Veterans falls to Locust Grove in GHSA playoffs
If there was any doubt about the heart and resilience within the Veterans baseball program, those sentiments were cast aside in the semifinal round of the GHSA Class AAAA state playoffs Monday.
Trailing 7-2 to Locust Grove and facing elimination in the second game of the best-of-three series, the Warhawks had multiple reasons for which they could have folded quietly.
They didn’t.
Veterans (23-11) came back to tie things only to lose 8-7 when Locust Grove put a run across the plate in the top of the seventh. Locust Grove, which won Monday’s first game 2-0, advances to the state championship series against Buford with a 31-4-1 record.
The Warhawks chipped away at the deficit, cutting into the five-run deficit with three runs in the third and two more in the fifth. The Wildcats spoiled the hopes of a Warhawks victory in the seventh when Trevor Sellers singled, stole second and advanced home when a throw across the diamond off a Clay Shearhouse bunt single got past first base. It was the only run allowed in four innings of work by Veterans reliever Griff Faircloth.
Locust Grove’s Nolan Crisp got the save, retiring Jacob Giles as Dalton Gilliam, representing the tying run, was stranded on second base.
FIVE WHO MATTERED
Shearhouse: He caused headaches for the Warhawks' pitchers in both games. He scored the go-ahead run after singling in the first game. He did even more damage in the second game, singling in a run in the first inning and putting the ball in play on bunt single in the seventh inning that resulted in the go-ahead run.
Giles: Perhaps no player exemplified the Warhawks' fight in the second game more than Giles. In the third, he took advantage of home plate not being covered on a wild pitch to score and cut the Locust Grove lead to 7-5, appeared to injure his leg and had to be helped off the field. An inning later, he ripped a single to drive in Gilliam to tie the game.
Gilliam: His two-run homer over the left-field wall in the third injected a surge of energy into the Warhawks as it trimmed the Locust Grove lead to 7-4. There was more to Gilliam’s night than just that one hit as he was also a triple short of hitting for the cycle.
Lindow: He made sure that Veterans’ chances to score were few and far between in the first game, holding the Warhawks to two hits and striking out eight.
Andrew Ellison: Despite a lack of hits, the Warhawks were in it until the end thanks to the pitching of Ellison, who limited the Wildcats' bats to a pair of runs.
TURNING POINT
A game appearing headed toward extra innings with strong arms coming out of each bullpen went another direction to begin the seventh when Sellers singled and got into scoring position on a stolen base, setting up what ended up being the go-ahead run.
WORTH MENTIONING
Back again: Veterans reached the semifinal round for the third season in a row.
THEY SAID IT
Veterans head coach David Coffey on the Warhawks resilence: “Down 7-2, it would have been really easy for us to say, ‘You know what? It was a good try.’ But the kids didn’t do that. They fought and tied the game up. I’ll take away the missed opportunities, but I’ll also take away the fight that the guys had.”
Coffey on the senior class: “Any time you lose nine guys, it’s going to hurt a lot. But just kind of walking through and seeing all the accomplishments that they’ve got - they’ve got three final fours under their belt, they’ve fought tooth and nail for the past three years to get to the final four.”
Coffey on Locust Grove’s game-one pitching: “You tip your hat to them. Everybody in the playoffs so far has challenged us with fastballs, and he didn’t. I’m sure that was on the scouting report. He had a great curveball, he did his job and shut us down.”
Coffey on Giles playing through injury: “That’s the epitome of the team. You can knock us down, but you can’t keep us down.”
Coffey on Faircloth’s relief-pitching performance: “Griff pitched execeptionally well. That’s the guy he can be and will be at Armstrong-Atlantic. I was glad to see him go out like that, he pitched very well.”
This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Veterans falls to Locust Grove in GHSA playoffs."