The Patriots came back in game 2 of the best-of-three series against Villa Rica with a 6-2 win behind the pitching of Aaron Warren. He struck out 7 and only allowed 1 earned run. Sandy Creek took the lead in the 1st with two outs, behind an RBI single from Russell Bonner and a 2-run triple by Braxton Lane. SC added single runs in the 2nd on an RBI groundout by Chris Triplett, another in the 4th on an Andrew Toles sac fly, and one in the 5th on a single by Bonner. With the score 6-0 after 5 innings, Villa Rica came back with 2 in the 6th, and had runners at 2nd and 3rd with only 1 out, but Warren shut down the rally with consecutive strikeouts. In the 7th, a hit batter, single and walk loaded the bases for Villa Rica. With the tieing run at the plate, Warren ended the game getting the VR cleanup hitter to ground out to Triplett at 2nd. Toles and Bonner were the Patriots with multi-hit games.

By Trey Alverson 

Friday's regular season finale didn't matter as far as the standings were concerned, but Sandy Creek's impressive 8-1 home victory over the regular season 5-AAAA champs from Northgate served as a major confidence boost heading into the postseason.

"We played well and I think we're playing our best ball right now," said Creek head coach Eddy Householder. "We have to. We're approaching everything from here on out like a state playoff series."

The Vikings carried a 14 game winning streak into the contest and had already clinched the number one spot in the sub-region. Creek was chiseled into the number three slot win or lose, but Friday evening it looked as if the Patriots and not the Vikings were the cream of the region crop.

Aaron Warren hurled a gem of a complete game for Creek, scattering four hits and a run over seven innings. He struck out six and his teammates backed him up with nearly flawless defense.

"Aaron did a great job and we played good defense, which is something that we didn't do last time we played Northgate," Householder explained. "We had a stretch this season where defense was our Achilles heal, but we’ve been coming around."

With the score locked at 1-1 and Northgate threatening with a runner in scoring position and one out in the third, Creek shortstop Arthur Owens made the defensive play of the night.

Northgate's Chris Brewer rifled Warren's offering toward left center. Off the bat, it looked like Brewer had himself an RBI double, but Owens leaped high into the air, snatched the line drive with top webbing of his mitt and then doubled up Tyler Marvin at second.

Owens' highlight reel play not only energized the sizable home crowd, it also seemed to awaken Creek’s bats.

The Patriots exploded for five runs in the bottom of the third, turning a 1-1 pitchers' duel into a lopsided affair.

Catcher T.J. Treat flied out to center to start the inning before Chase Blount reached first the painful way, taking a breaking ball to the abdomen. Andrew Toles walked and then Owens slapped Creek's first base hit of the game: a single that loaded the bases for Chris Triplett.

The third-hitting second baseman grounded slowly to the right side of the infield, allowing Blount to score. Alex Green followed with a two-out, two RBI single up the middle. Green then stole second -- a notable and rare feat for the burly first baseman. Russell Bonner then drew a walk, setting up Braxton Lane's two RBI double down the left field line.

Lane tweaked his hamstring rounding first and left the game as a precautionary measure, but his two-out double had already spoiled Northgate starter Conner Kendrick's night.

After the long respite, Warren returned to the mound for the top of the fourth and held Northgate hitters at bay for the rest of the game. He allowed only two harmless singles over the final four innings.

Creek added two more insurance runs in the fourth with an RBI grounder by Owens and a run-scoring single off of Triplett's hot bat.

Triplett finished with three RBI. Toles put forth another impressive performance as the leadoff hitter, scoring three runs and reaching base all four times that he stepped up to the plate.

Creek wrapped up the regular season with an 18-5 record. The Patriots will travel to Villa Rica Wednesday for a three game cross-region playoff series. The winner earns a state playoff berth.

Six other region teams will play for playoffs spots Wednesday. Northgate (20-3) hosts Lithia Springs (11-12); Starr's Mill (15-6) hosts Mays (10-11), and Whitewater (15-6) travels to Alexander (18-5).

On Senior Night, Sandy Creek put together probably their best all around game of the season in defeating Northgate 8-1. Aaron Warren threw a 77 pitch complete game gem. He allowed only 4 hits and 1 run, while striking out 6. He hit one batter. The defense was equally solid, with 3B Chase Blount (5 assists) and SS Arthur Owens (3 putouts, 3 assists, 1 unassisted double play) locking down the left side of the infield. Offensive leaders were Andrew Toles (2 hits, reached base 4 times, 3 runs), and Christ Triplett (3 RBIs).

