The Winder-Barrow High School baseball team was so close to victory Monday it could probably taste it.
Leading Flowery Branch 2-0 going into the top of the seventh inning, the Diamond Doggs were two outs away from extending their winning streak to 13 games and from remaining perfect in subregion play.
The visiting Falcons had other ideas, however, and stunned WBHS with six runs in the top of the inning to overcome what had been a wasted opportunity an inning earlier. Flowery Branch had loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the sixth but could not get a run home.
The Falcons didn’t let their opportunities get away in the seventh, however, and remained undefeated themselves in subregion play.
“It was a great game and we did a lot of things well,” said WBHS coach Brian Smith, still somewhat stunned by the turn of events. “We knew they were going to come in here and fight. That’s the way baseball goes. It’s up and down and can be a roller coaster ride at times.”
Neither team managed to score through the first five innings. The Bulldoggs’ Blake Marbut battled the Falcons’ Brad Keller pitch-for-pitch in a classic duel.
It appeared Flowery Branch would get on the scoreboard first in the top of the sixth. After the Falcons put runners on first and third with no outs, Smith called on Drew Dunagan to relieve Marbut. Dunagan walked the only batter he faced to load the bases. Smith then brought in Travis Demeritte and the move worked brilliantly.
With the bases loaded and no outs, Demeritte struck out the first batter he faced. A grounder to third base then resulted in a force out at home. A pop out to left field got WBHS out of the inning and prevented Flowery Branch from scoring.
Motivated by the top half of the inning, the Bulldoggs took a 2-0 lead on a homer by Demeritte. Christian Hodge had previously reached base on a throwing error. Alex Childers scored on Demeritte’s homer after being called on as a courtesy runner.
All the momentum seemed to be in Winder-Barrow’s favor going into the final inning. Flowery Branch had not scored all game but the Falcons put together an impressive rally which was aided in part by some defensive miscues by the Bulldoggs.
“We had played good defense until the seventh inning,” Smith said.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Bulldoggs scored a run when Hunter Jackson, who was called on as a courtesy runner for Garrett Coddington, came home when Demeritte reached on an error.
WBHS loaded the bases with two outs but could not even the score.
Marbut had another strong outing for WBHS throwing 70 pitches in a little over six innings of work. He recorded six strikeouts while scattering seven hits.
Marbut pitched out of a jam in the top of the second after Flowery Branch put runners on first and second with no outs.
The leadoff runner reached second base on an error in the top of the fourth but Marbut once again worked out of the inning with no damage.
Marbut’s strongest inning was the third when he needed just six pitches to return to the dugout.
Prior to Monday, WBHS posted its 12th win in a row with a 4-2 victory against visiting Salem High School.
The Bulldoggs had also dispatched of Clarke Central 11-0 two days earlier. In that game, Drew Davis and Ryan Brown both had RBI singles in the first inning. Demeritte then blasted a three-run shot for his sixth homer of 2012.
Dalton Carter helped lead the team against Clarke Central with a two-run homer. He also earned the win working four innings with six strikeouts.
Drew Dunagan closed the door in the final two innings.
Brown also had a two-run homer going 2-for-3 for the day. Demeritte finished the contest with four RBI. Hodge scored two runs against the Gladiators.
Salem provided a tougher test for WBHS and event took an early 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the first, however, Demeritte tripled and Carter doubled to give the lead back to the Bulldoggs. Jake Frady and Garrett Coddington also had RBI against the Seminoles.
Blake Oviedo earned the win, the 10th region victory of the spring for WBHS. He allowed just four hits and recorded five strikeouts.
Demeritte worked the final two innings with four strikeouts to record the save.
