Houston County wins wild championship game

Jake Fromm won’t ever forget his final game in a Houston County baseball uniform.

Nobody from Loganville who was on hand for the “fair or foul?” game will, either.

Fromm sent a third-inning pitch way out of the park and over the trees. There was a signal of some sort, then a conference of umpires, and then a ruling that it was a home run.

Loganville head coach Jeff Segars argued vehemently and was ejected, as was pitching coach Brandon Anglin as the intensity of the overflow crowd only increased.

The homer was part of Houston County’s first five-run inning and propelled the Bears to an unforgettable — on both sides — 12-0 mercy-rule win over the Red Devils for the GHSA Class AAAAA title Tuesday night.

It was Fromm’s second homer of the series, and it was certainly the noisiest. His first one Monday night left little doubt it wouldn’t stay in the field, nor did his second one.

But whether it was fair or foul was the question.

The Bears were up only 2-0 in an odd pitchers’ duel, with neither Tanner Hall nor Ryan Franklin all that sharp but still able to get batters out.

The Bears scored one in the second on Tanner Hall’s walk, a steal and Tony Locey’s double. They added one early in the third on Austin Langford’s walk, a sacrifice and throwing error on a bunt.

Then Fromm hammered the first pitch to him high and deep to left.

Fair or foul?

“You know, it hooked really bad,” Fromm said. “I know the ball went a long ways, and it hooked really bad. I mean, it could have gone either way.”

Segars charged out to argue.

“I thought it was a foul ball,” he said. “The third-base umpire called it a foul ball, and it’s his call. For him to go get help, when it’s not the guy behind the plate’s call, it changed the game. No doubt about it.”

Segars was going to make his point, leading to his ejection, and then game officials, security and law enforcement were on the field. He tossed his cap back toward the field, then walked alone to the gate in right field, with pitching coach Brandin Anglin, also tossed, soon following.

Both teams were fired up and exhorted their fans, not that the Houston County gang needed encouragement.

A walk, Austin Hittinger double and fly by Dillon Strickland added another run for a 6-0 run lead after three.

After that inning, Loganville pitching collapsed, walking five batters in a five-run fourth. Meanwhile, Tanner Hall battled through some rough going early and ended up with a five-inning, one-hit shutout for the win.

The lone hit came from Georgia-bound Timothy Elliott in the bottom of the third.

Hall finished with six strikeouts and three walks, throwing 83 pitches in five innings to finish his senior season 9-1 with a .577 ERA.

FOUR WHO MATTERED

Fromm: Playing first base in his final game as a Houston County baseball player, Fromm went 1-for-3 with three RBI and two runs. He went 3-for-8 with six RBI in the championship series.

Hall: While not as sharp as in his Game 3 win over Gainesville, Hall was still awfully good. Leadoff batters reached in the first two innings, but Hall got out of both innings unscathed.

Austin Hittinger: The right fielder has struggled a bit lately but had two hits, two RBI and scored a run.

Locey: The Georgia-bound pitcher was playing third and hitting in his normal spot, but he had two hits, including a RBI double in the second and RBI single in the wild third.

THEY SAID IT

Loganville’s Segars on arguing: “I don’t just come on the field.”

Houston County shortstop Tucker Garland on Fromm’s homer: “To be honest, I didn’t have the best view on it, but either way, it was a tank. It was gone. The runs we put after it, to support the home run, either way, I think the game was in the bag. We came out with the right mindset, we were ready to roll.”

Segars on how things went after his ejection: “Houston, those guys got it done. That’s the bottom line. They’re state champions. You tip your cap to them. They made plays. They made pitches. I don’t want to take anything away from them.”

Locey on his second-inning double that plate the Bears’ first run: “It was awesome. I knew I had to execute and get the job done in that situation. I just went up to the plate with a positive mentality and tried to put the ball in play.”

Blake Dawson, who reached twice on bunts: “I work hard on my bunting every single day, and that is what I work on first. It really is an important part of my game.”

Houston County outfielder and pitcher D.L. Hall on coming up short in the second game Monday: “I was really upset, but sometimes things happen, but I had to forget about it. I knew we had Tanner Hall on the mound (Tuesday) and he is a great pitcher, and everyone was very confident about getting a win in this game.”

Segars on missed chances early: “We had some opportunities in the first inning, we didn’t get it done. Had a guy on third, less than two (outs), don’t get him in. We first and third, no outs, and didn’t get it in. We had opportunities.”

Tanner Hall on the huge momentum swing after Fromm’s homer and the ensuing controversy: “It seemed like it, right there, there was no way they could come back.”

Hall on his performance after that: “It made my job a lot easier. I could throw it down the middle and let them hit it. ... I think I left five people on the first two innings. ... It was definitely a different kind of one-hitter. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

This story was originally published May 24, 2016 at 9:44 PM with the headline "Houston County wins wild championship game."