GHSA Playoffs: Semifinals Recap (Day One)

7A

Parkview and North Gwinnett are set to meet on Wednesday after opting to postpone the start of their series, which left Hillgrove and Grayson as the only 7A action of the day. That was fine for the rest of us, as it allowed us to lock in on what was bound to be a competitive series between two of the state’s top programs. It did not disappoint.

Grayson vs. Hillgrove

In game one, Deion Walker started on the mound and also launched two homers from the batter’s box to fuel the Hawks to a decisive 9-4 victory. A five-run fifth frame virtually put the game away when Wade Richardson doubled home Hillgrove’s seventh and eighth runs of the game, handing them an 8-2 lead in the process. While game two was a little closer, Hillgrove starter Austin Heard kept missing Grayson bats, which allowed the Hawks to slowly tack on runs and build up a lead. Heard finished his start with eight punch-outs in 4.2 innings of work and he left the game with a 4-0 lead. Hillgrove needed just four hits to plate their four runs and it was more than enough to lock down the series sweep. The tying run made it to the plate for the Rams in the bottom of the seventh, but reliever Fred Wilson K’d the last out to push his team to a state championship appearance where they’ll be seeking their program’s first-ever title.

6A 

On the 6A side, we still don’t know which teams will be traveling to Rome next week to battle for the state title. Both series, Effingham County-Heritage and Pope-Harrison, will need a game three on Wednesday to decide things.

Effingham County vs. Heritage-Conyers

In game one, Heritage’s three first-inning runs wound up being the difference in the ballgame. RBI singles from Darryl Buggs and Henry Clay scored the Patriots their runs and their starter, Griffin Holcombe, a Coastal Carolina commit, dominated in his 6.2 innings of work, limiting the Rebels to just one run on five hits. Effingham County got their sole run when Dustin Johnson homered in the fifth. Game two was a totally different story for the Rebels. While Heritage struck first in the second inning, Effingham County rallied back and scored 11 runs over the next three frames. Five Rebels tallied multi-hit games, including Jordan Rahn who had himself a three-hit ballgame, including a home run and a pair of RBIs. Christian Campbell, Chandler Hinely, and Austin Mealor each added two RBIs of their own in the game. The two will settle things in a winner-take-all game three today.

Pope vs. Harrison

Things were looking great for the back-to-back champs Pope in game one. The Greyhounds leapt out to an early lead and Harrison never had a chance. Starter Max Pralgo stifled the Hoyas all game and allowed just two hits and a walk in his five shutout innings of work. Caden Smith lit the offense with three hits, two doubles, and four RBIs while lead-off hitter James Tibbs tallied two hits and drove in another three runs. In game two, the Hoyas came out swinging. Micah Davis led the game off with a triple and scored on an RBI groundout. In the second inning, Davis singled home his team’s second run and the Hoyas scored two more after that to take an early 4-0 lead. Pope rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fourth, but Harrison’s relievers Baylor Akin and Bryce Clark shut the door from the bullpen and Pope never really came close to rallying again. Once again this postseason, the Greyhounds are pushed to a game three, so we’ll see if they have it in them to win a fourth game three of these playoffs.

5A 

In the 5A bracket, we already know which two teams are going to be playing for the state title at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville: Ola and Loganville. Let’s see how we got here.

Ola vs. Decatur

It’s clear that the Ola Mustangs deserved more love from our staff and the GA Power 25 this spring. They’ve won 28 games this spring and have now beaten ranked Buford and Decatur in consecutive rounds for a seat in the championship game. In game one against the Bulldogs, Ola won a back-and-forth dogfight. The two teams traded big blows in a 25-hit slugfest that needed extra innings. Down two runs in the bottom of the seventh, Decatur leaned on, who else, Jordan Walker to drive in the tying runs on a rally that started with two outs. He doubled to deep left to tie the game at 10. In the eighth, Ola’s Baylen Sanders doubled with one out and scored in the next at-bat when Chaz Salter singled to center to grant Ola the late lead. Ben Smith doubled for Decatur in the bottom half of the frame, but Decatur was just out of juice to tie it up yet again, giving the Mustangs game one.

