Gators beat Statesboro to clinch opening region series

 Vidalia captured back-to-back one-run wins to claim a three-game Region 3-AA series victory with Brantley County ending the ninth-ranked Herons’ seven-game winning and debut in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Top 10 poll. BCHS (10-6 overall, 4-2 region) posted a 10-5 road victory in the series opener Tuesday, March 14. The Indians (8-7-1, 2-1) rallied in each of the final two games winning 7-6 in eight innings Thursday, March 16 in Caney Bay, and 5-4 Friday, March 17 at home. Brantley County had a Saturday, March 18 home game with Yough High School of Herminie, Pa. cancelled due to inclimate weather. Private School power Tattnall Square Academy of Macon visits Thursday at 6 p.m. Calvary Day, ranked third in Class AAA, comes to town Friday, March 24 for a 6 p.m. first pitch. Vidalia 7 Herons 6, 8 Inn. CANEY BAY — Visiting Vidalia scored twice in the eighth inning after battling back from a 5-1 deficit to force extra innings in beating the Herons despite managing just three hits. A one-out, bases loaded hit batter in the top of the eighth forced home the go-ahead run for the Indians breaking a 5-all tie and an ensuing run-scoring single gave the visitors a two-run advantage in rallying past Brantley County. Vidalia’s Dawson Stewart (1-for-3) started the eighth reaching on a dropped third strike offering from Talyn Coger (2.2 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 1 K, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 1 WP). A one-out walk to Cason Banks and an intentional walk to Walker Moncus followed loading the bases. Colt Thrift hit Kaleb Bennett (1-for-3) with his third pitch in relief of Coger forcing home the first run giving Vidalia its first lead at 6-5. Conner Whited’s sacrifice bunt on an 0-2 pitch plated the second run. Brantley County scored once and had the tying run on base when the game ended. Tripp Hendrix (1-for-3) lined a one-out single up the middle, advanced to second on a wild pitch and stole third ahead of a walk to Nolan Guy (1-for-2) putting runners on the corners. Brody Yeomans’ (2-for-4) two-out single scored Hendrix cutting the lead in half to 7-6. The Herons scored four times in their second at bat after stranding Yeomans and Thrift at third and second in the first inning. Luke Wood (1-for-3) opened the second inning with an 11-pitch walk that included six pitches fouled off. After Austin Nipper (1-for-4) followed with a single to left, Guy drew a one-out walk loading the bases. Brantley County strung together three consecutive two-out singles producing its four runs. Thrift laced a one-out, run-scoring single plating Wood with the first run of the game. Luke Carter (1-for-4) reached on an infield hit off an 0-2 pitch scoring Nipper. Avery Saunds followed with a two-run single to left for a 4-0 lead. Vidalia answered with a run in the third against Carter (4 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 K, 2 BB). A one-out walk was followed by a two-base error and a run-scoring groundout. The Herons scored in the fourth to open up a 5-1 advantage. Guy singled, was sacrificed to second by Yeomans, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Thrift’s single to left. The Indians scored in the fifth on a two-out single against Mason Thomas (.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 K, 2 BB, 1 HBP). A leadoff hit batter eventually came around to score on Vidalia’s first hit of the game. After Brantley County left runners on the corners in the bottom of the inning, the Indians responded with three runs in the sixth to tie the score at 5-all. Consecutive one-out singles and a hit batter against Coger loaded the bases. A second straight hit batter forced home the first run. A two-out, two-run error followed two batters later to knot the score. Vidalia 5 Herons 4 VIDALIA — The Indians’ Walker Moncus blasted a one-out, two-run walkoff homer in the bottom of the seventh inning lifting Vidalia past the Herons. Brantley County, which had let a 3-1 fifth inning lead evaporate, broke a 3-all tie in the top of the seventh on Thrift’s one-out, run-scoring single. Hendrix (1-for-3) led of the frame with a first-pitch single. Thomas followed legging out a sacrifice bunt. After a fielder’s choice groundout by Yeomans put runners on the corners, Thrift (2-for-2) followed Yeomans’ theft of second with an infield hit scoring Hendrix for a 4-3 lead. Brantley County was unable to do any further damage after a walk to Carter (2-for-3) loaded the bases with one out. Vidalia answered in the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff single, a sacrifice bunt and the two-run homer by Moncus off a 2-2 pitch. The Herons grabbed a short-lived 1-0 lead in the third inning scoring after two outs and nobody on base. Thrift drew a two-out walk to keep the inning alive and raced home on Carter’s double to right-center. The Indians would follow suit in the bottom of the third against Aiden Adams (6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 7 K, 3 BB, 1 WP) getting a two-out, four-pitch walk and a run-scoring double tying the game at 1-apiece. Brantley County plated two runs in the fifth to open up a 3-1 lead catching two-out lightning. Thrift’s two-out double was followed by Carter’s first-pitch homer to left-center, his first of the year. Vidalia cut the margin in half scoring on a two-out double following a single to extend the inning. The Indians tied the score in the bottom of the sixth on a one-out, solo homer off the bat of Morgan Moye (3-for-3).