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Posted 4/23/16
Allatoona captured the Region 6-AAAAA title earlier this week and had won nine straight before Villa Rica snapped the Buccaneers' nine-game winning streak with a 6-5 victory on Saturday. Alexander Holdbrooks ripped a walk-off, two-run homer with two outs in the seventh inning to upend the Cougars.
But the loss did little to dampen the top-ranked Cougars, who will play host to Heritage-Conyers in the first round of the state playoffs. East Paulding finished as the No. 2 seed, while South Paulding finished as the third seed.
Alexander is the fourth seed.
In Region 1-AAAAA, the biggest news wasn't the region standings. Carver-Columbus baseball coach David Pollard was tragically killed in a car wreck Monday afternoon. Columbus police said the driver of a stolen Audi ran a red light and hit a Chevrolet Malibu which then hit a pickup truck at the corner of Buena Vista and Andrews, according to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. The crash killed Pollard who died of blunt-force trauma.
“David Pollard was a great man,” LaGrange coach David Smart told the Ledger-Enquirer. “He was going to the hardware store to pick up some chalk to line fields, and he doesn’t come back.”
Northside-Columbus captured the region crown last week. Columbus finished as the No. 2 seed, while LaGrange and Harris County finished 3 and 4 respectively.
In Region 2-AAAAA, Houston County claimed the region crown after defeating Evans in the region tournament, then topping defending state champion Greenbrier 2-0 on Thursday behind DL and Tanner Hall. DL earned the victory, pitching five shutout innings, while Tanner pitched the final two and allowed just one hit.
The Halls, who are not brothers, along with Perfect Game All-American Tony Locey, anchor the Bears' three-headed pitching attack. DL Hall, Blake Dawson and Austin Hittinger each went 2 for 3 to lead the offense.
Greenbrier finished as the No. 2 seed. Jones County, who lost to Greenbrier on Tuesday, rallied on Thursday to beat Evans 7-1 behind pitchers Chandler Ramage and Keever Walker, while Dophie Thomas went 2 for 3 with a pair of RBIs to pace the offense.
In Region 3-AAAAA, Richmond Hill beat Glynn Academy 6-2 Tuesday night, then defeated South Effingham 5-1 on Thursday to win the region title. The Wildcats scored four runs in the sixth inning to overcome a 1-0 deficit against South Effingham. Kyle Luigs earned the complate-game victory, allowing just five hits.
Jackson Finley led the offense going 3 for 4, while Brennan Jamar and Parker Boyle both went 2 for 4. The loss spoiled a 2 for 3 performance from South Effingham's Turner Davis, who finished as the No. 2 seed.
After a rainout on Friday, Glynn Academy beat Statesboro 3-2 on Saturday at Edo Miller Park in Brunswick to earn the No. 3 seed. A walk-off double from Cody Norton helped Glynn win in nine innings. Chad Wallen earned the victory in relief of starter Will Bowdoin. Wallen pitched three scoreless innings and allowed just two hits. Preston Joseph went 3 for 5 to lead the offense. Statesboro finished as the No. 4 seed.
In Region 4-AAAAA, Northgate took two of three from Union Grove last week to capture the region title. The Vikings, under first-year coach Todd Herrington, rebounded to win the final two after getting shut out by Union Grove in the first game of a doubleheader on Tuesday. Jake Kaufman allowed just three hits and struck out nine to earn the complate-game victory.
But Jared McFall pitched a complete-game to earn a 6-2 victory, while Caleb Upshaw went 2 for 3 to pace the offense. The Vikings then took an 8-1 victory on Thursday.
Union Grove is the No. 2 seed, while McIntosh is the third seed and Starr's Mill is No. 4. McIntosh has won 10 straight games.
In Region 6-AAAAA, Mays beat Southwest Dekalb 12-0 behind Xzavion Curry's shutout in the first game of a doubleheader on Wednesday, but Southwest Dekalb rallied to hand Mays its first region loss -- an 11-2 setback behind Channing Walker's complete-game pitching victory and a strong offensive performance from Tyler Sylvester (2 for 4) and Myles White (2 for 3).
But Mays rebounded on Friday for a 3-1 victory as Curry tossed a complete-game to earn the victory with 13 strikeouts, while Trent Jamison went 2 for 3 with a double. Mays earned the top seed, while Mays finished as the region runner-up.
Dunwoody finished as the No. 3 seed, while Druid Hills finished as the fourth seed.
Forsyth Central beat Dalton in a pair of games to win the Region 7-AAAAA title. Forsyth won 4-1 on Wednesday behind pitcher Parker Morrison who allowed just a run on nine hits. Then the Bulldogs pounded Dalton 17-5 on Thursday night to earn the top seed, while Dalton finished as the second seed.
While Morrison has been the catalyst on the mound, the Bulldogs have also gotten significant contributions from shortstop Hunter Bauman and outfielder Parker Biederer.
"This has been a good group of guys who have enjoyed playing the game," Forsyth Central coach Kevin McCollum, whose team finished with a 21-4 record.
Forsyth Central handed Cambridge, who finished as the third seed, its only three losses in region play. The Bears won a pair of one-run games over River Ridge in the region tournament.
Kell finished as the region's No. 4 seed.
In Region 8-AAAAA, Gainesville beat Salem twice last week to earn the region crown. Winder-Barrow finished as the second seed, while Loganville earned the No. 3 seed.
Heritage-Conyers, winners of seven straight, finished as the fourth seed.
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