Valdosta Lowndes baseball wins pitcher’s duel at Leesburg Lee County; Worth Co. beats Cairo

LEESBURG – A pitcher’s duel Monday night between Lowndes right-hander Noah Thigpen and Lee County lefty Gaven Smith came down to one play where Lee County could have had a double play but instead the game’s only run crossed the plate. The No.2-ranked Lowndes Vikings, the defending Class 7A state champions, took a 1-0 win home to Valdosta.

“You had two division one pitchers throwing,” said Lee County head coach Wes Shiver. “You knew that hits and runs were going to be hard to come by and the team with the fewest mistakes would win. Lowndes took advantage of our mistake. That’s what good teams do.”

The Vikings put got two runners on with one out in the fourth inning – one on an error and the second on a single. Smith coaxed a ground ball to first baseman Cole Lindsey who picked up the ball, raced to first for the out and threw to second. The impact of the runner at second caused the ball to be dropped and Lowndes’ Garrett Moon sprinted from second to home and got there just before the throw to Lee County catcher Josh Barnes, scoring the only run of the game.

Thigpen, who has signed to play college baseball at Troy University, took the win on the mound. He pitched all seven innings, allowing just one hit, no walks and he struck out nine.

Smith, who will play college baseball at Georgia Southern, took the loss. He pitched six innings, allowing three hits and one run. He walked two and struck out seven. Durrah Butler pitched the seventh inning with no walks, hit or strikeouts. Butler also had the Trojans’ only hit of the game.

Lee County (2-1) will host Pike County (0-4) for a double header Friday afternoon in Leesburg. Game one is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

Worth Co. 7 Cairo 1

CAIRO – Worth County senior Lalan Ellis pitched six scoreless innings Monday in Cairo and Owen Fletcher knocked in three runs to lead the Rams to a 7-1 win over the Syrupmakers.

Ellis allowed just two hits in six innings with no walks and 10 strike outs. Caden Emerson pitched the seventh inning for the Rams.

Fletcher’s belted a double to right field that scored two runs in the fifth inning. The Rams also got RBI from Luke Smith, Luke Rogers, and Drake Jones.

The Rams will host Marion County in Sylvester Thursday with first pitch set for 5:30 p.m.

By Joe Whitfield
Sports EditorJoeWhitfield[email protected]