GAINESVILLE -- Coming into the final week of the season, Gainesville looked resigned to take a No. 2 seed from Region 8-AAAAA into next week’s state playoffs.
But thanks to a timely Loganville loss and a season-high five-game streak to end the season, including Friday’s 16-1, four inning victory over Apalachee at Ivey-Watson Field, the Red Elephants clinched the all-important top seed and their fourth straight region title.
But senior outfielder Brandon Sewell, who has caught fire the final two weeks of the season, said they have some unfinished business.
“The region titles are great, but we have a bigger goal in mind,” he said after a 3-for-3 effort with six RBI, including a grand slam home in the fourth inning to break the game open. He has a five-game hitting streak working and two straight multi-hit games.
“We were mad (after last year’s Class AAAAA semifinal loss to Houston County) and we want more this year. We have great chemistry on the team and I feel we can win state this time. That’s what we want.”
Sewell is getting hot at the right time. After a rough first six weeks of the season, he is putting the offense on his back, much like he did at the end of last season when he belted five post-season home runs.
“Brandon has really come on at the end. He knows we need him to step up and he is carrying us right now,” Gainesville coach Jeremy Kemp said.
While the long ball is certainly sexy, it was the Red Elephants’ ability to play small ball that was the catalyst Friday. They had four sacrifice flies to score runs and coaxed five walks and two hit batters to generate 21 base runners in just four innings.
“I think the sac flies are the thing I’m most proud of because you have to be able to manufacture runs in the playoffs,” Kemp said. “We were patient and got some walks and then knocked them in. I feel like we’re playing as well as we have all season.”
Harrison Styles was able to relax on the mound after the Red Elephants (20-5, 15-3 Region 8-AAAAA) got the early lead in the first inning. Fedrick Cardona beat out an infield single and moved to third on a pair of wild pitches by Apalachee starter Tyler Starnes. Mikey Gonzalez walked and went to second on the second wild pitch.
Michael Curry knocked in Cardona with a sacrifice fly to right for a 1-0 lead. Gonzalez later scored on a third wild pitch in the inning for a 2-0 lead.
Apalachee used some two-out magic to cut into the lead to in the top of the second. Starnes singled and Hayden Hubler followed with an RBI double to right scoring courtesy-runner Greg Gillis from first. The Wildcats had a chance to add on but left a pair of runners on base. That was as close as the Wildcats would get.
Styles went the distance allowing five hits and one run and struck out two. Kemp said Styles will be a key player in the playoffs.
“You need three pitchers and he’s our third guy,” Kemp said. “It probably wasn’t his sharpest outing but he battled and was able to limit the damage.”
Apalachee (6-18, 5-12) had runners on base in each inning but Styles got help from his defense. The Red Elephants turned a double play to end the third and Curry picked off a runner at first to end the fourth with a runner at third.
Gainesville answered right back in the bottom of the second inning. Jonathan Gettys drew a leadoff walk and scored on Sewell’s double to left. Sewell would end up at third on the play after a wild throw home and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Banks Griffith for a 4-1 lead.
The Red Elephants blew it open in the third. Gettys and Cardona had RBI sacrifice flies sandwiched around a RBI single from Sewell as they extended their lead to 8-1. They sealed the win in the bottom of the fourth with eight runs, highlighted by a grand slam from Sewell. Curry added a two-run double, Whitenton had a RBI single and Ross Tipton but the finish on it with a RBI single.
Starnes was touched up for 11 runs on eight hits while walking four in 3 1/3 innings. Ryan Miller came on in the fourth and gave up Sewell’s home run and four more runs on five hits in just one-third of an inning.
Everyone that came to the plate for Gainesville reached base and had either a hit or an RBI. Curry also finished with three hits for Gainesville and had three RBI and scored three times. Whitenton and Wright had two hits each. Nine different players scored for the Red Elephants.
NOTES: Gainesville was one of the few teams not to have a home rainout over the past two weeks with all the rain. They had one rainout early in the year but head groundskeeper David Presnell earned his money over the past two weeks as they did not suffer another one the rest of the season.
"David did a great job of keeping our field playable. He desreves a lot of credit for us being able to keep our home games and getting some wins," Kemp said.
