DALTON, Ga. –Though he didn’t really want to, Colton Kinnamon was already thinking back to a year ago when the Dalton Catamounts faced the same situation in the GHSA Class AAAA baseball playoffs.
Like last year against fourth-seeded Winder-Barrow, the Region 7 champion Cats split their first-round doubleheader Friday against Miller Grove, easily winning game one, 10-0, before losing 3-2 in eight innings. The deciding game three is today at 1, and Kinnamon, for one, believes last year’s shocking first-round loss will do the team good this afternoon.
“That’s going to be motivation for us because we can’t let that happen again,” said Kinnamon, who pitched a five-hitter in game one while adding a first-inning grand slam. “We’re definitely going to get to the second round this year.”
It seemed a deciding game wouldn’t be needed after the way the Catamounts (20-6) breezed in the opener. A five-run first inning, highlighted by Kinnamon’s blast, set the tone, and though Dalton managed only five hits in the five-inning game, the outcome was never in question.
However, game two was decidedly different as Miller Grove coach Vincent Byamss decided to start ace pitcher Monte Reese. The move paid off as Reese held the Cats hitless until the sixth inning, at which point the Wolverines held a 1-0 lead on Tevin Collins home run leading off the bottom of the first.