Blair steps up for Tattnall Square with dominant senior season
Tattnall Square baseball head coach Joey Hiller thought it was time for Matt Blair to take the next step during his senior season.
Blair did just that, but he still was caught off guard a little bit by his success.
“I surprised myself a lot this year,” Blair said with a big smile.
Hiller may have not been surprised to see Blair’s transformation, but he certainly was glad to see it happen.
Blair suffered a knee injury during his junior year playing football so he didn’t pitch much for the Trojans that spring. But this season, The Telegraph’s All-Middle Georgia Baseball Player of the Year stepped up his game and finished 12-2 with 122 strikeouts. He had a 1.24 ERA entering the Trojans’ series loss to Savannah Christian in the GHSA Class 1A private school championship.
“The biggest thing is probably the fact that Matt, through the beginning of his high school career with us, had been trying to find his way,” Hiller said. “He had opportunities as a sophomore and as a junior and just couldn’t get it figured out. He always had the quality stuff, and he had the opportunities, but, bless his heart, he just couldn’t get it figured it out.
“That’s why he’s such a good story for us because here’s a kid who loves baseball, loves our program who could figure it out his senior season and had a huge impact on what we’re doing as a team.”
Blair was strong throughout the season, but he said he really saw the team’s potential once it reached GHSA Region 7-1A play. Blair teamed up with Garrett Houston (9-1) to give the Trojans a dominant one-two punch on the mound, and they worked well with catcher Trey Ham.
“Just staying confident and trusting the process with the coaches and putting in work every day and trying to get better every day and coming out here and doing what I can to help win,” Blair said of the key to his success this season. “When it got to region play, I buckled down and had a couple of good starts, and I said, ‘We’ve got a pretty good shot of being pretty good this year if I can keep this up.’
“Garrett did his thing and Trey did his thing, and all our hitters did their thing, and we rolled through it pretty easy.”
Now Blair is turning his attention to his college career. He signed with Mercer, which has won the Southern Conference regular-season title all three seasons it has been in the conference.
“I’m super excited. I’m here every day trying to work out, trying to do what I can to get better this summer before I get on campus,” Blair said. “I can’t wait to get on campus and do what I can to help win.”
Previous All-Middle Georgia selections this spring
All-Middle Georgia baseball team
Player of the Year: Matt Blair, Tattnall Square
Coach of the Year: Joey Hiller, Tattnall Square
First team
Gabe Holt, Veterans, Sr. SS
Holt, who signed with Texas Tech, hit .455 with seven home runs, 52 runs scored, 51 hits, 44 RBI, 10 doubles and 31 stolen bases.
Brooks Veal, Jones County, Sr. SS-3B
Veal, who signed with Gardner-Webb, hit .394 with 37 hits, 15 RBI and 30 runs scored.
Logan Simmons, Tattnall Square, Jr. SS
Simmons, who has committed to Georgia Tech, hit .382 with 47 runs scored and 47 RBI heading into the GHSA Class 1A private school championship series. He also had nine home runs and 20 stolen bases.
Gunnar Watson, Taylor County, Jr. SS
Watson hit .527 with 44 runs, 44 hits and nine home runs, making the All-Region 4-1A team. He also had 12 doubles and 16 stolen bases.
Teldrick Ross, Jones County, Jr. OF
Ross, a prospect in football and baseball, hit .340 with 33 hits, 34 RBI and 32 runs scored.
Landry Rustin, Windsor, Sr. OF-P
Rustin hit .439 with 36 hits, nine doubles and 12 stolen bases. On the mound, he went 7-1 with a 2.17 ERA, 49 strikeouts and 29 walks.
Cole Brannen, Westfield, Sr. OF
Brannen, who was picked by Boston in the second round of the MLB draft, hit .439 with 42 runs, 36 hits, five home runs and 22 stolen bases.
Trey Ham, Tattnall Square, Soph. C
Ham had a breakout season, setting a program record for home runs with 13. He took a .352 batting average into the GHSA Class 1A private school title series.
