Behind a seven-hit attack against previously unbeaten Michael Gettys, the Falcons knocked off the Class AAAAA top-ranked Red Elephants 5-2 at the Hog Mountain Sports Complex.
The win virtually assured the Falcons (14-9, 9-5 Region 8-AAAAA) of a playoff spot. They led Apalachee by two games before Thursday and the Wildcats still have two games remaining against Gainesville.
Flowery Branch still has an outside chance for third but would need No. 2 Loganville to lose its remaining three games and the Falcons would need to sweep Heritage in their final two games next week.
The loss for the Elephants (20-3, 12-2) snapped their 11-game win streak. The five runs allowed were the second most this season and just the second game of five or more runs allowed by Gainesville pitchers.
The loss also kept them from clinching the region title. Their magic number remains at one with two games left against Apalachee next week.
The victory was a welcome sign for Falcons? coach Scott Meyers after a disappointing 8-0 loss to the Elephants on Wednesday.
?You want momentum at this time of the year so this was a big, big win for us,? Meyers said. ?We had a tough first game with them but tonight I thought we executed perfectly. We wanted to go opposite-field on Gettys and the kids did a great job. And don?t forget about Jonathan (Hughes).?
Hughes limited Gainesville to just six hits, including no multi-hit innings. The Elephants had been on a tear of late with seven home runs in their last three games.
?Jonathan did a great job of changing speeds and keeping them off-balance,? Meyers said. ?One of the best games he?s thrown all year.?
Hughes, who went the distance and struck out three, said he wasn?t intimidated by the potent Elephants attack.
?I just tried to keep the ball low and take away their power,? Hughes said. ?It felt good to get the win. I think this will definitely give us some confidence for the playoffs.?
The Falcons struck first in the bottom of the first when Dylan Gibeau knocked in Hughes, who reached on an error, on a RBI ground out for a 1-0 lead.
While the Flowery Branch offense grabbed the lead, Hughes was busy holding the potent Gainesville lineup in check. He allowed just three hits and stranded five baserunners through the first four innings.
The Falcons then blew the game open with four runs in the third off Gettys, who had not allowed more than one earned run in a game this season. Stephen Skeggs started it with a single and would score on a squeeze bunt by Justin Seabolt.
Gibeau followed with a single and then Seabolt scored on a double by Drew Miles. Gibeau would come home on a sacrifice fly by Andrew Weekley and Miles scored on a single by C.J. Navin for a 5-0 lead.
The Elephants cut the lead to 5-1 in the fifth when Luke Maddox reached on an error and later scored on a single by Skyler Weber.
They weren?t done, however, as they managed to get the tying run to the plate in the seventh.
Sims Griffith and Weber reached on back-to-back, two-out walks and Griffith would score on a single by Caleb Whitenton. But Hughes got Hunter Anglin to fly out to left to end the game.
The Falcons offense had balance as all but one batter had either a hit, an RBI, or scored a run against Gettys, who allowed four earned runs in six innings while fanning four. Seabolt finished with two hits, one RBI, and scored a run and Navin had two hits and one RBI to lead the offense.Gibeau and Miles each had one hit, one RBI, and scored a run while Derek Eder and Skeggs each had one hit for Flowery Branch.
Weber and Luke Moore each had two hits for Gainesville. Griffith and Whitenton had one hit apiece for the Elephants and Weber and Whitenton had one RBI each.
Source: http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=260653
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