Rabbs crowned area champs

Atlanta’s baseball squad beat White Oak in two games last week and earned an area title.

In game one the Rabbs were down, 1-0, going into the top of the fifth frame but Atlanta scored six runs in three innings to take a, 6-2, decision.

Jackson Warren pitched a complete game and gave up four hits while striking out nine batters along the way.

Kelby Smith was 2-for-4 with two RBIs from the dish, Will Woodruff hit an RBI single, Nick Burden added a single and Dex Ebarb hit a single.

Game two was a great nail-biter, if you like those kind of contests. Atlanta ended up winning, 4-3, on a walk-off double by Jackson Warren. The Roughnecks took a, 3-0, lead into the fifth inning but Atlanta plated three runs of its own in the bottom half of that frame to knot things up.

In that final inning Dex Ebarb reached first base after an error by the pitcher on his infield hit.

Will Woodruff laid down a nice sacrifice bunt which moved Ebarb to second base. Kale Carpenter hit into a fielder’s choice and Ebarb advanced to third. Cooper McClure walked after that to place runners at the corners with two outs.

Warren stepped to the dish and delivered a nice walk-off double to right field on a 1-1 count.

The win sealed up an area championship on top of the Rabbs’ bi-district title they won after beating Winnsboro.

Kelby Smith went the distance as he scattered five hits over seven innings with five Ks. Warren finished the game 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, McClure added an RBI single, and the Rabbs added singles from Ty Graf, Nick Burden and Ebarb.

The Rabbits will meet up with Harmony in the best-of-three series regional quarterfinals. Game one is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 20. Game two will take place at 2 p.m. Friday, May 21 and game three, if necessary, will take place at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 23. All games will be at Tatum High School.

Keep an eye on school websites and Facebook pages for changes due to weather or other circumstances.