GAINESVILLE -- Like Ahab in Moby Dick, Jeremy Kemp and the Gainesville baseball team have been chasing their white whale for what seems like a lifetime.
They finally caught it Monday night at Ivey-Watson Field.
The Red Elephants won a pair of gut-wrenching one run games over Jones County, 4-3 and 5-4, to sweep their Class AAAAA best-of-three semifinal series and advance to Saturday’s championship series.
It will be the first title series appearance for the Red Elephants since 2002, when they won the Class AAA title for a second consecutive season and fifth time in a seven-year span.
Gainesville lost in the AAAAA semifinals last year to eventual state champion Houston County in three-games and was knocked out in the third round in 2013.
“We've been after this for a while,” said Kemp, who is in his seventh season at Gainesville. “Every year we feel we’ve learned something. This senior group is unbelievable. They have learned how to win and they never quit.
“It’s hard to put into words right now. I haven’t really had much time to think about it but it feels pretty good knowing we’re going to get to play for the title.”
Kemp and the Red Elephants don’t know yet who their opponent will be. The other semifinal between Greenbrier and Allatoona was rained out Monday and will restart on Tuesday in Augusta. They will be on the road for the championship series regardless of who wins the other semifinal.
“Both are extremely good,” Kemp said. “We’ll be able to scout them a little bit. But no matter which one we’re expecting a dogfight.”
Which is exactly how senior third baseman Mikey Gonzalez described his fellow teammates and their attitude.
“We fight like dogs,” Gonzalez said. “We never give up no matter the situation. I’m at a loss for words right now. It’s just a great feeling to know we have a chance to win the title.”
Fellow senior Michael Curry, who got the win in Game 2 with three innings of outstanding relief work, said everyone can stop talking about the streak.
“I’m glad that’s over,” he said about how no GHS team had been able to get past the semifinals since the days of Micah and Jon Mark Owings. “This is a great group of guys and we don’t have any bad apples or distractions. We love each other and fight for each other. It’s great to be moving on with these guys.”
Gainesville led Game 1 from start-to-finish behind Jonathan Gettys but had to hold off a late rally by the Greyhounds. In Game 2, the lead changed hands three times and then the Red Elephants held off another late-inning rally by Jones County.
“We knew it would be tough but we found a way to win and that is what this team has been about all season,” Kemp said.
Jones County coach Jason Page said the series went exactly as they thought it would.
“Only we were hoping we would be on the winning side,” Page said. “Knew it would be a battle every game. They made more of the little plays you need to win. They are a great team.”
Game 1: Gainesville 4, Jones County 3
In the first the Greyhounds’ Jacob Walden reached on a swinging third strike wild pitch but Gettys struck out Teldrick Ross and got Walker Juhan on a fielder’s choice to end the inning.
The Red Elephants went to work quickly against Walden. Fedrick Cardona drew a four-pitch walk to open the inning, Gonzalez was plunked on a 1-2 pitch, and Curry ripped a single to center to load the bases with no outs. Caleb Whitenton hit into a double play scoring Cardona, Anthony Carrera walked to put runners at the corners and then Gettys drilled a three-run, opposite field home run down the rightfield line for a 4-0 lead.
That would be all Gettys needed. The junior southpaw yielded just two hits and fanned eight through the first five innings. He was able to pitch around a wild pitch on a third strike and one walk in the early innings to strand four Jones County runners. He also settled down retiring eight straight into the sixth inning.
His only real trouble came in the sixth. Jones County’s Walker Juhan blasted a towering two-run home run and Keever Walker looped a bloop single just out of reach of Whitenton at first to knock in Zack Griffin, who was hit by a pitch, to cut the lead to 4-3. The Red Elephants got out of the inning catching Keaton Gordon off third in a run down after a botched squeeze.
The Greyhounds best chance early came in the third. Chandler Ramage drilled a single to center and Walden coaxed a one-out walk. Gettys appeared to have Ramage picked off second but threw wild allowing him to reach third. Walden then stole second while Curry was trying to call timeout. Gettys, however, got Ross to lineout to left and struck out Juhan to end the inning. The Greyhounds stranded four baserunners in the first three innings.
Walden settled down on the mound after the first retiring nine of the next 12 batters through the fifth, including five strikeouts. He would finish retiring 13 of the final 16 Red Elephants batters allowing five hits in a complete-game effort.
“(Jacob) kept us in the game,” Page said. “We just couldn’t get anything going until late."
In the top of the seventh the Greyhounds got the go-ahead runs on base. Ramage reached on a one-out error and Walden singled to right for runners at second and third. Gainesville walked Juhan intentionally and then Gettys got Brooks Veal to ground out to end the game.
Drew Wright had two hits for Gainesville.
Gettys did a great job of limiting the Greyhound sluggers. Juhan and Walker had a combined nine hits and 11 RBI in the Greyhounds' quarterfinals win over East Paulding. They were 2-for-6 with three RBI in Game 1.
