Baseball: Trojans stand tall in Game 3, headed to AAA semifinals

BLACKSHEAR -- It took a little something from everyone in green and white -- and a big hit from Adam Kelly -- to keep history alive on Wednesday.

Kelly drilled a three-run home run among nine North Hall hits, while three different pitchers helped the Trojans to outlast Pierce County 11-6 in Game 3 of the two teams' quarterfinal series in Blackshear.

The win moved the Trojans into the state semifinals for the first time in program history, where they will return home for a showdown with Region 6-AAA champion Blessed Trinity on Monday in Gainesville.

"It hasn't really even sunk in yet, but I'm sure I'll start realizing this a couple of days from now," Kelly said. "This is amazing."

Kelly certainly was amazing in the series, and Pierce County will be glad to see the back of the senior, who pitched the Trojans to the win in Game 2 and put control of Game 3 firmly in North Hall's hands thanks to his three-run home run in the sixth inning. Kelly finished the day 2-for-4 at the plate with a triple and four RBIs.

"Adam's been hitting the ball extremely well in practice, and it was only a matter of time before he got hold of one like that," Trojans coach Trent Mongero said of the standout, who also earned the save with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless work.

Kelly's shot settled North Hall nerves after the Pierce County had pulled within 7-6 just one inning earlier.

"They walked Dutty (Colton Duttweiler) to get to me, and I didn't take too kindly to that," Kelly said. "And I said that if he gives me a pitch to hit, I'm going to be swinging out of my butt. And he gave me an inside fastball so I figured, why not?"

The home run was just one of many big plays on the day -- and throughout the series -- for North Hall, as Duttweiler battled to the win on the mound and Preston Graham came up with a clutch three-run double in the first inning. Griffin Olson also had two hits and bridged Duttweiler and Kelly with 1 1/3 innings of relief work. Meanwhile, Lincoln Hewett and Zach Mize also provided RBIs for the visitors in the series' pivotal match-up, and leadoff hitter Andrew Smith reached base in all five plate appearances and scored three runs after serving a two-game suspension from North Hall's second round victory.

"Baseball's a team sport but you don't have to often rely on everyone -- but we always preach to our kids to be ready because you never know when you might be needed," Mongero said. "Tonight was a perfect example of that. So many kids stepped up and provided big plays, and I couldn't be more proud of them."

The Trojans looked set to test the run rule limit in the first inning, batting around and scoring five of their six runs with two outs on the board. Olson got things started with an RBI, driving home Smith. Duttweiler then reached on an error, and the fuse was lit, Kelly providing a spark with an RBI triple. Hewett reached on another Bears error, allowing Kelly to score, and by the time the dust settled, Pierce County had issued two walks and seen both Corbin Lewallen and McCoy Savage come home on Preston Graham's RBI double.

The aggressive opening chased Bears starter Zack Goble from the mound, as Madison Tuten came in to pitch the second inning. Yet Pierce County was far from finished and responded with three two-out runs of its own in the bottom half of the first. Following a balk call on Duttweiler and an error, Pierce ripped off two straight RBI hits before the Trojans halted the damage.

The Bears chipped into North Hall's lead again in the third, Rod Kennedy smacking an RBI double, but North Hall fired right back in the fourth, Duttweiler driving in Mize to make it 7-4.

Pierce County threatened to trim the lead again in the fourth inning, loading the bases on three walks with just one out -- a situation that saw Duttweiler pulled and Olson enter the game. The Trojans senior proved more than up to the task, however, striking out Dakota Martin and inducing a pop fly to end the inning.

Yet the Bears kept clawing and pulled within 7-6 on Vince Elliott's two-run single. North Hall made another change after the hit, with Kelly replacing Olson on the mound. And while Kelly provided another lift in relief -- following Tuesday's sterling Game 2 performance -- it was his work at the plate that made the biggest difference.

With two outs on the board, Kelly crushed a three-run shot to left centerfield -- in almost the exact same spot as Olson's Game 2-clinching bomb -- plating Smith and Brock Wingo to swing the momentum firmly in North Hall's favor. Just in case, Mize helped add another run for the Trojans, driving in Smith on an infield single, as North Hall began to look toward a "Final Four" appearance -- which will be the school's third such occurrence in 2012-13, following the football and boys basketball programs.

"The guys have just bought in and are doing all the little things right, and when you have that combined with senior leadership and talent you get playoff runs like this," Mongero said.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2013/5/261551