Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The LaGrange Grangers were unable to overcome a slow start on the way to a 17-7 season-ending loss to West Laurens on Tuesday in the Class AAAA state baseball playoffs.

The teams split a doubleheader on Monday, setting up Tuesday’s winner-take-all game three.

After a scoreless first inning, West Laurens exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the first, and it led 11-1 after three innings.

LaGrange made it interesting with six runs in the fourth inning to get within four, but West Laurens put it away with three runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings.

The game ended after five innings because of the run rule.

It was a tough ending to a successful season for the Grangers (21-12), who finished second in Region 2-AAAA before advancing to the round of 16 in the state playoffs.

After dropping the first game of the West Laurens series 5-2, LaGrange bounced back to win the next game 4-3 and keep the series alive for another day.

In Tuesday’s game, Preston Pressley had two hits and an RBI for the Grangers, and Ty Medders and Landon Tucker each had two hits.

Will Alford had two RBIs, Colton Esposito and Turner Cook each had a double, Zack Thompson walked twice, and Matthew Morgan walked and had an RBI.

Tucker, TJ Wilkerson, Ben Alford and Medders each pitched for LaGrange.