Game two offered no relief. It was narrow again and the two traded runs right away in the first inning. Walker slugged a solo homer in the first and Ola’s Sanders doubled again to tie the game back up. Patric Holloman homered for the Mustangs in the third to give them the lead but Decatur squared it back up in the top of the fifth. Sanders struck yet again to tie the game in the fifth but Ola didn’t stop there. A Carson Barnett single scored two and an error and passed ball plated two more, giving the Mustangs a late 6-2 lead. Decatur was as feisty as they’d been all season and Jaylen Paden drove in his second and third runs of the ballgame in the sixth to cut his team’s deficit in half, but the score stayed stuck right there, 6-2, handing Ola the sweep.

Loganville vs. Locust Grove

The back-to-back champs are looking like favorites to secure a third straight title after sweeping Locust Grove on Tuesday. Loganville has not yet lost in these playoffs, though the Wildcats almost snatched game one until the Red Devils pulled away late. Locust Grove had leads in the second and fourth innings only to see Loganville recapture the scoreboard both times. Home runs from Josh Haynes, Dylan Strickland, and Brocker Way fueled the Red Devils. Strickland tallied four RBIs on the night, a game-high, and they led Loganville to an 11-5 win. In game two, Connor Bruce tossed a complete game to lift Loganville to the sweep. He allowed just three hits, one walk, one unearned run and struck out six while his offense did its thing. Blaine Marchman had three of Loganville’s six hits and drove in two runs on two doubles. The game was tight, 2-1, until the Red Devils scored three in the fifth to really put things away. They’ll meet Ola next week in Gwinnett County.

4A

Unlike class 5A, 4A’s state title picture is still unclear. Both of Tuesday’s series will need a game three today, including one of the top-ranked teams in the state, Blessed Trinity.

Blessed Trinity vs. Denmark

One of the most fascinating stories of the entire postseason has been the success of Denmark, the brand new Alpharetta-area school that’s playing its inaugural season of baseball. Our own Phil Kerber identified them as a scrappy bunch that had the look of a team capable of an upset in the postseason, but I don’t think anyone could have realistically projected that the Danes had a semifinals run in them. And yet, here, they are sincerely challenging one of the state’s best programs – regardless of class – in a series that will require a game three on Wednesday.

In the first game against the Titans, BT’s starter Eric Moore scattered eight Denmark hits while the Titans made better use of the eight hits of their own. Steele Chambers, Ryan Davis, and Jake Smith each drove in a pair of runs. Things got tight in the sixth, but Chambers’ two-run single pushed BT’s lead back to three which was where the game ended, 6-3. Game two required nine innings as Denmark just refused to end their season on Tuesday. Blessed Trinity took a 3-1 lead to the bottom of the sixth, thanks in part to two more Chambers RBIs. In the bottom of the inning, the Danes tied the game on a two-run homer off the bat of Jack Kream. Denmark pitched around some trouble in the ninth and it propelled them to walk it off in the bottom of the frame. Matthew Cassandra led things off with a double and he eventually scored on a bases-loaded walk to force a game three. Drew Clare’s 2.1 shutout innings in relief is what allowed Denmark to make all of this possible. It’s must-see action today to see if the newcomers can take down the 4A favorites for a seat in the title game in the very first season of their program’s history.

North Oconee vs. Northside-Columbus

Game one featured a wild North Oconee comeback in the bottom of the seventh. Down 5-3, 4A’s other Titans started the inning with three straight singles. A walk cut their deficit to one run and Bubba Chandler, North Oconee’s starter who had gone the distance on the mound, smoked a ball to right to score a pair of runs to walk it off. Chandler allowed five runs, though just three were earned, and he struck out nine. For Northside, Mack Williams homered and Hunter Poe and Tray Richburg both collected two hits each in the tough loss.

