By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The LaGrange Grangers are playoff-bound.

LaGrange’s baseball team thumped Central-Carroll 12-3 on Friday to secure one of Region 5-AAAA’s four playoff spots.

The Grangers improved to 6-4 in the region, and they close their region schedule with two games against the rival Troup Tigers next week.

LaGrange visits Troup on Monday, and it will host Wednesday’s game.

LaGrange is tied with Cedartown for third place.

The Grangers took care of business early in Friday’s game.

Will Alford hit a three-run home run to highlight a five-run first inning, and Walton Lanier delivered a solo home run in the second inning as LaGrange surged to a 7-0 lead.

The Lions scored three runs in the top of the sixth to get within five, but the Grangers answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning to put it away.

Senior catcher Trent Bailey had a monster day for LaGrange with three hits and five RBIs, and Mason Green had three hits, an RBI, and he scored four runs.

Lanier also had three hits, including his solo shot that sailed over the left-field fence, and he scored three runs.

Alford finished with four RBIs, with three of them coming on his home run that cleared the outfield fence with plenty of room to spare.

Matthew Morgan had a hit and an RBI, Wesley Kuhn and Will Flowers each had a hit, and Cole Crawford walked and scored a run.

Charles Crawford was LaGrange’s starting pitcher, and he threw six innings, and the three runs he gave up in the sixth inning were unearned.

Jake Cardwell pitched a scoreless seventh inning to finish it.

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