Gemmel perfect at the plate as EC closes regular season with win over Westlake

COLLEGE PARK-Bryce Gemmel went 4-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored to lead the East Coweta Indians to a 15-4 six-inning victory Friday night over the Westlake Lions at Evans Field.
The Region 3-AAAAAA win was the 15th in a row for the Indians who will take a 19-5 overall record and the region's top seed into their first round state playoff series next Friday at home aginst the Colquitt County Packers.
The Packers are the fourth seed from Region 1-AAAAAA.
The Indians took the lead in the top of the first inning as Stephan Cruver was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on a single by Nick Pippin who advanced to second on an error by the catcher and came home on a single to center by Gemmel.
Gemmel, who took second on the throw to the plate, came home on a two out single Jaquez Williams for the final run of the inning.
Cary Holloway gave the Indians a 4-0 lead as he led off the top of the second when he reached on an infield error, stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball before eventually coming home on a wild pitch.
The Indians widened their lead in the top of the fourth inning as Devonte Brown reached on a one out single and stole second before Cruver reached on a walk.
An infield error allowed Brown to score then Gimmel struck again with a two run single to give the Indians a 6-0 lead.
Gimmel advanced to second on a wild pitch, stole third then after a walk to Matthew Meyer came home on a passed ball while Meyer advanced to second.
Meyer came home with the fifth and final run of the inning when Austin Jones reached on a bloop single.
The Lions, who will finish with the region's fourth seed, cut into the lead with four runs due to a pair of walks, an infield error and a single but the rally was ended and the score was 9-4.
The Indians scored a run in the top of the fifth inning as Cruver reached with two outs after being hit by a pitch and scoring on a two out soingle by Gemmel.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Indians pulled away with five runs as several pinch hitters came into the game while Cruver had a two run double and that man Gemmel scored the final run of the game.

Top two spots of Region 3-AAAAAA baseball remain in Coweta County after Newnan sweeps Westlake

Mother Nature has been a thorn in the side of Marc Gilmore's first year as the head baseball coach at Newnan High School and tried to dig deeper Tuesday as the Cougars faced the Westlake Lions in a Region 3-AAAAAA double header at Joe Pope Field.
Her mission failed as the Cougars defeated the raindrops to sweep the Lions in the twinbill by scores of 6-0 and 11-0.
Including a 16-1 bludgeoning of the Langston Hughes Panthers Monday evening, the Cougars improve to 11-11 overall and are 8-3 in the region which is good for second place while the Lions fell into third place with an overall record of 11-12 and a region mark of 8-5.
The sweep means that the Cougars will finish no worse than third with a game against the Panthers scheduled for Wednesday night in Fairburn and three games afterward while the Lions will play in Sharpsburg against the East Coweta Indians,
As for the games, the opener was scoreless in the first inning but the Cougars took the lead in the bottom of the second with four runs off Lions starter and loser Tyler Wilcher.
Caleb McElwaney led off with a single, KD Satterwhite reached first after being hit by a pitch and Tyler Davis moved the duo into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt to first for Anthony Marion.
Marino lined a shot into right center field for a an RBI double as McElwaney and Satterwhite both came home.
A walk to Chase Davis followed and Drew Oldham singled to score Marino from third and the final run of the frame came after Brady Barnes hit into a fielders choice.
Newnan added to the lead in the bottom of the third inning as Connor Dunn and Jake Kniedel led off with back-to-back doubles that resulted in one run while an infield error allowed Kniedel to come home with the finally tally of the game.
While Mother Nature eventually conceded by stopping the rain, Cougars starter Sawyer Steele was working on six hit shutout in which he recorded four strikeouts which his team's defense was flawless in the field.
In the nightcap, which was played under partly cloudy skies without any rain, the Cougars were the visitors as the game was originally scheduled to be played in College Park.
The Cougars made for bad visitors as they scored a run in the top of the first as they loaded the bases with one out for Satterwhite who grounded out to the Lions' shortstop as Ty Herring crossed home plate.
Newnan added a single run in the top of the second inning as Justin Groover led off the frame by hitting a 1-1 offering from Lions pitcher Malcolm Boyce over the left field fence for a solo home run.
The "visitors" added a single run in the top of the third inning with two outs as Satterwhite doubled and reached third on a throwing error before coming home on a single by Marino.
In the top of the fourth, the Lions let Boyce down as Oldham and Barnes led off the frame by reaching on fielding errors and coming home when Kniedel grounded out to shortstop.
The top of the fifth became the undoing of the Lions as 11 batters went to the plate and six runs scored as three walks, two wild pitches and a fielding error contributed to the misfortune.
The Cougars accepted the problems of their opponent in the bottom of the frame as starter Tanner Snellgrove retired the side to end the game under the mercy rule.
In five innings Snellgrove held the Lions to two hits while allowing two walks and recording two strikeouts.

