The Buford varsity baseball team defeated Mill Creek 9-1 on Monday, Mar. 18 at Mill Creek to take sole possession of first place in Region 8-7A.
Buford got on the board early scoring four runs in the top of the first inning. Senior Ethan Murray hit a two-RBI single while sophomore Ayden Lockett and senior Blake Russell each drove in a run to give the Wolves a 4-0 lead going into the bottom of the first inning.
Senior Nate Taylor started on the mound for Buford and made quick work of Mill Creek putting their batters away 1-2-3 in the first three innings. Taylor hit a two-out double in the second inning that drove in senior Madden Young giving the Wolves a 5-0 advantage.
Young would drive in a run of his own in the fourth inning with a base hit up the middle allowing junior Luke Hopper to score the sixth run of the night for the Wolves.
Mill Creek finally got a hit off of Taylor with a two-out line drive single up the middle in the fourth inning. Later in the inning, an errant throw from Buford allowed the Hawks to score their only run of the night.
Taylor did not allow the events of the fourth inning to impact him as he threw two more innings, putting away Mountain View’s batters in quick order.
Buford added three additional runs in the seventh inning to make the game 9-1. Taylor, Murray and sophomore Cam Wood each scored runs during the seventh inning.
Lockett relieved Taylor on the mound in the seventh inning with two outs due to Taylor having reached the pitch count. Lockett quickly got the third out ending the game.
Taylor (4-1) recorded the win after pitching for 6.2 innings where he only gave up one hit, one unearned run, walked one and struck out a season-high 13 batters.
Offensive standouts for the Wolves were Taylor (3-for-4, double, one RBI), Young (2-for-4, one RBI, two runs scored), Murray (1-for-3, two RBIs, one run scored) and Russell (1-for-3, two RBIs, sac fly).
Buford’s overall season record improved to 10-4 and 4-0 in Region 8-7A.
The Wolves will host the Hawks on Wednesday, Mar. 20 with the first pitch set for 5:55 p.m. The GHSA Class 7-A State Champion Buford softball team will be presented with their state championship rings before the start of the game.
