The eighth

ranked Fayette County Tiger baseball team had to be

hoping that their rivals the McIntosh Chiefs would

survive their first round match up with LaGrange. The

Tigers had beaten McIntosh no more than a week ago and

familiarity breeds contempt. There was no such luck

however and Fayette County played host to the LaGrange

Grangers.

Game one of

the best two out of three series had Gerald Johnson on

the mound for the Tigers. It was a game of homeruns for

Fayette County, with Brett Latham and Brandon Croft each

hitting a two run homerun and Lee Roberson hitting a

three run homerun. Johnson gave up his share of runs as

well, striking out eight batters but giving up seven

hits. The game started to drift from Johnson and Coach

Robert Townsend had to make sure LaGrange didn't overtake

his team. Jeremy Gratzer came in and faced two batters

but it was Brett Latham that stopped the bleeding. Latham

hadn't pitched an inning during the season, but he held

LaGrange off, allowing no runs and keeping the score tied

8-8. Fayette produced the ninth and final run in the

bottom of the ninth, winning 9-8.

Game two

featured a dominant Lee Roberson on the mound for Fayette

County. He pitched great for five innings but started to

falter a bit in the sixth, giving up four runs. The hero

was Latham though. He hit a three run homerun and then

came into pitch again, holding LaGrange off and

protecting Fayette county's 7-6 win. The Tigers traveled

to Newnan at 4:30 p.m.on Tuesday for a one game playoff

to determine the region champ. They will face either

Northside, Warner Robbins or Evans, Augusta this weekend,

most likely at home. "

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