Wesleyan, Holy Innocents’ headed for ‘survival of the fittest’ rubber game

ROME — Georgia’s two most dominant private school baseball teams this postseason have finally found their match.

Wesleyan and Holy Innocents’ split the first two games of their state championship series Friday at AdventHealth Stadium. The Wolves and Golden Bears will play their first game three of the postseason in a winner-take-all game on Monday.

Both teams’ pitching staffs will be tested Monday after a Friday doubleheader that had 16 total innings and 566 total pitches.

“It might be survival of the fittest on Monday,” Holy Innocents’ coach Jeff Rowland said. “I’m sure they’ve still got a couple of arms floating around, and we’ve got a couple of guys, too, so it’s going to come down to timely hitting and good defense and a little luck sprinkled in there.”

It appears the Wolves and Golden Bears have finally found worthy opponents in each other. Both teams won all four of their playoff series in two games, omitting the need for a decisive game three.

That included statement wins over the top two teams in the bracket, as Holy Innocents’ knocked off No. 1 seed King’s Ridge Christian and Wesleyan upset No. 2 seed North Cobb Christian.

It’s a new position for both teams — a true test of depth and adaptability.

“This will be different, but I think we’ll be ready to go,” Wesleyan catcher Ryley Webb said.

Both games had tight finishes, too. Wesleyan won the first game by a 9-6 final, but it needed two extra innings to do it. The Wolves took an early 1-0 lead before the Golden Bears hit back with a five-run second inning.

“Our guys just never believed they were out of it,” Wesleyan coach Mark Pope said. “We’ve put up so many big innings that we’ve lived through it, so that was cool.”

Wesleyan responded with a four-run explosion in the fourth inning, tying the game at 5-5.

Wesleyan and Holy Innocents’ both threatened to take the lead in the second half of the game, but neither could score before extra innings were forced. Both teams went down scoreless in the eighth inning before Webb broke the silence in the ninth.

The senior catcher came to the plate with two outs and runners on first and second base.

“That whole day, I felt like I was just missing, so I was telling myself, ‘I’m not going to miss it here. I’m not going to miss it,’” Webb said.

Webb poked the first pitch he saw between the shortstop and the third baseman, plating Carter Hayes for a 6-5 lead and opening the floodgates.

Knox Bingham delivered another RBI single on the next at-bat, and Wesleyan re-loaded the bases before a hit-by-pitch and a walk took them to a 9-5 lead.

Holy Innocents’ got a run in the bottom of the ninth before freshman Carter Radics slammed the door on the game one win.

Holy Innocents’ got an elite performance from its starting pitcher in game two. Sophomore Bryce Floyd led the Golden Bears with a 106-pitch, complete game shutout.

Floyd scattered six hits and five walks for his second consecutive complete game. The righthander stranded six Wolves in scoring position, including a high-stakes finish in the final inning.

Floyd walked the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the seventh. The sophomore had thrown 91 pitches and hadn’t recorded an out, but Rowland didn’t even try to warm up another pitcher.

“He’s one of our guys and has been,” Rowland said. “We feel good when the ball is in hands. He gives us a shot.”