The ECI Bulldogs open Region play this week with a two-game home-and-away series against the Metter Tigers, with a non-region matchup against Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets in between. ECI hosted Metter on Tuesday at Joe Harvey Field and will travel to Metter on Friday to complete the series. The Bulldogs are also on the road Wednesday, heading to Brooklet for their annual meeting with Southeast Bulloch.
The Bulldogs enter the busy stretch riding momentum after picking up two wins last week. On Thursday, the Johnson County Trojans visited ECI for the first time in several years. Senior Jackson Kennedy turned in a dominant performance on the mound, pitching a one-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts to lead the Bulldogs to a 4–0 victory. ECI capitalized on a pair of Johnson County errors in the first inning to jump out to an early lead. Davis Johnson, who reached on a one-out single, scored the game’s first run for a 1–0 advantage. The score remained unchanged until the fifth inning, when Tuff Boddiford delivered an RBI single to extend the lead to 2–0. The Bulldogs added two more runs in the sixth inning, taking advantage of additional Trojan miscues and singles by Johnson and Jacob Hughes. Johnson County went down in order in the seventh, sealing the shutout win. Davis Johnson led ECI offensively with two hits and two RBIs. Kennedy was just one second-inning single away from a perfect game in his standout performance.
Saturday’s scheduled afternoon game against the Swainsboro Tigers was moved to Friday night due to incoming weather. The Bulldogs extended their winning streak to three games with a 3–1 victory.
Swainsboro outhit ECI 7–3, but Bulldog pitchers Bryson Thompson and Lake Bush, along with solid defense, worked out of multiple scoring threats. The Bulldogs committed their only error of the game in the first inning, which the Tigers turned into an early 1–0 lead with two singles. ECI responded immediately in the bottom of the first. Ab Marsh led off with a single, Davis Johnson reached on an error, and Tuff Boddiford drove in two runs with a line-drive single to center field.
ECI added an insurance run in the fourth inning to go up 3–1. The Tigers were retired in order in the seventh to close out the win. Boddiford accounted for two of ECI’s three hits and drove in two runs. Bryson Thompson earned the start, allowing five hits and one walk while striking out eight in four innings. Bush finished the final three innings, giving up just two singles and striking out two.
Both the Southeast Bulloch game and the contests against Metter are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. starts.
