2011 LANIER COUNTY BASEBALL: 2008 SEASON

Tuesday, September 21
2008 SEASON
LANIER DEFEATS IRWIN 9-7 ON SENIOR NIGHT

SENIOR ETHAN MCRAE THREW THE FIRST 2 INNINGS BEFORE RYAN WHITE THREW THE LAST 5 INNINGS TO SECURE THE WIN. LANIER SCORED 4 IN THE FIRST TO GO UP 4-1 WITH WHITE , MCRAE , MARTIN AND JORDAN PATTEN ALL GETTING HITS.  WHITE DOUBLED IN THE 2ND AND SCORED ON A SACRIFICE BY MCRAE TO MAKE 5-1. IRWIN WOULD RALLY TO TIE IT 5-5 BEFORE WHITE SHUT THE INDIANS DOWN THE REST OF THE WAY AND LANIER SCORED 4 MORE RUNS IN THE 5TH AS BRANDON MASTIN , JORDAN PATTEN AND RYAN WHITE ADDED RBI HITS.  FOR THE GAME , RYAN WHITE WENT 3 FOR 4 WITH 2 DOUBLES, JORDAN PATTEN WAS 3 FOR 3 WITH 2 RBI'S. CORY MARTIN AND BRANDON MASTIN ALSO HAD 2 HITS AS WELL.

Sunday, April 20
LANIER TAKES OVER 1ST PLACE IN REGION WITH 9-3 WIN OVER BACON COUNTY
ALMA - LANIER DOMINATED THE BACON COUNTY RED RAIDERS IN THE REMATCH FOR THE TOP OF REGION 1A. SENIOR NATHAN BASS CONTINUED HIS DOMINANCE SINCE HIS RETURN FROM A HAND INJURY. HE WENT THE DISTANCE SCATTERING 6 HITS , STRIKING OUT 7, AND WALKING ZERO. HE ALLOWED NO EARNED RUNS AS THE DOGS MADE 2 ERRORS WHICH LED TO 3 RUNS. THE GAME WAS A PITCHING MATCH UNTIL THE 3RD WHEN RYAN WHITE HIT A LONG 2 RUN HOMERUN OFF BACON ACE PITCHER REECE PIERCE TO GO  UP 2-1. THE DAWGS ADDED ANOTHER RUN AFTER CORY MARTIN SINGLED AND SCORED ON AN RBI SINGLE BY JORDAN PATTEN. IN THE 5TH , RYAN WHITE MADE IT 4-1 HITTING ANOTHER HOMERUN . LANIER ADDED 2 MORE IN THE 5TH TO GO UP 6-1 AFTER BRANDON MASTIN REACHED ON AN ERROR , PATTEN REACHED ON A SINGLE AND WAYNE PALMER DELIVERED A 2 RUN RBI . BACON ESCAPED FURTHER DAMAGED AS RYAN DRILLED A 360 FOOT DRIVE TO THE FENCE JUST MISSING HIS 3RD HOMERUN. PALMER WAS CALLED FOR TAGGING TOO EARLY ON A VERY DEBATABLE CALL. BACON CUT THE LEAD  TO 6-3 AFTER 1 ERROR WITH 2 OUTS AND  A COUPLE OF RAIDER HITS. THE DAWGS ENDED BACON'S CHANCES WITH A 3 RUN 7TH AS  CORY MARTIN , BRANDON MASTIN AND JORDAN PATTEN DELIVERED BIG HITS AND SCORED. BASS  TOOK OVER AND FINISHED THE REST.  FOR THE GAME RYAN WHITE WAS 2-FOR-3 WITH A PAIR OF HOMERS & 3 RBI, CORY MARTIN AND BRANDON MASTIN EACH HAD 2 HITS AND JORDAN PATTEN HAD SOME VERY KEY RBI AT BATS.

