GPC wins opening round game

COVINGTON, Ga. -- Georgia Perimeter College wanted to get its first victory of the Region 17 Junior College Tournament out of the way as quickly as possible.

Mission accomplished.

The top-seed Jaguars had two big innings at the plate and Antonio Allen pitched six innings of two-run ball Friday in an 11-3 first-round win over No. 6 seed East Georgia College.

The Jaguars, who by virtue of their regular season region championship already clinched a spot in next weekend's East Central District Tournament in Morristown, Tenn., will play the loser of No. 3 Middle Georgia-No. 4 South Georgia College at 3:30 p.m. in today's second round.

GPC (39-15) led 10-3 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh when designated hitter Jamie McMillan launched a home run to right-center field that ended the game by the mercy rule.

"There's really no pressure on us, but we want to win it," GPC coach Danny Blue said. "The No. 1 seed ought to take care of the No. 6 seed. They played well."

The Jaguars had a 6-2 edge when they opened things up with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Facing East Georgia starter C.J. Lusted, a sophomore from Centennial High School in Roswell, GPC recorded six consecutive singles, including run-scoring hits from Kendall Lacey, Garritt Church and Scott Sarratt, to make it a 10-2 lead.

"They've got talent, if all of them get it together," Blue said. "We're going to have to hit and play defense."

Allen had a tough first inning, walking leadoff man Brian Dowell and allowing C.J. Lusted's one-out, RBI-single to give the underdog Bobcats an early 1-0 lead, but the freshman right-hander settled down after that.

The Jonesboro High alum retired nine consecutive batters before East Georgia had two singles in the fourth inning, but Allen wiggled out of trouble by coaxing a strikeout and a fielder's choice to end the frame. In his final inning of work, Allen walked Aaron Hoffer, and after a Tucker Darsey double, Chris Lusted lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to cut the Jaguars' cushion.

"He's doing a good job; we're getting a lot of mileage out of Antonio," Blue said. "I thought he did a great job. Pitching is simple. You throw strikes and don't walk anybody, you're going to be all right. Overall, I was real happy."

GPC got Allen all the support he would need in a long bottom of the first inning. The Jaguars batted around against C.J. Lusted, as five different players drove in runs.

Kenny Straus started the rally with a bloop single to score McLendon Hill and Felton James followed with a double to make it 2-1. Later, Kendall Lacey doubled in James, Garrit Church blooped a single to the opposite field and LeAndre Davis roped an RBI single to put GPC up 5-1.

"It was nice to get out of the chute like that," Blue said. "We really crushed it that first inning."

C.J. Lusted lasted 52/3 innings and surrendered 16 hits and 10 runs, though he did strike out eight in a 136-pitch effort.

GPC falls to Darton

COVINGTON, Ga. -- With the Region 17 regular season softball title on the line, Cara Law held true to the old axiom of bending, but not breaking.

The Darton College right-hander allowed eight Georgia Perimeter College base runners Thursday, yet just one scored in a complete-game effort, and a two-run rally in the top of the sixth inning lifted the visiting Cavaliers to a 2-1 victory in the second game of a doubleheader, clinching the league's top seed for next week's region tournament.

The host Jaguars, who won the opener 2-0 and finished 17-3 to Darton's 18-2, will be the region's No. 2 seed when the tournament opens April 29 at Strong Rock Christian School in Locust Grove.

The teams were scoreless through 31/2 innings in Game 2 before GPC took the first lead. Kacie Patterson led off the fourth with an infield single, and when no one covered second, Patterson nabbed the bag to get into scoring position with no outs.

After a pair of groundouts, Christina Ezell walked and Jamie Saunders followed with a single under shortstop Dionne Bishop's glove that plated Patterson for a 1-0 lead.

Ezell threw 121/3 scoreless innings over the first game-and-a-half, but Darton finally got to the former East Coweta hurler in the top of the sixth. Eugenia Egiazarova took Ezell's 2-1 offering and hammered it high over the left-field wall for a solo home run that tied the game at 1-1. With Jordan Cole at first following a one-out single, Brooke Tomlin ripped a run-scoring double to give the Cavaliers their first lead of the day at 2-1.

"I think (Ezell) got a little tired, she just got tired," GPC coach Ed Schutte said. "She hung one ball (and) look where it went -- over the fence."