Northgate opened the scoring in the 1st when the leadoff hitter was hit by a pitch. On the sac bunt that follwed, SC allowed the runner to go to 3rd, and he scored on a groundout. The remainder of the night, only one Northgate baserunner reached as far as 2nd base. In the bottom of the 1st, SC put together an almost carbon copy of the top of the inning. Leading off, Toles was hit by the first pitch of the game. Owens sacrificed Toles to 2nd, then he stole 3rd and scored on a Triplett RBI-groundout. Creek took the lead with a 5-run 3rd inning. With one out, Blount was hit by a pitch. Toles walked and Owens singled to load the bases. Triplett drove in Blount with a groundout to 2nd, and Alex Green followed with a 2 run single to right. Proving the old addage that a deer doesn't need to stretch, Green then stole 2nd ahead of a Russell Bonner walk. Braxton Lane then stroked a 2 run double to make the score 6-1 after 3. Creek added 2 insurance runs in the 4th, on a walk to Blount, double by Toles, RBI-groundout by Owens and single by Triplett.

Sandy Creek ends the regular season with a record of 18-5, placing 3rd in subregion 5a-AAAA with a 7-3 record, and will play in the region playoffs Wednesday April 29th at 4:00PM at Villa Rica, the 2nd seed in 5a-AAAA.

Sandy Creek had a good night at the plate, scoring 10 runs on 12 hits, and defeated Landmark Christian 10-6 at home. Chris Triplett (3-4, 2 runs) and Arthur Owens (2-3, HR, sac) both had multi-hit games. Braxton Lane had a 3-run double and reached base 3 times. Russell Bonner also reached base 3 times. Chase Blount pitched the first 4 innings and got the win (5 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout). Christian Gaston pitched the 5th and 6th (4 hits, 2 runs, 1 strikeout) and Andrew Toles closed it out with a 1-2-3 7th.

Landmark opened the scoring in the 1st with an unearned run after an infield error, stolen base and RBI groundout. Sandy Creek answered in the bottom half with a double from Toles, RBI-single from Owens, and single by Triplett. After a fly out, Bonner and Lane walked to load the bases. With 2 outs, TJ Treat drove in Triplett to make the score 3-1 on an infield single. Landmark would make the score 3-2 after 2 innings, on consecutive doubles to right. Landmark took the lead at 4-3 in the top of the 4th with a 2-run homer. Matt Evans opened the bottom half of the 4th with a walk, and looked like he would be stranded after Toles and Owens flew out. But with 2 outs the Creek bats came alive. Triplett singlesd through the middle, followed by a single by Alex Green. Bonner walked to load the bases, and Landmark made a pitching change. Braxton Lane then greeted the Eagles reliever with his bases clearing double to left. Hunter Parrott then doubled to drive home Lane, but was gunned down at 3rd trying to stretch it to a triple. The 5-run inning gave SC a lead of 8-4. In the 5th, Landmark rallied to cut the score to 8-6 with it's 2nd 2-run homer in as many innings. Again, the Patriots answered in the bottom half. Matt Evans singled and moved to 2nd on a balk. Andrew Toles then hit a fly to deep center. Tagging on the play, Evans scored when the relay throw back into the infield was not handled cleanly. Arthur Owens then closed out the SC scoring with a home run to left-center.

By Trey Alverson 

Aaron Warren hurled six solid innings and his Sandy Creek teammates drove in five clutch two-out runs to give the Patriots a 7-4 victory over Whitewater Thursday night.

The important sub-region home win completed the Patriots' season sweep of a talented Whitewater squad.

"Aaron did a good job through six, keeping the ball down and we played pretty good defense behind him," explained Creek coach Eddy Householder. "Clutch hitting is what really made the difference for us. Whenever you can knock in runners with two-outs, you're putting yourself in a good position to win."

Tom Lees started on the mound for the Wildcats and gave up two runs in the first. With two outs and runners on second and third, Creek rightfielder Russell Bonner cranked a triple to put his team up 2-0. The Patriots would lead from that point onward.

Both starters cruised through the second and third innings. In the bottom of the fourth, Creek struck again with a small two out rally. Chase Blount reached on an error and Andrew Toles followed with an infield single. Whitewater's second two-out infield error of the inning put Arthur Owens on first and loaded the bases for Chris Triplett, who singled in a run.

