RINGGOLD, Ga. -- The Ringgold High School baseball team took advantage of Pepperell mistakes to sweep into the second round of the Georgia Class AAA state playoffs Friday.
The Tigers won 5-2 and then shut out the Dragons 7-0 in the best-of-three series behind speed and pitching. The teams squared off at Ringgold, taking turns as the home team.
"We were able to press with our speed and push situations," Ringgold coach Brent Tucker said. "We want to run the bases and create errors by putting pressure on them. Even running hard down the line, we created pressure."
With Ringgold as the visitor in game two, Garrett Yates did not have to do much running to lead off the game, instead trotting around the bases with a homer. The Tigers tacked on three runs in the third to back starting pitcher Garrett Wilbanks.
Jordan Ransom led off with a single and Yates reached on an error behind him. Ty Jones then laid down a bunt that Pepperell threw away trying to get the out, allowing both men on base to score. Jones touched home on Zach Morris' sacrifice fly.
"I came in believing these were two very winnable ballgames, but errors killed us," said Dragons coach Wright Edge. "We also didn't hit as well in the second game as I thought we would."
Pepperell starter Quinton Kay battled for seven innings coming off a shoulder injury, but four errors and just four hits made a comeback difficult.
"I think our pitching performance was good," Edge said. "The scoreboard doesn't show that, but we had a lot of errors. We just didn't get it done."
Ringgold added a run in the sixth on an RBI fielder's choice and two scores in the seventh. Yates reached on an error for a second time and scampered home on another fielder's choice off the bat of Morris. Hayden Moss came in to run for Morris and scored the final run on Ethan Dalton's single.
Wilbanks took advantage of the support, scattering three hits over six innings of work with three strikeouts. Peyton Tennant came in to shut the door in the seventh but ran into trouble. After two quick outs, the Dragons loaded the bases with a single, a walk and a hit batter before Tennant regained control for the game-clinching strikeout.
"Garrett and Devin (Lancaster) had an outstanding day," Tucker said. "They attacked early and were pounding the (strike) zone all day. They gave us exactly what we needed."
Lancaster went the distance for the pitching win in game one. Garrett Peeples paced the offense in game two, going 3-for-4. Jones picked up two hits and Yates was on base three times in the leadoff spot.
Seth Addison did the damage for Pepperell in the first game with a homer and reached three base times in the second game.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com.