Putnam County baseball’s season ended last week at Worth County in the first round of the playoffs. The Rams (22-7) swept the two-game series to eliminate the War Eagles (13-14) on Thursday.
“I’m super proud of my guys. We fought until the end,” Putnam County head coach Mike Phiel said. “But credit to Worth (County). They’re a really good baseball team.”
Worth County dominated the first game 10-0 behind a strong performance on the mound from Lalan Hill. The senior right-hander pitched five scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out 10.
Hill kept Putnam County on its toes offensively and allowed only one baserunner to get to third.
“Their pitcher did a great job of keeping us off balance in game one,” Phiel said. We couldn’t find a rhythm offensively.”
Hunter Holder got the start on the rubber for Putnam County. The senior War Eagles’ pitcher gave up nine hits and 10 runs, with eight being earned, and struck out only one as he walked four batters.
Holder did get Worth County to go down in order during the bottom of the first, but the wheels fell off in the second. The Rams took a 2-0 lead into the third inning, sparked by an error from the War Eagles’ infield.
Worth County added to its lead, scoring eight runs across the next three innings to secure the mercy-rule win. The Rams got timely hits and several errors, which cost Putnam County greatly in game one.
“I don’t know what it was. We didn’t play well in game one,” Phiel said. “It could have been nerves or a number of other things.”
Despite the final result, game two was a much different story for the War Eagles. They fought hard until the final out in the bottom of the seventh inning but unfortunately came up short.
Worth County held a 5-4 lead heading into the final frame of the seventh when the Rams brought in Ole Miss commit Owen Hancock, who throws in the mid to upper 90s, to close out the game, having faced Auburn commit Tyler Mobley from Washington County a week before, Putnam County wasn’t deterred. The War Eagles dug in their heels against Hancock and put runners on base.
Senior Mark Winslette led off the seventh inning for Putnam County with a single. He moved to second soon after as Tanner Lukens drew a walk during the next at-bat. Brannan Griffin then battled Hancock and hit a fastball to center field, loading the bases for Gates Lanzarone with zero outs.
With the bases jammed, Hancock managed to escape unscathed. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound right-hander struck out Lanzarone and BJ Ruff before getting Ethan Watley to ground out.
Earlier, Putnam County led 2-0 after the first inning as Griffin singled, driving in Lukens and Jackson Dodd.
Worth County regained the lead in the top of the second as a War Eagles error kept the inning alive for the Rams’ Logan Fox. His double to left field brought around two runners, making it 3-2.
Putnam County battled back and retook a 4-3 advantage in the bottom of the second. A single by Holder brought around Whatley, tying the game at 3-3. Wyatt Sims scored on a bases-loaded walk.
Putnam County’s Wade Johnston pitched a scoreless third inning, but Worth County regained the lead in the fourth. Again, a few miscues by the War Eagles’ infield gave the Rams the spark they needed.
“We fought and fought and fought. It just didn’t work out how we wanted,” Phiel said. “Again, I am super proud of my guys. We made a few mistakes, which cost us, but I liked that we didn’t give up.”
Putnam County finished its 2024 campaign with a 13-14 record. The War Eagles will graduate only three seniors – Ruff, Winslette, and Holder – returning most of their starters with valuable playoff experience next year.