Whitewater finally got something going in the top of the fifth, cutting the lead by two with a Demonte Grissom single, a Kyle Dearing triple and a Justin Toro single. Joel Van Asch and Zac Mann followed with two more singles, loading the bases with just one out.

But Warren kept his composure and pitched out of the jam. He rung up Jack Grove and then got Whitewater's most feared hitter, Miles Head, to pop out.

Creek pushed its lead back to two with a T.J. Treat RBI single in the fifth and then added three more insurance runs on another two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth.

Reliever Hayden Jordan took over for Lees and proceeded to load the bases on three free passes. With one out, Bonner drove in his third run of the game on a fielder's choice, leaving runners on the corners for Braxton Lane.

The Creek centerfielder ripped a double and the speedy Bonner came all the way around from first to score.

Warren returned to the mound in the top of the seventh with a 7-2 advantage, but couldn't quite pull off the complete game.

Toro singled and Jeff Ashley crushed a two-run dinger to chase Warren off of the hill. Householder called upon reliever Christian Gaston to close things out.

The senior surrendered a lead off single, but then got the next three batters to hit lazy flies, earning the save.

"Aaron wanted a chance to finsh the game," Householder said. "We sent him back out there, but his pitch count was already up around 85, so we had him on a short leash. After the home run, Christian came on and did a good job for us just as he's done all year. He doesn't do anything too fancy, but he throws strikes and gets outs."

Warren and Gaston held Head completely in check. The senior basher went 0-4, including a pop out to second for the final out of the game.

Creek improved to 14-5 with the win. Three of those losses were to Starr's Mill (2) and Northgate, putting the Patriots behind those two teams in the sub-region standings.

Thursday's loss was also Whitewater's third against sub-region competition, dropping the Wildcats to 13-5 overall and fourth in the 5A-AAAA standings. Whitewater was ranked fifth in all of AAAA prior to the game. Creek had been ranked in the top five earlier in the season but has since dropped out of the Coaches' Poll.

By Trey Alverson

Despite the bitterly cold weather, Sandy Creek swung a red hot bat Monday afternoon in Tyrone. All nine Patriots' starters recorded at least one hit as the team knocked off Fayette County by a mercy rule shortened final of 12-2.

Senior first baseman Alex Green homered for the seventh time this season to lead the Creek attack. He also drove in a game-high three runs.

"We hit the ball well to start the season, but recently we went through a little spell where we weren't hitting the ball like we are capable," said Creek head coach Eddy Householder. "We picked it up again today. Hopefully we'll be able to hit the ball like that for the rest of the season."

Householder shook up his lineup, starting Christian Gaston at third, Kris Bremer behind the plate and leading off with Andrew Toles. Braxton Lane shifted from the lead off spot to the number six hole and Russell Bonner moved forward in the lineup from ninth to fifth.

The changes seemed to work Monday. Creek scored two runs in the first, one in the second, three runs in the third, four more in the fourth and two final runs to end it in the bottom of the fifth.

Both Bremer and Gaston capitalized on the rare starting opportunity by picking up two RBI a piece.

"Christian needs playing time and he will see some more because he hit the ball well and played solid defense," Householder said. "He's done a good job pitching for us here and there as well."

Fresh off of a 2-0 Saturday win over Villa Rica, Fayette County actually struck first Monday. Creek starter Hunter Parrott walked John Campbell and Mitch Ward doubled to put runners on second and third with one out.

Liam McDermott followed with a perfect run-scoring squeeze bunt single down the third base line. Matthew Jackson hit the next pitch hard, but right at Creek shortstop Arthur Owens who stepped on second and then fired to first for the double play.

Creek took the lead in the bottom of the first and never looked back. Toles singled off of freshman starter Tyler Clark and promptly stole second. Toles moved to third on Owens' single and later scored on a wild pitch. Owens scored when Green's hard grounder to short skipped under Micah Smith's glove.

Creek added to its lead in the second when Toles followed a Gaston double with an RBI single.

Kendrick Shulz replaced Clark on the mound to start the third and immediately ran into trouble. Bremer and Gaston both drove in runs with singles up the middle.

Blake Pilgrim began the fourth inning for Fayette, but was unable to record a single out. Chris Triplett singled and Green followed with his two-run blast. Pilgrim then walked Bonner. Chris Caldwell took over and struck out Lane, but the speedy outfielder reached first when Fayette's catcher mishandled the third strike.