Meanwhile, Law, who struck out seven, got stronger as the game continued. After the Jaguars scored their run in the fourth inning, Law retired 10 of the last 12 batters she faced, working around Kyla Tanner's pinch-hit single after Saunders' hit in the fourth, and leaving Brittany McSwain at second after the GPC leadoff hitter singled to start the fifth.

"The big hit when you needed it -- they got it the second game, we didn't get it. What can you say?" Schutte said. "We left seven base runners on in the second game; that was key. (We) can't leave seven on, not against that kind of competition. We'll see them again. Every time we've gone to (junior college) nationals, we've been a two-seed. Maybe that's a good omen."

Ezell seemed to enjoy the warm weather at the start of the evening, throwing a three-hitter with 10 strikeouts in the Jaguars' opening-game victory. The right-hander was perfect through 32/3 innings before Chantelle Curinton looped a single to right field with one out in the fourth.

Ezell got out of that jam by inducing an infield pop-up and GPC got its ace a run in its half of the inning. Facing Darton starter Katy Lewis in the bottom of the fourth, Patterson's fly ball was dropped by Curinton in left field, allowing the Jaguars' shortstop to get to second base with one out. Two batters later, Nicole Montesanti ripped a single that chased Patterson home for a 1-0 Jaguars lead.

Ezell gave up a ringing double to Josie Cox to start the fifth inning, but got stronger as the frame progressed, picking up consecutive strikeouts before a weak pop-out by Bishop ended the threat.

The Jaguars added to their lead, thanks to a pair of opposite-field hits in the fifth inning. Jamie Saunders led off the inning with a double in the right-field corner and was sacrificed to third. With two outs, McSwain, a former high school teammate of Lewis' at Loganville, flipped a run-scoring single over third base to make it a 2-0 game.

"It was just getting a big hit when we needed it," Schutte said.

After a perfect sixth inning, Darton threatened in the seventh. Curinton's second single of the game got things going, Cox walked with one out, and the pair moved up to third and second on catcher Devin Dossman's passed ball. But Ezell recorded her final strikeout on a nasty 3-2 pitch to Amanda Jaskolski, and a sharp groundout by Brittny Dennison was handled by Patterson, ending the game in 70 minutes.

Lewis took the loss in the opener, allowing six hits and two runs (one earned) in a complete-game effort.

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Locals step up in Andrew's win over GPC

COVINGTON, Ga. -- A pair of former area baseball players had a say Tuesday in Andrew College's victory over Georgia Perimeter College.

Former Heritage catcher Chunk Smith and former Alcovy catcher Taylor Jackson each scored a run during two Andrew rallies in a 4-0 victory in GJCAA Region 17 play.

The visitors from Cuthbert jumped out on top in the first inning, thanks to the Jaguars defense. Starter Matt Adams walked Smith and Collins Wold to start the game, and on Brandon Phillips' sacrifice attempt, Adams tried to get Smith at third, but threw the ball away. Smith scored to make it 1-0 and Wold went to third on the error and two batters later, crossed the plate on Ross Howard's sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.

Adams settled in after that, retiring 12 consecutive batters, including striking out the side in the second, until he walked Cameron Pearson to start the fifth inning.

Adams didn't give up a hit until Phillips' infield single in the sixth, the left-hander's last inning. With runners at first and second and two outs, it looked like Adams would squirm out of trouble when Dusty Davis lifted a seemingly harmless pop to left field, but Alonzo Allen dropped the ball and Phillips and Jackson scored to put the Tigers up 4-0.

That was more than enough for Andrew starter Chance Armour, who was brilliant in tossing a complete-game shutout. Armour allowed just four singles and walked one batter, letting only one runner get past second base in a 95-pitch effort.

"(Armour) pitched a hell of a game; you've got to tip your hat to him," GPC coach Danny Blue said. "We just couldn't do anything with him. That's a ball game, we just didn't swing it. I'd say hitting killed us. We didn't even threaten."

The Tigers' defense helped keep Armour's shutout intact. With two outs in the second, Allen ripped a ground ball to the shortstop that Wold stabbed and threw out Allen for the third out.