Matt Blair, Tattnall Square, Sr. P
Blair, who signed with Mercer, went 12-2, striking out 122 and walking 40. He had a 1.24 ERA.
Trevor Evans, John Milledge, Sr. P
Evans, who signed with Georgia College, went 11-0 with 129 strikeouts, 20 walks and an 0.91 ERA in 69 innings pitched. Offensively, he batted .324 with 17 runs on 24 hits, with seven of those hits coming as doubles.
Garrett Houston, Tattnall Square, Sr. P
Houston, who signed with Bevill State Community College in Alabama, went 9-1, striking out 79 and walking 37 with a 2.36 ERA. Offensively, he hit .340 with 33 runs scored, 33 hits, 11 doubles and 21 RBI.
Second team
Benji Knighton, Bleckley County, Sr. 2B
Knighton hit .385 with 29 runs, 42 hits and 22 stolen bases. He also had 10 doubles.
Logan Fink, Tattnall Square, Jr. 1B-P
Fink hit .330 with 31 runs scored, 31 hits and 32 RBI. He had 10 doubles and nine stolen bases.
Gavin Bloodworth, FPD, Jr. 1B-3B
Bloodworth, a utility infielder who also pitched, hit .470 with 21 runs, 39 hits, five home runs, eight doubles and seven stolen bases. On the mound, he had a 2.03 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 16 walks in 38 1/3 innings pitched.
Cameron Railey, CFCA, Sr. 1B
Railey, a GICAA all-state selection, hit .537 with 29 runs, 44 hits and 14 doubles as he helped lead the Lancers to a 23-win season.
Austin Hittinger, Houston County, Sr. OF
Hittinger, a GHSA All-Region 1-6A pick who signed with Georgia College, hit .352 with 20 runs scored and 17 RBI.
Kazuya Makita, Howard, Sr. OF
Makita, a GHSA All-Region 2-4A selection, hit .393 with 21 runs scored, 42 hits and 10 stolen bases.
Victor Hill, Baldwin, Jr. OF
Hill batted .455 with three home runs and 43 RBI, scoring 35 runs and stealing 18 bases. He was first-ream All-Region 3-4A.
Chandler Davis, Dodge County, Jr. C
Davis hit .532 with 44 runs, 42 hits, three home runs and seven doubles.
Matthew Deloach, Taylor County, Jr.
Deloach went 11-2, striking out 100 and walking 29 while posting a 1.05 ERA in 62 innings pitched. He made the GHSA All-Region 4-1A team.
Carter Raffield, Bleckley County, Jr. P-3B
Raffield, who has committed to Georgia, batted .337 with four home runs, scoring 21 runs on 30 hits. He also pitched 59 2/3 innings, striking out 80 with a 1.76 ERA.
Luke Laskey, Tattnall Square, Jr. 3B
Laskey hit .439 with 41 runs scored, 47 hits and 40 RBI. He had 15 doubles and 23 stolen bases.
Honorable mention
Dodge County: Craig Barton, Tyler Pruett.
Dublin: Hunter Baisden.
GMC: Cory Bivins.
Mary Persons: Austin Benson, Aaron Mock, Tyler Skelton, Dylan Smith.
Mount de Sales: Adam Leverett, Jack Lipson, Zack Tong.
Peach County: Kendrick Johnson.
Perry: Jacob Hunt, Jackson Ferrell, John Micah Law, Andrew Tarrer.
Rutland: Jonathan Harnist.
Stratford: Clifton Olmstead.
Upson-Lee: Kalen Puckett.
West Laurens: Caleb Christian, Nolan Daniel, Cullen Estep.
All-Middle Georgia schedule
A look at the schedule for All-Middle Georgia teams to be released with the days the results will be posted on Macon.com and in The Telegraph:
June 23/24: Girls Athlete of the Year
June 24/25: Boys Athlete of the Year
This story was originally published June 22, 2017 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Blair steps up for Tattnall Square with dominant senior season."