Caldwell then walked three of the next four batters, accounting for two more Creek runs. Finally, Jensen Floyd took over and killed the rally. He struck out Owens with the bases loaded before getting Triplett to ground out to first.

Creek forced the mercy rule with one out in the bottom of the fifth. Lane ripped an RBI double and then scored on Parrott’s single.

Creek improved to 11-4 with the win. Fayette dropped to 6-8 on the season.

By Trey Alverson

Sandy Creek first baseman Alex Green went 3-5 with a homer and his teammates combined to add nine more hits as the Patriots slugged out a rain-soaked 11-5 win Tuesday at Fayette County.

Heavy showers fell throughout the first few innings, but with both teams already saddled with make-up games from last week's rains, the coaches decided to play through the weather.

Mitch Ward started on the mound for the Tigers and Russell Bonner pitched the first few innings for Creek.

It remained a close affair while the two starters stayed on the hill. When Green's line drive homerun drove Ward from the game in the top of the fifth, the Patriots led 5-3. But Creek's bullpen proved more effective than Fayette's and that made the difference.

"We had some great performances by Russell Bonner and Christian Gaston," said Creek head coach Eddy Householder. "That's really only the second time Russell's pitched this year. We've got four games this week, so we need to get quality innings from guys we don't normally use as much. And Christian pitching the way he did really saved some arms. For him to come in and go four innings was big for us."

Gaston replaced Bonner in the bottom of the fourth and went the distance, surrendering just three hits and two runs through four solid innings of relief. He even struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to seal the win.

Meanwhile, in just three innings, four different Fayette relievers combined to allow seven Patriots to reach base and six of them to cross the plate.

"We managed to hit the ball pretty well," Householder stated. "We finished with 12 hits and that was Alex's fifth homerun of the season."

Creek got on the board with an Andrew Toles' RBI double in the first. Toles later scored on a Fayette infield error, but the Tigers answered with one of their own in the bottom of the inning. Micah Smith walked and eventually scored on a Bonner wild pitch.

Arthur Owens drove home Matt Evans in the top of the second to make it 3-1 Creek, but Fayette evened the score in the bottom half of that inning. Ward singled, Tago Smith was plunked and Jeremy Taylor singled to load the bases with no outs. After a Steven Smith flyout, Micah Smith singled home a run and John Campbell plated Tago Smith on a sac fly.

Neither team scored in the third. Creek recaptured the lead on a Braxton Lane RBI single in the fourth, before Green's homer really got things going for the Patriots' in the fifth.

Creek improved to 10-2 on the season with the win. The Patriots are 3-2 in games against sub-region competition, after having also defeated McIntosh 8-1 Monday.

Strong pitching, backed up by solid defense and timety hitting carried Sandy Creek to an 8-1 win against sub-region foe McIntosh. With the win, the Patriots improve to 9-2 on the season.

On the mound, Hunter Parrott started and earned the win, going 5 innings. He scattered 5 hits and 2 walks, allowing the lone run on a home run to center. He finished with 6 strikeouts. Aaron Warren pitched the final two innings, allowing 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 2. The defense only allowed one runner to reach on an error in the 5th, but Parrott coaxed the next two batters to fly out to work around the miscue.

Offensively, Creek opened the 1st with a walk to Lane, followed by a stolen base on a pickoff. Arthur Owens then delivered a bunt single, Lane to 3rd. On a pickoff play at 1st, Owens stole 2nd and Lane scored as the throw to second got away from the McIntosh defense. Alex Green then drove a double to the gap in right-center, driving home Owens. Green would move to 3rd on a Chris Triplett single, and then score on a balk, making the score 3-0. The McIntosh home run in the 2nd made the score 3-1 after 2. In the 4th, the Patriots were able to push 2 runs across. With 2 outs, Hunter Parrott walked, and came home on an RBI double by Kris Bremer. Russell Bonner then drove home courtesy runner Zach Drummond on a single to left. Bonner would get another 2 out hit in the 6th, plating Triplett and Evans to make the score 7-1 after 6 innings. An RBI double from Triplett would complete the Sandy Creek scoring in the 7th.

Triplett was 4-4 on the night, and Bonner was 2-3 with 3 RBIs.