EC defeats Westlake, clinch tie for region title

COLLEGE PARK-Matthew Meyer was 3-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI while Austin Bellamy settled down on the mound to finish with a five-hitter Monday as the East Coweta Indians defeated the Westlake Lions 5-2 to claim at a share of the Region 3-AAAAAA title.
The win at Bill Evans Field was the 14th in a row for the Indians who improved to 18-5 overall and 12-0 in the region while the Lions fell to 8-3 in the region as they enter a doubleheader Tuesday afternoon at Newnan's Joe Pope Field against the Cougars.


Austin Jones' solo home run in the top of the first gave the Indians the lead.

The Indians took the lead with one out in the top of the first inning as Austin Jones hit a solo home run over the left field fence.
After Bryce Gemmel grounded out, Meyer reached on his first double of the game when he lined a shot into the left center gap and came home when Jaquez Williams had an RBI double.
Williams scored the third and final run of the game when he hit a single to left field.
The Lions threatened to come back in the bottom of the second inning as the first two batters reached but the threat looked like it would be brief as a line drive was hit to Devonte Brown at shortstop and the freshman was able to turn a double play as he caught the baserunner too far from third base.
However, three singles followed and the lead was cut to 3-2 in favor of the Indians.
The Indians managed to get one of the runs back with one out in the top of the third inning when Meyer lined a shot into the right center field gap for his second double of the game and eventually scored on an infield single by Makenzie Martin.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Indians scored their final run of the contest as Gemmel reached on an infield single, stole second and came home when Meyer singled to right field.

Austin Bellamy allowed five hits and recorded eight strikeouts in seven innings.

Meanwhile, Bellamy managed to settle down after a sluggish start as retired the final 10 batters of the game and 14 of 16 after the second inning with seven of his eight strikeouts and inducing six infield outs.
The second game of the series will be played Wednesday evening at 5:30 in Sharpsburg on Senior Night and the Indians will have an opportunity to clinch the region's top seed.

EC takes first game of Newnan series

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Austin Bellamy allowed four hits over seven innings while the top of the batting order accounted for six runs Wednesday night to lead the East Coweta Indians to an 8-1 victory over the Newnan Cougars in the first of their Region 3-AAAAAA series played bat Sharpsburg.
The win was the 12^th straight for the Indians who improved to 16-5 overall and 10-0 in the region while the Cougars had their five-game winning streak snapped as they fell to 8-9, 5-2.
After Bellamy breezed through the top of the first inning, his Indians teammates gave him a lead as they scored three runs in the bottom of the frame.
Cam Smith, Nick Pippin and Bryce Gemmel received free passes from Cougars starter Sawyer Steele to load the bases and after Matthew Meyer hit a flyball to right field, Stephan Cruver hit a single that brought Smith home with the first run.
A sacrifice fly scored Pippin with the next run and the final run came home when a groundball hit by Jaquez Williams was mishandled.
The Cougars cut into the margin in the top of the third inning as Chase Davis led off with a single, moved to second on a groundout and came home on an infield error.
The Indians got the run back and added a couple more in the bottom of the fourth inning as Williams led off with a double, Cary Holloway reached on an error and Devonte Brown followed with a bunt single before Smith hit a sacrifice fly to center field allowing pinch-runner Grant Simon to score.
After Pippin reached on a fielders choice, Gemmel gave the Indians a 6-1 lead with a two-out, two-run single giving Bellamy some breathing room on the mound.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Cougars tried to rally as Chase Davis led off with a walk and Drew Oldham followed with a single, but a force play at third and a pair of groundouts ended the threat and got Bellamy out of trouble.
Davis was one of the few offensive bright spots for the Cougars as he went 2-for-2 at the plate with a walk.
With the exception of the third and fifth innings, Bellamy pitched with little difficulty in the outing as he tossed 14 first pitch strikes on the way to a six strikeout, two walk performance as he ran his personal record to 8-1.
The Indians added to the lead in the bottom of the sixth off reliever Hays Roman with two outs in the frame as Pippin was hit by a pitch and Gemmel reached after being hit by a pitch ahead of Meyer who laced a two-run double into center field.
Game two of the series will be played Thursday at 5:45 when the Cougars will host the Indians at Joe Pope Field.

