The ECI baseball team continued their region schedule last week, winning all three games against Jenkins Co. The Bulldogs defeated the Eagles Tuesday in a home game 15-0. Then completed the three-game series in Millen on Wednesday, winning both games of the doubleheader 13-0 and 8-0.
During the series the Bulldogs recorded their sixth shutout of a region opponent, resulting in seven consecutive shutouts the last seven games. The Bulldogs scored 36 runs on 34 hits against their neighbors from across the river. The Pitching staff yielded just eight hits to the Eagles including a shutout by Gabe Lee in the 15-0 win on Tuesday. The game Tuesday started calmly at first with ECI taking a 3-0 lead into the third inning. The Bulldogs exploded for 12 runs in the final two innings to run rule Jenkins 15-0 in four innings. Lee yielded just three walks while striking out four for the Bulldogs’ second consecutive no-hitter. Hudson Henry was a single away from hitting for the cycle leading the Dawgs at the plate with three hits including a HR. Jackson Kennedy ended the day with two hits. Five other Bulldog batters had one hit each.
The Eagles held the Bulldogs to a 1-0 lead going into the fourth inning in the first game of the doubleheader on Wednesday. But like in the first game on Tuesday, the Bulldogs got the scoreboard changing numbers. They scored three runs in the fourth and put the game on ice in the fifth, plating nine more to win the game 13-0 in five. Andrew Chalkley toed the rubber for ECI allowing just two hits, striking out six in his four innings of work. Jackson Kennedy pitched the final inning giving up a hit and one strikeout. Hudson Henry, Tuff Boddiford, Jackson Kennedy, Ab Marsh, Andrew Chalkley, Kanyon Thompson, and Aden McQuaig all had two hits against Eagle pitching.
The second game of the doubleheader was the first seven inning game the Bulldogs had since region play began, with an 8-0 ECI win to complete the sweep. After a scoreless two innings to begin the game, the Bulldogs scored four in the third to take the lead. They had some two-out magic in the seventh inning putting four more on the board to win their eighth consecutive game. Charlie Rehberg followed his no hitter in his last outing, with a four-hit shutout for five innings, striking out nine Eagle batters. James Parker closed out the final two innings allowing just one hit. Henry and Rehberg closed out the final game of the series with two hits each to lead the Bulldogs at the plate.
The Bulldogs are jumping off the region schedule this week with two non-region rematch games. Tuesday they will have home game against Burke Co. after defeating the Bears 14-6 earlier in the season. Thursday they will host Southeast Bulloch. The Bulldogs lost to the Yellow Jackets 2-0 back in February. Hopefully these two games will be more competitive and put some pressure on the Bulldog batters and defense to ready them for stiffer competition in the playoffs when the regular season ends in a few weeks.
