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Tournaments  | Story  | 5/26/2019

Georgia Bombers advance

Cory Van Dyke     
Photo: Allen Grier (Perfect Game)

MARIETTA, Ga. – Led by a potent offensive performance and strong relief pitching, the Georgia Bombers 17u Gaines triumphed over eXposure 18u Prime, 8-5 to advance to the semifinals of the 2019 PG 18U Southeast Memorial Day Classic.

Under the sun at Sprayberry High School, eXposure jumped out to a 2-0 in the top of the first, but the Georgia Bombers responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the frame. Allen Grier, a Chattanooga State Technical CC commit, and Allen Brown, a Presbyterian commit, notched back-to-back RBI singles up the middle and to right field, respectively.

“That’s what we harp on about all of those guys,” said coach Wyatt Brown. “I told them before the game, ‘Guys, there’s going to be hard pitchers throwing, so you have to go up there thinking up the middle and right field to get those guys over.’ That’s what they did. They did a great job. They adapted well to their pitching over there.”

eXposure immediately came back with three runs in the top of the second. Branden Lamback entered the game on the mound for the Georgia Bombers with the bases loaded and induced a ground ball to limit the damage and end the inning.

After the Georgia Bombers took a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the third thanks to a couple runs scored on wild pitches, Lamback again found himself in a sticky situation with the bases loaded.

Once again, he weathered the storm by exhibiting poise on the mound in those moments. With one out, Lamback forced a broken bat pop-up in the infield, and followed suit with another infield pop-up to end the threat.

“I was really just looking to throw strikes and try to get some ground balls so our defense could work,” Lamback said. “It was pretty tough. We had a few innings where there were bases loaded and we fought and we came out without giving up any runs.”

And so, the storms that were coming on full force at the Georgia Bombers in those first three frames suddenly subsided. Lamback ended the day with 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Jake Roth followed with two scoreless innings of his own, allowing no hits, and Miller Jones pitched a clean seventh inning to close the game. All in all, the bullpen put up zeroes on the scoreboard over the final five frames.

Still ahead 6-5, the Georgia Bombers added some key insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. N. Labrauns Stinson II, a Tuskegee commit, began the inning with his third base hit of the game. Grier followed with a double that barely snuck inside the right field line. It was his third hit of the game as well.

Both players eventually scored to extend the lead to the final score of 8-5. Out of the team’s 10 hits, Stinson and Grier combined to go 6-for-6 in the middle of order.

Grier credited the three-hit game to the same approach that Brown discussed before the game.

“Really just seeing the ball all the way to my barrel and just really having an approach at the plate,” Grier said. “Trying to hit it middle, away. I just let the ball travel to me because I saw that we had a pitcher who came in with high velocity. You just have to let it get to you and let the velocity do all the work for you.”

Now, the Georgia Bombers will play on Monday two wins away from being crowned champions. With a record of 4-0-0 so far in the tournament, the team has outscored its opponents 27-8. It’ll be a tough task ahead, as the East Cobb Astros stand in the way in the semifinals matchup. On the other side of the bracket, 643 DP Cougars 17U Pralgo awaits the winner of Team Elite 17U Scout Team and eXposure 17U Prime.

“It’s only going to get harder tomorrow,” Brown said. “I told them to come ready to play because there’s going to be a lot better teams tomorrow. I’m very proud of them today. Hopefully they come out with the same intensity tomorrow and get us two W’s.”
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