Coach Brian Smith’s Winder-Barrow High School Diamond Doggs completed their non-region schedule playing about as well as possible.
The veteran baseball coach knows, however, that Region 8-AAAA can make a team who is having success suddenly find itself scrambling.
“As happy as we are at how we have started, we want to peak and finish as hot as we can be going into the playoffs,” Smith said Monday. “We want to be playing together as a team as the season progresses.”
Winder-Barrow High School’s Clint Spratlin rounds third and Diamond Dogg coach Brian Smith Friday in the team’s road game against North Oconee. The Bulldoggs took a 13-3 win to improve to 6-0 this season. WBHS opened region play by defeating Habersham Central Tuesday. Photo by Jessica Brown
WBHS remains perfect this spring
The latest non-region victim of the WBHS onslaught was North Oconee last Friday. Despite the chill in the air that evening, the Diamond Doggs were red hot at the plate, pounding out 13 runs ending the game after five innings.
Smith said going into the season, the coaches challenged all of the players to have “career years.”
“We had some short-term goals this season and some long-term ones,” the coach said. “Right now we are meeting our team expectations.”
Part of the squad’s strategy is to simply “win each inning.”
“If you win each inning and score seven runs, you are going to win,” Smith said. “We are averaging more than seven runs. Our pitching staff is getting more support than it needs. I feel pretty good about where we stand. We have done outstanding to this point in our non-region games. However, this is when everything really starts to count and we have to crank it up even more.”
In Friday’s win, Dustin Dunagan was effective yet again on the pitcher’s mound recording strikeouts against the first five batters he faced.
Trace McDaniel was also effective in relief working the fifth and final frame with two strikeouts.
Clint Spratlin was 3-for-4 at the plate with a two-RBI double and three runs batted in for the game. Max Pentecost, who also did a solid job behind the plate at catcher, was 2-for-2 with two walks and three RBI.
Taylor Hinshaw continued his torrid pace with a 2-for-4 night with a triple and two RBI while Taylor Wolf, who signed with Faulkner State the previous day, was 2-for-3. Taylor Keinat also had an RBI single.
Earlier in the week, WBHS defeated Dacula for the second time this season, this time by a 3-0 count. Keinant earned the win allowed just three hits and no walks while striking out eight during a game played in frigid playing conditions.
Spratlin earned the save working the seventh.
WBHS will host Rockdale County Friday at 5:30 p.m. in 8-AAAA play.
Smith said going into the season, the coaches challenged all of the players to have “career years.”
“We had some short-term goals this season and some long-term ones,” the coach said. “Right now we are meeting our team expectations.”
Part of the squad’s strategy is to simply “win each inning.”
“If you win each inning and score seven runs, you are going to win,” Smith said. “We are averaging more than seven runs. Our pitching staff is getting more support than it needs. I feel pretty good about where we stand. We have done outstanding to this point in our non-region games. However, this is when everything really starts to count and we have to crank it up even more.”
In Friday’s win, Dustin Dunagan was effective yet again on the pitcher’s mound recording strikeouts against the first five batters he faced.
Trace McDaniel was also effective in relief working the fifth and final frame with two strikeouts.
Clint Spratlin was 3-for-4 at the plate with a two-RBI double and three runs batted in for the game. Max Pentecost, who also did a solid job behind the plate at catcher, was 2-for-2 with two walks and three RBI.
Taylor Hinshaw continued his torrid pace with a 2-for-4 night with a triple and two RBI while Taylor Wolf, who signed with Faulkner State the previous day, was 2-for-3. Taylor Keinat also had an RBI single.
Earlier in the week, WBHS defeated Dacula for the second time this season, this time by a 3-0 count. Keinant earned the win allowed just three hits and no walks while striking out eight during a game played in frigid playing conditions.
Spratlin earned the save working the seventh.
WBHS will host Rockdale County Friday at 5:30 p.m. in 8-AAAA play.
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