Defending-champion Loganville entered the Class 5A state championship series having won six state titles since 2008 and after beating McIntosh 4-1, 5-4 in the best-of-three series at CoolRay Field in Gwinnett County, the Red Devils are champions again.
The Red Devils had to come from behind in the nightcap game to secure the team’s sixth championship and a four-run effort in the top of the fifth inning proved the difference. Loganville senior Sherman Johnson II singled to right field to score junior Jaylen Jones. Junior Tucker Segars singled to the short stop and scored Johnson and junior James Beaver. Senior Gage Fullerton’s bunt scored Segars to put the Red Devils on top for good.
McIntosh, searching for its first title, went up 3-0 in the bottom of the first inning on a single from junior Chase Fralick which scored seniors Trey King and Tate Morris. The Chiefs added a run on a single from Connor Soper which scored junior Gehrig Rogers. In the top of the third inning, Loganville got on the board with a single by Jones which scored Fullerton.
In Loganville’s 4-1 victory in the first game, the Red Devils took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a double up the center from Johnson II, which scored Beaver. In the bottom of the second inning, Loganville took a 3-0 lead on a single from Lane Ayers on a bunt which scored Fullerton, and a double from Beaver, which scored Ayers.
The Red Devils went up 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning on a sacrifice bunt from junior Tucker Segars, which scored Johnson II. McIntosh got on the board in the top of the sixth inning on a single from King which scored Morris.
Loganville won state championships in 2008, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019 and last season.
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