Here’s a wrapup of the round two of the state baseball playoffs.
After round one, we called North Paulding’s comeback over Walton – rallying from 6-1 down to win in the final inning of the final game - as the ‘best of show.’
For round two?
Probably North Oconee vs. Heritage of Ringgold. That pitted likely MLB first-round picks on the mound against each other – Cole Wilcox of Heritage and Kumar Rocker of North Oconee. Wilcox has signed with Georgia, Rocker with Vanderbilt. Wilcox reportedly hit 97 mph while Rocker was hitting 95.
Find out below who won, and which hit a home run off the other.
There were several walk-off hits, remarkable comebacks and big upsets in pivotal games.
Read on ...
AAAAAAA
*In the classification’s best series, Grayson beat seventh-ranked North Gwinnet 3-2 in Game 3 on Friday. North Gwinnett led 2-1 entering the seventh inning, but a walk, hit batter and error loaded the bases. Grayson got another walk before John Anderson’s single provided the game-winner.
*Etowah, the defending champion but more of a Cinderella this season as a No. 4 seed, advanced again on the road Friday with an 11-9 victory in Game 3. Etowah took a 6-0 lead, then trailed 7-6, led 9-7 and was tied 9-9 before pulling out the win. Jackson Sisk was 4-for-5 with a double and three RBI. Bryant Madden was 4-for-4 with two doubles and four RBI. Etowah upset sixth-ranked Hillgrove in the first round.
*Three region champions went down, though none was overly surprising. Lassiter beat Lowndes 4-3, 8-2; North Paulding beat Newnan 12-0, 6-4; and Brookwood beat South Forsyth 2-3, 12-1, 12-1. South Forsyth, at No. 4, was the only ranked region champion of the three, and Brookwood is No. 6. Brookwood’s Will Banfield, the state’s best catcher, was 2-for-3 and hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning of the Broncos’ Game 3 rout. Brookwood had blown a late lead in Game 1, but took an 8-0 lead early in Game 2 and never looked back.
Quarterfinals
Etowah at Parkview
Woodstock at Grayson
Lassiter at Brookwood
North Paulding at Mill Creek
AAAAAA
*The only region champions that remain are No. 1 Pope and No. 3 Allatoona, a couple of Cobb County teams. Pope, the defending state champion, was forced to a Game 3 by Harrison, then won 21-0. Max Praigo was 3-for-3 with four RBI. Allatoona beat Gainesville 6-5, 12-2.
*Those beating region champions in the second round were Houston County over Region 3 champion Heritage-Conyers 4-1, 1-0; third-ranked River Ridge over Region 8 champion and fifth-ranked Winder Barrow 13-0, 13-2; Alpharetta over Region 5 champion Alexander 12-3, 0-5, 6-5; 10th-ranked Greenbrier over Region 1 champion and fourth-ranked Lee County 2-1, 5-4; and Grovetown over Region 2 champion and sixth-ranked Effingham County 0-1, 12-6, 9-3.
*The best Game 3 was Alpharetta’s 6-5 win over Alexander. Alpharetta trailed 4-1 entering the seventh, scored four to take the lead, but Alexander got a run in the bottom half to tie it. Alpharetta plated a run in the ninth – on Justin Kirby’s steal of home - to win it. Kirby had led off the ninth with a single to center. Alpharetta was down to its final strike in the seventh when Noah Mendlinger hit a two-run double for the lead.
*Greenbrier’s elimination of 2017 runner-up Lee County was a mild surprise. Bryce Melear pitched a seven-inning six-hitter in Game 1, a 2-1 victory. Greenbrier won Game 2 on a walk-off single by Jackson Rosier in the bottom of the eighth inning. Matthew Chester was 3-for-4 with a homer and a double in that 5-4 win.
Quarterfinals
Houston County at Pope
Valdosta at River Ridge
Greenbroer vs. Alpharetta
Grovetown at Allatoona
AAAAA
*Ola upset No. 1-ranked Wayne County 5-1, 1-7, 8-2. In the clincher, Noah Norman, Patrick Holloman, Matthew Mamatas and Chaz Salter each had two hits. Ola won Game 1 behind good pitching efforts from Jordan Armstrong (6 IP, 1 run, 5 SO) and Tyler Richardson (retired the side in order in the seventh for the save). Richardson also saved Game 3 with 2.1 hitless innings.
