlies. SS/2B Cal Sutphin was also 2-4 with a run scored and an RBI for the Whirlies.
Also on Wednesday East Forsyth stopped Page and the Pirates’ ace Zack Kornblum 3-0. EF is now (10-3) and Page falls to (2-6). EF’s ace pitcher Ryan Dull goes to (7-0) with the win and he went the entire way for the Eagles and struck out 8 Pirate batters. Southern Guilford was able to put away East Davidson 5-0 behind the efforts of pitcher Robert Knight and the combined 4-6 work at the plate by Brent Young and Colby Marshall.
On tap today:Page at High Point Andrews 5pm and Burlington Williams at Eastern Guilford 7pm…
In JV action, Ragsdale got past the Southeast Guilford Falcons 3-2 at Ragsdale. The Tigers could not contain SEG’s Tiger Miller who had two hits and drew two walks and he hit one off of the wall over in Jamestown.
Coach Holmes is living up to his reputation. The tough schedule is paying off. Congrats SWGHS baseball team!
great ball game. definitely lived up to the hype. Errors hurt Ragsdale but they battled back. And yes Andy – Kyle Brandenburg is fun to watch with that side arm motion. He has looked good every time he throws so the hitters must not like it. Besides that he has played great SS and has turned into a very clutch hitter.
Andy – as a Ragsdale side note – I talked to JP Polchinski’s dad at the game last night. Sounds like JP is doing good after that blow to the head. He’ll be back on the field this weekend which was great to hear.
Very good news on Polchiniski from Army, and SWG will be a very tough team come playoff time in a two-game series or even with a one-game matchup. The Cowboys having Esterlin Paulino and Blaine McCraw makes them very strong come post-season. SEG with Moyer and Cockman will be formidable too. Throw in a Ragsdale tandem of David Coffey and Kyle Brandenburg and you have some pretty good local 3-A forces.
On a side note, the 2nd baseman from Northern Guilford nearly got destroyed in a motorcycle accident last Saturday night. He was riding the bike down a side road and lost control of the motorcycle and ended up having his chest ripped off by the asphalt and he broke his wrist in four different places and he had to have pins surgically inserted to put his wrist back together. He is a freshman and we hope he can to return to baseball next season. The kid had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance and he was operated on earlier this week.
The top freshmen players in our area? George Carter, Lashawn Brown at Grimsley and Josh Tobias at Southeast Guilford….I believe there is a Dunlap kid over at East Forsyth or at North Davidson…… Carter has power and Tobias has been very smooth in the field at 3B, SS, and at 2B….Both Carter and Tobias can pitch….We better add AJ Williams at Dudley to our list.(P/1B)
Top catcher in our area? Is it Gabe Dimock at Grimsley or Jeff Medley at SEG, Ronnie Burkes at Dudley, or one of the kids at NWG? Nate Cash at Ragsdale is tough too…..
The kid that broke his arm at Northern was Zack Smith. He was their shortstop. He broke it in an accident on a dirt bike on Thursday evening after he went home from practice. He broke his radius in 5 places and had to have surgery on Tuesday. He was in a lot of pain. Should be back in action late summer or early fall if everything heals like it is suppose to. Zack was one of the few 10th graders on the varsity, most are freshmen. Northern is taking their lumps but lookout in 2 years.
Carter for Grimsley has thrown 23 1/3 innings,32K’s,9 earned runs…..decent start for a freshman
wish I could have seen the SEG vs Ragsdale game…sounds like it played out like a heavyweight prize fight.
way to battle Ragsdale & great win SEG!