Flowery Branch proved region seeding means nothing.
The Falcons (16-12-2, Region 7-4A No. 3 seed) walked into Heritage-Catoosa (17-15, Region 6-4A No. 2 seed) and engineered the upset — or was it — in the first-round sweep, 4-2 and 9-0, Wednesday afternoon in Ringgold.
The doubleheader win earned the Falcons a trip to the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs.
"The boys showed a tremendous amount of grit," Branch coach Joey Ray said. "We faced one of the top right-hand pitchers in the state and they competed every at-bat."
OK, the Falcons did struggle a bit in game one.
Facing Nolan Letzgus, one of the top pitchers in Class 4A, the Falcons trailed, 2-1, until the seventh inning. Branch scored three runs to knock Letzgus out of the game – thanks to Baxley O'Brien and Jake Beaver.
"O’Brien had a great at-bat in the seventh to get our rally going," Ray said. "The at-bat of the game was by Jake Beaver had a 12-pitch at-bat, drawing a walk to load the bases."
O'Brien started the inning with a single to centerfield, then Sechrist sacrificed bunted O'Brien to second base. Carl Lawson walked the next at-bat, then Beaver battled Letzgus for a 12-pitch walk to load the bases.
After a strikeout, the Falcons had bases loaded with two outs when Armstrong took the 2-1 pitch to centerfield, scoring O'Brien to tie the game, 2-2. Kaleb Freeman kept the rally going with a double to right field that scored the go-ahead runs, 4-2.
Freeman was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
Sechrist picked up the win on the hill for the Falcons, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out four in the complete-game performance.
"I’m proud of the way the boys fought and competed," Ray said. "Zander was outstanding once again for us. He is such a great young man and I love his passion and love for the game."
In game two, freshman right fielder Nick Linkowski gave the Falcons a spark, going 2-for-3 with single and double in the shutout win.
"I’ve been real impressed with one of our freshman Nick over the last few weeks, so I gave him the start," Ray said. "I love when kids get a shot and take advantage of it, it sparks the entire team."
Armstrong pitched a gem, allowing one hit and seven strikeouts in six innings. Anthony Woeltje threw one inning in relief.
The Falcons scattered nine runs over seven innings.
"I’m really proud of the at-bats the boys put together in game two," Ray said. "They kept grinding out at-bats and putting pressure on the defense. Andrew threw a gem. He is a great player. The boys did a great job out of the gate putting 2 runs up in the first and didn’t really look back."
RINGGOLD 4-1,
CHEROKEE BLUFF 0-2
Cherokee Bluff made history again.
After dropping game one to Ringgold in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs, Tino Mukuno's single in the bottom of the eighth inning brought home Jackson Kemp for the winning run, 2-1, in Ringgold.
The win forces the rubber match on Thursday in Ringgold. First pitch is 5 p.m. The winner will advance to the second round of the playoffs.
In game one, the Bears struggled to score a run, losing 4-1.
Ringgold took a 3-0 in the first inning and added one more run in the fifth to shutout the Bears in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.
The Bears managed only two hits in the game, one a single from Jackson Kemp in the sixth inning.
SOUTH PAULDING 7-6,
HABERSHAM CENTRAL 6-1
The Raiders season came to an end Wednesday afternoon at South Paulding.
The Spartans beat Habersham, 7-6 and 6-1, to knock the Raiders out of the Class 6A state playoffs.
In game one, the Raiders lost in the bottom of the seventh inning off a walk-off single from Will Antunez
Through the first three innings, either team crossed home plate until the Raiders exploded for six runs in the top of the fourth.
Hogan Pitts, J Wilbanks and Alex McFarlane led the outburst to give the Raiders at 6-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Spartans tied things up at six. Landon Powell started the Spartan rally when he doubled, driving in two runs. Cody Rymer, Mitchell Brown, Chris Longazel, Bret Adkins each had an RBI in the inning.
Justin England earned the win for the Spartans in relief. He allowed one hit and no runs in one inning of work.
Raiders' starter McFarlane pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on two hits and seven Ks. Peyton Irvin took the loss out of the bullpen. He allowed three hits and one run over two innings, striking out one.
In game two, the Raiders scored their only run in the bottom of the second inning off a Wilbanks single. The hit scored Pitts.
South Paulding scored two runs in the second, one in the third and fourth and two in the fifth inning.
BUFORD 13-16,
ARABIA MOUNTAIN 3-0
Buford scored 28 runs in two games and no-hit Arabia Mountain in game two, advancing to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs Wednesday in Buford.
Riley Sanford had a massive day at the plate for the Wolves. He was 6-for-7 with five RBIs, including a homerun.
In game two, Stanford, CJ Couch, Dylan Lesko and Max Ramirez preserved the no-hit win that Sean Adams started.
Adams pitched three innings, striking out seven. The pitching staff recorded 10 Ks in the shutout.
In game one, the Wolves scored 13 runs over five innings to run-rule Arabia Mountain.
WESTMINSTER 7-0,
JEFFERSON 1-8
The Dragons' bats came alive in game two to split the Class 3A state playoff doubleheader action Wednesday in Jefferson.
The two teams will face each other in game three Thursday at 5 p.m. at Jefferson.
Westminster scored seven runs in the seventh inning to blow past the No. 1-ranked Dragons, 7-1, in game one.
The Dragons gave up two errors and a walk in the inning.
Jefferson's only run came off an error in the bottom of the seventh that scored Cole Watkins.
The Dragons' bats came alive in game two, scoring eight runs off 13 hits in the blowout win over Westminster. Ryan Godfrey was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and Zac Corbin drove in one run on a 3-for-3 performance at the plate.
Jefferson scored one run in the third, four in the fifth and three in the seventh.
BREMEN 11-9,
UNION COUNTY 3-2
Bremen scored a combined 20 runs in two games to sweep Union County in the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs Wednesday in Bremen.
The Panthers could only muster five runs in the doubleheader.