Game 2: Gainesville 5, Jones County 4
Keaton Gordon started for Jones County and set the tone early getting the Gainesville batters 1-2-3 in the first inning.
Whitenton, who started Game 2, worked off a jam in the first. Ross lined a two-out double into the leftfield corner and then Juhan walked. Veal was up in the count 3-0 but Whitenton battled back to 3-2 on got Veal to pop to second to end the inning.
In the top of the second Whitenton singled to center to lead off and then courtesy runner Collier Scott moved around to third on a pair of wild pitches. Anthony Carrera drove him in with a ground out to second for a 1-0 Red Elephants lead.
The Greyhounds answered right back in the bottom of the second. Walker, Blake Hudgins, and Ramage all singled following a one-out walk to Gordon bringing in Gordon to tie the game. But Whitenton struck out Walden and got Ross to line out to left to get out of the jam.
Gordon got into a groove starting with Carrera’s RBI retiring eight of the next nine batters into the fourth inning. Fedrick Cardona doubled in the third and Carrera singled in the fourth, both with two outs. Both were left stranded in scoring position.
The Greyhounds again went to work against Whitenton in the bottom of the third. Juhan and Veal walked to lead off and a pair of fielder’s choices would bring in Veal for a 2-1 Jones County lead.
Jones County had chances early to break it open but stranded seven runners -- five in scoring position -- in the first four innings. They stranded 10 for the game, seven in scoring position.
“That was the real key to the series,” Page said. “We couldn’t get a big hit when we needed it.”
Kemp agreed.
“Whenever they got guys on Jonathan, Caleb, Michael, they all made some good pitches and the defense made some plays behind them,” Kemp said.
The momentum changed in the bottom of the fourth. Hudgins and Ramage both walked to lead off but Ramage was gunned down at second trying to steal and Whitenton struck out Walden and Ross to get of another jam.
In the fifth, Brandon Sewell doubled to start but was thrown out at third on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Banks Griffith. Wright followed with a slow rolling single through first and second and Cardona lined a single to right scoring Griffith to tie the game 2-2 with one out. But Gonzalez popped to short and Curry flied to right to end the inning.
Curry took over for Whitenton on the mound in the bottom of the fifth and made an immediate impact. The senior struck out the side for the first 1-2-3 inning of the game for the Red Elephants.
"I told coach I wanted to pitch to help us out," Curry said. "I just tried to go in and throw strikes. Whatever I could do to help us win."
Whitenton reclaimed the lead for Gainesville four pitches later taking a 2-1 Gordon fastball deep over the rightfield fence for a 3-2 lead to start the sixth. It was third home run in the last two playoff games. Carrera followed with a double to center two pitches after that and Gettys moved him to third with a ground out. But Gordon got Sewell and Griffith to ground out to third to get out of the jam.
The Greyhounds appeared ready to reclaim the lead in the sixth. Gordon walked to lead off the inning and Walker doubled to right for runners at second and third with no outs. Gonzalez, however, helped the Red Elephants keep the momentum.
Gonzalez snagged a high chopper in front of the third base bag and tagged Gordon trying to get back to the base for the first out. Ramage then lined to second and Curry struck out Walden to get out of the inning with the 3-2 lead intact.
“That was a huge play for us,” Kemp said.
“It was just an instinctive play,” Gonzalez said. “I saw him way off the bag and just dove at him. Fortunately I was able to get the tag.”
The Red Elephants used that to blow it open in the seventh. Wright led off with his fourth bunt hit in the last three games. He moved to third on a Cardona single to right and scored on a squeeze bunt by Gonzalez.
Cardona then moved to third on a fielder’s choice by Curry and scored on a fielder’s choice by Whitenton despite being caught in a rundown. Cardona outran the third baseman and then slid under the tag at home for a 5-2 lead. After a Carrera ground out to first and an intentional walk to Gettys to load the bases, Sewell grounded out to end the inning.
The Greyhounds mounted one last rally rally in the bottom of the seventh when Ross reached on an error and Juhan singled to left with no outs. Curry answered striking out Veal and Griffin but Gordon laced a single to right scoring Ross. Juhan then scored on a wild pitch to close the gap to 5-4 and Gordon moved to second. Curry snuffed out the rally getting Walker to ground out to second to end the game and the series.
STATE BASEBALL SEMIFINAL RESULTS
Monday
CLASS AAAAA
Gainesville sweeps Jones County, 2-0
Gainesville 4, Jones County 3
Gainesville 5, Jones County 4
CLASS AAAA
Buford at Cartersville postponed; rescheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday
CLASS AAA
Jefferson at Westminster postsponed; rescheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday
CLASS AA
Darlington sweeps Rabun County, 2-0
Darlington 5, Rabun County 2
Darlington 12, Rabun County 2
