Thomasville baseball wins seventh straight region title

Apr. 22—THOMASVILLE — With a swift and crushing defeat of region opponent Crisp County in the final doubleheader of the year, the Thomasville Bulldogs are kings of the diamond once again. With a perfect 10-0 record in Region 1-3A play, the Bulldogs have snagged their seventh consecutive region championship.

The Bulldogs stomped Crisp County in game one of the doubleheader in a game that lasted just five innings. The Thomasville bats were hot as they rattled off nine hits to drive in 12 runs. Bradley Vanlerberghe led Thomasville with three hits in his four at-bats along with three RBI's.

Bulldogs pitcher Jay Harrison was lights out on the bump. He pitched all five innings in the game, allowing just two hits and recorded eight strikeouts.

Game two was much closer as Thomasville secured a 2-1 win over Crisp.

Cruz McCall started the game on the mound, but went just two innings before he was pulled. He performed well, striking out three and allowing just one hit and a run. Ethan Barrett took the bump in relief and went the rest of the way, pitching five complete innings. He ended his outing with eight K's and just one hit, with no runs given up.

The Bulldogs made the most of the six hits they recorded in the game. They were able to secure two runs for the victory and clinched the region title.

Thomasville finished its regular season perfect in the region and with an overall record of 16-9. They won six of their last eight contests and will now host the first round of the state playoffs.

The Bulldogs will face Cross Creek in a three-game set beginning with a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 23. The first game will start at 2 p.m. and will be the start of what Thomasville hopes to be a deep playoff run.