It was a region clash Monday afternoon similar to an old-school boxing match.
And while Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston or a young Mike Tyson were not at the ballpark, when it was all over, all involved knew two heavyweights had certainly just gone toe-to-toe.
Winder-Barrow hosted Loganville in a matchup of two of the upper level programs in Region 8-AAAA and when the dust settled it may prove hard to top the drama of the afternoon.
The visiting Red Devils escaped with a 4-3 win after rallying in the top of the seventh after being down to their last strike — literally.
LHS trailed 3-2 and was looking at two outs with batter Jacob Johnson trying to battle a two-strike count. Johnson, however, was not rattled and drilled a pitch over the left field fence to give his team the lead back. The Red Devils would hold in the bottom half of the inning and take control of the region race with an 8-0 record.
WBHS slipped to 5-3 in region play.
The battle of Top 10 teams in Class AAAA was one which was appreciated by Bulldogg coach Brian Smith, even in defeat.
“It was a great game from both sides,” Smith said. “I am very proud of our guys.”
Taylor Keinat went the distance for WBHS throwing 124 pitchers. He and LHS pitcher Clay Garner battled throughout the contest. Garner threw 113 pitches during Monday’s game.
Keinat threw 30 pitches in the top of the first but seemed to settle in after that. LHS scored two runs in the top of the fourth but the WBHS Bulldoggs got out of the inning leaving the bases loaded. An out at home plate also helped prevent the inning from being any bigger.
Taylor Hinshaw gave WBHS its first run and lead in the bottom of the second on a solo homer.
Trailing 2-1 going into the bottom of the sixth, the Bulldoggs got things started on a double to left from Grayson Ivey. He was then brought home on a RBI single by Kevin Wolf. Hinshaw would pick up another RBI later in the inning allowing Wolf to cross home.
“Taylor was able to settle in and he threw a gem,” Smith said. “He was excited when the game started. As the game went on, he was really great. He has a lot of heart and he showed it today.”
The WBHS coach also praised his team’s defensive effort including the performance of Clint Spratlin in right field and Max Pentecost behind the plate.
“I liked the way we battled back in the game,” Smith said. “They are disappointed now but we showed the heart we asked for. We’ll get them the next time around.”
Prior to Monday’s game with Loganville, the WBHS Diamond Doggs, defeated Salem 3-2 Friday and Heritage 13-3 last Wednesday.
In Friday’s win against the Salem Seminoles, Dustin Dunagan earned the win not allowing a run in the final six innings. He also recorded 11 strikeouts.
Taylor Keinat got the WBHS offense going with a homer in the fifth inning. A two-run double by Clint Spratlin later in the inning would give the Bulldoggs their first lead.
An 11-run third inning proved to be the difference for WBHS against Heritage. Ironically, the Patriots led 3-0 at one point in the contest.
Austin Meyer, Taylor Hinshaw and Spratlin each homered in the contest.Spratlin earned the win to improve to 5-0 recording eight strikeouts.
