Rough week at the office for Bulldogs

After losing three starting pitchers from last season, who started 33 of the 41 games, the Bulldogs were looking for pitching this year to eat up some innings. That committee of seven had a rough week, giving up 30 runs on 37 hits. After starting the season 3-0, the Bulldogs dropped three games last week to even their record at 3-3. Tuesday, the Bulldogs hosted Savannah Country Day, losing their first game of the season 8-6. Tuff Boddiford got the Bulldogs on the board in the bottom of the first inning on a solo shot for a 1-0 lead. The lead was short lived as the Hornets plated six runs on four walks, two doubles and a three-run shot over the center field fence. The Bulldogs kept pecking away scoring two runs in the third inning on a Charlie Rehberg double and two more in the fifth to make the score 6-5 Hornets entering the sixth. The Hornets scored their last two runs of the game in the top of the sixth. The Bulldogs drew closer in the bottom of the inning on a Gabe Lee double with SCD leading 8-6. Both teams failed to score in the seventh with the Hornets taking the win back to Savannah. The Bulldogs picked up six hits in the game with Lee and Rehberg ending the game with two hits each. Saturday, the Bulldogs played in the annual CBIT tournament in Swainsboro. They lost the first game to Screven County 13-11 and the second game 9-4 to the host team, Swainsboro.

In the game against the Gamecocks, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the second inning.

Rehberg cleared the bases in the first inning with a grand slam for the senior’s first career homerun, for a 4-0 lead. The Gamecocks kept pecking away putting single runs on the board in the second, third and fourth innings to make the score 6-3. The Dawgs let Screven hang around going scoreless in the third thru sixth innings. The Gamecocks made ECI pay, taking the lead in the top of the fifth on the back of a three-run homerun to make the score 7-6. Screven got their side standing in the top of the sixth on the game’s second grand slam for a 11-6 lead. Gamecocks added to their lead in the seventh to make the score 13-6. The Bulldogs weren’t going down without a fight scoring five runs in the bottom of the seventh. But it wasn’t enough as Screven gave the Bulldogs their first loss in the CBIT tournament in the last few years. Four Bulldogs racked up multiple hits in the game. Getting two hits in the game were Gabe Lee, Charlie Rehberg, Jackson Kennedy and Davis Johnson.

The Bulldog’s second game of the day was with Swainsboro, losing to the Tigers 9-4. It wasn’t a pitchers’ duel with both teams combing for 25 hits, 10 by ECI and 15 by the Tigers. Like in the game against Screven, the Bulldogs took an early lead in the bottom of the first, 1-0. They put two on the board in the third and one in the fourth for the only Bulldog runs in the game. Swainsboro was swinging away scoring runs in every inning except the sixth, to win the game 9-4. Tuff Boddiford had the hot bat for the Bulldogs going 3-4 with a HR and three RBI. Ab Marsh and Aiden McQuig had two hits.

The Bulldogs are still on their non region schedule with two road games this week. Today they are in Waynesboro to take on the Bears from Burke Co. and will travel to Pembroke tomorrow, to play their annual games against Southeast Bulloch.