The Long County Middle School Blue Tide athletics teams had a great week last week. On Monday and Tuesday, the track teams secured their conference championships. On Wednesday, the girls’ soccer team won the conference championship before the boys’ finished as runners-up.
On Thursday, the baseball team made it four-for-five as they traveled to play the Appling County Rams in the conference championship game. They dominated from the start to a 16-4 run rule win in five innings.
Dalton Lester led off and hit the first pitch over the center field wall for a homer and a 1-0 lead.
Appling County answered with two runs in the bottom of the first inning but the Tide grabbed the lead back in the second and never relinquished it.
Ryan Penlesky rocketed a 1-2 pitch over the centerfield wall to make the score 4-2 going into the third inning.
The third inning is where things really took off for the Tide as they scored eight runs to go up 12-2.
A Nolan Boynton single put two on after a Gerdale Cannida walk. With one out, Kyler Lanum laid down a bunt on the third base line to load the bases. Paxton McGowan drew a walk to make it 5-2 and Rhet Long was hit by a pitch to make it 6-2. A walk to Matthew Bramwell, a run-scoring single and a passed ball pushed the lead to 9-2.
Lester then doubled home two runs for an 11-2 lead, and Cannida brought in Lester with a hit to left field.
Penlesky’s pop fell in to load the bases and McGowan scored on a passed ball for a 13-4 lead. Bramwell’s single scored Long for a 14-4 lead. Lester’s single to left plated Bramwell to push the lead to 15-4.
Nolan Boynton scored on a dropped third strike in the fifth for a 16-4 lead.
The Tide finish the game on a seven-game win streak to finish the season 8-4. In that winning streak, the Tide outscored opponents 83-8.
This makes the fifth conference championship for Long County Middle School this year as the softball team won in the fall and both track teams, the girls soccer team and the baseball team all won their conference championships.
The boys soccer team and the flag football team both finished as conference runners-up in their seasons as well.