*Region 8 also-ranks Flowery Branch and Buford knocked out region champions, though neither was a major upset. Flowery Branch beat 10th-ranked Arabia Mountain 7-6, 2-4, 10-0 while fourth-ranked Buford defeated fifth-ranked Decatur 10-2, 5-4. J.C. Sewell pitched a four-hit shutout for Flowery Branch in the clinching win.
*The highest-ranked team remaining is No. 2 Loganville, the defending champion. The Red Devils have gone 4-0 in the tournament, out-scoring opponents 36-4.
Quarterfinals
Starr’s Mill at Carrollton
Locust Grove at Loganville
Flowery Branch at Veterans
Ola at Buford
AAAA
*Cartersville defeated defending champion Marist 11-1, 3-4, 10-2 in a second-round matchup between two of state's most successful baseball programs through history. Marist's 94 series victories are tied for first all-time with Columbus. Cartersville comes in at No. 4 with 63 series victories. LaDarius Winburn hit four home runs in the series for Cartersville, and switch-hitting catcher Anthony Seigler homered from both sides of the plate in Game 3, one a grand slam.
*Heritage of Ringgold swept North Oconee 6-3, 7-5 in a series that featured potential first-round draft picks – Cole Wilcox of Heritage and Kumar Rocker of North Oconee – facing off on the mound in Game 1. Heritage and Wilcox won 6-3. Wilcox allowed three hits over seven innings and struck out eight. Only one run against him was earned. Rocker went four innings and was touched for seven hits and a home run -- by Wilcox.
Quarterfinals
Columbus at Blessed Trinity
Wodward Accademy at Jefferson
Spalding at Cartersville
West Laurens at Heritage-Conyers
AAA
*Sixth-ranked Lovett is the only non-region champion still playing here. The Lions beat Region 7 champ and ninth-ranked North Hall 11-1, 6-7, 5-4. Lovett won Game 3 in nine innings, but the heroics began in the sixth when the Lions put up three runs to tie the game 4-4. In the ninth, Evan McKown’s single to center, scoring Wyatt Nelson, who had opened with a single, was the game-winner. Ben O’Meara pitched 2.1 scoreless innings for the win. O’Meara also was the Game 1 winner as he pitched six innings, allowing four hits, one unearned run and struck out six.
Quarterfinals
Lovett at Southeast Bulloch
Pike County at Morgan County
Appling County at Ringgold
Cook at Westminster
AA
*Berrien and Heard County, a couple of No. 2 seeds, defeated No. 1 seeds – Heard over Dade Cuonty and Berrien over Dodge. They’ll now meet in the quarterfinals. The winner of that series will reach the semifinals for the first time since the 1980s – 1985 for Heard, 1988 for Berrien, to be precise.
*Unranked Jeff Davis upset No. 2 Westside-Augusta, except that Jeff Davis is the defending champion, so perhaps not an upset after all. Jeff Davis will play Elbert County in the quarterfinals in a rematch of the 2017 championship series that Jeff Davis won 4-1, 7-6.
Quarterfinals
Berrien at Heard County
Jeff Davis at Elbert County
Thomasville at Callaway
Social Circle at Benedictine
A private
*Pinecrest Christian, the 21st seed, upset No. 5 Hebron Christian 6-3, 4-9, 4-3. Joe Garcia pitched a seven-inning one-hitter in the finale. Pinecrest had never advanced in the state playoffs until this season.
*Providence Christian, the 18th seed, beat No. 2 seed Mount Paran Christian 7-14, 3-2, 7-4. The key game was the second one. Facing elimination, Providence trailed 3-2 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh but scored two to win it. Sam Aurleia got the walk-off single. Anthony Bowen and Mitchell Miller also got hits in the inning.
Quarterfinals
Prince Avenue Christian at Savannah Christian
Pinecrest Academy at Holy Innocents’
Providence Christian at First Presbyterian
Wesleyan at Tattnall Square
A public
*The second round resumes Monday. A legal injunction forced its postponement, but that was lifted Friday.
