Head Coach Jimmy Pruett breathed a sigh of relief as run number 10 crossed home plate to give Dawson County a 10-0 mercy-rule win over visiting Banks County last Thursday.

With a wry smile on his face, Pruett addressed his team on the mound after the win.

Pruett told them how proud he was of them and to take the weekend off. He told his team: “You deserved this one.”

Everything seemed to go right for the Tigers on Thursday.

Defensively, the Tigers were superb. With the exception of a hiccup at second base, the Tigers made some marvelous plays in the field and turned two perfect double plays.

Offensively, the Tiger bats finally came alive.

Dawson hitters, Kaleb Holbrook and Jacob Anglin, launched two long home runs.

The Holbrook homer was a grand slam and was still traveling when it struck a tree in deep right field.

“I called that one,” Pruett said after Holbrook’s blast.

Holbrook finished the game going 3-for-4 with six RBIs.

Anglin’s homer came in the bottom of the sixth inning and there was no doubt it was going to clear the left centerfield fence.

Anglin had a great day at the plate. He went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, two RBIs, and a triple.

The Tigers collected 10 hits on the afternoon.

Tiger pitcher Jeff Partington had a masterful game on the mound. Partington pitched a complete game. He allowed only four hits, while recording his second win of the season.

He is 2-1 on the year.

More importantly, Partington didn’t walk or hit any batters, a nemesis for the Tigers all season.

 “Jeff did a great job out there for us today,” Pruett said. “We needed that bad. He threw strikes and we made the plays behind him. If we could just bottle that up and do it every game.”

Dawson County scored in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Leadoff batter Luke Williamson reached first on an error by the Leopard shortstop. Logan Burt laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt that put Williamson in scoring position. Holbrook singled in Williamson to give the Tigers an early lead.

The Leopards finished the game with five errors.

The Tigers added another run in the second inning.

With two outs, Anglin reached first base on a throwing error by the Banks County second baseman.

Tyler Thurmond then laced a triple down the right field line that scored Anglin, who was running on the play.

Thurmond also had a big day at the plate. He went 2-for-3 with a double, triple and scored two runs in the win.

Pruett’s team put the game out of reach in the fourth inning. The Tigers scored five runs in the inning, highlighted by the Holbrook grandslam.

Dawson is currently 5-6 overall on the season and 1-5 in Region 8-AA play.

The week will be busy for the Tigers. Monday the team played a home game against Region 8-AA leader Fannin County. Results were not available as of press time. Earlier this season, the Rebels defeated the Tigers, 5-3.

Wednesday and Friday the Tigers will play host to East Hall and Rabun County respectively. Dawson defeated East Hall 5-1 in eight innings last time the two teams faced off, but lost to Rabun County, 7-5.

Dawson must win to get back into the region play-off race.

Both games Wednesday and Friday will be at home. First pitch is scheduled for 5:55 p.m.