Indians welcome former players with win over Tigers

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Friday night was alumni night for the East Coweta Indians as many former players returned Sharpsburg to past glory for one more game, but the current Indians had business with the Douglas County Tigers in the conclusion of their Region 3-AAAAAA series.
Thomas Leone delivered another solid outing in his young career on the mound while Jaquez Williams had a quality evening at the plate including a home run as the Indians were 12-1 winners in a game called in the bottom of the sixth.
The win was the 10th straight for the Indians who improved to 14-5 overall and 9-0 in region play while the Tigers dropped to 6-9, 0-5.
The Indians got on the board in the bottom of the first inning as Cam Smith led off with a single stole second and Nick Pippin followed by reaching on a walk.
A wild pitch advanced both runners into scoring position and eventually the duo would score on sacrifice flies by Bryce Gemmel and Austin Jones.
The Tigers cut the margin to 2-1 in the top of the second inning as David Ihrig reached on a one out double and scored on a single by Cousin.
The answer by EC was two more runs in the bottom of the third inning as Pippin doubled and scored on a single by Gemmel who would eventually come home on a one out double by Stephan Cruver.
The 4-1 advantage grew by a pair in the bottom of the fourth inning as Devonte Brown walked and advanced to second when Smith was hit by a pitch before the former scored on a single by Pippin.
Smith, who advanced to third on Pippin's hit, came home with the second run of the frame when Gemmel had his second sacrifice fly of the game.
Meanwhile, Leone was in control allowing five hits and the lone run while recording a walk and five strikeouts during his six-inning stint.
However, his teammates gave him more runs to play with as they added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning as Cruver and Williams reached after being hit by pitches.
A passed ball allowed Cruver to eventually come home while a two out single by Devonte Brown brought pinch runner Austen Russell plateward.
The game came to an end in the bottom of the fifth inning as Pippin singled and eventually coming home by Jones then Williams hit the game ending blow with a three-run shot over the right center field fence.
After Williams' blast, Indians of years past took to the field with a good time had by all.
Among those participating were a number of players who were part of the 2003 and 2004 state runnersup including Brad Emaus (class of 2004) who had his number 27 retired prior to the game, Jamie Spear, Brett Butts, Jonathon Maxwell, Lee Heaberlin, Hank Askew, Taylor Walker, Brett Mitchell, Kieron Pope, Kyle Bedrosian and Josh Mitchell.
Other former EC players who participated were Joey Johnson (class of 1999), Kevin Stephenson (class of 1995), current assistant Mark Bowles (class of 1998), Joseph White (class of 2002), Brian Regan (class of 1986), Jake Smith (class of 1996 and draft choice of the Montreal Expos), Felton James (class of 2010), Ben Baugh (class of 2006), Cale Foster (class of 2010), Jordan Lewis (class of 2013), Tommy McCharge (class of 1999) and EC community coach Morris Milner (class of 2007).
Prior to the game, a former EC player was honored posthumously with a presentation of a jersey as well as other items to his widow and other family members.
Another former player was also honored as Coweta County Deputy Sheriff David Sepanski (class of 1999) was recognized for his military service.
Sepanski served in the Marine Corps for several years with tours of duty in Afghanistan.

Bellamy tosses no-hitter as EC defeats Douglas County in five

After pitching a one-hitter a year ago against Douglas County, East Coweta pitcher Austin Bellamy proved to be even more stingy as he flirted with a perfect game and still came away with a no-hitter as the Indians defeated the Tigers 11-0 in five innings.
The Region 3-AAAAAA victory was the Indians eighth straight overall as they improve to 12-5 and 7-0 in the region.
After Bellamy retired the Tigers in order with two by strikeout in the top of the first inning, his Indian teammates gave him the only runs he would need to seal his seventh win against one defeat with four runs in the bottom of the frame.
With one out, Nick Pippin reached on a single to left and advanced to third on a double by Bryce Gemmel before scoring on a sacrifice fly to center field by Matthew Meyer.
Gemmel stole third while Stephan Cruver at the plate and the latter reached after being hit by a pitch.
Austin Jones a flyball to center with what was to be the third out but the ball was dropped and both runners came home to give the Indians a 3-0 lead while Jones hustled to second.
The scoring of the inning ended as Jaquez Williams drilled a single to right field allowing courtesy runner Austen Russel to come home.
The Indians essentially put the game away in the top of the second inning when 10 batters came to the plate with five scoring and the lead was 9-0.
Devonte Brown led off by reaching first when he was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a sacrifcie bunt by Cam Smith.
Pippin was hit by a pitch and Gemmel followed with a walk to load the bases for Meyer who singled to left for two RBIs and Cruver followed with a run scoring single as well.
With Meyer and Cruver in scoring position, Jones came through for the Indians as he brought both home with a single.
Meanwhile, Bellamy was in complete control on the mound as he continued to send Tigers batters back to the dugout by either groundout or flyball as his defense played a solid game.
After a scoreless third inning, the Indians added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning as Cruver singled and Jones walked ahead of run scoring singles by Williams and Makenzie Martin.
In the top of the fifth, Bellamy retired the first batter but lost his perfect game bid as he walked the next, but the senior recovered to induce a groundout and a strikeout to win the game and earn his no-hitter.
The two teams will move their series to Douglasville on Thursday and will end it in Sharpsburg on Friday with the EC Alumni Game to follow.