LIVE WEBCAST
The Garner Trojans had a tough rode to hoe on Tuesday night when they traveled to take on the Millbrook Wildcats in round two of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association State Baseball Playoffs. Millbrook came into the game at 19-5 and the number one seed in the Cap-7 Conference.
The Wildcats struck first in the bottom of the very first inning as Trojan starter, Jacob Baker hit lead off hitter Ryan Hanks and after a steal of second, Hanks scored the games first run. After another unearned run in the second inning, Garner needed some offense, and had a shot in both the second and third innings as they put runners in scoring position in both the second and third, but could not score.
With Millbrook leading 4-0, Garner needed to score in a bad way, and they did just that in the top of the fourth. Hunter Brown was hit with a pitch to lead off the inning after a fly out, Pat Monahan walked and Phillip Myrick singled to plate Colin Perry (running for Brown) to make it 4-1.
But Garner was not done, Jackson Pleasant was the next to hit and he grounded to short, but the throw went into the Garner dugout and allowed Monahan and Myrick to score and make it 4-3. After Pleasant advanced to third on a pass ball, Gabe Chrismon was at the plate and laid down a beautiful bunt as Pleasant was coming home and Garner tied the score at four on the squeeze play.
The tie score would be short lived as Millbrook put up two runs in the bottom of the fifth. After a lead off walk,Millbrook would load the bases and plate two runs to give the Wildcats a 6-4 lead.
With the score still 6-4 in the top of the seventh, Millbrook brought in their stud pitcher, Jake Harris to close the deal. Harris allowed a one out double to Paco Martin, but the Trojans rally fell short as Millbrook advances to the third round of the State Playoffs.
Garner ends the year at 14-9, and the a third place finish in the Greater Neuse River Conference. Garner also advanced to the second round for the first time since 2004.
GAR 4 5 2
MBK 6 6 2
Winning Pitcher: Bryan Lincoln - 6 Innings, 4 Hits, 4 Runs, 2 Earned Runs, 4 Walks, 1 Hit Batter, 3 Strikeouts
Losing Pitcher: Jacob Baker - 4 Innings, 4 Hits, 5 Runs, 3 Earned Runs, 4 Walks, 1 Hit Batter, 2 Strikeouts
Save: Jake Harris - 1 Inning, 1 Hit, 0 Runs, 0 Walks, 2 Strikeouts
Baseball Falls to Millbrook in Round 2 of State Playoffs