Sandy Creek went north on 74 to visit nearby Landmark Christian, and came home with an 8-4 win. Travis Humber started for Creek, going 2 innings and giving up 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits and a strikeout. Chase Blount made his first mound appearance of the season a productive one, going the next two innings, allowing only one hit while striking out 5. Russell Bonner pitched the 5th, giving up a run on two hits and a K. Christian Gaston pitched a perfect 6th inning, and picked up his first win. Andrew Toles came on in the 7th, but struggled with control, so Cody Sweeney came on with the bases loaded and coaxed a groundout to end the game, gaining his 1st save of the season.

The hitting star on the afternoon was Alex Green, who capped a 2 hit 5-RBI day with a grand slam homer in the 7th to put the game out of reach. Braxton Lane also homered and had 2 hits, and Arthur Owens had 3 hits.

SC opened the game with a Lane single, and he moved up on a single by Owens. After a fly to short by Toles, Green ripped a single up the middle to score Lane with the games first run. Landmark matched that run in the bottom of the inning on a leadoff triple and RBI-groundout. Landmark went ahead 2-1 in the 2nd when a throwing error allowed the leadoff hitter to reach. After a fly to left, the next hitter singled to right. The runner on first headed to third and the throw from right was off the mark, going into the home team dugout, allowing the runner to score. Humber limited the damage by retiring the next 2 batters on a K and groundout. Creek tied the game in the top of the 3rd on a leadoff homer by Lane. Owens followed with a single but was forced at 2nd on a Toles grounder. Toles stole 2nd. With 2 outs, the catcher attempted to pick Toles off 2nd. Instead he stole 3rd and came home when the throw from 2nd got past the 3rd baseman. Creek held the lead at 3-2 until the 5th, when Landmark scored one on a double and single. with the score tied 3-3 going into the 7th, Hunter Parrott reached 2nd on a fielding and throwing error. He moved to 3rd on a sacrifice bunt from TJ Treat, and came home on a RBI-single by Russell Bonner. With 2 outs, Owens reached on a hit, and Toles walked to load the bases. Green then hammered a 2-1 pitch for a grand slam, making the score 8-3. Landmark added one in the 7th, to make the final score 8-4.

By Michael Boylan

Sandy Creek (6-1) has won three games in a row.

On Wednesday, the Patriots beat Villa Rica 15-4 in five innings. Hunter Parrott got the win and struck out nine batters, while Andrew Toles went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and Russell Bonner went 2-for-3 with four RBIs. Alex Green also hit a two run home run in the win.

On Thursday, the Patriots beat Whitewater 9-4. Aaron Warren got the win, while Cody Sweeney pitched the seventh inning to close it out. T.J . Treat had three hits and a sacrifice bunt to lead the offense, while Arthur Owens, Toles, Green and Bonner each had two hits. Green had three RBIs in the win, while Braxton Lane had two RBIs.

Sandy Creek will play at Landmark Christian today at noon and will play at Northgate on Monday at 5:30 p.m.

By Trey Alverson

A solid pitching effort by Aaron Warren and an explosive fifth inning at the plate helped eighth-ranked Sandy Creek topple seventh-ranked Whitewater on the road Thursday. The Patriots won 9-4, handing Whitewater its first loss of the season.

Warren began the local rivalry game by striking out four of the first five Wildcats that he faced, but Whitewater starter Hayden Jordan kept pace--at least initially.

Jordan hurled back to back 1-2-3 innings to start the game before surrendering a run in the third. Creek second baseman Chase Blount drew a walk to begin the inning. T.J. Treat bunted Blount to second and Russell Bonner advanced him to third with a deep sacrifice fly.

Then leadoff hitter Braxton Lane ripped a single through the right side of the infield for the game's first run.

Whitewater answered in the bottom of the third when Jake Fisher singled and University of Georgia signee Miles Head doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs. Fisher scored on a sacrifice fly, but two more Warren strikeouts put the breaks on the potentially big Whitewater inning.

In the top of the fifth, Creek broke things open. Jordan rang up Blount to start the inning, but Treat followed with a single. Bonner then stepped into the batter's box and crushed an RBI triple off of the right field fence. One pitch later, Lane picked up his second RBI of the night with a sacrifice fly to center.

With two outs and the bases empty, Arthur Owens' infield single extended the Creek rally. Owens took second on a Jordan wild pitch and scored moments later when Andrew Toles cracked a single.

