Lakeside claims No. 2 rank in nail-biter

Regular season baseball rarely gets better than a subregion rivalry game pitting Lakeside against Evans. A second-place ranking in the Region 3B-AAAA standings was up for grabs when the two schools met Tuesday evening.

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The Lakeside Panthers now have that second-place spot all to themselves. Lakeside beat visiting Evans 7-6 in a nail-biter that saw the lead change hands five times. The Panthers trailed 1-0 after the first inning but took a two-run lead after scoring three runs in the third. Evans responded with three runs of its own an inning later, but Lakeside grabbed two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to reclaim a one-run lead.

The Knights appeared destined for a win with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 6-5 lead, but Lakeside substitute Chaston Weaver played the role of hero with a two-RBI walk-off single to win the game in the bottom of the seventh.

Lakeside senior pitcher J.C. Huffman picked up the win in relief for the Panthers after starter Matt Zelgewicz threw six innings and gave up four runs.

The Panthers, who swept Evans this season, clinched second place in the subregion with the win and earned the right to a home series in the first round of the Region 3-AAAA Tournament.

Region win

Augusta Christian improved to 5-2 in region play on Tuesday with an extra inning victory over Hammond. Lion senior Josh Whitaker homered in the win as Augusta Christian won 6-5 in eight innings. Senior Travis Cerasuolo came out of the bullpen to pick up his first win of the season.

Best in the subregion

Harlem's baseball team took a step closer to another Region 3N-AAA regular season title on Tuesday with a 4-3 win over Washington County. Junior Mike Leverett paced the Bulldogs with a 2-for-3 day at the plate while pitcher Rodney Scruggs improved to 4-2 on the year with the win. The subregion victory kept Harlem's undefeated subregion record intact with a 7-0 mark.