Tattnall Square beats Hebron Christian for GHSA title
The Tattnall Square baseball team had one major question that needed to be answered in its GHSA Class A private school championship game against Hebron Christian on Monday: Who was going to be on the mound?
Tattnall head coach Joey Hiller and his staff decided to go with Logan Simmons, who plays shortstop for the Trojans and has not pitched at all this year.
Simmons made his coaches look like geniuses as he threw a complete-game two-hitter and led the Trojans to the program’s first GHSA title with a 5-0 win.
Nick DiPonzio, who went 1-for-8 in Saturday’s two games, hit a leadoff home run that set the tone, and Cory Bartholomew added two solo shots to deep center to give Simmons enough run support.
“Logan had brought it up to one of the coaches that he wanted to pitch on Monday, and we talked about it on Sunday,” Hiller said. “I went to Logan, and before I could ask the question, he answered me and said he wanted to pitch. Once he said he wanted to do it, I knew he was the right guy. He gave us more that we could have asked for.”
FOUR WHO MATTERED
Logan Simmons: The sophomore pitched a little bit last year for the Trojans, but his excellent play at shortstop kept him away from the mound this year. Simmons was in control from the start and was only in trouble once. Hebron Christian loaded the bases with one out in the fifth, and it looked as if Simmons was tiring. But he got clean-up hitter Steven Casey to hit a shallow fly ball to right field for the second out, and then Caleb Martin grounded out to Simmons’ brother Blake at second base to get out of the inning.
DiPonzio: The senior, who is heading to Wake Forest, struck out three times in the first game Saturday but hit a long home run to start the game off right for the Trojans. He had two hits in the game and also reached on a hard grounder that the shortstop could not handle.
Bartholomew: The Game 1 winner on the mound shook off a three-error game in the second game of the series to blast two long home runs. His first blast was in the fourth inning, and it gave Tattnall a 2-0 lead. He added an insurance run in the sixth with his second blast. Bartholomew has signed with USC-Upstate.
Blake Simmons: Simmons was strong at second base in support of his younger brother. The senior, who has signed with Georgia Southern, handled eight chances flawlessly as Tattnall played errorless baseball.
THEY SAID IT
Hiller on the thrill of a state championship: “It is great to represent Tattnall Square like this and win our first GHSA championship. I think it validates us as a baseball program after winning so many state championships in the GISA, and we really wanted to win this. These guys have given me everything they have every single day, and I am really humbled to be a part of this.”
Hiller on Logan Simmons: “I guess you could say he was well rested considering he never threw an inning this year. He just had a tremendous outing.”
Blake Simmons on his thought about his younger brother heading into the game: “I knew he was capable of pitching, but he was a little nervous coming into the game. He went out and trusted his ability and let the defense play behind him. I am so excited for him and this team.”
Bartholomew on the mood of the team after the tough loss Saturday: “We did not play well, and we knew we had to come out here and play better on Monday. This is just a great way to end my high school career.”
This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 7:55 PM.