TUNNEL HILL, Ga. - When Northwest Whitfield "erupted" for three runs in the second inning of Saturday's state playoff game against LaGrange, there was a noticeable reduction of stress in the Bruins' dugout.
After scoring only one run in each game during Friday's doubleheader to start the GHSA Class AAAA best-of-three series, the Bruins used Saturday's early runs and Jake Bearden's pitching to win 5-2 and earn a second-round matchup at Jefferson that starts Thursday. The Region 8 champion Dragons needed three games to get past Region 7 No. 4 seed Chestatee, beating the War Eagles 6-4 after winning 3-2 and losing 5-3.
Bearden scattered six hits and struck out six batters, and his younger brother Hank struck the big blow in the second inning with a two-run triple that followed Seth Godfrey's RBI single. For a team with a season batting average of less than .240, the runs were the perfect tonic.
"That was big. Hank's not getting many pitches to hit, but he finally got into one and drove it the other way for the big hit," said coach Todd Middleton, whose Bruins (17-15) finished second to Heritage in 6-AAAA to reach the playoffs and had to win Saturday after losing 5-1 before winning 1-0 on Friday.
"We pretty much did what we've done most of the year, win two out of three, but it wasn't easy," Middleton said. "It's especially not easy when you invent ways to lose, which we have done at times, but the guys did a great job today."
On the mound, Bearden had only one clean inning and gave up a run in the first and the third, but he managed to work out of any further trouble. The Grangers (13-21), trailing 3-2 in the fourth, had runners at second and third with two outs before Bearden induced Ben Farrar's groundout to third.
Bearden allowed a leadoff single in the fifth but ended that threat by catching a shallow popup over his shoulder and catching the runner off first base. He retired six of the final seven batters.
"I had all three pitches working today, and I just pounded the zone and it worked out for us today," the junior pitcher said. "I watched how Hank set them up yesterday, how he worked in and away and then got them to hit his pitch, and I used that today, too."
Middleton praised the right-hander, who teams with his younger brother and Ty Fisher to give the Bruins a formidable staff.
"Jake has done that all year," Middleton said. "We have three aces, and none of the three is above the other one. Stat-wise, they are all right there together. I just give them the ball at the beginning of the game, and they take care of it. I'm just proud we found some ways to score."
The postgame handshake line between the teams was marred by a confrontation, but after a brief scuffle, order was quickly restored by coaches and a couple of Whitfield County deputies. Middleton said a LaGrange player threw a punch at one of the Bruins, and the Northwest coach said none of his players would face repercussions from the incident.
"I don't know what happened to start that," he said. "I just saw a punch thrown from one of their players. Everybody did a great job of calming things down."
' In a Class A public first-round series at Trion, the host Bulldogs completed a sweep of Hawkinsville by winning 9-5 in eight innings.
Trion led 5-1 entering the seventh inning before the visitors put up four unearned runs. Tanner Railey led a 10-hit attack for Trion with four hits and added an RBI, Cole Trammell had three hits and an RBI, and Cameron Carter drove in a pair of runs.
The teams were able to get just one game in Friday due to wet field conditions that led to a late start, and the Bulldogs rolled, 14-1.
Trion (13-9) will travel to Irwin County for a second-round series that starts Thursday. The Indians, seeded No. 2 in the 24-team bracket, had a bye in the first round. The Bulldogs are seeded 15th.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.