FAYETTEVILLE -- North Hall’s run in the Class AAAA playoffs came to an end Tuesday on the road.
The Trojans were overwhelmed by a veteran Whitewater team in two games -- 8-2 in Game 1 and 10-1 in Game 2 -- in their best-of-three quarterfinal series.
The Wildcats (27-5) were the Class AAAAA state-runners-up in 2014 and used a dominant pitching performance in both games to advance to Monday’s semifinal round.
North Hall, which finished its season 21-10, was solid early in Game 1 behind Corbin Lewallen. The Trojans led 2-0 midway through but Lewallen and Aaron Miles both struggled late as Whitewater scored all eight runs in the final three innings.
The Trojans managed just three hits, one each by Lewallen, Fowler Brooks, and Drew Coker, and were unable to take advantage of three Whitewater errors in the game.
In Game 1, North Hall’s Matthew Cox was hit in back of the head and was taken off the field by ambulance. Tests were negative at a local hospital and he returned by the end of Game 2 but did not play.
“That was scary,” North Hall coach Trent Mongero said. “You never like to see something like that but he came back and was in the dugout at the end of the second game. He’s a tough kid.”
In Game 2, the Wildcats jumped on North Hall starter Drew Atha with two runs in the first inning. They added two more in the fourth and blew it open with a six-run sixth inning for a 10-0 lead. The Trojans only run came in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Lincoln Hewett.
Despite the tough loss, it was an outstanding season for the Trojans, who were thought to be in a rebuilding year in 2015. They finished second in Region 8-AAAA and advanced to their second Elite 8 in three seasons.
“The kids played hard and worked hard and never let what anyone was telling them to affect their outcome,” Mongero said.”No one expected us to do much this year. They had a great season. It was a great group to be around.”
STATE BASEBALL QUARTERFINALS:
Class AAAAA
Gainesville 1, South Effingham 1
Game 1: Gainesville 5, South Effingham 2
Game 2: South Effingham 10, Gainesville 3
Game 3: 4 p.m. Tuesday at Ivey-Watson Field
Class AAAA
Buford 2, Locust Grove 0
Game 1: Buford 10, Locust Grove 0
Game 2: Buford 8, Locust Grove 5
Whitewater 2, North Hall 0
Game 1: Whitewater 8, North Hall 2
Game 2: Whitewater 10, North Hall 1
Class AAA
Jefferson 2, Callaway 0
Game 1: Jefferson 5, Callaway 3
Game 2: Jefferson 3, Callaway 0
Westminster 2, Jackson County 0
Game 1: Westminster 2, Jackson County 0
Game 2: Westminster 11, Jackson County 0
Class AA
Rabun County 1, Lovett 1
Game 1: Lovett 6, Rabun County 1
Game 2: Rabun County 2, Lovett 1
STATE BASEBALL SEMIFINALS:
(As of Tuesday)
Class AAAA
Buford vs. Wayne County/Cartersville
Class AAA
Jefferson at Westminster