 Thursday, April 24
BULLDOGS WIN 1A EAST TITLE WITH 5-1 VICTORY OVER BACON

THE BULLDOGS ROLLED INTO PEARSON FOR THE BUBBLE GAME WITH DEFENDING CHAMPS FROM ALMA. WHEN THE DUST CLEARED, THE BULLDOGS  WERE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE EAST AS THEY WON 5-1 . STARTER NATHAN BASS WENT THE DISTANCE FOR HIS 5TH STRAIGHT REGION VICTORY . HE IS NOW 6-2 ON THE SEASON. HE SCATTERED 7 HITS IN THE GAME AND  JOSH FENDER MADE A COUPLE OF OUTSTANDING PLAYS AT THIRD. ETHAN MCRAE GOT THING STARTED WITH A SOLO HOMERUN IN THE FIRST. LANIER'S DEFENSE HELD STRONG UNTIL THE DAWGS WENT UP 2-0 ON A NATHAN BASS HOMERUN. AFTER MCRAE REACHED ON  AN A ERROR AND CORY MARTIN SINGLED, BRANDON  MASTIN DELIVERED A 2 RBI BLAST OFF THE RCF FIELD FENCE. MASTIN LATER SCORED ON A SACRIFICE BUNT TO MAKE IT 5-0. FROM THERE BASS AND THE DEFENSE HELD OFF A BARRAGE OF HARD HIT BALLS TO ALLOW JUST ONE RUN.  OVERALL , JOSH FENDER LEAD LANIER GOING 2 FOR 3. IT WAS A GREAT EFFORT ON THE MOUND FOR BASS WHO DID NOT HAVE HIS BEST STUFF. GOOD PITCHERS WIN WHEN THEY ARE NOT ON TOP OF THEIR GAME. THE DEFENSE PLAYED EXTREMELY WELL.  WE JUST GOT THE BIG HITS WHEN WE HAD TO, AND WE MADE BIG PLAYS DEFENSIVELY WHEN THE GAME WAS ON THE LINE.

 Saturday, April 26
LANIER DEFEATS BACONTON; 11-3 QUALIFIES FOR REGION TITLE GAME

LANIER TRAILED 3-1 EARLY AS THE BLAZERS (18-5) SCORED ON 2 UNEARNED RUNS IN THE 3RD INNNG BEFORE THEY BROKE LOOSE WITH A SOLO HOMERUN BY RYAN WHITE (7TH) AND ETHAN MCRAE FOLLOWED WITH A 2 RUN BLAST (8TH) TO TIE THE GAME UP . THE DAWGS SCORED ANOTHER RUN IN THE INNING TO TAKE A 4-3 ON AN RBI SINGLE BY BRANDON MASTIN . IN THE 5TH, LANIER PUT THE GAME AWAY WITH 4 MORE RUNS AS BASS WALKED, MCRAE SINGLED. JOSH FENDER HAD A 2 RBI DOUBLE TO RCF. JORDAN PATTEN DELIVERED A 2 RBI SINGLE TO MAKE IT 9-3. LANIER ADDED ONE IN THE 6TH ON A  WALK BY MCRAE AND AN RBI SINGLE BY BRANDON MASTIN. SENIOR NATHAN BASS PITCHED ALLOWING 7 HITS AND EXTENDING HIS STREAK OF NO WALKS IN 30 STRIAGHT INNINGS. BASS RAN HIS RECORD TO 8-2 ON THE SEASON AND PERFECT IN REGION PLAY 6-0. WITH THE WIN LANIER ADVANCES TO TAKE ON SEMINOLE COUNTY IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN DONALSONVILLE ON TUESDAY.

Wednesday, April 30
LANIER WINS 1A TITLE WITH 6-1 WIN OVER SEMINOLE COUNTY
THE BULLDOGS CAPTURED THEIR FIRST REGION CHAMPIONSHIP SINCE 1984 WITH A CONVINCING WIN OVER THE SEMINOLE COUNTY INDIANS IN DONALSONVILLE ON TUESDAY. SENIOR ALL STATE PITCHER NATHAN BASS UPPED HIS RECORD TO 9-2 WITH A COMPLETE GAME EFFORT YIELDING JUST 5 HITS AND STRIKING OUT EIGHT. BASS WOULD NOT ALLOW MORE THAN ONE RUNNER ALL NIGHT EXCEPT IN THE THIRD WHEN HE ESCAPED BY FORCING A WEAK GROUND BALL TO JOSH FNEDER FOR THE 3RD OUT. OFFENSIVELY, LANIER JUMPED ON THE BOARD  AFTER CORY MARTIN SINGLED AND SCORED ON AN RBI DOUBLE BY JORDAN PATTEN OFF THE LF FENCE TO GO UP 1-0. IN THE 3RD, ETHAN MCRAE MADE IT 4-0 AFTER WHITE AND BASS REACHED. HE HIT A MONSTER HOMERUN DEEP INTO THE WOODS IN CF.  IN THE 4TH , RYAN WHITE  ADDED A 2 RUN HOMERUN OF HIS OWN  AFTER WAYNE PALMER REACHED ON THE ONLY ERROR IN THE GAME. FROM THERE, IT WAS GREAT DEFENSE AS WAYNE PALMER AND CORY MARTIN MADE PLAY AFTER PLAY. ETHAN MCRAE HAD 3 HITS FOLLOWED BY RYAN WHITE AND JORDAN PATTEN WITH 2 EACH. THE BULLDOGS FINISH THE REGION SCHEDULE WITH A (11-2) RECORD AND IMPROVE THEIR OVERALL RECORD TO (16-7) AFTER STARTING THE SEASON (1-4). THE BULLDOGS WILL HOST THE OPENING ROUND OF THE 2008 STATE TOURNAMENT IN LAKELAND ON MAY 9TH.
Friday, May 9
BULLDOGS SWEEP JENKINS IN OPENING ROUND OF STATE PLAYOFFS

