By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

DOUGLASVILLE – He was in control.

Jake Cardwell delivered a complete-game gem to lead the LaGrange Grangers to a 4-0 road win over Chapel Hill on Tuesday in a Region 5-AAAA game.

Cardwell limited Chapel Hill to five hits, and he had eight strikeouts and no walks.

The Grangers got the only two runs they’d need in the first inning, and they added single runs in the second and sixth innings.

LaGrange evened its Region 5-AAAA record at 2-2 heading into today’s game at Sandy Creek.

LaGrange hosts Sandy Creek on Friday.

Walton Lanier did a terrific job from the leadoff position with two hits and an RBI, Trent Bailey had a double and two RBIs, and Charles Crawford had an RBI single.

Will Alford had a hit and two runs scored, and Mason Green and Matthew Morgan each had a hit.

The Grangers went to work early.

Lanier led off the game with a base hit, and Alford was hit by a pitch with one out.

Next up was Bailey, and his double brought in Lanier and Alford to give the Grangers a 2-0 lead.

LaGrange added another run in the second inning.

With two outs, Morgan reached on a single, and he scored on Lanier’s base hit.

It remained a 3-0 game until LaGrange capped the scoring with a run in the sixth inning.

Alford led off the inning with a double, and he scored on Crawford’s base hit.

The way Cardwell was throwing, the Grangers didn’t need much offense.

“He was really good,” LaGrange coach Donnie Branch said. “He gave up five hits, and he picked two of them off. So he did a lot of work himself, and the defense was good. Trent (Bailey) was really good behind the plate. He picked a guy off as well.”

Cardwell, who was used sparingly last season, has been one of LaGrange’s most dependable pitchers this year.

“He threw just a handful of innings last year,” Branch said. “He’s thrown 33 innings for us with an era of 2.00. He’s very aggressive. He attacks the strike zone. He mixes his pitches well. He locates, and he’s just a competitor.”