AJC > Sports > Highschools > Blog > Archives > 2008 > May > 23 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USGeorgia High School Baseball Blog - May 23, 2008
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Step up to the plate: Hardball is the place to talk high school baseball on ajc.com. We’ll be posting scores as they become available, but if you’ve got the scoop, please feel free to post scores, recaps and highlights. Thanks.
20 teams remain in the GHSA state high school baseball playoffs. We give you a glimpse of what’s already happened and what’s expected when the tournament resumes on Monday.
Class AAAAA
What we know: Walton isn’t going anywhere.
The Raiders have looked like they did during last season’s state-title run. The pitching has been stellar with Mark Pope almost guaranteeing first-game victories. Pope is 8-1 with a 0.76 ERA after a victory in each of the first three rounds. The offense has scored at least five runs in all seven playoff games.
Valdosta, with University of Georgia commitments Earl Daniels and Kyle Rowe, might be the first team with the starting pitching that can match Walton’s trio of Pope, T.J. Kerins and Kyle Putkonen.
Red-hot North Cobb, winners of 18 of 21 games, battles No. 1 Brookwood.
Class AAAA
What we know: Nothing.
Class AAAA has baffled us in each round. First, Salem shocked East Paulding in the second round, then Loganville ended Greenbrier’s two-year state title run in the quarterfinals with a Wednesday sweep after dropping Tuesday’s opener to Nolan Belcher (complete game, two hits, 13 strikeouts).
On the other side of the bracket, Sequoyah has run through two No. 1 seeds - Marist and Woodward Academy. In the deciding game against Woodward, a go-ahead grand slam by Tyler Adams and fantastic relief from Jojo Keller (three innings pitched, nine strikeouts, one earned run) were all the Chiefs needed to advance. Griffin eliminated Heritage behind a two-hitter from sophomore lefty Jeremy Holcomb. Amazing that two Region 8-AAAA teams reached the quarterfinals. Heritage, the region champ, didn’t.
Class AAA
What we know: Now that it has jumped the Columbus hurdle, Cartersville should win Class AAA.
Cartersville survived its toughest test, going to Columbus and knocking off the Region 2-AAA champions after failing to do so in the last two quarterfinal meetings.
Cartersville’s Region 6-AAA mate, Carrollton, will join the Purple Hurricanes in the semis. We’ve gotten used to seeing the Trojans still playing in the final week of the season: This is Carrollton’s third trip to the semifinals four years.
The other two participants, Stephens County and South Effingham, are legit. The Indians thumped Flowery Branch 16-0 in the second-round finale, then scored 18 runs in a sweep of Troup. South Effingham has run through three good teams in six games, and senior catcher John Roberts is always a home-run threat.
Class AA
What we know: Look out for Lovett.
There’s nothing surprising about Wesleyan reaching the Class AA semifinals, or even Region 8-AA champion North Oconee or Cook (20 consecutive victories) joining the favored Wolves. But Lovett, the No. 3 seed from Region 6-AA, may have shocked a few people. In consecutive sweeps of Calhoun and Westside-Augusta, the offense averaged 11.5 runs per game, led by senior first baseman Adam Whitlock, who is 11 for his last 11 with 12 RBIs.
Class A
What we know: Landmark Christian is for real.
The Region 5-A champs can hit, scoring more than 12 runs per game in six playoff games. But Landmark also has gotten great pitching (2.8 runs per game allowed in postseason) and will match wits with Brookstone’s staff (allowing two runs per game in playoffs).
Pacelli’s pitching also has been fantastic. The Vikings staff held powerful Jefferson to a single run in two games and has had three shutouts in their past four playoff games. Providence Christian comes to Columbus after knocking off two region champs - Bremen and Telfair County.
Semifinals schedule
Best-of-three series begin with a doubleheader on Monday.
Class AAAAA
Walton at Valdosta
North Cobb at Brookwood
Class AAAA
Salem at Loganville
Sequoyah at Griffin
Class AAA
Carrollton at Stephens County
South Effingham at Cartersville
Class AA
Lovett at Cook
Wesleyan at North Oconee
Class A
Brookstone at Landmark Christian
Providence Christian at Pacelli
Step up to the plate: Hardball is the place to talk high school baseball on ajc.com. We’ll be posting scores as they become available, but if you’ve got the scoop, please feel free to post scores, recaps and highlights. Thanks.
Permalink | Comments (20) | Post your comment | Categories: Hardball
Comments
By JR
May 23, 2008 12:16 PM | Link to this
How about Cook in AA in the semi’s with 20 consecutive victories. Regardless of this seasons outcome everyone is all smiles in Adel as next year looks extremely promising. The Hornets will lose only 1 player to graduation. Cook’s 2 stud pitchers who have been lights out all season are only Sophomores. The future is bright in Adel.
By goober
May 23, 2008 12:39 PM | Link to this
You meant to say 4 x 5 = 20 teams remain in the playofffs, right?
By AJC Sports
May 23, 2008 12:56 PM | Link to this
Right. — Eds.
By Fan
May 23, 2008 12:56 PM | Link to this
You know nothing about AAAA, that is hard to believe. The #1 player in the nation plays for Griffin, already committed to USC and probably will get selected top 10 in the draft. Plus he is leading his team thru the state playoffs. Do your research AJC? Like goober said 20 teams not ten. After football season the AJC does a poor job reporting other high school sports.
