SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL: KATIE SILVA

Round one of the 2016 baseball playoffs was a major success for the Brantley Bulldogs. The Bulldogs defeated the Fruitdale Pirates in a 2-0 series victory. The games kicked off at 4 p.m. last Thursday afternoon.

Nathan Renfroe started off pitching for the Bulldogs. After a quick three out inning, the Bulldogs were up to bat. Adrian Person, Jr. batted first for the Bulldogs and hit a double. Greyson Layton batted Person in with a ball to left field. Jacob Free then hit Layton in to make the score 2-0 at the end of the first inning.

“We played very well and got way ahead quickly so some of our younger players could get some playing time,” Renfroe said.

“We need to just keep hitting the ball and doing the little things right.”

Renfroe pitched two strikeouts and Trey Lowery caught a pop fly to right field to get the Bulldogs back to bat. In the bottom of the second inning, Free hit a two run homerun and Renfroe hit a homerun, earning the 20th homerun of this season.

With two batters on base, Andrew Kimbro hit a triple bringing them home and making the score 9-0. During the top of the third inning the game was delayed due to weather conditions.

Jake Kilcrease, Free and Layton all hit RBIs in the bottom of the third inning and Kimbro added to the scores with two RBIs, making the score 14-0.

At the top of the fourth inning, the Bulldogs substituted many players. Tristan Owens took over pitching with a quick three out inning. Parker Odom and Tucker Owens both hit RBIs in the bottom of the fourth inning, making the score 16-0. To end the first game, Tucker Owens caught a fly ball to left field, but the Pirates scored one run making the final score 16-1.

Game two started out with the Bulldogs batting, the first two points coming from Layton hitting a double. Edge Branum also batted in two runners for the Bulldogs, leaving the score 4-0. Branum started the game pitching for the Bulldogs. Renfroe got an out when he threw from his position at third base to first, which was their first out of the first inning.

Layton got the last out by fielding a ground ball and running to first base. At top of second, Person started off batting, hitting a double.

Kilcrease came out to run for him, and was batted home by Tommy Spivey. Spivey was then able to score due to an error made by the Pirates when Free was up to bat, bringing the score up to 6-0.

Renfroe hit a double, getting a RBI. Layton smashed one out to right field, allowing Renfroe to score. Mack Wise hit a fly ball to center that was dropped by the Pirates, which gained the Bulldogs a single.

Layton was brought home due to a ball, making the score 9-0. Back on defense, Branum pitched a two strike out inning and got the last out by fielding a ground ball and throwing out the batter at first. Back up to bat at the top of the third, Spivey hit a triple and Kilcrease scored. Free got his sixth RBI of the night, bringing in Odom to score the run 11 for the Bulldogs.

Wise and Kimbro both hit a double to center field earning an RBI each. Bases were loaded when Branum got hit with the ball. The next five points for the Bulldogs came from getting walked. The score was 18-0 going into the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, Scotty Hudson caught a fly ball to left field to end the third inning.

Kyle Carnley pitched the bottom of the fourth inning with the Pirates scoring one run before the Bulldogs got three outs. The fourth and fifth inning, the Bulldogs didn’t do much offensively. To end the game, Tristan Owens caught a ground ball and tagged first. The final score to game two was 18-1.

When asked how he felt about the game, Spivey said, “I am excited about the win. We played a great game. We came out and dominated in the first few innings. We did what we were suppose to do.”

Head coach, Austin Brook, commented on how he felt the game went saying, “I felt it went well. I’m ready for next week.”

This week the Bulldogs will face the Millry Wildcats in the second round on Friday afternoon at Brantley.