Diamond Cougars Sweep Briarwood

The name of the game is win and advance when it comes to the state baseball playoffs.

The Piedmont Academy Cougars did just that on Saturday sweeping Briarwood Academy 10-0 and 8-2 in the GISA Class AA state quarterfinals. The Cougars (15-5 overall) will now host Brentwood this week in the semifinals.

“We came out and played really well in first game,” coach Matt Britt said. “We struggled to adjust some offensively in the second game. We pitched really well and did enough defensively to get the win.”

Britt’s team took early control in game one Saturday, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first inning and three more in the second. Runs in the fourth and fifth closed the door on the first game of the doubleheader.

The Cougars had 12 hits in the opener while Cameron Mobley held the Buccaneers to just one hit. Mobley was dominant on the pitcher’s mound recording 12 of the 15 outs by strikeout.

Mobley helped his own cause with two hits at the plate. Ryan Holder and Gavin Mask also added a pair of hits. Mask drove in three runs while Holder and Hudson Reed both had two RBI. Tanner Locklear drew two walks.

Piedmont led 8-0 in game two going into the seventh inning when Briarwood scored its only two runs of the series. The Cougars collected 10 hits as compared to three for the Buccaneers.

Mobley, Holder and Jeb Satterfield each had two hits in Saturday’s second contest while Holder had three RBI. Brody Anderson also drove in a run.

Defensively the second game was sloppy as the teams combined for 10 errors.

Mask earned the win pitching five innings and striking out six batters. David Bishop worked the final two frames and had three strikeouts.

“Our pitching has carried us all year,” Britt said. “Cameron was dominant in the first game of the series and Gavin threw really well in the second game even though his fastball was not as sharp as it has been. His slider was effective though.”

Piedmont will now host Brentwood in a best-of-three semifinal series on Thursday with games beginning at 1 p.m. A third game, if necessary, would be Saturday at noon, also hosted by the Cougars.

Britt said his team’s pitching depth should be an advantage as Piedmont continues in the postseason. The Cougars are the number one seed overall with Brentwood entering the matchup at number four. The Eagles swept Southwest Georgia in the quarterfinals.

Brentwood and Piedmont split the regular season series.