LANIER COUNTY DEFEATED JENKINS, 6-5 AND 13-2 TO ADVANCE TO THE SECOND ROUND OF THE 2008 STATE TOURNAMENT. IN GAME 1, NATHAN BASS (10-1) WENT THE DISTANCE ON THE HILL. IN THE 1ST INNING, LANIER JUMPED OUT 1-0 ON A DOUBLE BY BASS AND AN RBI SINGLE BY ETHAN MCRAE. JENKINS CAME ROARING BACK AND TOOK A 3-1 LEAD IN THE 2ND ON A 3- RUN HOMERUN. THE BULLODGS BATTLED BACK WITH WAYNE PALMER AND JORDAN PATTEN ADDING RBI SINGLES TO KNOT THE SCORE. RYAN WHITE AND COREY MARTIN HAD RBI SINGLES TO PUT THE DAGS 5-3 ENTERING THE LAST INNING. THE EAGLE WERE NOT DONE AS THEY SCORED 2 TO TIE IT. RYAN WHITE LED OFF THE 7TH WITH A SINGLE, BASS BEAT OUT AN  INFIELD SINGLE AND MCRAE WALKED. BRANDON MASTIN 'S RBI DROVE IN THE WINNING RUN. IN GAME 2, LANIER DOMINATED THE EAGLE SWITH 20 HITS WHILE RYAN WHITE WENT THE DISTANCE STRIKING OUT 10 AND ALLOWING JUST 3 HITS. WHITE (9) AND MASTIN (4) BOTH HIT TOWERING HOMERUNS FOR LANIER. JOSH FENDER, RYAN WHITE,CORY MARTIN AND JORDAN PATTEN EACH COLLECTED 3 HITS APIECE IN THE GAME. LANIER COUNTY WILL HOST SCHLEY COUNTY IN THE SECOND ROUND OF THE STATE PLAYOFFS ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14TH.

Friday, May 16
LANIER POUNDS SCHLEY

Elite Eight Bound
Lanier pounds Schley 21-5 in three innings

By Bryan Fazio
The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — As Schley County scored run after run against Lanier County Wednesday, it appeared things couldn’t get much worse for the Bulldogs as they lost 17-4 during game one of a three-game series.

What a difference a day makes.

The Bulldogs, armed with their No. 1 pitcher, pounded Schley 21-5 in three innings to advance to the Elite Eight of the Class A baseball playoffs.

With Lanier’s No. 3 pitcher hurt all season long, any series that went past two games brought a little skepticism to head coach John White.

“We knew we were at a disadvantage early, because our No. 3 pitcher had been hurt all year,” White said. “I felt like if we went three games, we would be in trouble. But we got our starting pitcher out of the game early Wednesday and was able to bring him back in Thursday.”

While starter Nathan Bass had to go just three innings Thursday, he was effective at keeping the Wildcats at bay while the Bulldogs poured on the runs.

Down 2-0 in the first inning, the hit parade started early for the Bulldogs.

Lanier sent 14 batters to the plate, connecting on six hits, including a home run, while walking four times. Ryan White led off the inning with a single, but was called out on a fielder’s choice hit by Nathan Bass. Ethan McRae then flied out to the second baseman for the second out. Lanier wouldn’t get the last out, however, until 10 runs crossed the plate.

