Diamond Cougars Advance to Second Round of State Playoffs

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

The Piedmont Academy Diamond Cougars did just that Tuesday by sweeping its opening-round state series against visiting Furtah Prep of Acworth.
Coach Danny Camp’s team took the first game 3-0 and then cruised to a 10-2 win in the nightcap to sweep the series.

By winning the series, Piedmont advances to the GISA Class AA quarterfinals. That series is scheduled to begin Monday although the opponent and series location for the Cougars had not been determined as of press time Wednesday.

Piedmont benefited from strong defense Tuesday afternoon in the opening-round series making just one error for the two games. Cris Jackson earned the win in the opener going the distance and recording three strikeouts.
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”It was a battle,” Camp said of the first contest. “Both teams threw their No. 1 pitchers. We were glad to get the win.”

Andrew Stevenson and Zack Kenny helped pace the offense in the 3-0 decision. Stevenson had a double while Kenny doubled in his team’s first run. Freshman Justin Atkins added a needed insurance RBI in the fifth.

The Cougars had to play Tuesday’s doubleheader without standout offensive player Joey Schroeder, who was still recovering from a pulled hamstring suffered at the region track meet. Camp was hoping to get by without Schroeder Tuesday and then see if he could go next week.

Piedmont didn’t have as much trouble in the second contest. Brent Brown pitched 5.1 strong innings in relief of Kenny, who started the game.

The Cougars were the designated visiting team in the second game and pushed two runs across in the top of the first. Piedmont then added four more in the second to take control of the game. Josh Phillips had a big day at the plate going 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs and two doubles. Clint Fields was 2-for-4 with an RBI while Jackson was also 2-for-4.

The wins improved the Cougars to 17-8 overall.
”We played well,” Camp said after the long day. “It is nice not only to get to the playoffs but to advance. We are one of eight teams still playing, but it will only get tougher from here.”
Three of the four teams from Region 1-AA won their first-round series including Brentwood, Piedmont and Briarwood.