Tigers fall to Callaway in 1st round of playoffs

Caleb Saggus hit a game-winning double in the second game of the Tigers' series against Callaway.

After a rocky start, a dramatic comeback, and a defensive struggle, the Washington-Wilkes Tiger baseball team had to come home after the first round of the state playoffs.

Playing against a tough team of Callaway Cavaliers, the tigers were eliminated last Saturday against Callaway after splitting a Friday doubleheader and losing the deciding game the next day. Head Coach Rob Jackson provided the following accounts of the three games.

Game 1 - W-W 0, Callaway 7

The Tigers collected seven hits in the game but were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Callaway's ace pitcher, Shaw,,collected the win improving his record to 10-0.

Clete Wilson pitched well for the Tigers allowing only four earned runs and striking out four in 6.2 innings of work.

"You have to give credit to their starting pitcher, we were able to get our share of hits but he really buckled down with runners on base," Jackson said. "We just could not get that clutch hit to push runners across the plate. We had several opportunities early in the game but it just did not happen offensively. Clete did an outstanding job for us on the mound against a pretty potent offense. Three of the final seven runs were all unearned."

Leading hitters for the Tigers were Jonathon Nicholson 2-for-3, Clete Wilson 1-for-3, Jerrick Darracott 1- for-3, Clint Echols 1-for-3, and Lee Thompson 1-for-2.

Game 2 - W-W 7, Callaway 6

The Tigers bounced back to win game two in dramatic fashion. Demont Gresham (9-2) earned the win allowing six runs (three earned) while striking out nine batters.

Offensively, the Tigers bounced back in the first on a 3-run home run by Clete Wilson, his sixth. Callaway would regain the lead after scoring one in the first and three more in the third. But the Tigers tied the game at 4-4 in the third after a leadoff double by Gresham and an RBI single by Drew Wilson.

Callaway battled back scoring single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Clete Wilson added an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth scoring Ty McGill to make the score 6-5 in favor of Callaway. Gresham struck out the side in both the sixth and seventh innings.

Then, in the bottom of the seventh Jerrick Darracott lead off the inning with a walk. Clint Echols bunted Spencer Swinson (pinch running for Darracott) over to second. McGill followed with a strikeout making it 2 outs. Lee Thompson walked and brought Caleb Saggus to bat. With a 3-2 count and 2 outs, Saggus smacked walk-off double to score Swinson and Lee to end the game with a 7-6 victory.

"Caleb had a unbelievable bat fouling off pitch after pitch until he finally got one over the plate he could handle, with the runners moving on the pitch Spencer and Lee were able to cross home plate without a throw," Jackson reported. "This was a game that our team will remember for a long time. Our focus this year was to never quit until the last out and it worked out for us in a pretty hostile environment."

Game 3 -

It didn't turn out according to plan as the Tigers committed five errors on defense and three more running the bases. Callaway took advantage scoring five unearned runs on the day.

Clete Wilson pitched the first 3 innings and Demont Gresham pitched the final 4 innings. "I spoke with Clete and Demont just before curfew Friday night, they said they wanted the ball and I was not going to deny them their request," Jackson said. "A big part of our success this year was because of their hard work and dedication and I was not going to deny them the opportunity. It is hard to pitch back-to-back days but they were going to give us the best opportunity to win. Both did an outstanding job, we just made too many mistakes against a quality team."

Leading hitters for the tigers were Caleb Saggus 3-for-3, Jonathon Nicholson 1-for-2, Demont Gresham 1-for-3, Clete Wilson 1-for-3, and Jerrick Darracott 1-for-3.

The Tigers will loose 3 seniors this year, Clete Wilson, Demont Gresham, and Jonathon Nicholson. "The 3 seniors we are losing will definitely be hard to replace," Jackson said. "All three set positive examples for our younger players to follow."

The Tigers finished the season at 17-9-1.

"I would like to thank all of the parents and the fans for all of their support this season," Jackson said. "I also want to thank all of our billboard sign sponsors. A special thanks to Jack Harvey at Farmers and Merchants Bank, Jimmy Wheatley of JEBCO Services Inc., and Shawn Gibson at 105.1 FM."

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