Habersham Central High School’s varsity baseball team continued to roll Wednesday night with a 1-0 shutout win over Gainesville High School, completing a region-series win over the Red Elephants.
The Raiders (9-1, 2-0 Region 8-AAAAAA) were bolstered by a strong pitching performance from senior Konner Burrell and clutch hitting from senior Kaleb Chastain and sophomore Maverick Chitwood.
HCHS ran into a tough matchup with Cooper Reid taking the mound for the Red Elephants (3-6, 0-2), but found a way to break through in the third inning for the only run of the contest.
Chastain hit a two-out double for just enough of a spark in the Raider offense with Chitwood following him to the plate.
After an eight-pitch battle with Reid, Chitwood barrelled up a ball to left field that found its way to the turf.
With head coach Chris Akridge winding his arm around to send Chastain home, the Gainesville defense chose not to throw the ball to the plate to contest the run, nor to second with Chitwood stretching his single into a double.
“Kaleb got in there, he’s a solid bat. He jumped on the first pitch and it was the hardest hit ball he’s had all year,” Akridge said. “Mav grinded out a great at-bat. He hit the little flare to left and got the hustle double to get in scoring position.”
A few pitches later, Chitwood would steal third, but nothing would come of it as the inning ended with a strikeout.
Ultimately, the pitchers’ duel made for good theater.
Burrell and Reid each allowed four hits and a walk to their respective opponents. There were only three differences in the two stat lines: 12 strikeouts to 10, in favor of Reid; seven innings pitched compared to five, in favor of Burrell; and – the biggest one – one earned run to none, in favor of Burrell and the Raiders.
The other two players for HCHS to pick up hits against Reid were juniors Charlie Mills and Callum Spivey, each with a single.
The game was the second of the week for HCHS and Gainesville. The Raiders were the beneficiaries of another shutout performance on the mound from senior Kade Nicholson, which led to a 5-0 win over the Red Elephants in Gainesville Monday.
“To win a region series is huge. To win the first region series is huge,” Akridge said. “Obviously, in a few weeks, we’ll have a Game 3 with those guys, but to win the region series is big.
“To get two complete-game shutouts back to back is just so impressive. That’s a credit to those guys throwing a ton of strikes. It’s also a credit to our defense playing solid behind them,” he continued. “I’m just extremely proud of every one of our guys. A great baseball game tonight. A pitchers’ duel. Quality, quality win.”
Now, the Raiders will turn their attention to Shiloh High School, which they’ll face at home Friday at 5:55 p.m before turning around Monday and facing the Generals in Snellville.
“Shiloh is a much improved team. They’ve got a new coach and some solid athletes,” Akridge said. “They’ll be very well coached and they’ll compete well. We’re looking forward to coming out and being at our best on Friday.”
Chitwood will take the mound for the Raiders on Friday evening.
For now, at least until practice starts at 3:45 on Thursday afternoon, there’s a high around the program after picking up the sixth-straight win and a pair of region wins.
“Definitely thankful to get that first region series win and to be 2-0 in region play,” Akridge said.
Pollsters
Before winning the two games this week, the Raiders were already catching the eyes of those that put together rankings across the state with a 7-1 record.
MaxPreps has HCHS ranked No. 35 among all high schools in Georgia, No. 8 among Class 6A in the state, and tops in Region 8-6A.
Prepbaseballreport.com has the Raiders at No. 10 in Class 6A across the state.
Thecoachesbox.org has HCHS sitting at No. 9 in Class 6A.
With another two wins already added to the total and the chance to move to 10-1 Friday, there’s potential for HCHS to climb a spot or two.
