Woodstock and North Oconee won their first state titles in baseball this season while Pope, Loganville and Wesleyan added to trophy cases that now stock at least five GHSA championship cups.
Pike County and Vidalia also won titles in series that finished up this week. So did Metter, the only repeat champion from 2021.
In the Class 7A series played at the Braves’ Truist Park, Woodstock defeated Cherokee County rival Etowah 5-0, 4-0 – the first pair of shutouts in a sweep of a highest-class championship series since 1999, when Lassiter shut out Brookwood twice.
Brayden Davis (one-hitter) and sophomore Kevin Mauer (four-hitter) pitched complete games. Davis didn’t allow hit until one out in the seventh inning.
Also at Truist Park, Pope won its fifth title – first under new coach Chris Turco - in dominating fashion, beating Allatoona 10-0 and 9-2 in the Class 6A final. Pope was 10-0 in the playoffs, outscoring opponents 105-24. Dawson Campbell pitched the Game 1 shutout and went 4-for-7 with a triple and two RBI in the series.
Loganville defeated Cartersville 5-4, 0-1, 9-0 in the 5A final and joined Cartersville as two of four Georgia schools with six titles this century. Parkview (eight) and Marist (six) are the others.
North Oconee, the Class 4A champion, might be Georgia’s best overall. The Titans - ranked No. 4 in Baseball America’s national rankings – beat LaGrange 3-2 and 9-5 and finished on a 36-game winning streak to finish 39-1. North Oconee won Game 1 on a walk-off sacrifice fly by Justin Byrd that scored Bryce Toci, whose RBI double had tied the game.
The most dramatic finish came at Coolray Field, where Pike County beat Redan 5-4 in Game 3 of the 3A series. Junior left fielder Coleman Johnson hit a two-out, two-run triple off the left field wall to break a 3-3 tie. The state title was Pike’s second, first since 2019.
Vidalia won its third with a 7-0 Game 3 victory over Thomasville in 2A. Kevin Cox, a season removed from Tommy John surgery, pitched a two-hitter in the clinching victory. Vidalia’s last state title had come in 2013.
Wesleyan swept North Cobb Christian 3-0 and 18-3 in the Class A Private series. Wesleyan averaged 10.05 runs per game while finishing 35-5. Wesleyan’s Druw Jones, a potential No. 1 overall MLB Draft pick, finished his season with a .570 average and 13 home runs. Mississippi State-commit Bryce Hubbard and Clemson-signee Cooper Blauser also made the Wolves’ lineup almost impossible to mute.
The Class A Public champion was Metter beat Charlton County 8-7 and 3-0. Metter’s Kyzer Anthony was 3-for-3, drove in two runs and scored the winning run in the seventh inning of Game 1. Rustin Rigdon pitched the Game 2 shutout.
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