CLEVELAND -- The experts' consensus on the strength of Region 8-AAA baseball depended on, well, whichever expert you happened to be talking to on that particular day.
Many considered 8-AAA's matchup with Region 6-AAA in the opening round of the Class AAA playoffs to be a toss-up. Some even suggested that 8-AAA was in trouble all around against such perennial powers as Columbus, LaGrange, and better-than-average Troup County, also out of LaGrange.
Region 8-AAA, however, had the last word last week as three of the four teams -- White County, Gainesville, and North Hall -- all advanced to this week's second round. White County swept Carrollton in two games while Gainesville and North Hall needed thrilling Game 3s to move on. But move on they did.
"I felt like we had a chance as a region to win three or four of the series," White County coach John Brown said. "I'm not surprised because I've felt that our top three teams were as good as anybody in the state. But we'll really see how good (8-AAA) is this week."
"I thought we showed we're a strong region and improving," North Hall coach Trent Mongero said. "We played a lot of tough games this year that I think prepared us for the playoffs. Hopefully we all can continue to play well."
Region 8-AAA champion White County (23-4) had the easiest go of it last week but runs into a hot Allatoona squad (25-4) the No. 3 seed out of Region 7-AAA, which has won 19 of its last 21 games and has not lost back-to-back games all season. Games 1 and 2 will be Wednesday beginning at 4:30 p.m. and Game 3, if necessary, will be Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Cleveland.
"(Allatoona) is really, really good," Brown said. "They beat Cartersville twice and have several quality pitchers and can hit the ball. (Region) 7-AAA is a lot like 8-AAA in that all three teams at the top tied for the region. Allatoona lost in a tiebreaker. This will be a very tough series."
The Warriors feature two Georgia-signees on the mound in David Sosebee and Luke Crumley, but they were forced to outslug Carrollton with 21 runs in the two games as the White County staff allowed 13 runs, the second most by any team to advance in Class AAA in the first round (Crisp County allowed 16 runs in a two-game sweep of Grovetown.).
"David and Luke did not pitch as well as they have been; our relief pitching was not as strong as it needs to be, and we made several errors," Brown said. "You always worry about your pitching, so that is something that will need to improve. We have to get big-time performances from both David and Luke and then hope that someone else steps up for us.
"It's cliche but getting good pitching, playing solid defense, and of course finding ways to score, are the keys. We will have to do all three to beat these guys. But I feel like the guys will be up for the challenge."
North Hall (23-6) will find the going considerably tougher in the second round against No. 3 Cartersville (23-4). The Trojans are coming off a thrilling series win over LaGrange in the first round.
"It was a lot of fun," said Mongero of his team's win. The Trojans scored the tying run in the seventh to knot the game against LaGrange and then used a seven-run ninth inning to win it. "You don't get to experience something like that very often. You usually lose when you are down to your last strike.
"This week though, we probably won't be able to afford to be down very much, if at all. Cartersville is the complete package. They have great pitching and can really hit the ball. It'll take our best effort."
Mongero said the Purple Hurricanes feature six quality pitchers, led by left-handers Kendall Hawkins and Ben Dittmer. Hawkins can reach into the 90s while Dittmer is more of a finesse pitcher, which has given North Hall trouble this season. Right-hander Hunter Horton may be the hardest thrower on the staff.
"They have a ton of pitching and that always makes it tough on your staff," Mongero said. "Runs will be hard to come by so our guys will have to step up their game. But I feel like we can stay with them."
North Hall got a superb series from Truett-McConnell signee Chris Stevens, who needed just 70 pitches to win Game 1 against LaGrange and then pitched the final three innings of Game 3 to get a second win. Despite the underdog status, Mongero said they aren't going into the series thinking they can't win.
"Chris was outstanding," Mongero said. "But it's going to take superior pitching performances from our entire staff and make all the routine plays against Cartersville. But we're not thinking we can't win. If we play well, we can beat them."
A win for North Hall would move the Trojans past the second round for the first time in school history.
"It would be great if we could continue to make history," Mongero said.
Gainesville (24-5) comes into its second round series against Woodward Academy (24-3) in a similar spot as North Hall. The Red Elephants had to rally from a Game 1 loss against Troup County to advance. The offense was the problem early, going scoreless the first 11 innings of the series. But they exploded for 21 runs over the final eight innings to advance to the second round.
Pitching, however, should prove key against the War Eagles (24-3) who outscored Heritage, Catoosa 31-10 in a two-game sweep. The War Eagles have scored nine or more runs in 15 of their last 16 games.
"They're a great hitting team. Their field is shorter than normal, and they play home run ball. They've got no real weaknesses," Gainesville coach Jeremy Kemp said.
The Red Elephants will send David Gonzalez to the mound in the opener. Gonzalez took the loss in Game 1 against Troup County but really had just one bad inning. He allowed an infield hit, a walk, hit a batter, and then gave up a grand slam in a 5-0 loss. Troup had just two other hits in Gonzalez's five innings of work.
He will have to avoid the bad inning against the War Eagles.
"In their park, there will be some routine fly balls that happen to go out," Kemp said. "What you've got to do is minimize that, don't allow walks or let guys get on base easy. A solo home run doesn't beat you; the three and four-run home runs knock you out."
Kemp said they are heading to Atlanta feeling confident after rallying against the Tigers in the first round.
"Our guys know they can come back any time they're down. They're not going to panic any time they're down," Kemp said. "We feel pretty good about our chances. We didn't hit like we were capable until Saturday, and we hope we can keep that going."
A win for Gainesville will push the Red Elephants into the Elite 8 for a second straight year. Games 1 and 2 will be on Wednesday, beginning at 3 p.m. at Woodward Academy in Atlanta. Game 3, if necessary, will be Thursday at 3 p.m. at Woodward Academy.
Saturday
February 1st, 2025
11:49PM
