GHSA 2018 STATE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS | GRAYSON STADIUM - SAVANNAH | CLASS 2A & 1A-PUBLIC
GHSA PAST CHAMPIONS
WORD FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
GREETINGS, GHSA BASEBALL FANS
W
elcome to the 2018 GHSA Baseball Championships presented by Mizuno! The games are sure to be exciting as all of the schools represented are looking forward to their team achieving the title of “Champion.” However, we all know that all of our teams are outstanding and are definitely winners. This has been an outstanding season and this year’s championship games will include familiar faces as well as teams that have worked hard and peaked at just the right time. Our congratulations are in order for all of the teams, coaches, administrators, students and parents who have supported the athletes through this year’s journey to the final games. I know you will enjoy and appreciate the games and all of the work leading up to this exciting event. I would also like to thank you for your support of high school baseball throughout the season. Your attendance and support is integral to the success of high school athletics and for the team you are here to cheer on. Good sportsmanship is expected from our athletes and I urge you to be positive in your support of all of our teams. Let’s work together to make today’s games a great experience for all involved. To put on an event of this magnitude takes many volunteers who have worked tirelessly to pro-
vide a “first class” event. Many hours of work from this group will enhance the experience of our players, students and fans. The GHSA staff and championship sites have been working for weeks as well to ensure a special event for all involved. Appreciation to our host stadiums of the Rome Braves, University of Georgia, Savannah Bananas and Mercer University. Finally I would like to thank our corporate sponsors who make it possible to put on these championships. Their advertisements can be seen throughout this venue and I encourage you to support them whenever possible. The GHSA wants to thank these exemplary companies for their involvement, we appreciate their support. Thank you for your attendance and I know you are going to enjoy the best high school baseball anywhere! Sincerely,
James R. Hines, Jr. Executive Director
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T
he 2018 Georgia High School Association Baseball State Championship Guide is published by Score Atlanta, in conjunction with the GHSA. The guide was designed by Rhonda Rawls, the Managing Editor is Craig Sager II, Seth Ellerbee and Alex Ewalt assisted in the editing process. The information was provided by the GHSA. Photos on the cover are courtesy of Cecil Copeland (Pope & Gordon Lee), Kim Finch Withrown (Westminster), Wenda G Bailey (Berrien), Cartersville Daily Tribune News (Cartersville) and Parkview Baseball. For more information on Score Atlanta, go to ScoreAtl.com or call 404-256-1572.
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Year AAAA 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 Newton Co. 1980 Griffin 1981 Lowndes 1982 Coffee 1983 Coffee 1984 Columbus 1985 Forest Park 1986 Brookwood 1987 McEachern 1988 Evans 1989 Evans 1990 Evans 1991 Newnan 1992 Walton 1993 Evans 1994 Evans 1995 Sprayberry 1996 Parkview 1997 Colquilt Co. 1998 Harrison 1999 Lassiter 2000 Lowndes
AAA Dykes Jordan Sequoyah Glynn Henderson Wheeler Savannah Kendrick Valdosta Winder-Barrow Coffee Marist NW Whitfield Marist Marist Marist Roswell Westside Westside Jones Co. Marist Columbus Columbus Columbus Marist Columbus Columbus Columbus Greenbrier Greenbrier Columbus
Year AAAAA 2001 Parkview 2002 Parkview 2003 Colquilt Co. 2004 Milton 2005 Chattahoochee 2006 Lassiter 2007 Walton 2008 Brookwood 2009 Pope 2010 Harrison 2011 Parkview 2012 Parkview Year 2013 2014 2015 2016
AAAAAA Milton Lambert Parkview Walton
Year 2017
AAAAAAA Etowah
AAAAA Pope Houston Co. Greenbrier Houston Co. AAAAAA Pope
AA Pepperell Lakeview Lakeview Stephens Co. Calhoun Westminster Bradwell Institute Marist Gainesville Harlem Pepperell Harlem Harlem Harlem Darlington Hancock Central Harlem Shiloh Berrien Washington-Wilkes Lovett Perry Cook Lovett Lovett Vidalia Gainesville Gainesville Gainesville Thomasville Cook
A B Americus Roswell Roswell Wheeler Co. Hephzibah West Point Irwin Co. Trion Harlem West Point Irwin Co. GACS Mt. de Sales GMI Pepperell Buford Harlem ML de Sales Gordon Lee Mt. de Sales Brookstone GACS Trion Gordon Lee Calhoun Co. Clinch Co. Clinch Co. Towns Co. Clinch Co. Bremen Clinch Co. Clinch Co. Pace Acad. Pace Acad. Pace Acad. Toombs Co. Irwin Co. North Forsyth Lovett Calhoun
AAAA Shaw Marist Marist Columbus Henry Co. Greenbrier Greenbrier
AAA Gainesville Gainesville Cartersville LaGrange Columbus Blessed Trinity Dunwoody
AA Cartersville Cartersville Vidalia Bacon Co. Calhoun Lovett Holy Innocents’
A Walker Walker Clinch Co. Lakeview Acad. Calvary Day ELCA Calvary Day
Loganville Northgate Marist Marist Loganville
Cartersville Cartersville Columbus Columbus Columbus
Wesleyan Lovett Calhoun Buford Appling County
Pacelli Wesleyan Wesleyan Hebron Chr. Providence Chr.
