BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Host University Christian scored six unanswered runs as the Union County High School baseball team lost its regular-season finale 10-6 on April 29.
The Tigers (11-11) enter the District 6-1A tournament as the second seed and will play seventh-seed Bradford on Monday, May 2, at Fort White High School at 4 p.m.
Union was trailing University 4-2 before scoring four runs in the third inning. Quinten Rawls hit a home run to lead off the inning. Jake O’Steen reached on an error, while Jay Cohen was hit by a pitch. A Tre’von Lee double scored O’Steen, while an Ayden Elixson single brought Cohen home. Lee would later score on a Blake Agner sacrifice.
University took advantage of three triples and an error to score runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
Rawls, who also hit two doubles, went 3 for 4 with an RBI, while O’Steen went 2 for 4. Agner, Cohen, Elixson and Lee each had one RBI.
The game capped an 0-3 week for the Tigers that began with a 2-0 loss to visiting Fort White on April 26.
Union had just four hits against pitcher Jonathan Fischer, with one of those being a double from Riggs Davis.
Eli Rimes started on the mound for the Tigers, giving up on unearned run on one hit and two walks through five innings. He struck out five.
On April 28, Baker County’s Jayden Givens hit an RBI single in the top of the ninth as the visiting Wildcats defeated Union 6-5.
A Cohen home run, after O’Steen reached on a single, tied the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth.
The Wilcats took advantage of a single and two doubles to score two runs and take a 5-3 lead in the top of the eighth. Union answered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the inning. Cohen and Lee doubled and singled, respectively, before Cohen scored on a wild pitch with two outs. After Rimes drew a walk, Lee scored on a wild pitch to force another extra inning.
Baker’s Easton Stevens reached on an error to lead off the top of the ninth. One out and one hit batter later, Givens delivered the single that would be prove to be the game winner.
The Tigers got their leadoff batter on in the bottom of the ninth when Trevor Holtzendorf singled, but the Wildcats recorded three straight outs to end the game.
Cohen, who also hit a double, went 2 for 4 with two RBI, while O’Steen went 3 for 5 with an RBI.
Rawls started on the mound for Union, giving up three runs on three hits and one walk through six innings. He struck out 10.
