The semifinal round is now complete, and it’s on to the state finals of the baseball playoffs. Those begin Monday.
In the final semifinal series, finished Thursday, Allatoona defeated Alpharetta 8-1 in a Game three of the Class AAAAAA playoffs. Allatoona advances to face Pope in an all-Cobb County championship series.
Similar matchups will occur in AAAAAAA (Mill Creek and Parkview of Gwinnett County) and AAA (Westminster and Lovett of Buckhead).
Here’s a wrapup of all 16 semifinal series. The schedule for next week’s state championships is at the bottom.
AAAAAAA
Parkview d. Woodstock 3-4, 5-1, 6-1: Parkview scored three runs in the first inning and never trailed in the 6-1 clinching victory, but the Panthers were on the brink of elimination in Game 2, when they won an eight-inning game 5-1 with four runs in the top of the eight. Braden Hays, a left-hander going to Georgia Southern, went the eight-inning distance in that one, allowing seven hits and striking out seven. Logan Cerny's solo homer in the fourth inning tied the game 1-1 and kept Parkview alive. In Game 3, Miles Garrett went six strong innings, allowing two hits and walking none. Cerny, who is committed to Troy, was 6-for-9 with two homers and a double in the series
Mill Creek d. Brookwood 3-6, 6-4, 6-2: Mill Creek scored a run in the first inning and never trailed in Game 3, but it was Game 2 that held had the Hawks on a tight rope. Having lost the opener, Mill Creek won 6-4 in 10 innings. Alaska Abney pitched six scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit. Brookwood had the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the 10th, but Alaska (who is committed to Coastal Carolina) got Trace Twardowski to ground into a 4-6-3 doubleplay (Drew Cadena to Brendan York to Davis Sharpe) to end the game. Justin Parish and Zach Green combined on a five-hitter in the clinching victory, and Sharpe homered. Leadoff hitter Nick Kross was 5-for-11 in the series.
AAAAAA
Pope d. River Ridge 9-6, 10-3: Andrew Feld was 4-for-4 with three RBI in Pope's clinching 10-3 victory. Max Pralgo doubled twice. In the opener, James Tibbs, Will Lantis and Connor Frost had two hits apiece and Antonio Jareno homered.
Allatoona d. Alpharetta 5-2, 5-8, 8-1: (unfinished): Payton Eeles went 4-for-4 with with a double and two RBI on Thursday as Allatoona defeated Alpharetta 8-1 in Game 3 of their semifinal series. Greg Boland hit a three-run double in a five-run fifth inning that broke the game open. Fisher Paulsen pitched a four-hitter. In Allatoona's opening win, Hunter Paulsen went the distance in the opener, allowing scattering nine hits. He allowed two solo homers. Eeles was 3-for-3.
AAAAA
Buford d. Flowery Branch 3-2, 1-0: Sean Adams pitched a one-hit shutout in the clincher. He struck out 11 and walked none. Buford won the opener on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Wolves' second run in the inning. Flowery Branch had issued two intentional walks, courting the precarious situation. Evan Place's run-scoring double to right field was the key hit in the inning. Buford's Ramsey Davis allowed three hits and struck out 10 in 6.1 innings.
Loganville d. Starr's Mill 5-1, 7-2: Joseph Brandon pitched a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts in the opener. Bay Witcher and Dylan Strickland homered. Witcher's three-run shot in the sixth broke the game open. Seth Clark took the mound for Game 2 and struck out 10 in six innings. He allowed four hits, and both runs were unearned. Bryant Pietri was 3-for-4. Consecutive doubles by Witcher, Jacob Boyd and Jackson Howell ignited a four-run sixth that put the game away.
AAAA
Jefferson d. Blessed Trinity 10-7, 2-0: Lane Watkins pitched a five-hit shutout with four strikeouts and no walks in beating nationally ranked Blessed Trinity 2-0 in the clinching game. Watkins, who is committed to Georgia, also had two hits and scored a run. In Game 1, Jefferson took a 7-1 lead through five innings and held on. Zac Corbin was 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBI.