AAAA Redan Carrollton Buford Locust Grove
AAAAA Loganville
AAAA Marist
AAA Cartersville Blessed Trinity Blessed Trinity Westminster AAA North Hall
AA Lovett Benedictine Wesleyan Lovett
Class A-Private ELCA King’s Ridge King’s Ridge Tattnall Square
AA Jeff Davis
Class A-Private Savannah Christian
Class A-Public Charlton Co. Charlton Co. Schley Co. Treutlen Class A-Public Schley Co.
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2 | W W W. G H S A . N E T
C Clay Co. Mt. de Sales Mt. de Sales
MAY 21-23, 2018
GHSA BASEBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
BERRIEN, BENEDICTINE TO DO BATTLE IN AA; GORDON LEE LOOKS TO END TITLE DROUGHT BY GRAHAM DAVID | GDAVID@SCOREATL.COM
T
he Berrien Rebels’ return to the Class AA finals marks the school’s first appearance in the championship in 30 years. The team’s season has already been one for the ages, as the Rebels entered the playoffs ranked No. 10 in the AJC’s poll. The Rebels’ path to the finals has been riddled with tough matchups and close games. Their first-round matchup against Vidalia kicked off strong with a dominant 10-3 victory, but their 9-1 Game 2 loss brought fears of elimination. But the Rebels managed to move on to the second round, where they won both games against Dodge County by one run. Their quarterfinals series may have been their best, defeating Heard County 8-2 and 3-0 while allowing zero earned runs. The Rebels then took down defending champs Jeff Davis to bring them faceto-face with Benedictine in the finals. Benedictine’s last state title came in 2014 in Class AA, the program’s second alltime. Aside from a 6-5 win against Early County in the
first round, the Region 2 No. 1 seed easily handled every opponent it faced leading up to the semifinals. During their stretch from the first round into the semis, the Cadets outscored opponents 75-13, a true display of their high-powered offense as well as strong pitching and defense. The Cadets’ bullpen has helped keep opponents off the scoreboard. Garrison Gunby racked up 11 strikeouts through six innings against Social Circle in Game 1 of the quarterfinals. However, the pitcher’s talents went beyond the mound. Gunby also launched two homers in Game 2 against Social Circle, showing his power and versatility. Carter Holton took the mound against Callaway in Game 2 of the semifinals, throwing a two-hit shutout while racking up 10 strikeouts. The Cadets’ matchup against Berrien will be their last game in Class AA before they make the move up to AAA, so they’ll be looking to leave the classification in style.
drought without a title during last season’s A-Public finals but got swept by Schley County, putting their championship dreams on hold. This time around the Trojans look as if they’re in top form. After their first-round bye, Gordon Lee faced off against a familiar postseason foe, Clinch County. The Trojans swept and shut out the Panthers, setting up a second-round rematch with last year’s semifinal opponent, Charlton County. Caleb Hopkins pitched in Game 1 of the series, giving up only three hits while racking up nine strikeouts over six innings to get the win. In Game 2, senior Mason Pettigrew took the mound and threw a strong three innings. When Jake Wright came in from the bullpen, Charlton County failed to get a hit during his four-inning performance. The Gordon Lee pitching staff is performing at a high level, but they aren’t the only ones making things happen. The Trojan bats have been electric this postseason, outscoring GORDON LEE GOES FOR GLORY opponents 46-4. Sophomore The Gordon Lee Trojans Will Sizemore has continuousnearly broke their 34-year ly come through in key situa-
