Here is a wrapup of the five Game 3 playoffs from Tuesday that decided what teams will play in the championship series beginning Saturday.
Also see these stories on the Wesleyan player who hit four home runs in a losing effort Tuesday and a summary of the semifinal series that were completed on Monday.
We'll report the start time for the state finals when all are set.
AAAAA
Houston County 7, Gainesville 4: Third baseman Blake Jackson, a Georgia Tech signee, hit a two-run double for a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning. Jackson also had a homer and drove in the go-ahead run with a single in a Game 1 victory. He was 6-for-9 in the series. Justin Jones, normally the shortstop, pitched the final four innings and got the win. He had pitched three innings this season entering the game, according to the Macon Telegraph. Houston County will travel to Whitewater for the final.
Whitewater 5, Greenbrier 4: Whitewater jumped to a 5-0 lead in the third inning and held on. Whitewater center fielder Jabari Richards made a catch above the fence in the bottom of the seventh inning, robbing Adam Sasser of a home run. Jonathan Hendershot (6-0) was the winning pitcher. Whitewater will be making its first state finals appearance since losing to Marist in 2011.
AAA
Cartersville 7, Buford 4: Brent Arnold hit a three-run triple that gave defending AAA champion Cartersville the lead after it trailed 3-0. Stuart Chester got his 500th victory as head coach, although he was serving a suspension for illegally videotaping from the dugout in Monday's Game 2. Cartersville will play Blessed Trinity in the championship series.
AA
Greater Atlanta Christian 1, Westminster 0: Jackson O'Brien's two-out, two-strike double scored Luke Boudreau from first base in the fifth inning. GAC's Ben Childers pitched a three-hitter. Wildcats had runners thrown out at home and third base and one picked off at second base. GAC's Peyton McGuire threw the runner out at third on a ball off the wall in right field. Westminster's Luke Johnson also allowed only three hits. GAC is in the state finals for the first time since 2003.
Benedictine 19, Wesleyan 16: Benedictine reached the state finals for the first time since 1961 despite a four-homer game by Wesleyan catcher Grant Colton. See details of that game on AJC.com.
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