Sports
Wheeler, Duluth Split Playoff Doubleheader
Wheeler won the first game 3-0 then lost 17-8 in Game 2. The two teams meet again today at 2 p.m. to decide who advances in the state playoffs.
It was the best of times and the worst of ties for Friday as the Wildcats opened the first round of the GHSA Class-5A State Baseball Tournament at Franklin Field in Duluth.
Sam Bragg, Wheeler's ace righthander, turned in a dominant performance in Game 1, tossing a no-hit shutout through six innings to lead Coach Jeff Milton's Wildcats to a 3-0 win over Duluth. It was a much different story in the nightcap, however, as Duluth's Wildcats exploded, staging a homerun derby and pounding the Wildcats 17-8.
The two teams will meet at 2 p.m. Saturday to decide which moves on and which one calls it a season.
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Wheeler Coach Jeff Milton's evaluation of Bragg's performance in Game 1 was vastly understated.
"He threw well," Milton said of the senior flamethrower who will head to Georgia Perimeter College on scholarship next year.
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Duluth's batters would certainly testify to that. They couldn't touch his fastball until Noah Hoback broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff double in the seventh. Tobin Keaton quickly came on in relief and slammed the door to complete the shutout.
Alan Peters provided all the offensive spark Wheeler needed in Game 1. He homered to left in the first inning then drove in Trey Birdsong with a single in the third. He belted a leadoff triple in the sixth and scored on Kyle Allen's double.
Then came Game 2.
The teams locked up in a see-saw battle through the first five innings.
Duluth began to pull away in the fourth when Eric Sutor opened up with a homer to left. Relief pitcher Keaton retired the next two batters, but then gave up back-to-back-homers to winning pitcher Chris Rich and Alex Raffensperger to give Duluth a little wiggle room at 7-4.
But Wheeler battled back with three runs of its own in the fifth inning. After Kevin Anderson doubled to left-center field to start the inning and Bragg walked, Peters, who went 6-for-6 in the two games, blasted a two-run double to right to make it 7-6. Kyle Allen drilled an RBI single to tie the game again.
But Wheeler had no answer for a 10-hit explosion by the host Wildcats in the seventh inning highlighted by Evan Dumas' grand slam.
"I don’t know that I’ve never seen so many balls (leave the park), especially in that last inning," Milton said. "It will be tough today, but we've got to have a short memory.