tions. The Trojans’ semifinal victories over Bowdon featured more of the same high-powered offense from the likes of Hunter Hodson, J.D. Day and Austin Thompson. Gordon Lee will be ready to face off against Telfair County. After rain delays, Telfair County swept Irwin County 8-5 and 3-0, finishing on Thursday, to advance to the finals for a shot at the school’s first-ever baseball state title. The path to the finals hasn’t proved to be too much for Telfair, as the team has yet to be forced to play a Game 3 and has outscored opponents 46-17. The explosive Telfair offense will be put to the test against Gordon Lee’s stellar pitching staff, but the Telfair bats won’t be easy to silence. Cameo Blankenship went 5-for-5 with two doubles in the first game of the quarterfinals against Baconton Charter, and when paired with cleanup hitter Ryan Dopson, this duo helps Telfair put up numbers. Photos courtesy of Wenda G. Bailey and Cecil Copeland. 3 | W W W. G H S A . N E T
GHSA 2018 STATE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS | GRAYSON STADIUM - SAVANNAH | CLASS 2A & 1A-PUBLIC
4 | W W W. G H S A . N E T
MAY 21-23, 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP BASEBALL ROSTERS & SCHEDULE
CLASS 2A
2A
Benedictine vs Berrien
5/21 (DH) 5:00pm, 7:30pm; *Game 3 5/23 TBD
1A-Public
Telfair Co. vs. Gordon Lee
5/22 (DH) 5:00pm, 7:30pm; *Game 3 5/23 TBD
32
Evan Sexton
10
P
34
Andrew Ebberwein
11
OF/P
BENEDICTINE CADETS BERRIEN REBELS
Head Coach: Kevin Farmer
Head Coach: Doug Nix
Max Fountain Colton MItchell Tanner Griner Skylar Brown
9 9 9 9
2
Josh Kindred
11
IF
3
Harrison Peebles
12
IF/P
1
Darius Tisby
12
4
Trent Broadnax
9
IF/P
4
Tanner Adams
11
OF
5
Garrett Floyd
12
IF
5
Jacob Bennett
11
2B
GORDON LEE TROJANS
Hunter White
11
OF
Head Coach: Mike Dunfee
P/OF 2B OF OF
CLASS 1A-Public
P/OF
Hunter Hodson
11
22
Dylan Minghini
12
P, IF C
24
Weston Beagles
10
P, IF
27
Jake Poindexter
9
P, OF
33
Austin Crowley
10
IF
TELFAIR COUNTY TROJANS
6
Clayton Greene
10
IF/P
7
7
Kyle Jackson
12
OF/P
8
Brady Young
12
OF
1
Griffin Collins
9
P, OF
8
Ryan Pickard
11
C/IF
9
Rhett Thomason
12
P/C
2
Mason Pettigrew
12
11
Jacob Markiton
12
OF
10
Brock Jewell
12
P/SS
12
Rome Dean
10
IF
12
Tucker Karvonen
12
SS/2B/C
3
Jake Wright
14
Joseph Schwalbe
10
P
13
Griffin Rowe
10
OF
4
Will Sizemore
6
P/OF
3B
17
Head Coach: TJ Mercer 1
Harrison Wood
12
INF
P, OF
2
Jarrett Dopson
10
P, INF
10
P, IF
3
Tre Blankenship
9
C, P
10
P, IF
4
Jailen Clemons
9
INF
Austin Thompson
12
P, OF
5
Ramsey Hancock
9
C, P
7
JD Day
10
IF
6
Ian Blankenship
12
INF, P
9
Braxton Ledford
11
OF
7
Jude King
10
OF, P
9
Bryce Yawn
12
OF, P
10
Noah Harrelson
10
INF, P
11
Evan Adams
12
OF
13
Jacob Mullis
11
OF, P
15
Nick Iannone
12
OF/P
14
Micheal Tucker
9
16
Garrison Gunby
12
C/P/IF
15
Tunner Taylor
12
17
Jackson Barger
9
C
16
Gavin Jewell
9
OF
19
Carter Holton
9
P/OF
17
Clay Griffin
9
P/3B
10
Cade Peterson
9
P, OF
20
John Thorpe
12
OF
18
Jackson Black
9
OF P/3B/1B
IF, C
IF
9
11
12
Hue Barker
Chris Potter
Johnny Richardson
19
11
21 22
Luke Whetstone
11
IF/P
20
Kayden Everett
9
C
12
Logan Streetman
11
P, IF
23
Cody Cowan
9
C
21
Dalton Royals
12
3B
24
Walker Barlow
12
P
22
Justin Roberts
12
25
Trent Warren
9
C
23
Conner Sinclair
31
Henderson Hughes
9
C
24
Hunter McKinnon
13
Justin Wooden
11
OF, IF
14
Ryan Dopson
12
INF, P
1B/P
14
Caleb Hopkins
12
P, IF
15
Cameo Blankenship
10
OF, P
10
C
15
Brody Cobb
9
P, IF
17
Jonathon Rodgers
9
INF
11
OF
16
Cody Thomas
9
P, IF
24
Trey Bess
10
OF
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5 | W W W. G H S A . N E T
GHSA 2018 STATE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS | GRAYSON STADIUM - SAVANNAH | CLASS 2A & 1A-PUBLIC
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