Lowndes ends regional break on a win

Apr. 2—VALDOSTA — With no regional games for a week, the Lowndes High Vikings took the opportunity to travel for some games. The Vikings faced off against Jeff Davis High School and Trinity Christian Academy, narrowly losing both games by a run. Returning home, the Vikings ended their regional break in a win versus Columbia High School's Tigers.

Drew Inman started for the Vikings, pitching two innings with two strikeouts and giving up one hit and one freebie. Columbia scored two runs in the top of the first. Trayce McKenzie's double brought Ayden Philips in to score, and an error from the Vikings' first baseman allowed Bynton Edge to score.

The Tigers started Grant Bowers, who pitched four innings and gave up six hits. Bowers had two strikeouts, three base-on-balls, and seven earned runs allowed.

The Vikings also got to scoring in the first, starting with a ground out from Coleman Lewis, which brought Tate Sirmans in to score. Noah Thigpen crushed a homer to left field, bringing in Carson Page.

Garrett Moon relieved Inman in the third, pitching for one inning and allowing two hits and one walk. The Tigers would bring in one to tie the game in the third, with a double from Max Schuler bringing in Edge to score.

Lowndes used four other pitchers to finish the game: Brayden York, Easton Blanton, Layten Shelton, and Lewis — each pitched scoreless innings. The pitchers combined gave up one hit, two base-on-balls, and three strikeouts.

The Vikings scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Back-to-back hit by pitches and a single from Matthew Kerrigan filled the bases. A single from Sirmans brought Jude Jaramillo in to score, and a walk brought Cason Fletcher in to score. Sacrifice fly balls from Lewis and Thigpen brought in two more runs.

Bower was subbed out for Tison McRae, who pitched one inning and allowed two hits and two base-on-balls. In the bottom of the sixth, McRae was subbed out for Philip Maddox and gave up one hit, two runs, and two base-on-balls. A single from Jaramillo brought Thigpen to score, and a sacrifice fly from Fletcher brought in Jake Mariano.

The Vikings ended the game 9-3 in their final game before returning to regional play. The team returned home on the 2nd to start game one of their regional series versus Camden County.