Lee County holds on to top Valdosta

LEESBURG — Jordan Reep circled into foul territory near third base and made a circus-style catch to end the game.

Somewhere, you got the feeling the Lee County High School baseball team was breathing a sigh of relief.

After building a nine-run lead, the Trojans watched as Valdosta scored five runs in the top of the seventh before reliever Dean Tompkins set down the top of the Wildcats’ batting order as the Trojans preserved a 9-7 advantage, keeping themselves in second-place in the Region 1-AAAAAA standings Monday night.

The game was postponed from March 27 due to the tragic death of Valdosta freshman Colton Shaw.

But the game never seemed to live up to its pregame billing between two teams expected to battle for the region crown before the season started.

Monday night, it seemed at times that both teams had hangovers from spring break. Lee County rocked several Valdosta pitchers and a usual reliable Lee County bullpen got roughed up starting in the fifth inning when the Wildcats pushed home a pair of runs.

In addition, both teams issued countless walks, had passed balls and combined for five errors.

Valdosta outhit Lee County 12-9 but left the bases loaded twice when starting pitcher Michael Reddick limited the Wildcats to just seven hits in the first four innings. He left with a nine-run advantage and the Trojans firmly in control.

Lee County (15-5, 6-2 Region 1-AAAAAA) needed this one, especially after getting outdueled Friday night by Tift County in a 1-0 setback. The Trojans kept the pressure on Tift County who leads the region standings with just one loss.

“It’s all about consistency,” said senior Dallas Greene, who finished 2 for 3 with a double batting in the bottom of the lineup.

“Hopefully, we can use Friday night and tonight as a lesson … good is not enough.”

With Reddick in control on the mound, the Trojans took a commanding 4-0 lead in the first inning off just one hit — a single from Malik Spratling that scored a pair of runs.

Then Reep’s RBI single in the second made it 5-0 before the Trojans threatened to rout Valdosta with a three-run third. Manny Chavarria’s RBI single in the fourth gave Lee a 9-0 lead.

But that was before Valdosta began to claw back.

“We got complacent with the lead,” Greene said. “Whether we are ahead 9-0, 10-0 or whatever, we’ve got to play to win.”

Nick Bush finished 2 for 2, while Austin Sheltra finished 1 for 2 with a double.

With two-thirds of the region schedule complete, the Trojans hold a two-game lead over Valdosta for second in the standings. They will see Valdosta and Tift County once more, both on the road, as well as improving Colquitt County and Lowndes.

Lee County coach Brandon Brock knows his team must finish the drill, especially when they have leads like they did on Monday.

“We had a chance to put this one away early,” Brock said. “That was a tough one that we should have put away a long time ago.”