Pope vs Houston County Elite Eight Recap

The Pope High School Greyhounds prevailed over Houston County High School Bears in a hard fought, three game series, in the Elite Eight of the 6A State Playoffs. This was the second year in a row that the two big name baseball schools matched up, facing each other in the Sweet Sixteen during the 2017 playoffs. In night one of this year’s series, fans got their money’s worth as the first two games were tight, pitcher’s duels. In game three, the experienced Greyhound bats caught fire as they were able to advance to their fourth straight Final Four. This feat will set up the greatly anticipated rematch of last year’s Pope-River Ridge Final Four series. The series will take place on Tuesday, May 15th at Jeff Rowland Field, with an atmosphere nothing shy of electric, considering the loaded rosters of both teams.

Game 1

Max Pralgo led Pope to a 5-1 victory in the series’ kickoff, both on the mound and at the plate, throwing a complete game two-hitter while also hitting a 3-run home run. Pralgo, a 2019 Miami(OH) commit, showed great composure on the mound, filling up the zone all game, commanding all three pitches.  The Bears came out swinging the bats well early, providing their only two hits in their first inning. Chandler Dawson(2019 uncommitted) singled up the middle to lead off the game and eventually came into score on a deep lineout from Chandler Ring(2018 uncommitted). Cameron Jones, a 2019 Georgia State commit, had Houston County’s lone other base-hit, cashing in a two strike liner to center. On the mound, Jones showed three pitches, having most control over his fastball. The left-hander worked in and out on the Pope hitters and was most damaged by leaving his offspeed stuff up in the zone. The junior southpaw showed promise, and his wiry build leads one to believe that he will only continue to grow.

Houston County put together a one-out rally in the 3rd, having two guys reach following a walk and an error. However, the middle infield of Buddy Floyd and Connor Frost flashed the leather, turning a pinball machine-like double play to get Pralgo out of the jam. Floyd, a 2019 Georgia commit, showcased some of the best hands in the state while at shortstop, while going 2-4 at the plate.

Game 2

Wednesday’s night cap game saw two pitcher’s going back and forth into the late innings, before the Bears and RHP Chandler Ring were able to overcome the Hounds by the score of 4-2. Ring, a senior who is still looking for a place to play at the next level, stymied the big bats in the Greyhound lineup, throwing a complete game while sitting ten Pope hitters down on strikes. The senior righty put his live-arm on full display, getting a lot of late action on his heavy fastball, mixing in a legit, tight slider. Ring truly held a presence on the mound, looking the part, not to mention, pitching with great intensity. Offensively, senior shortstop Logan Morris led the way, collecting three hits, all of which were absolute missiles. Dawson added two hits as well. Dawson, the uncommitted 2019 outfielder, showed extreme upside with his lanky body, quick twitch hands at the plate, and a strong arm from the outfield.

After being tied at 2 runs a piece through four and a half innings, the Bears were able to plate two more off of Pope left-hander, Reid Robertson(2020 uncommitted). Following a walk, an error, and a single, Dylan Tabor(2019 uncommitted), provided an RBI single up the middle, which was followed by a Jacob Profit(2020 uncommitted) RBI single to right. Profit competed at the plate all day. Despite being undersized, he scrapped at the plate, refusing to go down on strikes in the two games. Defensively, the sophomore looked very comfortable at second base, working the bag extremely well, while doing a great job of fielding groundballs and immediately getting rid of them.

Despite not receiving the outcome he had hoped for in this game, look for Robertson to catch the eyes of many schools in the near future. The sophomore southpaw gets a lot out of his body, pounding the zone with a solid fastball. Robertson also showed off a handful of back door curveballs to right handed batters, although, his best pitch may be his change up, which he was not afraid to throw in any count, consistently getting swings and misses. The young lefty needs to continue getting stronger, and learn that it’s okay to miss when you’re ahead in the count, noting that most of Houston County’s damage was done with Robertson ahead 0-2 or 1-2.

Game 3