By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

SPRING GARDEN – Cherokee County High School junior pitcher Ben Elsberry didn’t have his change-up working quite right in his last outing on the mound at Sardis on Monday. The Warriors lost that game by eight runs.

Elsberry promised Warrior head coach Bret Henderson he would find out what was wrong.

Three days later, Elsberry pitched in the biggest game of his young Warrior career. Henderson gave the ball to Elsberry, a first-year transfer from South Paulding High School in Douglasville, Ga., in the Cherokee County Tournament championship game at Spring Garden.

Elsberry didn’t disappoint Henderson or his teammates. He had his change-up working, as well as the other pitches in his arsenal, in an 11-1 victory over the four-time defending county champion Panthers.

Elsberry picked up the win on the mound after working six innings. He surrendered an unearned run on just two hits with a walk and seven strikeouts.

“He filled up the strike zone,” Henderson said. “I know he was above 60-percent strikes. I’m proud he took on the responsibility to get the change-up to go.”

“I knew I was getting (to pitch in) this game, so I worked on (the change-up) and it was there tonight,” Elsberry said. “I threw in the bullpen before the game. It felt like it was there, and the guys in the field backed me up really well. I was very pleased. We hit the ball well and it just made everything easier for me on the mound.

“I just feel like when I get zoned in, when I get dialed in, I feel like my stuff is going to be there. I just trust myself and do my thing.”

Elsberry did his thing, and so did the Warrior offense. They scored Elsberry three runs in the first, four more in the second, and three in the third to take a commanding 10-0 lead.

The Warrior hitters also chased Panther starter Hayes Garmon, who held Cherokee County to just four hits with five strikeouts in a 3-0 victory back on Feb. 27.

Garmon lasted just an inning after giving up seven runs on four hits with four walks and a strikeout.

“We started off super slow,” Spring Garden coach Cole Murphy said. “I had a few mistakes coaching that really put us in a hard spot there at the beginning of the game. Our bats never came. You have days where you just don’t play really well and that was one of them today. They showed up and played well. They hit the ball well, and their kid threw extremely well.

“His breaking ball was really, really good. It was working really well for him. He did a good job hitting his spots. We watched a lot of fastballs on the outside part of the plate and at knee level. That’s something we’ve got to be better at. We didn’t do a good job of adjusting.”

Clayton Sadler and Joel Hunter had the lone hits for the Panthers.

Meanwhile, Cherokee County collected 12 hits. Parker Wilson and Cooper Rodgers had three apiece. One of Wilson’s was a double. Wilson also drove in three runs. Rodgers drove in a run and scored three times.

Jeb Crane and Adam Griffith both came away with a pair of hits. Crane walked, scored twice and drove in a run. Griffith walked and scored three times. Jace Turner tallied a hit, two walks and a run. Case Hill had a hit and a RBI.

Thursday night’s county championship game was the second of the day for both teams. The Warriors blanked Sand Rock 16-0 at home behind Nate Black’s one-hitter and nine strikeouts.

Crane and James Hunter both had perfect games at the plate. Crane was 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles, four runs and two RBIs. Hunter went 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Turner tallied a walk and a pair of hits, including home run. Wilson doubled, scored a run and drove in one. Luke Young also had two hits, two runs and two RBIs.

Spring Garden handed Gaylesville its first loss of the season with a 12-2 decision. Chapel Pope posted three hits, including a double. Hunter, Sadler and Connor Bates were all 2-for-3. Jacob Welsh had a pair of hits and a walk.

Garmon got things going for the Panthers with a two-run homer to right field in the bottom of the first inning. Zane Edwards doubled and scored the Panthers final run on a balk.

Sadler earned the win after working five innings. He gave up two runs on six hits with four walks and three strikeouts.