Creek cleanup hitter Alex Green followed with an RBI double to deep right field, pushing the Patriots lead to 5-1 and driving Jordan from the game.

Creek added four more runs in two and a third innings against the Whitewater bullpen. Whitewater added three runs over the final three innings, but still finished with a season-low four on the game.

The win improved Creek to 6-1 on the season and shook up the Region 5A-AAAA standings. Whitewater had been sitting at the top with Starr’s Mill, but the loss to Creek dropped the Wildcats to 6-1 on the year and into something close to a six way tie for the sub-region lead.

Creek, Whitewater, Starr's Mill, Fayette County, McIntosh and Northgate each have just one loss to a subregion foe.

In other action, sixth ranked Starr's Mill lost for the first time Thursday as well. Northgate beat the Panthers 5-2.

Sandy Creek put together its best outing of the season, defeating the host Whitewater Wildcats 9-4. Aaron Warren pitched 6 strong innings, giving up 5 hits and two runs, while striking out 7 and walking none. Cody Sweeney pitched the 7th to close out the game. Defensively, the Patriot infield played a flawless game, lead by 3rd baseman Matt Evans who had 6 assists on a number of difficult and close plays. The offense was lead by TJ Treat, who had 3 hits and a sacrifice bunt. A number of Patriots had two hits on the night: Arthur Owens, Andrew Toles, Alex Green, and Russell Bonner.

Sandy Creek opened the scoring in the top of the 3rd. Chase Blount opened with a walk and moved to 2nd on the Treat sacrifice. Blount then tagged and moved to 3rd on a deep fly by Russsell Bonner to the base of the 390 sign in left-center. Braxton Lane drove in Blount with a single past the 2nd baseman, SC taking a 1-0 lead. Whitewater would tie the game in the bottom of the 4th on a single, double and sac fly. Creek bats then came alive in the top of the 5th. TJ Treat started the rally with a one-out single. Courtesy Runner Chris Triplett then scored as Russell Bonner drove a triple to right-center. Braxton Lane then made the score 3-1 with a sac fly, scoring Bonner. Owens followed with a single and moved up on a wild pitch. Toles then singled home Owens, and took 2nd on the throw. Alex Green followed with a double to plate Toles. Green scored the 5th run of the inning on the only WW error of the game, a dropped pop fly in shallow center off the bat of Matt Evans. Creek finished the scoring with 3 in the 6th, on singles by Treat, Bonner and Owens. After a Toles walk, Green delivered a 2-run single to make the score 9-1. WW would complete the scoring with one in the 6th and 2 in the 7th.

Sandy Creek overcame some poor first inning defense, where Villa Rica scored 2 unearned runs, by scoring 7 in the bottom of the 1st, and went on to win 15-4 in 5 innings. Defense was sloppy on both sides, with a total of 5 errors for SC and 7 for VR.

Hunter Parrott pitched a complete game for the Patriots, giving up 4 hits and 4 runs (2 earned). He struck out 9 and walked 3. Offensive leaders for Sandy Creek were Andrew Toles (3-3, 2 RBI, 2 doubles) and Russell Bonner (2-3, 4 RBI). Alex Green closed out the game with a 2-run homer.

By Trey Alverson 

Sandy Creek entered Tuesday's home rivalry game versus Starr's Mill as the sixth ranked team in the state. But even the preseason favorites to win Region 5-AAAA could not overcome their own mistakes. Creek infielders committed five errors that led to six unearned runs and Starr's Mill won easily, 11-6.

"They helped us out a lot and we were able to deliver the clutch hits to take advantage of those situations," explained Starr's Mill head coach Brent Moseley. "Also, Drew Johnson pitched a good game for us. He started out a little shaky, but got better as things went along. He battled all day and pitched deep into the later innings."

Johnson, the Fayette County News/Today in Peachtree City pitcher of the year in 2008, picked up right where he left off a season ago. The senior southpaw successfully handled Creek's potent, talent-laden lineup. Johnson was especially effective against the Patriots' three, four and five hitters. Alex Green, Hunter Parrott and Matt Evans combined to go 2 for 12 with eight strikeouts. Johnson also helped his own cause with a base-clearing three-run double off of Creek's Aaron Warren.

