Published: May 10, 2008 12:46 am            

Dalton sweeps way into second round

The Alexander High Cougars had the better reputation.

Dalton had the better team.

The Catamounts (16-12) ended the season of the seventh-ranked Cougars (21-7) on Friday, sweeping a first-round Class 4A state baseball playoff series, 12-6 and 8-1.

Dalton advances to the second round and will play the Heritage-North Springs winner on Wednesday.

A seven-run first inning got the day off to a perfect start for homestanding Dalton in the opener and sophomore pitcher Colton Kinnamon tossed a solid complete game in the clincher.

Despite the Cougars’ lofty record coming in, Cats coach Bobby Brotherton wasn’t shocked by the outcome.

“Our kids came out here to win both games,” he said. “They didn’t expect to lose and they weren’t playing for a split.”

Cats catcher Garren Palmer, who slugged a three-run homer in the first game and went 4-for-5 in the nightcap, agreed with Brotherton.

“We played our best baseball of the season tonight,” Palmer said. “We’re a confident bunch, but not cocky. We feel like we can beat any team that’s in front of us. We also realize that if we don’t show up any team can beat us, and that’s the great thing about baseball.”

• Dalton 8, Alexander 1: Alexander would have loved to gain a split by winning the second game, but the resourceful Kinnamon and a persistent Cats offense were too much for the punchless Douglasville team.

Kinnamon went the distance, growing sharper in the middle innings. He held the Cougars to five hits, all singles, and two walks.

“I’m not surprised at all at how well Colton pitched,” Brotherton said. “He came in 4-0 and he’s thrown the ball real well all year.”

The Cats gave their young pitcher more than adequate support, belting five doubles among 12 hits. They also worked the count for six walks, including four by sharp-eyed leadoff man Stryker Brown.

Palmer hoisted the biggest bat with four hits, including two doubles, and he scored four runs.

Mackie Sheets added three hits and Carter Crutchfield two, and each drove in three runs. Junior Phillip Schenck had two hits.

The Cats got a run on an error in the first inning and added two more in the third on a single by Sheets. They pushed across three more in the fifth, sparked by back-to-back doubles by Sheets and Crutchfield, then padded the lead in the sixth thanks to a two-run, bases-loaded single by Crutchfield.

• Dalton 12, Alexander 6: Dalton shook off the rust of a two-game skid that ended its regular season, scoring seven runs in the first inning off Alexander starting pitcher Dylan Smith on the way to a convincing win in Game 1.

After Sheets pitched a scoreless first, Dalton’s offense took over in the bottom half of the inning with two towering three-run home runs, the first a center field blast by Palmer and the second an opposite field shot to right from Harrison Scott. Beau Blackwood scored the seventh run of the inning on one of six errors committed by the Cougars in the game.

Alexander scored twice in the third on a two-run triple from shortstop Michael Schmidt and inched closer in the fourth with a two-run home run by designated hitter Montana Dowda to make it 8-4.

Dalton struck back in the bottom of the inning to put Alexander in a hole it couldn’t escape. Smith hit Palmer to lead off the inning and Sheets singled to put runners on first and second. Crutchfield then reached safely on a fielder’s choice to load the bases with no outs.

Scott hit into what appeared to be a double play, but Schmidt lost his footing while charging Scott’s grounder and recovered only to throw a laser wide to the right of the catcher, allowing two runs to score. Crutchfield would come home on Smith’s wild pitch and Mitch Townsend’s sacrifice fly upped the score to 12-4.

Smith lasted four innings and was roughed up for all 12 runs. He yielded six hits, struck out three and walked three.

Sheets held the Cougars scoreless over the next two innings before handing the ball over to freshman Alex Roberts in the seventh. Sheets went six innings and gave up four runs on four hits while striking out three and walking four.

Roberts got off to a rough start, surrendering a leadoff single to Schmidt and then a two-run home run to left-fielder Kyle Allen to bring the Cougars within six runs, but he settled down to strike out Waldrop and get the final two batters on groundouts.



Daily Citizen sports writer Adam Krohn contributed to this story.

        

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