Credit to the Patriots, after suffering a gut-punch loss in game one, they rallied to come from behind to beat the Titans by the same score, 6-5, in the bottom of the seventh, too. With runners on second and third, with one out, Williams singled home the tying run and Connor O’Neal finished the job by driving in the walk-off run to complete to huge comeback win. Garrett Paxson drove in three runs for North Oconee in the loss while Dom Hughes and Chandler each scored twice and had two hits in the ballgame. This series has quickly become arguably the most exciting in the state, setting up Wednesday’s must-see game three.

3A

Pace Academy and Pike County are both headed to Macon next week to meet to decide the 3A state champ. With Winder-Barrow eliminated, I don’t think there’s a hotter team in the state than Pace Academy, though Pike’s convincing sweep of Hart County will make this series extremely interesting to watch.

Pike County vs. Hart County

Pike County has lost just four times this spring, and all four losses came at the hands of highly talented programs: Ola, Houston County, Jackson-Atlanta, and Fannin County. They’ve won 32 times this spring and swept an exciting Hart County team on Tuesday to earn a state title berth. Game one was practically all Pirates. Coleman Crow struck out 12 for Pike and allowed just two runs on three hits and one walk. Davis York homered for the Pirates and Coleman Boynton had two hits, two runs, and two RBIs of his own. Pike out-hit Hart County 8-3 in the 9-2 win.

In game two, things were much closer, though Crow starred again, this time with his bat. He went 4-for-4 in the ballgame with a double, a triple, and scored three of Pike’s four runs in the game. For Hart, Will Dean pitched 6.1 innings and did well to limit a dynamic Pike offense. He struck out 10 and allowed just three runs and scattered nine hits. Chase Dalton homered for the Bulldogs and drove in two of their runs which helped tie the game at three. But in the top of the seventh, Dylan Garner drove in the go-ahead run for the Pirates and starter Noah Windhorst recorded the final out to earn a complete game victory, motoring Pike to the state title series in the process.

North Hall vs. Pace Academy

On March 16, the Pace Academy Knights were 5-6, looking for a spark. They haven’t lost a game since. That’s a 20-game win streak they’re riding and they just dispatched a quality North Hall team with relative ease. Their 9-1 game one win was dominant from the start on both sides of the ball. T.J. Rafeedie tossed a complete game, allowed just one run on five hits, striking out 10 in the process. Andrew Jenkins homered and drove in a pair. Brian Zeldin led the offense by going 4-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored.

Game two was much more challenging for Pace. North Hall actually had a 3-1 lead on the Knights entering the top of the fifth when Pace exploded. Jenkins drove in another three runs for Pace and Darian Howard tallied three RBIs as well. Howard’s fifth-inning triple tied the game at three and the Knights tacked on a couple more runs in the inning. Jenkins’ bases-clearing triple in the seventh made it an 8-3 ballgame, which really wrapped things up for the Knights. They’ll put their 20-game win streak on the line next week in Macon against a very talented Pike County squad.

2A through 1A

PBR Georgia Scouting Director Blake Davis was in attendance at the tight series between Rockmart and Callaway, so he’ll be able to provide more first-hand news and notes for you in the coming days, but the series is tied at one and will need a game three to decide things. On the other side of the 2A bracket, Bleckley County took game one from Jeff Davis by a 1-0 score but dropped game two, 8-2, forcing another game three.

In the 1A Public class, Gordon Lee swept Bowdon fairly comfortably. They still don’t know which team they’ll be playing in Savannah next week, either. Schley County and Irwin County split on Tuesday, so we’ll see how Wednesday’s decider goes. If Schley wins, it’ll set up a series between the two most recent 1A Public champs.

And finally, in the 1A Private bracket, Tattnall Square was upset in their hunt for a repeat title. Hebron Christian won a wild game one, but the Trojans battled back and scored four runs in the ninth inning to down HCA in game two.

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