Staff Reports
CENTRE – North Jackson swept the Cherokee County Warriors Friday in the second round of the Class 4A state baseball playoffs. The scores were 12-2 and 8-6.
In the first game, North Jackson pitcher Carson Smith scattered two earned runs on four hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts through 6 2/3 innings to earn the win. Daegan Scott suffered the loss for the Warriors (17-15) after working 4 2/3 innings. He gave up eight earned runs on nine hits with four walks and four strikeouts.
The Chiefs scored three runs in the top of the first inning to set the tone. They added seven runs in the fifth and two more in the seventh for the final.
Smith also led North Jackson at the plate with a pair of doubles, a run and two RBIs. Matthew Adams went 2-for-4 with a double, a run and a RBI. Dalton Morris went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs. Luke Guess was also 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.
Nick Jernigan added a pair of hits and scored a run. Brandon Poole posted a hit, two walks and two runs. Cayden Wynn was 1-for-4 with a run. MacKlin Guess finished with a walk and a run.
The Warriors scored their lone two runs in the bottom of the first and third innings.
Haden Wheeler led the offense by going 2-for-4 with a run. Connor Wilson homered in the third. Tristan Whitefield added a double and a RBI. Isaiah Wood and Walker Pruett both earned a walk.
In the second game, the Warriors struck for five runs in the top of the first inning, but their lead evaporated in the bottom half of the inning as the Chiefs put up a five-spot of their own.
North Jackson took a 6-5 lead in the second. The Warriors tied the game at six with a run in the top of the fourth, but the Chiefs added another run in the bottom half of the fourth and another in the sixth for the final.
Pruett led the Warriors at the plate by going 3-for-3 with a run. Malachi Horton doubled, walked and scored two runs. Whitefield contributed a hit, a run and two RBIs. Cooper Rodgers had a hit and a two RBIs. Wilson had a hit and walked twice. Wheeler walked and scored a run.
Wilson suffered the loss after working four innings. He gave up five earned runs on six hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
Poole picked up the win for the Chiefs. He tossed five innings and gave up five earned runs on six hits with five walks and six strikeouts.
Adams went 2-for-4 with a run and three RBIs. Landon Barnes was 2-for-3 with a walk, a run and a RBI. Luke Guess doubled, scored a run and had two RBIs. Morris finished with a hit, a walk and a RBI.
The Chiefs advance to next weekend’s quarterfinal round where they will face either West Limestone or Hamilton. Those two teams split their doubleheader on Friday. Hamilton won the first game 2-0 and West Limestone took the second 5-1. The series finale is Saturday at 1 p.m.