GPC got one-out singles from Felton James and Jamie McMillan in the fourth inning, but Kendall Lacey's scorching line drive was stabbed by first baseman Hank Towery, and McMillan was doubled off first to end the frame. In the eighth, Garitt Church drove a ball to deep left field where Howard made a nice running catch against the wall for the third out.

"They got a good defensive baseball team; we knew that coming in," Blue said.

Adams allowed only one hit and struck out eight in six innings, but the four unearned runs made a loser out of the left-hander.

The series continues this weekend when GPC (23-9, 7-2) travels to Cuthbert for a single game at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, with Saturday's doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.

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Photo: Former Heritage catcher Chunk Smith scored a run in Andrew College's win over Georgia Perimeter College on Tuesday.

Tarleton leads GPC to win

COVINGTON -- Travis Tarleton enjoyed his finest day as a collegiate baseball player Thursday.

The former Heritage and Conyers Post 77 star reached base three times and made a dazzling play at third base to save a potential run in Georgia Perimeter College's 7-5 win over Southern Union State Community College in game two of a doubleheader. The Jaguars won 4-1 in the opener.

Tarleton had what looked to be a leadoff single in the bottom of the second against Southern Union starter Christian Bragg, but the freshman's hustle turned the single into a double. Three batters later, he scored on a single by Antonio Allen to give GPC (17-7) a 1-0 lead.

Tarleton was also part of a four-run third inning, which included a long, two-run home run by Sloan Strickland.

In the inning, in which nine Jaguars came to the plate, Tarleton was hit by a pitch with two outs and scored the last of the four runs on Christian Van Camp's double to, putting GPC up 5-0. Tarleton robbed Tanner Bryant of a hit in the third inning, and added a single in the fifth inning.

"Coach tells us 'hard out of the box.' I was looking (for) two," Tarleton said of his first at-bat. "(It) feels good to start helping the team out a little bit."

Carter Harrison was the beneficiary of the offense generated by Tarleton and his teammates. The right-hander allowed consecutive doubles to Chad Grant and Trey Gregg in the top of the fourth that got Southern Union, a school based out of Opelika, Ala., on the scoreboard, but that's all Harrison gave up in five innings of four-hit, no-walk ball.

With GPC up 7-2, Justin Guy relieved Harrison to start the sixth and ran into trouble. The right-hander walked Bruce Jackson on four pitches, and Grant reached on a fielding error by second baseman Allen to put runners at first and third with no outs.

Gregg followed with his second RBI double of the game to make it 7-3 and Jaguars' coach Danny Blue called upon Brandon Thomas to extinguish the fire.

Though the former Heritage hurler allowed an inherited runner to score on Griff Gordon's double, he left pinch-runner Sandy Tiburcio stranded at third by getting a strikeout and two fly outs to escape further trouble. Thomas allowed a single and a double in the seventh inning, the last of which came around to score on a ground out, but Josh Gobble closed the game by coaxing a harmless fly out.

Trey Preston, Southern Union'' starter, struggled with his control (six walks, one hit batter in 42/3 innings) and it cost the right-hander in a game one loss.

GPC got a leadoff walk in the first from Allen, who stole second, went to third on a balk and scored on Kendall Lacey's one-out single. Jacob Johnson started the fifth with a walk and two batters later, Kenny Strauss laced first pitch he saw to left field, which plated pinch-runner Trevor Walch to put the Jaguars up 2-0.

Lacey followed with an RBI-double and T.D. Davis later made it 4-0 with a run-scoring single that chased Preston from the game.

"We got some clutch hits, back-to-back-to-back," Blue said. "(The) big hit was Strauss, (which) got us going. (Preston) was wild. Originally, he had signed with Auburn, (which) tells you the kind of stuff he has. He just can't throw strikes."

Meanwhile, GPC southpaw Cameron Hall was excellent, scattering five hits in six innings to pick up the win. Hall had a scare in the third when he was hit on his non-pitching hand by Nicholas Marigny's line drive; he was shaken up by the hard shot, but stayed in the game to get an inning-ending out, then allowed just three hits in his final there innings of work.

"It's alright; got the meat (part of the hand)," said Blue. "I thought (Hall) did real well. He's kind of a mid-week guy. (In his) last two outings, he's pitched two good ball games. Right now he's looking like he's stepping up."

Georgia Perimeter returns to its Covington campus Saturday when it hosts Abraham Baldwin Agriculture College in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.

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