Diamond Cougars Host Crisp Friday

With the regular season now complete, the Piedmont Academy baseball team is set for the state playoffs.

The Diamond Cougars enter the postseason on a quest for an unprecedented fourth state championship in as many seasons. Piedmont coach Wes Tanner knows it will not be an easy task, however, for his team.

The Cougars enter the postseason as a No. 2 seed after two late season losses prevented Piedmont from earning another region title. Piedmont will now host Crisp Academy, a No. 3 seed, in an opening round best-of-three series beginning Friday with games at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. A third game, if necessary, would be Saturday, also at Piedmont, who is 15-5 overall, at 2 p.m.

Crisp Academy, which competes in GISA Region 3-AA, has a recent history of successful diamond play and should present a tough opening round challenge for the Cougars. The Wildcats are 7-5-1 overall and finished 4-4 in their region.

The team benefits from two quality starting pitchers in William Bodrey and William Purvis. Bodrey will likely be the game one starter on Friday. Purvis is the team’s top offensive player as well and brings plenty of power to the plate with an eye-catching .700 batting average.

Piedmont wrapped up its regular season Tuesday with a 7-3 victory against long-time rival Gatewood on the road in Eatonton. The contest was a makeup game from earlier in the season.