The ECI Bulldogs went 3-0 last week, picking up two region wins and one non-region victory. ECI swept Jenkins County in their Region 2 series with dominant wins of 16-0 and 10-0. The Bulldogs also completed a four-game JV and varsity sweep of Swainsboro on Saturday. The JV team won the first game of the day 11-2, and the varsity followed with a 10-5 win over the Tigers.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the opening game against Jenkins County on Tuesday, March 10. ECI then put the game out of reach in the second inning, sending 18 batters to the plate and building a 16-0 lead after two innings. The Eagles went down in order in the third inning as ECI secured the run-rule victory. Tuff Boddiford led the Bulldogs at the plate with three hits. Bryson Thompson led the team with four RBIs, including a two-run home run in the second inning. Thompson also earned the win on the mound, allowing just one hit in the first inning while striking out three and walking none.
The Bulldogs completed the sweep on Friday, shutting out Jenkins County again with a 10-0 victory.
Leading 2-0 after three innings, the Bulldogs broke the game open with six runs in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 8-0 and added two more runs in the fifth. The Eagles managed only two hits as ECI secured its second run-rule victory of the series. Six Bulldogs recorded two hits in the game: Davis Johnson, Jackson Kennedy, Tuff Boddiford, Bryson Thompson, Jud Underwood, and Jacob Hughes. Jackson Kennedy pitched 2-1/3 innings, allowing one hit and striking out three. Gunnar Johnson finished the final 2-2/3 innings, giving up one hit and striking out two.
Saturday afternoon brought more baseball action at Tiger Field in Swainsboro as the Bulldogs and Tigers met for the second time this season. Just like their meeting in February, both the ECI JV and varsity teams came away with wins to complete the four-game season sweep of the Tigers. The bases stayed busy for the Bulldogs in the varsity game. ECI collected 10 hits, drew 12 walks, and had three batters hit by pitches.
The Bulldogs chased Swainsboro’s starting pitcher early, putting runs on the board in the first inning. After Ab Marsh reached base to lead off the game, Davis Johnson changed the scoreboard with his first career home run to give ECI a 2-0 lead. The Bulldogs added three more runs in the inning to go ahead 5-0. Swainsboro responded with two runs in the second inning to cut the lead to 5-2. In the top of the second, Tuff Boddiford reached on a walk before Bryson Thompson doubled to left-center field to drive him in and extend the lead to 6-2. Jud Underwood followed with another double, scoring Thompson and giving the Bulldogs a 7-2 advantage. The Tigers added two runs in the bottom of the third to pull within 7-4, but ECI answered with another two-run inning in the fourth to push the lead to 9-4. Bryson Thompson scored the Bulldogs’ 10th run on a fifth-inning single by Jacob Hughes, making it 10-4. Swainsboro added one final run in the bottom of the inning to make the final score 10-5. ECI finished with 10 hits in the game. Jackson Kennedy and Bryson Thompson each had two hits, while Davis Johnson led the team with three RBIs. Jud Underwood started on the mound for the Bulldogs, scattering eight hits while striking out five. Bryson Thompson pitched the final two innings, allowing no hits and striking out one.
The Bulldogs have three games on tap this week. Tuesday, they hosted McIntosh Co. at Joe Harvey field and will travel to Darien on Friday to complete two, two game region series with the Buccaneers. Today, ECI will host Southeast Bulloch. The Yellowjackets nipped the Bulldogs on February 25 in an extra inning game in Brooklet.
