Diamond Cougars Lose in Best-of-Three State Playoffs

Piedmont Academy’s drive for a possible state title came to an end Saturday as the Cougars fell in a best-of-three series to Frederica Academy.

After falling 4-1 in the opening game of the series Friday, Piedmont prevented elimination by posting a 7-2 victory Saturday.

The teams then met again later on Saturday afternoon for the third and deciding contest with Frederica earning a 7-2 win to advance to the quarterfinals.

The season ended for the Cougars with a 21-8 overall record.

“You had two equal teams going after it,” Piedmont coach Danny Camp said. “They just came up with more key hits with runners in scoring position. You can’t take anything away from them. They made the long drive and did well. From what we can tell, it was probably the most competitive series in the opening round for any classification.”

In the 7-2 victory against Frederica in the second game of the series, Zach Beggs went the distance allowing only five hits while striking out seven. A four run sixth inning helped give Piedmont the win.

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Malcom Tyler was 4-for-4 at the plate while Luke Andrews was 1-for-3 and drove in two runs. The Cougars went from 13 wins last spring to 21 this season. The team loses only one senior — Logan Partenza — to graduation.

“We will miss Logan,” Camp said. “He set the tone for us all year by constantly running down plays in the outfield. We will return everyone else. We will still be young. We will look to get better next year.”

Partenza was 2-for-3 at the plate in Piedmont’s playoff win with two runs. Frederica was one of four teams from Region 2-AA to defeat its 4-AA opponent.

“It’s frustrating because whether you finish second, third or fourth, you want to advance,” Camp said. “We just have to find a way to get out of the first round. We have to do better with our plate appearances.”

Piedmont will play approximately 10 games this summer as preparation begins for 2014.