Garrett Gooden of St. Pius put on a show befitting the Under Armor and Louisville Slugger All-American that he is in the first-round of the baseball state playoffs last weekend.
Gooden, who has signed with Georgia Tech but can expected to be picked in the MLB Draft next month, was 4-for-4 with two home runs and a double in the 8-4, 8-0 sweep of Pickens. Gooden walked twice, was hit by a pitch and hit a sacrifice fly in his other at-bats. He drove in five runs. His three-run homer in the fifth inning of Game 1 gave St. Pius a 5-3 lead.
But hitting isn’t why he’s a top college and pro prospect. Gooden, a 6-foot-5 right hander took the mound in Game 2. He pitched a one-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts.
Gooden and St. Pius travel to West Laurens on Wednesday to begin the second round.
Here are 10 more top performances from the first round.
Also, here is a wrapup of most first-round series from Friday and Saturday.
-Tucker Bradley, Gordon Lee: Bradley pitched a three-hit shutout with 15 strikeouts in an 8-0 Game 2 victory over Holy Innocents'. Bradley was 4-for-11 with a double and a home run at the plate. Gordon Lee lost the series.
-Zach Bruce, East Coweta: Bruce was 5-for-6 with two doubles, seven RBI and three runs scored in East Coweta's sweep of Newton.
-Colin Hall, Wesleyan: Hall was 7-for-10 with three doubles and a home run in the series against Coosa. Hall scored five runs.
-Blake Huber, Westminster: In Westminster's sweep of Pierce County, Huber hit a three-run double off the wall in the fifth inning to give Westminster the lead in a 7-6 victory. In game 2, Blake Huber pitched a four-hit shutout and struck out 12 with no walks.
-Devin Lucas, South Cobb: Lucas pitched a six-hitter with eight strikeouts in South Cobb's 5-1 Game 1 victory over Rockdale County. He was 3-for-4 at the plate. In Game 3, he pitched three innings of hitless relief and struck out two in an 8-6 victory.
Joseph Mannelly, Marist: Mannelly threw six hitless innings in a 7-0 Game 1 victory over Ridgeland and did get to pitch the seventh, denying him a chance at a no-hitter. He struck out nine. At the plate, Mannelly had five doubles in the 7-0, 20-1 sweep.
-Parker McBroom, Lamar County: McBoom struck out 14 batters in nine innings of a 6-1, 10-inning victory over Fitzgerald in a series that Lamar County swept. McBroom reached base six of nine times as the No. 2 hitter in the lineup in the series.
-Brayden McCollum, Cedartown: McCollum was 6-for-9 with four doubles and a triple in a 13-5, 15-7 sweep of Oconee County. McCollum scored five runs, drove in three and stole two bases. McCollum also pitched three innings of scoreless relief.
-Aaron Schunk, Lovett: Schunk hit three home runs in an 11-4, 11-1 sweep of Darlingon. He was the Game 1 winning pitcher. He struck out nine over six innings.
-Seth Shuman, Valdosta: Shuman picked a four-hitter with 13 strikeouts in Valdosta's 2-1 victory in Game 1 against North Paulding. He singled and walked at the plate. In Game 3, he was 2-for-4 with a grand slam. He was the winning pitcher again, this time in relief, as he pitched 1 1/3 innings and struck out two.
Notes: There were several other pitching performances worth noting. Etowah’s Sawyer Gibson-Long struck out 14 in a 3-2, 10-inning victory over Parkview. Greater Atlanta Christian’s Andrew Schultz pitched a two-hit shutout and struck out 11 in a victory over Model. Newnan’s Chancellor Johnson and Norcross’s Graeme Stinson pitched one-hitters.
About the Author
