Baseball semifinal wrapup: Jefferson stuns Blessed Trinity; Lovett, Westminster make AAA final; Parkview, Mill Creek survive Game 3

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Blessed Trinity – ranked No. 1 nationally by Baseball America – fell to Jefferson.

Parkview and Mill Creek survived must-win Game 2 situations in extra innings before each won Tuesday in their Game 3’s.

It’s a Lovett-Westminster cross-Buckhead final in AAA.

Defending champs Pope and Loganville keep rolling along.

Most of the semifinals are done. Here’s a look at each of those. The schedule for next week’s state championships is at the bottom.

AAAAAAA

Parkview d. Woodstock 3-4, 5-1, 6-1: Parkview scored three runs in the first inning and never trailed in the 6-1 clinching victory, but the Panthers were on the brink of elimination in Game 2, when they won an eight-inning game 5-1 with four runs in the top of the eight. Braden Hays, a left-hander going to Georgia Southern, went the eight-inning distance in that one, allowing seven hits and striking out seven. Logan Cerny's solo homer in the fourth inning tied the game 1-1 and kept Parkview alive. In Game 3, Miles Garrett went six strong innings, allowing two hits and walking none. Cerny, who is committed to Troy, was 6-for-9 with two homers and a double in the series

Mill Creek d. Brookwood 3-6, 6-4, 6-2: Mill Creek scored a run in the first inning and never trailed in Game 3, but it was Game 2 that held had the Hawks on a tight rope. Having lost the opener, Mill Creek won 6-4 in 10 innings. Alaska Abney pitched six scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit. Brookwood had the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the 10th, but Alaska (who is committed to Coastal Carolina) got Trace Twardowski to ground into a 4-6-3 doubleplay (Drew Cadena to Brendan York to Davis Sharpe) to end the game. Justin Parish and Zach Green combined on a five-hitter in the clinching victory, and Sharpe homered. Leadoff hitter Nick Kross was 5-for-11 in the series.

AAAAAA

Pope d. River Ridge 9-6, 10-3: Andrew Feld was 4-for-4 with three RBI in Pope's clinching 10-3 victory. Max Pralgo doubled twice. In the opener, James Tibbs, Will Lantis and Connor Frost had two hits apiece and Antonio Jareno homered.

Allatoona vs. Alpharetta (unfinished): Allatoona's Hunter Paulsen went the distance in the opener, allowing scattering nine hits. He allowed two solo homers. Payton Eeles was 3-for-3. Game 2 was stopped in the bottom of the fourth inning by rain. Alpharetta led 4-2. They'll try to finish Wednesday.

AAAAA

Buford d. Flowery Branch 3-2, 1-0: Sean Adams pitched a one-hit shutout in the clincher. He struck out 11 and walked none. Buford won the opener on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Wolves' second run in the inning. Flowery Branch had issued two intentional walks, courting the precarious situation. Evan Place's run-scoring double to right field was the key hit in the inning. Buford's Ramsey Davis allowed three hits and struck out 10 in 6.1 innings.

Loganville d. Starr's Mill 5-1, 7-2: Joseph Brandon pitched a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts in the opener. Bay Witcher and Dylan Strickland homered. Witcher's three-run shot in the sixth broke the game open. Seth Clark took the mound for Game 2 and struck out 10 in six innings. He allowed four hits, and both runs were unearned. Bryant Pietri was 3-for-4. Consecutive doubles by Witcher, Jacob Boyd and Jackson Howell ignited a four-run sixth that put the game away.

AAAA

Jefferson d. Blessed Trinity 10-7, 2-0: Lane Watkins pitched a five-hit shutout with four strikeouts and no walks in beating nationally ranked Blessed Trinity 2-0 in the clinching game. Watkins, who is committed to Georgia, also had two hits and scored a run. In Game 1, Jefferson took a 7-1 lead through five innings and held on. Zac Corbin was 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBI.

Cartersville d. Heritage-Ringgold 6-5, 10-2: Anthony Seigler, a switch-hitting catcher, was 6-for-7 with a home run and two doubles in the sweep. Josh Davis and Jake Gooch also homered. Cohen Wilbanks pitched six strong innings in Cartersville's clinching win. Seigler came in to pitch the seventh inning in the opener to get the save. He struck out two. Cartersville trailed 5-4 entering the bottom of the sixth of Game 1 but scored twice on back-to-back doubles by Seiger and Davis off Cole Wilcox, a likely No. 1 pick in the MLB Draft.

AAA Lovett d. Morgan County 13-3, 11-1: Ben O'Meara, allowing five hits and striking out seven, went the distance in the five-game opener, and Lance Beck allowed two hits and no earned runs in 5.1 strong innings in the clincher. Evan McKown was 4-for-5 with three runs scored in the series. Charles Gibson (4-for-7) and Grayson Nix (4-for-6  with a homer) also had four hits in the series.

Westminster d. Ringgold 5-3, 3-2: Westminster won the opener behind a complete game from Luke Jannetta (5 H, 3 ER, 4 SO). Parks Harber and Jack Polhemus each had two-run doubles. In Game 2, Polhemus took his turn on the mound and pitched a three-hitter. He struck out eight and did not allow an earned run. Westminster scored three unearned runs on walks and errors in the fifth for a 3-0 lead.

AA

Berrien d. Jeff Davis 5-2, 3-9, 4-1: Details to come.

Benedictine d. Callaway 0-10, 7-0, 13-5: Carter Holton, Rome Dean and Garrison Gunby had two hits apiece in Game 3. Gunby, who struggled in the Game 1 loss, came back to pitched two hitless innings with two strikeouts for the save. In Game 2, Holton pitched a two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts, and Garrett Floyd and Jacob Markiton had two hits apiece.

A private

Holy Innocents' vs. Prince Avenue Christian 9-8, 2-3 (series tied 1-1):

First Presbyterian Day at Tattnall Square: Rained out Tuesday. Double-header scheduled for Wednesday.

A

Bowdon at Gordon Lee: Begins Wednesday.

Telfair County at Irwin County: Begins Wednesday.

Championship series schedule:

At Grayson Stadium (Savannah)
Monday - Class 2A (Berrien vs. Benedictine)
Tuesday - Class 1A Public (Teams to be determined)

At State Mutual Stadium (Rome)
Monday - Class 4A (Cartersville vs. Jefferson)
Tuesday - Class 6A (Pope vs. Alpharetta/Allatoona)

At Mercer (Macon)
Monday - Class 3A (Westminster vs. Lovett)
Tuesday - Class 1A Private (Teams to be determined)

At Foley Field (UGA)
Monday - Class 5A (Buford vs. Loganville)
Tuesay - Class 7A (Parkview vs. Mill Creek)