CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. -- The sound Logan Peterson's bat made when it made contact with the baseball was enough to send his Gordon Lee teammates spilling from the dugout, many on a dead sprint with hands raised in celebration.
Seconds later, Darlington center fielder John Golden broke the Trojans' hearts with a catch against the fence, sealing a key 2-1 Region 7-AA win for the visitors.
Darlington (11-3, 5-0) now holds a three-game lead over Gordon Lee (5-7, 2-3) with seven league games remaining in the regular season. Tuesday's game was the latest in a growing rivalry that went with each program as they moved up to Class AA this year.
"This is exactly what you think of when you think of a rivalry game," said Darlington coach Kent Harrison. "Gordon Lee has a tremendous program with great players. I thought both teams deserved to win this game. It's huge for us in that it gives us a nice lead in the region. We play them the final game of the season and our goal is to have that game mean nothing toward the championship."
Not long before, Harrison was already thinking how he was going to console his team when he saw Peterson's shot head for the fence.
"I thought it was gone," he said of the two-out, two-on near homer. "He hit it about as far as you can and still be in the park, but at the same time I'm really proud of our senior outfielder who came up with another great catch."
Making the loss even tougher to handle for the Trojans was, after scrambling to tie the game at 1 in the fifth on Chaney Rogers' two-out single, the game-winning run scored on a potential double play in the top of the sixth. It also culminated a frustrating game in which Gordon Lee left five runners in scoring position, including one each in the first two innings.
Trojans coach Mike Dunfee hopes the game will serve as a lesson to not dwell on the negative during or after a game.
"It all goes back to -- and I believe this is in all of life -- you can't let the past affect what is happening now," Dunfee said. "We had opportunities in the first and second innings to score some runs, but we let what happened in the first inning affect us in the second, and you can't do that. We get caught up in moping about the past and not concentrating on the present."
Almost lost in the late-game theatrics was the work of Darlington ace Jay Shadday, who allowed only three hits and was at his best with runners on base. Likewise, tough-luck loser Rogers allowed just five hits and one earned run and struck out nine.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296.