Diamond Cougars Sweep Gatewood

Piedmont Academy’s varsity baseball team took the field Friday and made a strong statement in sweeping rival Gatewood in a GISA Class AA state quarterfinal playoff series.

The Diamond Cougars took control early in game one on their way to a 10-0 win in game one and then pulled away late in game two for an 8-2 victory. Piedmont will host a state semifinal series beginning Friday against Terrell Academy of Dawson.

“We approached the Gatewood series the right way,” said coach Colt Spivey. “We respected Gatewood since they defeated us during the regular season. However, we felt if we played up to our potential we would be able to take care of business.”

Sam Wright earned the win the series opener. His coach noted Gatewood “never really threatened” offensively. Wright recorded seven strikeouts and allowed just three hits.

Owen Brady and Zach Spivey helped lead the offense in the series opener. Wright also drew two walks. Caleb Faircloth drove in two runs while Tate Marks and Chase Porter both drove in a run.

In game two Marks worked six innings before Porter closed out the win needing only 10 pitches in the seventh. Marks struck out eight Gator batters.

Faircloth had three hits while Caleb Coffey and Porter both connected for two. Brady drew a walk and Faircloth drove in two runs. As a team Piedmont had 13 hits while Gatewood was limited to four.

The game was tied 2-2 after four innings before the Cougars scored two runs in the top of the fifth, one more in the sixth and three more in the seven. Piedmont was designated “visitor” in game two of the series.

“In the first game we found ways to stay alive at the plate,” Spivey said.

“We would work seven or eight pitches deep in the count. The second game was a little more of a grind. Their pitcher did a good job of keeping us guessing. Once we were able to get a two-run lead it changed the tempo.”

In the Terrell-Brentwood quarterfinal series, the Brentwood Eagles took the first game 2-1. The Terrell Eagles rebounded to take game two 11-0 and then won the deciding game 7-4.

Piedmont (15-3 overall) faced Terrell during the regular season falling 2-1 in a true pitcher’s duel. Garrett Sloan had a strong day on the pitcher’s mound in the March 23 matchup striking out 10 batters and allowing just three hits. Sloan, however, has only seen limited pitching action since that game.

Marks and Cameron Mobley also kept the Eagle bats in check combining for a two-hitter. Marks had six strikeouts while Mobley recorded five.

Terrell is 21-5 overall for 2018. The two teams met in the 2017 state finals with the Cougars winning.

“We are probably the top two teams,” Spivey said. “We are just happening to meet in the semifinals. Our first game went into extra innings down to the last pitch.”

Game one Friday is set for 4 p.m. Friday with the second game at noon Saturday. A third game, if necessary, would be Saturday at approximately 2:30 p.m.

“We will have to run the bases well and simply play good baseball,” Spivey said. “Terrell plays a similar style to us. They have solid pitching but may not be as deep as our pitching staff is. They are also sound defensively. However, I believe if we play as well offensively as we did the quarterfinal series we will be fine.”

The winner of the Piedmont-Terrell series will then play either St. Andrews or Edmund Burke. The state championship series will be played at Mercer University. Edmund Burke defeated Crisp Academy in three games in a quarterfinal matchup while St. Andrews got past Southwest Georgia in three games.

All four teams in the semifinals are champions of their respective regions.