Brookhaven Bucks Go For Second Straight Sunbelt League Pennant

BROOKHAVEN, GA — The Brookhaven Bucks' 2019 season comes down to Monday night. The Bucks play the Norcross Astros in the final game of the Sunbelt League championship, with both teams tied at one game apiece. Whoever wins Monday night in the 6:30 pm game will become the 2019 Sunbelt League champion.

The Bucks are seeking to repeat as league champs in 2019, after winning the franchise's first-ever championship last season. The Bucks won game one Friday night, while the Astros won game two on Saturday.

Bucks' pitcher Harrison Fant pitched seven strong innings Friday night in Brookhaven's 6-2 win over the Astros. Fant (3-0) was perfect through the first four innings and didn’t allow a single baserunner until the fifth inning. He allowed just two runs, both in the fifth, on five hits with a walk and four strikeouts. Will Coquillard then took over for the Bucks in the eighth and finished the game with two scoreless innings.

“It all started with our pitching, and our starter Harrison Fant,” Bucks head coach Corey Patterson said. “He did a really good job of keeping the Astros hitters off balance. We got the key hits when we needed them, and we capitalized off of a couple of errors that (the Astros) made. All around, it was one of the top two rated games we’ve played this year.”

Brookhaven jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second on a bases loaded fielder’s choice groundout by CJ Edmond. The lead increased to 3-0 in the fifth on Daino Deas RBI single up the middle with two outs and runners on second and third. Norcross cut the deficit to 3-2 in the bottom half as Alex Rosen singled into center field and drove in the Astros only runs of the game. But Brookhaven pulled away with a run on Edmond’s RBI single in the sixth, and then two more runs on a pass ball and an RBI groundout by Patrick Taylor in the eighth.

On Saturday, the Astros scored seven runs on 13 hits and held off a furious rally from the Bucks to win 7-4. The Astros were led on offense by Ashton Shepherd, who went 3-for-5 with one RBI and two runs, and Alex Rosen, who had two hits, including a two-run homer in the second, and three RBI. For Brookhaven, Andrew Jenkins went 2-for-4, including a three-run homer in the fourth.

After Brookhaven tied the game 3-3 on Jenkins homer, the Astros led off the fifth with consecutive singles by Ryan Cavey and Cord Johnson. A sacrifice bunt moved both into scoring position, and then Max Schmal put Norcross up 4-3 with a single into right field that scored Cavey.

The Astros increased their lead to 7-3 with one run in the eighth and two in the ninth, setting the stage for Brookhaven’s rally in the home half. With the bases loaded and no outs, Zavier Lushington pulled the Bucks within 7-4 on a sacrifice fly into right field. Kevin Kilpatrick popped out to shallow center field for the second out, and then CJ Edmond walked to load the bases again. But Patrick Taylor struck out swinging to end the game.

Max Schmal (2-2) earned the win for Norcross with four innings of scoreless, hitless relief.

The Astros jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a run in the first on a single by Justin Russell for his league-best 29th RBI. The lead increased to 3-0 on Rosen’s two-run homer off Bucks starter Austin Hunter (2-3) into left field.