BASEBALL: Dublin gets through tight one to help sweep Northeast, secure control of first place

Dublin, which continued to hum along with its third, fourth and fifth-straight wins last week, wasn’t quite expecting to have the region 2-High A driver’s seat to itself this soon. 

But thanks to East Laurens, with its takedown of previously co-leading ACE Charter on Friday, the Irish are now alone at the top of the standings. And they’ll get to spend at least a few more days there before having to elbow away the first of a few prospective backseat intent on taking the wheel back over later this week. 

ACE (11-1) now joins Bleckley (9-1) in a once-beaten tie for second place in the region hierarchy, with Washington County (6-3) still in the hunt back at third, and rooting for some more chaos in the coming weeks. 

Dublin (14-3, 10-0 region) steered clear of the week’s only hazard Friday as it sidestepped a sneaky challenge from Northeast Macon in the first game of a home doubleheader. 

The Irish needed eight innings, and a Bennett Lake walk-off double, to win the early matchup 5-4. But the Raiders, who had long since worn out their welcome, didn’t stick around long after that as Dublin scored 19 in a four-inning shutout to roundly dismiss them in game 2. 

Preceding the sweep was another huge victory on the road Wednesday night, when the Irish went to Milledgeville and whacked GMC 17-2. 

The upcoming week once again leads off with a Wednesday-nighter, which will take them to Rochelle to battle Wilcox County. Then, it’s the much-anticipated showdown with ACE, as the Gryphons host Thursday and come to Dublin on Friday afternoon, to decide control of first, and which of the two teams will remain as the top challenger to defending 2-High A champion Bleckley County in April. 

Xavier Reese was 4-for-4 with an RBI, and Ryland Yates 3-for-3 with two, in Wednesday’s five-inning conquest of GMC. Lake, Bryceton Evans and Tal Duke also picked up three RBIs apiece, while C.J. Stubbs stole three of the team’s 12 bases, to contribute to the big afternoon. 

Lake’s two-RBI double was the key swing in a five-run first to get the afternoon started on a big note, and Dublin bats would add three more runs to the tally in the second, six in the fourth and three in the fifth, in the process of outhitting the Bulldogs 14-3. 

Jeff Davis pitched five innings of three-hit ball, allowing only one earned run while striking out six and walking only three. 

Neither of Friday’s starting pitchers lit up the gun. But both – Dublin’s Reese and the Raiders’ Bryce Talley – are known for being difficult to hit hard on a consistent basis. 

Dublin couldn’t capitalize on enough of its 10 hits to more than break even against the latter through seven innings of regulation, and mostly had to use a combination of patience at the plate and A-B-C baseball to scratch across its single runs in the second and fourth of an early stalemate. 

The former, known for his location and variations of speed, didn’t let the Raiders get much going either, though several – Talley, Jordan Wiggins, Kourtnei Williams and Xay Hutchings for hits – made some solid contact. Wiggins drove in two runs out of three in the sixth that gave Northeast a brief lead before Dublin re-tied with two in the bottom half. 

But it was over fairly quickly after Talley retired following the completion of seven innings, with two strikeouts, three walks and eight opposing hits. 

Will Wallace singled to lead off the eighth against Jaiden Center. Davis bunted him to third, and Lake doubled to left to drive in the winning run. 

A bases-loaded walk by Talley gave Dublin its initial run in the bottom of the second inning. 

Williams doubled and Hutchings singled to set up a tying run via error in the top of the third. 

Lake, who joined Jeff and Morgan Davis with two hits each, had the RBI single to make it 2-1 in the Irish fourth. Two innings later, Northeast responded with three to go ahead 4-2, as Talley went to left with a single, two Raiders drew a walk and Wiggins doubled to bring in two for a 3-2 lead. C.J. Jackson’s sac fly made it 4-2. 

But Dublin came up with a speedy answer in the bottom of the sixth, as Morgan Davis singled and Lake and Evans both drew walks to ultimately score on the same wild pitch. 

Reese went six innings, allowing four hits and three earned runs, walking four and striking out five before handing the baton to Will Wallace for the final two. He’d get the win with a walk and a strikeout. 

Friday’s nightcap was comparatively straightforward, as Jeff and Morgan Davis, Stubbs and Duke all recorded multiple hits (among the team’s 14) and Lake continued his big day with four runs driven in. Jeff also had four and Morgan three in support of Yates, who pitched all three innings, allowing one hit, walking two and striking out six. 

Dublin’s biggest inning – a 14-run third – included two-RBI hits by both Davises and Lake, a bases-clearing single by John Oliver and an RBI by Curt Norris, along with bases-loaded free passes drawn by both Wallace and Stubbs.