Creek took a 1-0 lead in the first after Green followed an Arthur Owens double with an RBI single. But Starr's Mill immediately answered, taking advantage of a pair of second inning Creek errors to load the bases for Johnson with two outs. The Starr's Mill senior crushed Warren's no-ball, two-strike belt-high fastball off of the wall in left center. Kevin Koziol, Jesse Baker and Terrian Pope all came around to score. Two Panthers had already crossed the plate earlier in the inning, giving the visitors a 5-1 lead.

After Johnson breezed through the bottom half of Creek's lineup in the second, the Panthers struck again in the third. Dave Norman started things off with a single. Then Norman's courtesy runner Paul Patterson took second on a passed ball before Ken Jackson laid down a near-perfect bunt along the third base line. Warren fielded the ball and threw to first base, but Jackson beat the throw. When Creek's Owens slipped covering first, Patterson broke for home. Owens recovered in time to make a play, but Creek catcher T.J. Treat was caught off guard and mishandled the ball. Patterson scored. After Jeff Stock and Koziol both fanned, Baker plated Jackson with a suicide squeeze.

Then Starr's Mill's got some unexpected power from the ninth spot in the lineup. Pope absolutely crushed a two run homer to straightaway centerfield. "Terrian came through with a big time hit for us. This is only our second game, so we're still adjusting the lineup, but guys like Terrian and Dave Norman really had some big at bats for us [against Creek]," Moseley stated.

Starr's Mill added two more unearned runs off of Creek reliever Cody Sweeney in the fourth to make it 11-1. One out away from being run-ruled in the bottom of the fifth, Creek hitters finally broke through against Johnson. Andrew Toles ripped a three run triple to keep the Patriots alive.

Creek threatened in the sixth and pushed across two runs against Starr's Mill closer Myles Jaye in the seventh, but the early deficit was ultimately too much for the home team to overcome.

Johnson finished with 10 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Both Norman and Baker went 3-4 for Starr's Mill. Baker also added a pair of RBIs. Every Starr's Mill starter besides Jaye had at least one hit.

Braxton Lane was 3-4 with a pair of runs scored for Creek, but the pro prospect was picked off by Johnson after singling in the first. Chris Triplett and Owens also posted multi-hit games for the Patriots.

Creek is now 3-1 on the season and 1-1 in 5-AAAA play. Starr's Mill improved to 2-0 on the year with both wins coming against region opponents.

The Panthers will take on local rival McIntosh Friday at home. Creek next plays at Whitewater Monday. Whitewater defeated Fayette County 14-4 in five innings Tuesday.

Starrs Mill gave Sandy Creek its first defeat of the season, 11-6 in Tyrone. Aaron Warren started on the mound for the Patriots, and retired the side in order in the 1st. In the bottom of the inning, Braxton Lane opened with an infield hit, but was picked off by Starrs Mill lefthander Drew Johnson. Arthur Owens followed with a double to right, and one out later scored on a single by Alex Green. Bad defense cost the Patriots in the 2nd inning, as Starrs Mill sent 9 batters to the plate, scoring 5 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and 2 costly errors. The Panthers followed with 4 runs in the 3rd. Warren finished the night giving up 9 hits and 9 runs (5 earned) in 3 innings of work. Cody Sweeney pitched the next 3 innings, giving up 2 runs in the 4th. Christian Gaston closed out the 7th inning on the mound for Sandy Creek, retiring all three batters he faced.

Down 11-1 after 4 innings, the Patriots were able to load the bases on consecutive singles by TJ Treat, Russell Bonner, and Braxton Lane. Andrew Toles then delivered a bases-clearing triple to make the score 11-4. Toles had 4 RBI's on the night. Creek scored 2 more runs in the 7th, to close out the scoring at 11-6. On the night, Sandy Creek had 13 hits, lead by Lane (3 hits, 2 runs), Owens, Triplett and Treat (2 hits each).

The Sandy Creek Patriots delivered Coach Eddy Householder the 300th win of his high school baseball coaching career, defeating the Lithia Springs Lions 7-2 at Butch Bennett Field. Lithia Springs opened the scoring in the top of the first, scoring 2 runs on 3 successive hits off starter Hunter Parrott. The Patriots went one better, scoring 3 in the bottom of the inning. Braxton Lane opened the inning with a popout, but Arthur Owens walked and Andrew Toles was hit by a pitch to put two runners on. After a strikeout on Alex Green, Parrott helped his own cause with a two-run double down the leftfield line. Matt Evans followed with another double in almost the same spot to plate Parrott.

