Grand Ridge eliminated by Blountstown

The Grand Ridge AAA All-Stars were defeated by Blountstown Wednesday night in the District 5 Tournament in Malone, falling 8-4 and ending their season.

Grand Ridge jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, when Cade Chatwood singled and scored on a double by Mason Jackson.

However, Blountstown came right back with three runs of its own on three walks and a hit.

The Blountstown All-Stars added another run in the second inning, on a walk and a hit. They scored again in the third by taking advantage of a pair of Grand Ridge defensive miscues to go up 5-1 after three innings.

Grand Ridge answered with three runs in the top of the fourth inning, with Chatwood, Jackson and Jamal Howard all reaching and finding home plate to make it 5-4.

But Blountstown responded with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, and kept the Grand Ridge attack at bay in the final two innings.

“It was a great game,” Grand Ridge coach Larry Joe Harris said. “The guys hit the ball. We just had a few errors that held us back.
“Otherwise, it was a great game. I just wish we would’ve prevailed.”

Chatwood started on the mound for Grand Ridge and went the whole way.

“I thought Cade did an awesome job pitching,” Harris said. “And the whole batting order did well. We just had about three or four errors in the field that really hurt us. Without that, it would’ve been a different ballgame.”

Grand Ridge won its tournament opener 13-5 over Malone Friday, then fell 4-3 to Altha Saturday to fall into the losers’ bracket.

The All-Stars then beat Chattahoochee to stay alive and get to Wednesday’s semifinal round.

Harris said he was proud of his kids’ effort and the season they put together.

“We had a great season,” the coach said. “Now, we’ll play some tournament ball over the summer and keep trying to work to improve.”