Pierce Co. playing in fifth all-time ‘Final Four’
BEARVILLE — Pierce County left no doubt it is one of the top Class AA baseball teams.
The third-seeded Bears (26-8) manhandled Region 3 foe Crisp County (16-21), seeded 22nd, Wednesday, May 7 in advancing to ‘Final Four’ for the fifth time in program history.
PCHS stretched its winning streak to seven games and 6-0 in the playoffs posting a five-inning, 14-0 win in the ‘Elite 8’ opener. The Bears followed with a five-inning, 12-0 victory in Game 2.
The playoff meeting was the second between the two programs. Pierce County swept the Cougars 12-0 and 15-0 in the first round of the 2018 playoffs.
The Bears improved to 5-7 in the quarterfinals winning their third series in their last four appearances (2017, 2022).
The two shutouts, along with the double blanking of South Atlanta in Round 1, set a new playoff record through the quarterfinals. PCHS recorded three shutouts in 2017 in reaching the ‘Final Four’.
The Bears will travel to second-seed Rockmart (29-5) for the semifinals scheduled for Tuesday, May 13 with an “if” game slated for Wednesday, May 14.
PCHS is 3-1 in the semifinals with each played at home. The Bears rallied from a onegame deficit to beat Gainesville 3-10, 3-0, 162 in 1994. They outlasted Lovett 8-0, 5-7, 17-7 in 2012.
Pierce County swept Coahulla Falls 5-1, 5-0 in 2017. The Bears fell to visiting Redan 6-5, 5-11, 1-6 in 2022.
The Yellowjackets have won 15 games in a row including three sweeps in the playoffs. Rockmart blanked overmatched 31st-seed Salem 15-0 and 19-0 in the first round. The Yellowjackets knocked 15th-seed Pike 75 and 11-1 in the second round. They escaped with 2-1 and 4-3 wins vs. seventh- seed Callaway in the quarterfinals.
PCHS and Rockmart played perhaps the greatest game in GHSA history in the 2023 Class AA state football championship. The Bears survived 48-45 in triple overtime.
Game 1 No. 3 Bears ............14 No. 22 Crisp Co. ......0
Emmitt Hall needed just 61 pitches in tossing a five-inning, one-hit shutout in the series opener.
Hall lost his no-hit bid with two outs in the fifth inning surrendering a first-pitch, infield hit.
PCHS left two runners on the first with Chance Williams (1-for-3) reaching on an error to start the inning and stealing second ahead of a walk to Jones Herrin (1-for-3). Crisp County’s Hunter Walls fanned the next three batters swinging.
The Bears scored their initial run in the second inning. After a walk to Dylan Figueroa (1-for-1) and Garrett Stevenson (1for-3) hitting into a fielder’s choice, Beck Hodges (1-for-2) was hit two pitches later.
Christian Osbourne (1for-1) followed with a walk to load the bases. Williams’ first-pitch sacrifice fly to center scored Stevenson for a 1-0 lead.
PCHS opened some breathing room in the bottom of the third plating five runs to build a 6-0 lead. The Bears sent nine batters to the plate collecting four of their 14 base hits.
Dylan Johnson (1-for-3) got the rally started with a one-out triple to right. Jack McClellan’s (2-for-3) single two pitches later drove home Johnson with the first run.
A single by Figueroa and Stevenson getting hit by a pitch loaded the bases. A two-base throwing error on a ball hit Beck one pitch later allowed McClellan and Figueroa to score for a 4-0 advantage.
Both Stevenson and Beck scored on Osbourne’s first-pitch single to left pushing the margin to 6-0.
The Bears put the game away in the fourth crossing the plate eight times for an insurmountable 140 lead. PCHS banged out six hits, collected three walks and had two batters hit among the 14 batters who went to the plate. The first nine batters reached base.
Jonathan Stone (1-for-4), McClellan, Stevenson, Hodges, Williams and Herrin registered the base hits — all singles. Johnson, Osbourne and McClellan were issued walks. Figueroa was hit twice.
The first run came via Figueroa getting hit with the bases load followed by a two-run single by Stevenson extending the lead to 9-0. After Osbourne drew a bases loaded walk forcing home a run, Williams followed with a two-run single for a 120 lead. Herrin’s ensuing two-run single finished off the scoring.
Game 2 No. 3 Bears..........................12 No. 22 Crisp Co.....................0
PCHS scored 11 runs over the fourth and fifth innings to pull away from a 1-0 lead en route to clinching the series.
Jaxton Harris (4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 K, 2 BB) and Stone, who worked one inning in relief with a strikeout, combined on the three-hit shutout. The only troubling inning for Harris came in the second when three consecutive batters reached on two walks and a single with one out.
Harris has worked 12.1 scoreless innings in three playoff starts. He has allowed four hits, fanned 25 and walked six.
The Bears scored the only run Harris would need in the first inning doing so after two outs and nobody on base. Stone (4-for-4) kept the inning alive with his two-out single and was removed for courtesy runner Mark Sweet.
Johnson’s ensuing batted ball was booted putting runners and first and second. McClellan (2-for-4) dropped a 1-1 offering into right scoring Sweet for a 1-0 lead.
The Bears stranded Stevenson (1for-3) at third in the second inning with one out after a leadoff single. A strikeout and flyout ended the threat.
They had first and third in the third inning with nobody out following a double by Herrin (1-for 2) and single one pitch later by Stone. Three strikeouts squelched the threat.
Pierce County started pulling away in the fourth scoring five runs, the second five-run rally in the series, for a 6-0 lead.
Hodges (1-for-2) blooped a oneout single with Osbourne drawing a four-pitch walk and Williams getting hit by the next offering to load the bases. After a walk to Herrin forced home a run, Stone’s infield hit scored the next run for a 3-0 lead.
Johnson’s ensuing fielder’s choice groundout plated the next run. McClellan followed Johnson’s theft of second with a two-run single to open up a 6-0 advantage.
The Bears put the game away with a six-run fifth sending 12 batters to the plate. Stevenson was hit by the second pitch of the inning and scored from first on a three-base throwing error on Hodges’ sacrifice bunt.
Hodges scored on a passed for an 8-0 lead ahead of Osbourne working a walk. Herrin drew a one-out, fourpitch walk with Stone following with a run-scoring single.
After a walk to Johnson loaded the bases, a two-base throwing error on a ball by Johnson swelled the lead to 10-0. Figueroa followed with a two-run single for the final 12-0 margin.
