 | | | 5/10/2008 12:01:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article |  | Staff Photo: Su Anderson
Brookwood catcher Seth Adkins blocks the plate as Alpharetta's Kenneth Reynolds tries to score Friday in the first round of the state baseball playoffs at Brookwood. |  |  | Staff Photo: Su Anderson
Teammates congratulate Brookwood pitcher Chase Hawkins during the first game of the doubleheader against Alpharetta. |
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Brookwood stays alive
By Tyler Estep
Staff Correspondent
SNELLVILLE - It came down to the wire, but Brookwood managed a split of its doubleheader with Alpharetta on Friday, staying alive for today's third and deciding game of its first round playoff series with the Raiders.
After an error-ridden, nine-inning loss in Game 1, the Broncos, a day after being ranked No. 1 in the country by USA Today, recovered by ekeing out a 6-4 win in Game 2.
"I'm frustrated with our kids on several levels," coach Rick Howard said. "Obviously, with everything that happened yesterday you're asking 15-, 16-, 17- and 18-year-old kids to handle a lot of attention in a short period of time."
Adrian Rivero was chased after just 12â"3 innings of work in Game 2, allowing five runs on four hits in his share of the second inning. Back-to-back singles and a walk of first baseman Chase Hawkins loaded the bases before Alpharetta first baseman Will Kearney bobbled a grounder from Buddy Jones, allowing two runs to score.
Jordan Erisman followed suit with a two-out, two-RBI double before second baseman Ross Heffley added an RBI single. The Raiders answered with four runs in the third, but starter Alex Beebe stayed resilient, allowing just a single over his last three innings of work.
Left fielder John Robinson drove in an insurance run with a single in the sixth.
"I lost it there for a little bit," Beebe said. "But you get a breather, get a run, get a second to breathe and just go back out there and follow through with it again. It was a little shaky at first, but we pulled through it."
Hawkins gave Brookwood 81â"3 innings from the mound in Game 1, striking out eight and allowing only one earned run. He left the game in the ninth with runners on first and second before Alpharetta's Grant Newsome lined the second pitch he saw from reliever Michael Smith into centerfield for the go-ahead run.
The loss was Hawkins' first of the season, and snapped a 17-game Brookwood winning streak. The Broncos (25-2) last lost March 13 against McEachern.
"Chase pitched an outstanding game we just didn't play any defense behind him," Howard said.
It was errors that spelled disaster for the Broncos in regulation, with five total, including three in the sixth.
Brookwood pulled ahead 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth, with RBI singles from Erisman and centerfielder Ryan Lewis. But the lead wouldn't last long, with a pair of bizarre plays and a trio of errors allowing the Raiders to tie the contest back up in the sixth inning.
Alpharetta leadoff man Mitchell Newsome reached safely on a grounder when first baseman Ronnie Freeman couldn't handle the throw from Heffley. The next batter, Austin Marr, hit the ball toward short, where Erisman threw the ball into right field. Newsome scored and Marr made it all the way to third before Erisman couldn't handle the throw from right, allowing Marr to cross the plate as well.
With prom set for later in the evening, the Broncos will host the series' third and deciding game today at noon.
"It's gonna be hard for them because we have prom tomorrow and our backs are against the wall, and you're the one seed and they're the four seed and they're not supposed to do anything," Howard said. "It a lot of pressure on your kids. But good teams come out and play."
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Saturday, August 02, 2008 
