 | | | 4/9/2008 12:01:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Broncos survive Ram rally
Brookwood tops Grayson 6-4
By Scott Smith
Senior Correspondent
SNELLVILLE - Brookwood's Alex Beebe pitched six strong innings Tuesday night, allowing three runs on six hits with seven strikeouts as the Broncos topped Grayson 6-4.
The win was Beebe's fourth against no losses, but a late Ram rally had Beebe holding his breath as his fourth win nearly got away.
Trailing 6-3 headed into the seventh, Grayson's Ches Whitesides led off the inning with a bunt single off of reliever Cameron Hall. Hall then retired the next two hitters but walked Scott King to put runners at first and second.
Brookwood head coach Rick Howard then brought in closer Michael Brown to face Josh Halford. Brown threw two strikes to go ahead 0-2 but then hit Halford to load the bases.
Hall then walked Travis Turner on four pitches to force home Whitesides to make the score 6-4.
That brought clean-up hitter Matt Milligan to the plate, who had already hurt the Broncos with a two-run single in the third inning. However, he couldn't come through in the seventh, going down swinging on four pitches.
"They just wouldn't go away tonight," Howard said of Grayson. "Every game they have played in has been that way and they really came to fight."
The game was originally scheduled to be played last Friday as both team's Region 8-AAAAA opener but the game was rained out, setting up Tuesday's make-up game.
Both teams were coming off big wins as Brookwood beat Parkview on Monday while Grayson came from behind in the last inning to beat Central Gwinnett.
The Rams nearly pulled off their second seventh-inning miracle in a row on Tuesday but five errors by the Ram defense and Beebe's steady outing proved to be too much.
"Beebe did an outstanding job for us tonight," Howard said. "I don't know if he felt like he was throwing his best stuff today but he found some pitches that worked for him."
Grayson (7-9, 2-1) drew first blood when Dylan Swords led the game off with a double and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Halford.
That 1-0 lead was extended to 3-0 in the third by Milligan's two-run single, but Brookwood (15-1, 3-0) began to chip away in the bottom half when Seth Adkins (2-for-3, two runs) scored on a wild pitch.
Brookwood added another run in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single from Jonathan Robinson and took control in the fifth with four runs.
Of the five Ram errors, two came on one play that allowed two Bronco runs to score. Grayson Flack, who was 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI, laid down a bunt with runners first and second and one out.
Swords, who was pitching for the Rams, fielded the ball and threw to first but no one was covering. That allowed Chase Hawkins to score and Buddy Jones scored when the throw to the infield overshot the cut off man.
Brookwood finished the night with 13 hits, getting at least one from every starter while seven different Rams had one hit. Chase Fortner started for Grayson, lasting four innings with five runs (three earned) on eight hits with two strikeouts and two walks.
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Sunday, August 03, 2008 