Josh Fender moved Bass to third on a double, and both scored on a single by Corey Martin. Brandon Mastin was hit by a pitch, to move Martin to second, and Jordan Patton brought them both in on a two RBI single. With Patton on first, Wayne Palmer was the first of four consecutive batters to walk. Palmer also marked the last full batter Schley starter Jessie Colter would face. Colter allowed four runs on five hits in just 2/3 inning.

Chad Crook replaced Colter, and didn’t fare much better as he finished the walk on Codey Fricke, and then walked White and Bass during their second at bats of the inning. With the bases jammed, Ethan McRae delivered the first of three Lanier home runs on the day, this one counting for four runs. After a Fender single, the Wildcats finally got out of the inning, but the damage was already done.

Schley would continue to claw at the lead, but the first inning, combined with a blistering third would be too much.

After two games of not hitting the ball well, the Bulldogs’ batters were on the mark, striking 13 hits, with McRae going 4-for-4, White going 2-for-2 and Fender hitting two more. Every Bulldog reached base and scored in the three innings of play.

Schley tacked on two more runs in the second three hits, but the Bulldogs responded in kind.

Mastin led off the inning on a bad throw by Schley County’s catcher Will Gordon, and would later score on a single by Patton. Fricke added another run on a single by Bass.

“We didn’t hit the ball well in the first two games,” White said. “(Thursday) we came out and hit the ball a little better.”

Thursday, May 22

Another memorable season for Lanier County
Bulldogs went 22-10, made it to state quarterfinals

By Christian Malone

The Valdosta Daily Times

LAKELAND — Lanier County’s baseball team was disappointed with Tuesday night’s outcome. But the Bulldogs are pleased with a a season where they won 22 games and made it to the state quarterfinals for the second time in four years.

The Bulldogs’ season ended Tuesday night with losses to Landmark Christian School in the Class A state quarterfinals. The War Eagles, who are 24-6 and ranked No. 4 in Class A, won the first game 16-6, then completed the sweep with an 11-4 win in a rain-delayed game 2.

“We gave them too many outs, and we didn’t get any breaks,” Lanier head coach John White said. “Landmark Christian has a good baseball team. They were the better team that day.”

Lanier ends its season with a 22-10 overall record and ranked #7 in the final state coaches poll.

“I’m proud of this team,” White said. “They had a good year. They exceeded the expectations we set for them.”

This was a special group for White. The Bulldogs were led by their 10 seniors, most of whom played baseball all four years at Lanier. Some had been playing for White even longer.

“This was a good group of kids,” White said. “These kids played hard and just got after it, and we had a good year.”

The Bulldogs were led by their three All-State players, catcher Ethan McRae, pitcher Nathan Bass and shortstop/pitcher Ryan White. White has already signed a baseball scholarship with Carson-Newman, a strong Division II school, while McRae and Bass are expected to sign with schools in the next few weeks.

The Bulldogs rebounded from a rough start earlier in the season, when injuries hurt the team. They lost four of their first six games, and even 16 games into the season, they were just 10-6. But after an 8-5 loss to Appling County on April 10, they were almost unbeatable for the next five weeks, going on a nine-game winning streak that lasted until the second round of the playoffs. They won their first Region 1-A title since 1984.

“I’m ecstatic about how we finished,” Coach White said. “We were (10-6) at one point. Bass was hurt, and we weren’t sure if we’d get him back. But we got him back and started playing well. To win the region and make the elite eight is great.”

In game 1 against Landmark, Bass went 2-for-3 and hit a three-run homer for the Bulldogs, but took the loss on the mound. Josh Fender hit a two-run homer for LCHS. Lanier fell behind 4-0 in the third inning of game 2, then heavy rains delayed the game for almost three hours. The field was not in great shape, but the umpires insisted the field was playable, so the game resumed at ten o' clock that night. But despite Lanier cutting the deficit to 7-4, Landmark scored four late runs to pull away and win.

“The first game, they just pounded us,” Coach White said. “The second game, our kids gave a good effort trying to battle back, but we just couldn’t pull it out.”

Jordan Patten was 3-for-3 for the Bulldogs in game 2. Ryan White, Bass and McRae each went 2-for-4. White pitched a complete game, and struck out nine batters.

2008 All Region Team

  John White (1-A Coach of the Year)
Ryan White (1-A Player of the Year)
Ethan Mcrae (1-A Offensive Player of the Year)
Nathan Bass (1-A Defensive Player of the Year)
Jordan Patten
Brandon Mastin
Wayne Palmer
Cory Martin
Josh Fender
Codey Fricke