By goober
May 23, 2008 1:08 PM | Link to this
You got it halfway right … it’s “Twenty” not “20” when leading a sentence. At least that’s what I was taught in J-school.
By Z
May 23, 2008 1:23 PM | Link to this
Good article burrs Keep it up
By 8AAAA Fan
May 23, 2008 1:34 PM | Link to this
True it is all about football in the AJC. But I think the AJC has done a much better job with the high school page, especially baseball. In my opinion, Kurt has posted much more information about schools outside of Atlanta, Cobb, and Gwinnett than ever before.
I’m routing for the Loganville/Salem winner to win state in AAAA, but Griffin is going to be tough to beat. Great job Griffin! Beckham is the real deal and they pitch well. They are a solid, well-rounded team.
By Always the Bridesmade, Never the Bride
May 23, 2008 2:19 PM | Link to this
Teal panics and folds in the clutch during the State Tournament. What else is new at Heritage?
By MUBear74
May 23, 2008 3:36 PM | Link to this
Watch out for Sequoyah, they have strong senior leadership,great pitching and clutch hitting. I would not be surprised to see them host Salem for the state championship.
By Mike
May 23, 2008 4:09 PM | Link to this
Cook is loaded. They’ll return everyone, minus their catcher, who is the only senior. They’ll gain National recognition the next two years as they have the #1 player in the nation for the class of 2010, in Kaleb Cowart. Look out for DJ Johnson too, he’s a potential first round draft pick in the year of 2010 as well. Cook is loaded for a championship run for the next two years, heck they may just win it this year. They’ve won 20 in a row and are 28-4 overall, with three of the four losses coming to upper classifcation schools, including Valdosta.
By HOWARD
May 24, 2008 5:49 AM | Link to this
IF GRIFFIN HITS THE BALL, I SEE NOBODY BEATING THEM. THEY HAVE GOOD DEFENSE AND GOOD PITCHING. OUR OFFENSE CAN OPEN A CAN OF WHOOP ON YOU AT ANYTIME. THEY ARE THE REAL DEAL WITH BECKHAM, RANDOLPH AND NASH. GOOD LUCK BEARS!
By nina dalton
May 24, 2008 4:38 PM | Link to this
hey ya all dont count carrollton trojans out just yet..these guys are pretty good and any team can win on any day ..go trojans in toccoa monday
By Mudville 9
May 24, 2008 5:30 PM | Link to this
I think whats remarkable about Sequoyah and why they have every chance in the world of running away with this title is that most of the guys on the team have all played together since they were 4. Their chemistry is pretty unmatched from the teams i’ve seen. And when you combine that team chemistry and confidence together then you are left with a very dangerous team, i dont care who they’re playing. Plus they dont have a ton of freak athletes, just a ton of ball players from the country. Go Chiefs! Give ‘em hell down in Griffin!
By Turfman
May 26, 2008 9:04 PM | Link to this
Griffin beat sequoyah in both games, griffin looks strong. 6-0 in first game 16-3 in second game. they have pitching to shut you down and hitting to back it up. the real deal.
By Prep-Sport Fan
May 26, 2008 10:28 PM | Link to this
Anybody have scores for 5-A?
By Coates
May 26, 2008 11:31 PM | Link to this
Cartersville is the real deal. Blows by the Mustange with an 8-4 first game win and a 13-0 win in game 2. 7 HR’s spelled doom for the Stangs who came in with a high powered offence averaging 12 a game in the playoffs and managed 1 ER in 13 innings.
By Steve
May 27, 2008 12:59 AM | Link to this
Wesleyan will walk away with the AA title Friday. The Wolves absolutely dominated North Oconee 13-4 in game 1 Monday, then scored when it counted, getting 6 runs in the final two innings to get past the Titans 8-5. The Wolves looked as strong as any Ga. HS team I’ve seen in a long, long time.
Congrats also to Loganville in AAAA, knocking off Salem with a pair of 1-run wins! GO DEVILS!!! Bring the AAAA title home to Walton County!!
By Bob Hines
May 27, 2008 9:38 AM | Link to this
It’s 9:45am on Tuesday, May 27, and I can’t find any mention of the Baseball State Semi-Finals played yesterday. Is this a newspaper?? 3 Atlanta area AAAAA teams played yesterday (in case you didn’t know)
By Greg
May 27, 2008 10:19 AM | Link to this
-Valdosta, Ga
Walton HS and Valdosta HS split the first two games of their best-of-three semi-final series Monday at Bazemore-Hyder field.
Walton won the first game 3-0 behind the shut-down pitching of GT signee, Mark Pope. Earl Daniels pitched well for the Wildcats giving up only one earned run in the game but the Valdosta offense was stymied by Pope.
The second game was a nail-biter with Valdosta pulling out the win with a bottom-of-the-ninth inning run to beat the Raiders 4-3. Walton tied the game in the seventh on a gutsy steal of home but couldn’t capitalize on the good fortune.
The two teams play the rubber game of the matchup today at 5:00 in Valdosta.
For more information on the games, go to the Valdosta Daily Times. It’s a slow connection, so be patient.
You’re welcome.
By ламинат
August 13, 2008 2:34 PM | Link to this
gdw Een plaatje zegt alles, toch ? lij Het volledige rapport is hier te vinden. Lees natuurlijk u de blogposting. i d Thanks for interesting post! pnm [url=http://skuper.ru]паркет[/url] 2o