The Putnam County baseball team (10-12, 8-3 Region 4-AA) split games with region opponents Laney and Westside (Augusta) last week.
After those games, the War Eagles entered the week third in the league standings.
Putnam County defeated the Laney Wildcats 21-6 by run rule in four innings last Tuesday. The War Eagles took advantage of Laney’s pitching staff woes as it walked 11 batters in the loss.
The Wildcats got on top 1-0 in the top of the first inning as they scored on a fielder’s choice off Gates Lanzarone. However, Putnam County responded with six runs in the bottom half of the frame.
Jacob Grimes, Wyatt Sims, Brannan Griffin, Dakota Jones, Wesley Essick and Wade Johnston all rounded the bases for Putnam County in an inning filled with free bases courtesy of the opposing pitcher.
Lanzarone, meanwhile, provided his team with two scoreless innings in the second and third. In those frames, the War Eagles added nine more runs before Laney plated five off Lanzarone in the top of the fourth.
Still, Putnam County led the Wildcats 15-6 heading into the bottom half of the inning. The War Eagles scored five more runs to reach double-digits, putting the game away against Laney (2-12, 2-6).
Putnam County returned to the diamond the following day with a pivotal region game against Westside, but the Patriots used a late-game effort to win 8-2 and complete the season sweep of the War Eagles.
Putnam got on top early in the bottom of the first when a double by Lanzarone to left field scored Jackson Dodd and Mark Winslette. They held the lead over Westside until the fifth inning.
But the Patriots got a run back in the top of the third inning off Putnam County starter Ashton Jones. Westside ended up taking the lead in the fourth and would not give it up again to the War Eagles.
Jones got a walk and strikeout before giving up two singles to start the fourth. Another single scored two runs, tying the game. During the next at-bat, a fielder’s choice scored the go-ahead run.
Hunter Holder replaced Jones in the fifth and pitched two full innings, giving up a pair of runs to trail 6-2. Dakota Jones then took over for Holder in the seventh and gave up one more run to the Patriots.
Westside’s Logan Wise got the win on the mound after pitching 6.0 innings. The senior allowed two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and two walks. Wise also didn’t give up a run after the first.
Putnam County returns to action this week with three region games remaining on its schedule. The War Eagles will finish out their series with Laney and play two contests against Washington County.
As of Monday, Westside and Thomson were tied at the top of the region standings. Putnam County was third, followed by Washington County.
If the War Eagles drop both games to the Golden Hawks, they most likely will slide into fourth place. Either way, they are more than likely to travel when the GHSA Class AA state playoffs begin next week.