Houston County, Gainesville headed to Game 3

The offense Houston County showcased in the first game didn’t make an appearance in the second game.

Gainesville pitcher Collier Scott kept the Bears in check, and the Red Elephants nipped Houston County 2-1 on Monday in Game 2 of their GHSA Class AAAAA baseball semifinal series.

Game 3 is set for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, and Gainesville will be the home team.

Houston County took control of the opener with a five-run second inning, then watched its bullpen drag things out with control problems before winning 9-4.

The nightcap was tied at 1 after one, and Houston County’s D.L. Hall got out of a tough third easily after walking the first two batters.

Houston County’s Blake Dawson opened the bottom of the third with a single but was picked off.

Gainesville took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on two infield

singles, a hit batter, walk and throwing error when catcher Lawson Trawick’s throw to third bounced off a Gainesville batter’s helmet.

Gainesville pitcher Collier Scott retired Houston County in order in the fourth amid a run of retiring eight of 10 batters. He then stranded a leadoff single at second in the fifth.

But the Bears couldn’t get anything going consistently against Scott, who struck out six and walked one in the complete-game win.

Houston County got the bases loaded in the seventh with two outs, but Scott got Hall to ground out to second to end it.

Tony Locey went six innings and got the first-game win, the bullpen turning it into a save situation, and that went to Tanner Hall, who got the final out.

Dawson had three hits and Austin Langford two for Houston County, which took advantage of three Gainesville errors. Two runs were unearned.

The Bears dropped down two nifty bunts in the second inning, getting a two-run double from Jake Fromm as the Bears sent nine to the plate.

Locey struggled in the first inning and settled down, although he did hit two batters. He struck out four and walked two. Three pitchers went in for the bottom of the seventh, which opened with three straight walks and included two more hit batters.

Sam Carpenter, who fanned six and walked two, got the loss.

FOUR WHO MATTERED

Dawson: The Bears’ leadoff batter got on four times, had two doubles, scored three times and drove in a run in the first game. He had a hit in the nightcap.

Tanner Hall: He had a nice catch of a tough popup in foul territory, reaching over Trawick, added a hit and RBI and then finally finished off Gainesville in the bottom of the seventh of the first game. He had a hit in the second game.

Tucker Garland: The Bears’ shortstop went hitless in the opener but handled things well on defense with four assists and taking part in two double plays. He was solid and error-free in the nightcap, as well.

Banks Griffith: Gainesville’s leadoff hitter had half of his team’s hits in the opener and scored half of its runs. He had a hit in the second game, too.

Scott: A complete-game win in game two of a best-of-three, and giving up only one run while keeping any quality offense in check, is huge.

WORTH NOTING

Bruising pitching: The Bears continue to have a major problem hitting batters. They hit four in the first game and one in the second game.

Wasted chances: As good as Scott was in the second, the Bears had chances, going down in order once and doing nothing when anybody got on. They reached base with two outs in the inning four times, and wasted leadoff runners in the third and fourth. They stranded seven, the Red Elephants 10.

Money man: Senior Tanner Hall will get the ball for Houston County in the deciding game, and that tends to be a good thing. He's 7-1 with five saves, 68 strikeouts and 19 walks in 47-2/3 innings, and an opponents batting average of .143.

A rarity: The second-game loss was Houston County's third one-run loss of the season. Veterans won 4-3 back in February and Jones County 7-6 in early April. The Bears had won three straight one-run games, all in the playoffs.

Numbers and notes: Austin Hittinger's 16-game hitting streak came to an end in the second game, while Tanner Hall has hit in 10 straight. ... Dawson is 9-for-18 in his past four games. ... The Bears have five homers this season, only one - Locey against Cambridge on May 5 - since early April.

THEY SAID IT

Houston County head coach Jason Brett on the second game: "We didn't string together anything until late. I thought we were fixing to have some magic there again in the end."

Brett on whether it was Scott's efficiency or so-so at-bats by the Bears: "It was a little bit of both, to be honest. (Scott) just battled and threw strikes. He did a good job of keeping us off-balance a little bit. He was a good high school pitcher and battled his tail off, gave them a chance to win."

Brett on the day's games covering the spectrum: "We came out swinging in game one and got the early win. In (the second) game, we kind of sleptwalk a little bit early and we decided we were going to fight and battle, and gave ourselves a chance."

Brett on Tuesday's plan: "Well go with the senior (Tanner Hall). He'll be ready to go. ... We'll flush this and move on. It's a one-game season now. The kids are going to be jacked up and ready to go."

WHAT’S NEXT?

The series finale is at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, with the winner hosting the state championship series.

This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 7:00 PM with the headline "Houston County, Gainesville headed to Game 3."