The Greater Atlanta Trojans traveled to Fannin County this past Thursday to take on the Rebels. Fannin was looking to get their eighth win of the season and redeem themselves from the tough loss they endured to North Hall the week prior.

The Trojans got their lead early in the game, forcing Fannin to try and catch up towards the end. The game started off slow. Both teams almost had a perfect inning on defense. GAC had a perfect three up and three down outs, while Fannin almost had the same with Garrett Rogers great pitching, allowing just one runner on base in the inning. Both teams were putting the ball into action, just not in the right places. Each team held the other, closing out the first inning with the score at 0-0.

GAC’s hitting game came alive at the beginning of the second inning. As the Trojans kept applying pressure to the Rebels, Fannin started to make mistakes on defense. The Trojans first point on the board was scored from an error in the infield, resulting in more points being added to their score. The Trojans closed the second inning with a 3-0 lead over the Rebels.

Although Fannin had their hiccups on defense, they were starting to make up for it. Rebels, Carson Beavers and Blake Rogers, got the most action in the outfield and stopped a few runners from scoring with great catches and throws. Catcher for the Rebels, Jack Gobble, was an asset behind the plate as he stopped runners from stealing bases with his quick throws.

Fannin finally started to put runs on the board in the fifth inning. They found what they were missing and started making things happen. Carson Beavers stepped up to the plate, sacrificing himself with a ground ball to the shortstop where he was thrown out at first base so that his teammate Cody Jacobs could score and Garrett Rogers could advance to third. Chandler Kendall followed the trend for the Rebels by hitting the ball to right field, advancing to second base. Gabe Buchanan brought Kendall home with his hard line drive to left field. The Rebels finished the inning strong, but were still behind GAC by one point with a score of 4-3.

With the lead being just within Fannin’s reach, GAC did whatever they could to prevent it from happening. Sophomore, Blake Rogers came in to pitch for Garrett Rogers for the rest of the game. Garrett Rogers pitched a great game where he allowed four hits, four runs over five innings,walked five, and struck out four. With Blake Rogers on the mound, he finally found his rhythm. Rogers threw the perfect pitch, resulting in GAC to hit a ball out of the park, brining in two runs. Despite Fannin’s efforts, they were unable to score at the end of the sixth, leaving GAC in the lead 6-3.

Although they struggled on defense, Fannin found their second wind at the plate. Chandler Kendall stepped up to the plate for the Rebels and was determined to make a comeback. Kendall hit a bomb out of the park, putting two more runs on the board, scoring his sixth homerun of the season. Blake Rogers finished the game strong for the Rebels allowing two hits, three runs over two innings, one walk, and three strikeouts. Despite Fannin’s effort to make a comeback, they were unable to catch up to GAC with a final score of 7-5.

The following players put the ball into action and added onto Fannin’s score for the night;                                      Chandler Kendall-2, Cody Jacobs-1, Garrett Rogers-1, Carson Beavers-1.

The Rebels played a double header yesterday at GAC, winning one and losing one, putting their overall record at 8-9. Catch the Rebels next game Tuesday, March 27, as they travel to take on East Hall!