Diamond Cougars Advance to Second Round
It was anything but easy, but the Piedmont Academy baseball team swept visiting LaGrange last Friday to advance to the second round of the Class AA state playoffs.
Piedmont took 3-1 and 4-2 victories in the opening-round best-of-three series. Standout pitching performances from Josh Stevenson and Corbett Tucker helped pace the Cougars.
Coach Danny Camp’s team is preparing this week for second-round opponent Edmund Burke. The series will be played in Waynesboro beginning Friday at 4 p.m. The second game is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. with a third game, if necessary, to follow.
In Friday’s opener against LaGrange, Stevenson went the distance scattering five hits while striking out 11.
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“I can’t say enough about him and the injuries he’s battled through,” Camp said. “He has kept us in every game he has pitched in.”
Piedmont scored its first run of the contest in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single from Daniel Jackson.
LaGrange would tie the game in the top of the fifth before the Cougars responded with two runs in the bottom half.
After singles from Blake Hammock and Tucker to start the inning, Piedmont would eventually score one run on a sacrifice from Stevenson and another on an RBI single by Daniel Leinweber.
Stevenson then took it from there striking out two batters in the sixth and ending any chance of a LaGrange rally in the seventh.
“It was a big way to start the day,” Camp said.
In game two, the Cougars were the visiting team and trailed 2-0 going into the sixth. An RBI from Nick was 2-for-3. Leinweber had the game-winning hit put Piedmont on the board in the inning.
Still trailing, the Cougars had one out and no one on base in the seventh when Kale Blackshear drew a walk. A single by Hammock followed by an infield single from Tucker loaded then loaded the bases.
Stevenson hit into a fielder’s choice to tie the score and Leinweber then delivered a two-run RBI on a hit between first and second.
“That’s tough for a freshman to do,” Camp said. “However, Daniel’s come through in these situations all year.”
Tucker threw a standout game keeping the LaGrange batters off balance. He allowed two unearned runs while recording 12 strikeouts and giving up just three hits and one walk.
Despite beginning to tire late in the game, Tucker gave Camp the “thumbs up” sign that he was able to finish the contest. Tucker then recorded the final two outs by strikeout.
“It’s good to see our older players do the little things to keep you in the game,” Camp said. “It’s also good to have our younger players who can come through in clutch situations. Being in the playoffs before helped us in this series.”
Offensively, Tucker was 3-for-4 in the opener while Rebuelta was 2-for-3. Leinweber had the game-winning hit and two RBI.
In game two, Leinweber was 2-for-2 while Blackshear was 2-for-4.
Piedmont lost to Edmund Burke in a regular season matchup in March, but Camp noted his team’s second-round foe did not see Stevenson or Tucker on the mound.
“We’ll just continue to take it one step at a time,” the coach said.