The 2015 high school baseball season will long be remembered.
Whether for Buford’s run to the Class AAAA title; or Gainesville’s and Jefferson’s near-misses in Class AAAAA and Class AAA, respectively; or for the sheer number of historic playoff runs; or just reestablishing some dormant programs, 2015 could go down as the greatest in northeast Georgia history.
But title runs won’t be all that is remembered about the 2015 season.
Here are some facts behind the numbers and highlights from the campaign around the area:
3: Three programs -- Buford, Gainesville, Jefferson -- made the championship series in their respective classifications, an all-time high in one season, and the area could have had three state champions out of seven classifications. Buford highlighted the finale going a perfect 10-0 on the way to the Class AAAA crown, its first since 2011. The Wolves were stacked on the mound with five Division I-caliber arms. They dealt with their share of adversity, including injuries, and the weight of expectations that they were the team to beat from opening day. But they handled it with class and style and when it come time to prove it in the playoffs, they rose to the occasion every single time.
For Gainesville, it was about reestablishing a program that had been considered among the best in the state in any classification. The Red Elephants run to the Class AAAAA championship series was considered both doable and unexpected at the same time. They had been building to it with a pair of semifinal runs in the previous three seasons but put it all together beginning the final week of the regular season. Of course, it didn’t hurt to have one of the top prospects in the nation in Jonathan Gettys. But it was a total team effort, led by a group of seven seniors who refused to let anyone tell them they couldn’t do it. In the end they fell a couple innings short against No. 1 Greenbrier in search of their first title since 2002. But no one will forget, that’s for sure.
Jefferson’s run to the Class AAA title series was historic in that the Dragons certainly had the talent but had never advanced past the semifinal round until 2015. They were able to fight off a pair of Game 3s against Pierce County and Westminster in the early rounds to reach the championship series before running into No. 1 and defending state champ Blessed Trinity. Despite getting swept, they had chances in both games in a pair of close losses.
4: The number of teams advancing to the semifinals. The most teams in the area at one time in any season. Besides Buford, Gainesville, and Jefferson, Rabun County advanced to its first Final Four appearance in program history in Class AA. The Wildcats fell to eventual state runner-up Darlington in the semifinals but put the program on the map. They knocked off heavily-favored Lovett in three games in the quarterfinals to advance.
6: The number of teams which made it the quarterfinals (Elite 8). Again, the most teams in the area at one time in any season. In this group add Jackson County and North Hall to the ones above. It was the furthest any Jackson County team had ever advanced. The Panthers run was even more impressive considering they battled through injuries to several key players most of the season. They ran into a hot Westminster team in the quarterfinals. For North Hall, it was a pleasant surprise considering even some in the program thought it would be more of a transition year. But the Trojans showed the depth of their program getting key contributions throughout the roster. But they ran into eventual state runner-up Whitewater and a pair of Division I arms in the quarterfinals.
8: The number of teams advancing to the second round of the playoffs. Again, the most teams in the area at one time in any season. And, it could have been far more if not for Region 7-AAA getting swept by Region 8-AAA, which includes Jefferson and Jackson County. Commerce, a 14th seed in Class A Public, made the most noise stunning No. 3 seed Miller County in Game 3. Union County in Class AA also advanced before falling to perennial power Fitzgerald in a tough three game series on the road. It would have been more but Winder-Barrow dropped a one-run heartbreaker to Creekview in Game 3 of their AAAAA first round series.
12: The number of teams qualifying for the baseball playoffs. A staggering amount for any one season. And it could have been more if not for late-season swoons by Flowery Branch and Lanier in Region 8-AAAAA and Stephens County in Region 8-AAAA.
Several programs that found themselves back in the playoff conversation as well that had not been heard from in a while. Most notably, East Hall, which advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2003. The Vikings, however, ran into Jackson County in the opening round but looks ready to take the next step.
There were some fantastic matchups during the season as well.
-- Buford and Gainesville locked horns at Coolray Field early in the season in a battle of titans as Gettys and Clemson-signee Jake Higginbotham of the Wolves dueled on the mound. It finished as a 2-0 Buford win with Georgia Tech-signee Joey Bart getting the only big hit of the game, a two-run single off Gettys. The Red Elephants had plenty of chances stranding six runners at second or third.
-- Gainesville and Loganville split a pair of games midway through the 8-AAAAA schedule, both teams winning at home. The Red Elephants also won an classic and epic three-game series over South Effingham, taking Game 3, 8-6, after the lead changed hands three times in the final three innings, capped by a tape-measure home run from South Carolina-signee Caleb Whiteton.
-- Jefferson saw its share of nail-biters in the playoffs. The Dragons won a grueling 10-inning, Game 3 battle over Pierce County (8-7) in the second round on the road and then outlasted Callaway in an 11-inning contest (5-3) in their next game in the third round on the road on the way to the title series.
-- Though no playoff implications came of it, the Region 7-AAA opener for both West Hall and East Hall saw the Spartans rally from a six-run deficit to knock off the Vikings in extra innings.
-- North Hall made an early statement that it would be a player knocking off then-top 10-ranked North Forsyth and their big Georgia-signee Dakota Chalmers 2-0 at Coolray Field in the second game of the season.
And individually, the collection of talent scattered throughout the area is too numerous to name them all. But of course, the senior leadership shown throughout the area played a huge role.
Players like Buford’s Higginbotham, Connor Bennett, Keyton Gibson, and Bart; Michael Curry, Brandon Sewell, Mikey Gonzalez, and Whitenton from Gainesville; Micah Carpenter, Jake Franklin, and Ethan Garner at Jefferson; Corbin Lewallen and Lincoln Hewett for North Hall; Jonathan Hughes at Flowery Branch, all had memorable seasons in helping to lead their teams.
Higginbotham finished his high school career as the program’s all-time winningest pitcher with 30 wins. He also did not allow a single run in the playoffs during his career.
Lewallen and Hewett helped the Trojans advance to the quarterfinals or better for the second time in three years, including a run to the state championship series in 2013.
Curry and the gang at Gainesville brought Gainesville brought the Red Elephants back into the upper-echelon of the state’s programs. Curry got them rolling early homering in each of their first five playoff games.
We will miss all of them as they proceed onto the next stop along what we hope will be long and illustrious careers.
Thanks for the memories.
And here’s to already looking forward to what 2016 will hold.