Cartersville d. Heritage-Ringgold 6-5, 10-2: Anthony Seigler, a switch-hitting catcher, was 6-for-7 with a home run and two doubles in the sweep. Josh Davis and Jake Gooch also homered. Cohen Wilbanks pitched six strong innings in Cartersville's clinching win. Seigler came in to pitch the seventh inning in the opener to get the save. He struck out two. Cartersville trailed 5-4 entering the bottom of the sixth of Game 1 but scored twice on back-to-back doubles by Seiger and Davis off Cole Wilcox, a likely No. 1 pick in the MLB Draft.
AAA
Lovett d. Morgan County 13-3, 11-1: Ben O'Meara, allowing five hits and striking out seven, went the distance in the five-game opener, and Lance Beck allowed two hits and no earned runs in 5.1 strong innings in the clincher. Evan McKown was 4-for-5 with three runs scored in the series. Charles Gibson (4-for-7) and Grayson Nix (4-for-6 with a homer) also had four hits in the series.
Westminster d. Ringgold 5-3, 3-2: Westminster won the opener behind a complete game from Luke Jannetta (5 H, 3 ER, 4 SO). Parks Harber and Jack Polhemus each had two-run doubles. In Game 2, Polhemus took his turn on the mound and pitched a three-hitter. He struck out eight and did not allow an earned run. Westminster scored three unearned runs on walks and errors in the fifth for a 3-0 lead.
AA
Berrien d. Jeff Davis 6-2, 3-9, 4-1: Darius Tisby pitched a five-hitter in Berrien's clinching Game 3. He allowed no earned runs. Berrien won the opener 6-2. Justin Roberts, Tisby and Dalton Royals had two hits apiece, and Rhett Thomason pitched six innings, allowing only one unearned run.
Benedictine d. Callaway 0-10, 7-0, 13-5: Carter Holton, Rome Dean and Garrison Gunby had two hits apiece in Game 3. Gunby, who struggled in the Game 1 loss, came back to pitched two hitless innings with two strikeouts for the save. In Game 2, Holton pitched a two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts, and Garrett Floyd and Jacob Markiton had two hits apiece.
A private
Prince Avenue Christian d. Holy Innocents' 8-9, 3-2, 4-1: Cain Tatum allowed just four hits in Prince Avenue's series-clinching win. Prince Avenue took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on Shelby Davis's double and never trailed. After dropping the opener 9-8, Prince Avenue got even in Game 2 behind Luke McDevitt's three hits and two runs. Jake Haynes had the game-winning RBI.
Tattnall Square d. First Presbyterian Day 13-4, 10-0: Brooks Gorman pitched a two-hit shutout in Game 2. Gorman was 4-for-8 with a home run at the plate in the series. Luke Laskey pitched a three-hitter in Game 1. Laskey was 4-for-8 with three doubles in the series. Logan Fink was 3-for-6. Dawson Brown was 4-for-7 with five RBI.
A
Gordon Lee d. Bowdon 9-0, 5-3: Austin Lee pitched a three-hit shutout in the opener. He struck out six. Caleb Hopkins homered. Jakle Poindexter pitched five strong innings in Game 2, allowing four hits and no earned runs. Dylan Minghini went 3-for-4 in the clincher. Leadoff hitter Austin Thomson was 4-for-8 with a double and a triple in the series.
Telfair County d. Irwin County 8-5, 3-0: Ian Blankenship pitched a three-hitter in the clinching Game 2. He struck out four and walked just two. In Game 1, Telfair broke a 5-5 tie in Game 1 with a three-run sixth inning. Blankenship, who has signed with the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, was 3-for-5 at the plate in the series.
Championship series schedule:
At Grayson Stadium (Savannah)
Monday - Class 2A (Berrien vs. Benedictine)
Tuesday - Class 1A Public (Gordon Lee vs. Telfair County)
At State Mutual Stadium (Rome)
Monday - Class 4A (Cartersville vs. Jefferson)
Tuesday - Class 6A (Pope vs. Allatoona)
At Mercer (Macon)
Monday - Class 3A (Westminster vs. Lovett)
Tuesday - Class 1A Private (Telfair County vs. Gordon Lee)
At Foley Field (UGA)
Monday - Class 5A (Buford vs. Loganville)
Tuesay - Class 7A (Parkview vs. Mill Creek)