Parrott settled down in the 2nd, striking out the side. He would strikeout 9 on the night in 5 innings, and allowed only 2 more hits and 1 walk, picking up his first win of the young season. Travis Humber pitched a scoreless 6th (2 K's), and Cody Sweeney faced the final 3 batters in the 7th, ending Coach Householder's milestone game on a strikeout.

Offensively, the Patriots followed up the big first inning with 2 more in the 3rd on back to back doubles by Toles and Green, followed by an RBI single from Evans. Lane scored in the 4th on an RBI single by Toles to make the score 6-2 after 4 innings. Toles finished his big night (3 hits, 3 runs, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base) with a triple in the 6th, scoring on a single by Green who had 2 hits and 2 RBIs on the night. Matt Evans and Russell Bonner also had two hits for the Patriots.

Sandy Creek overcame a 2 run deficit to beat East Coweta 4-3 in 8 innings. 

Ahead 2-0 after 4 innings, East Coweta quickly retired the first two Patriot batters in the top of the 5th. But with two down, Chris Triplett walked, Kris Bremer reached on an error, and Russell Bonner walked to load the bases. Braxton Lane then followed with an infield hit, driving home Triplett and keeping the sacks full. Then Arthur Owens drove an 0-1 pitch for a single to center. Bonner was running with two outs, and just beat the throw to the plate, giving Sandy Creek a 3-2 lead. East Coweta tied the game on an unearned run in the bottom of the inning. Neither team scored in the 7th. In the top of the 8th, Arthur Owens walked, and moved to 2nd on a sacrifice bunt by Andrew Toles. Alex Green then delivered an RBI single, scoring Owens with the lead run. 

Hunter Parrott was the starting pitcher for Creek, going 3 innings and giving up 2 runs (1 earned). He walked 3 and struck out 7. Matt Evans took the hill for the next 3 innings, giving up only one unearned run and striking out 4.  Andrew Toles pitched scoreless innings in the 7th and 8th to notch the win.

The leading hitter for Sandy Creek was Chris Triplett, who reached base in all three of his at-bats, going 2-2 with a walk, and scoring a run. Arthur Owens had 2 RBI's and scored the winning run.

Sandy Creek opened the 2009 season with a road victory over the Griffin Bears, 23-4.  After 3 innings the score was tied 3-3. Matt Evans opened the 4th with a towering fly that got above the lights. In the dusk, the ball was lost by the centerfielder, and Matt settled in at 3rd with no one out. TJ Treat followed with a 2-strike RBI double, and the Patriots never looked back, scoring 5 in the 4th and knocking out the Griffin starting pitcher. Creek followed that up with 2 more runs in the 5th and 13 in the 6th to put the game completely out of reach.

Offensive leaders for Sandy Creek were Braxton Lane, with 3 triples, 3 runs and 5 RBIs and Matt Evans with 3 hits, 4 runs scored and 2 RBI. A number of Patriots had 2 hits, including  Arthur Owens, Andrew Toles,  Hunter Parrott, Chris Triplett, and Russell Bonner. Alex Green blasted a 2 run homer.

Aaron Warren pitched 5 innings, giving up 6 hits and 3 runs (none earned). He struck out 4 and did not walk a batter. Cody Sweeney pitched the last inning, including a strikeout to end the game.

Sandy Creek prepared for the 2009 season with a pre-season scrimmage game victory against Woodward Academy, by a final score of 17-0. During scrimmages, coaches play their entire lineups and move players around liberally so they can see all of their players in game situations. Creek pitched 7 different pitchers, all working 1 inning each (Aaron Warren, Hunter Parrott, Matt Evans, Travis Humber, Cody Sweeney, Chris Gaston, and Andrew Toles). In total, the pitching gave up only 2 hits and 1 walk, and no pitcher allowed more than one baserunner.

On offense, Creek came out of the dugout swinging the bats, with Braxton Lane greeting the first pitch of the first inning with a home run shot to center. The Patriots then continued to score in every inning, blasting a total of 4 homers on the night (Lane, Russell Bonner, Alex Green, and Chris Triplett). Hitting leaders were Russell Bonner (2 for 2, HR, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI), Braxton Lane (2 hits, 1 HR), Chris Gaston (1-1, 3-RBI double with 2 outs), Cody Sweeney (1-1, 2-RBI double with 2 outs), Zach Drummond (1-1, walk, 2 runs), and Matt Evans (triple in his first at bat as a Patriot).