As far as rematches go, they don't get much bigger.
As Region 8-5A foes Flowery Branch and Buford baseball know each other well -- but thanks to a pair of sweeps in the Class 5A quarterfinals on Wednesday the Falcons and Wolves will now square off in the state semifinals.
The Branch shut down Region 1-5A champ Veterans in 3-0, 3-1 wins on the road -- in their first ever state quarterfinal appearance no less. The Falcons used strong pitching performances from Andrew Armstrong and Zander Sechrist to form the backbone of their surge into the Final Four.
Meanwhile, Buford churned out the runs in a 6-2 and 10-2 defeat of Ola, including a two-home run game from Brandon Jolliff in the opener to erase an early deifict.
The Wolves swept the regular season series against the Falcons, 14-2 and 6-1, but the Branch has rolled ever since, including three straight postseason series, and it will be interesting indeed to watch the No. 2 seed from 8-5A (Buford) square off against the No. 3 seed (Branch) beginning on Tuesday at Gerald McQuaig Field.
But there is more quarterfinal baseball in the area left to play before that, as Jefferson looks to push past Woodward Academy in Class 4A on Thursday in Jefferson.
The Dragons notched a walk-off win in Game 1 on Wednesday, 5-4, but the War Eagles responded with a 5-1 defeat of Jefferson in Game 2, setting up Thursday's winner-take-all contest. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
QUARTERFINAL STATE BASEBALL RESULTS
Wednesday doubleheaders
CLASS 5A
Flowery Branch 3, Veterans 0
Flowery Branch 3, Veterans 1
(Flowery Branch wins series 2-0)
Buford 6, Ola 2
Buford 10, Ola 2
(Buford wins series 2-0)
CLASS 4A
Jefferson 5, Woodward Academy 4
Woodward Academy 5, Jefferson 1
(Series tied 1-1)
Thursday
(Game 3)
CLASS 4A
Woodward Academy at Jefferson, 5 p.m
SEMIFINAL STATE BASEBALL MATCH-UPS
(As of Thursday morning)
May 15-16
CLASS 5A
Flowery Branch at Buford
