The right arm of Zach Alvord pitched South Forsyth into its first-ever appearance in the state championship baseball series.
Alvord was nearly flawless in relief in a 5-2 win over East Paulding in the deciding game of the Class AAAAA semifinals Tuesday.
East Paulding quickly took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but was held scoreless after Alvord entered with two outs in the second. Alvord scattered two hits with six strikeouts to finish the game.
South Forsyth's Patrick Olvaney had a clutch single in the sixth, scoring Jordan Neese from second base just under the catcher's tag with the winning run. Curtis Parker later hit a solo homer for insurance, while Chase Fowler knocked in a couple of runs with sacrifice flies.
"I'm very proud of our guys fighting back from the early deficit," South Forsyth coach Jamie Corr said. "We've had a 'Never say die' attitude all year."
Elsewhere, two Game 3s were rained out: Brookwood and Pope on the other side of the Class AAAAA bracket, with the teams scheduled to play at 5 p.m. Wednesday. In AAAA, Marist and Northgate will meet at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.
In other games Tuesday, Landmark Christian swept Calvary Day 13-3 and 7-6 in Class A. In Game 2, Tanner Bryant's RBI triple in the fifth inning broke a 6-6 tie.
Bryant, the team's only senior, pitched the first three innings before giving way to Dustin Brantley, who shut down Calvary Day over the final four innings. Landmark Christian advances to play Wesleyan in the state championship series.
In Class AAA, Columbus defeated Carrollton 12-1 and 8-0, earning the chance to play reigning champion Cartersville in the finals.
Correspondent Andrew Adler contributed to this article.
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