Here's is a look at the four semifinal baseball teams from Class AAAAA and how they got here.
Jones County
Jones County right fielder and No. 4 hitter Walker Juwan was 5-for-7 with a double, a home run, six RBI, seven runs scored and a stolen base in the two-game sweep (10-1, 12-3) of East Paulding. Jones County’s pitching was outstanding. Jacob Walden allowed one run (unearned) and struck out nine in Game 1, and Keever Walker pitched five scoreless innings of relief of Bradley Hunnicutt in Game 2. Jones County won a state title in 1989, but this is the school’s first semifinal in at least 10 years.
Gainesville and South Effingham played perhaps the most exciting AAAAA quarterfinal series. In Game 3, with the score 6-6 in the top of the seventh inning, Gainesville first baseman Caleb Whtenton hit a two-run home run for an 8-6 lead that held up. Whitenton had two homers and a double in the game. Pitcher Jonathan Gettys pitched the final 3.1 innings and struck out eight, including South Effingham’s Nos. 3, 4 and 5 hitters to end the game. Gettys pitched a complete game in Game 1, a 5-2 victory. He struck out 13 and allowed two runs, both unearned. Catcher Michael Curry hit two home runs in the series. Gainesville lost in the semifinals last year to eventual champion Houston County.
Greenbrier
Adam Sasser threw six shutout innings in Greenbrier’s 6-2 victory in Game 2 this week. He hit a home run in the 2-1 victory in Game 1. Sasser, a 6-4, 235-pound first baseman and left-handed pitcher, has signed with Georgia. Nick Sandlin pitched a complete game in the opener, a 2-1 win. Sandlin is signed with Southern Miss. Greenbrier has won five state titles, the most recent in 2007, and made the semifinals last season.
Allatoona
Allatoona shut out Loganville in Games 2 and 3 in their quarterfinal series. In Game 2, Brian DeCarlo pitched a two-hit, 10-strikeout complete game in the 3-0 win. In Game 3, Brandon Rainey (2 IP), Nick Gomez (4.1) and Blake Bradley (2/3 IP) teamed up on a two-hitter as Allatoona won 6-0. Bradley also was 2-for-3 with a double and a home run in the game. Right fielder Drew Swanson was 4-for-10 with two doubles in the series. Allatoona is in the semifinals for the first time.
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