Diamond Cougars To Play In Region Competition

The Piedmont Academy baseball team continues its quest for a state title Friday when it hosts a best-of-three playoff series.

The Cougars are set to face Frederica, the No. 3 seed from Region 2-AA. The first game of the series is set for Friday at 4:30 p.m.

Piedmont and Frederica will then play Saturday at noon. A third game, if necessary, will follow Saturday afternoon.

In the regular season finale for Piedmont, Friday’s 5-3 loss to Flint River on the road prevented the Cougars from claiming a region title and a No. 1 seed for the postseason from Region 4-AA. The loss was disappointing and a tough one to take for coach Danny Camp.

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“It was one of those games you’ve seen before,” Camp said. “We loaded the bases in the top of the first with no outs and only got one run. We didn’t do a very good job with our plate appearances. We were taking too many pitches and were struggling offensively.”

The game remained close throughout as the Cougars began connecting at the plate later in the contest.

“They were making some diving plays defensively,” Camp said. “When the other team is making outstanding defensive plays, there’s not much you can do about it.”

Piedmont enters the postseason 20-6 overall, an improvement from last season’s 13-15 mark. The Cougars are still a young team in 2013 with only one senior.

Arlington is the No. 1 seed from Region 4-AA. The Eagles and Cougars split the season series but that was the lone loss for Arlington while Friday’s setback to Flint River gave Piedmont two defeats in region play.

“We can’t take anything away from Arlington,” Camp said. “They took care of business and we let one slip away.”

In preparing for the playoffs, the coaching staff will continue to stress doing the little things right in order to be successful.

“We had a chance to win region, but we have to move on,” Camp said. “We have some quality wins this season and some close losses. Our first round match-up should be a competitive one. They are coming from a tough region.”

Camp said he hopes playing at home will continue to be an advantage for his team. Five of Piedmont’s six losses this spring have been on the road.