Cougars Advance to Semi-finals
Piedmont Academy’s baseball team took another step toward a possible state title by sweeping Southwest Georgia in a GISA Class AA quarterfinal series last Friday and Saturday.
Up next for the Cougars (18-5-2 overall) will be Flint River, who defeated First Presbyterian Christian Academy in another quarterfinal match-up. Both teams are No. 1 seeds, but the pre-determined state playoff bracket has Flint River as the home team so the Cougars will have to face the Wildcats on the road.
Game one in the semifinal series will be today, May 21 at 1:30 p.m. with a second game to follow. A third game, if necessary, would be Friday at 1:30, also in Woodbury.
Piedmont is the No. 1 seed from Region 4-AA while Flint River is the top team from Region 1-AAA. Windsor and Robert Toombs will meet in the other semi-final series this week. Should Piedmont and Windsor both advance, the state championship series would once again be in Monticello since the Cougars are a higher seed.
All thoughts, however, are on the semifinals. In the lone match-up between Piedmont and Flint River in the regular season, the Cougars won 8-0 on March 7, but coach Daniel Funt said that was a long time ago.
“We played them early in the season but they have improved a good bit since then,” the coach said. “They have a lefty who is very tough. He is throwing it well. They have a clear No. 1 pitcher and they are at home, so that is an advantage in their favor. They are experienced in terms of age and they are also playing with confidence.”
After winning state in 2014, the returning Piedmont players understand what it will take to continue to advance although one of the new challenges will be winning a series on the road.
“It will be our first time playing away in the playoffs so it will be different in some ways,” said senior Luke Andrews. “We will try to treat it as a regular game. Everyone knows it’s important, but you still have to take it one game at a time.
We will keep practicing hard. There’s nothing we need to change at this point.”
Fellow senior Zach Beggs echoes his teammate’s comments.
“Being on the road changes things,” said Beggs. “Personally, I love playing in front of our crowd. We would love to have a big crowd at Flint River. You should be able to do well whether you are home or not so we can’t let that bother us.”
Having so much playoff experience should be beneficial for the Cougars, Beggs said.
“It takes some of the pressure off of us,” he said.
“The distraction of being on the road is something you have to deal with,” Coach Funt said. “It really comes down to whoever makes the fewest mistakes and makes the adjustments during the game.
Fundamentals for us will be key. We have to eliminate the big inning for our opponent. We overcame that in game two against Southwest Georgia. In the end, our players are going to give a solid effort. They are going to do everything they can to find a way to win.”
In Saturday’s 6-5 series clinching win against Southwest Georgia, Piedmont’s Brock Carter earned the win in relief. Carter pitched the final 3.1 innings and had four strikeouts.
Southwest Georgia scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 5-3 lead. It wasn’t until the top of the sixth (Piedmont was the designated visiting team in game two) that Funt’s team tied the score with two runs. The game winning run came in the top of the seventh.
Mike Davis started Saturday’s game and went 3.2 innings with two strikeouts while giving up just two hits and no earned runs. Four of Southwest Georgia’s five runs were unearned.
At the plate, Luke Andrews was 2-for-3 while Hunter Knox was 1-for-3 with two runs and Carter was 1-for-2 with a run and RBI. Zach Beggs finished 1-for-4 with a run and RBI while Michael Edwards was 2-for-3 with a run and RBI.
Southwest Georgia’s Quinn LaGuardia went all seven innings allowing four earned runs (six overall) while scattering seven hits and striking out three.
Piedmont won the first game of the quarterfinal series 10-2 the previous day as Beggs went the distance recording eight strikeouts and allowing just four hits and three walks.
The Cougars quickly jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the first inning and were never threatened in the series opener. Edwards was 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI while Josh Williams was 2-for-3 with three RBI, including a homer, and a run scored. Carter was also 2-for-3 with a run and two RBI.
Noah Quick was 1-for-2 and drove in three runs while scoring once. Beggs was 1-for-3 and Andrews also scored a run. Hunter Burson was 1-for-2 with a run. Mack Brady also scored a run in the opener.
NOTES: Zach Beggs continues to be one of the top batters in the GISA with a .516 average with 13 doubles and two homers. Beggs, a senior, has also driven in 32 runs and has an .813 slugging percentage.
Luke Andrews also has two homers for the Cougars in 2015 and is batting just under .300. Noah Quick has a .449 batting average with five doubles and a triple and 20 RBI.
Brock Carter is batting .423 with 10 doubles and 24 RBI and Hunter Knox has compiled a .379 average with 15 RBI.
On the pitcher’s mound, Beggs is 7-0 while Mike Davis is 6-1. Beggs has 45 strikeouts, as does Davis.
Carter has a 2-1 pitching record with 24 strikeouts. Andrews is now 3-1 and has struck out 15 batters to this point in the season.