Habersham Central High School’s varsity baseball team split results in a doubleheader against South Paulding High School in the first round of the state playoffs Thursday in Douglasville.
The split means the two will play again at 6 p.m. Friday for the rubber match. The winner will go on to face the No. 1 seed from Region 6, Etowah High School after the Eagles swept Roswell High School Thursday 4-0, 4-2 in their doubleheader.
Game 1: Habersham Central 8, South Paulding 3
The Raiders (19-8) went ahead with its fourth run in the sixth inning before adding four more in the seventh to ultimately knock off the Spartans (19-11) on their home field.
That sixth inning run came courtesy of a leadoff solo home run for junior Callum Spivey (4-for-4, 2 runs scored, 3 runs batted in, 2B, HR).
After a pair of walks opened the top of the seventh inning, senior Kaleb Chastain delivered a one-out single to load the bases.
Spivey then delivered a one-out single to left field before advancing to second on an error by the left fielder. Junior Charlie Mills, senior Kaleb Chastain and sophomore Kreed Barrett all scored on the play.
A hit by pitch put runners on first and second before sophomore Hudson Gailey delivered an RBI single to left field, plating Spivey for the final run of the contest.
The Raiders gave up a run in the bottom of the third inning before getting it back on a Spivey single in the top of the fourth. Mills scored the run to tie the game at 1-1.
In the bottom of the fourth, two more Spartans would score, putting the home team back on top 3-1.
Barrett would then plate Gailey on a one-out sacrifice fly before Mills singled to left field to score sophomore Maverick Chitwood in the top of the fifth.
The Raiders had 11 hits in the contest with Spivey providing four and Gailey delivering three. Chitwood, Mills, Chastain and Hayden Gailey each had one hit in the contest.
Senior Kade Nicholson started the game on the mound for HCHS, tossing 5.1 innings, allowing six hits, one earned run and four walks. Nicholson also tallied four strikeouts.
Fellow senior Konner Burrell came in to close it out. Burrell threw 1.2 innings on just 20 pitches.
Game 2: South Paulding 10, Habersham Central 1
The second game flipped the script of the first with the Raiders allowing 10 runs on nine hits and three errors.
The Spartans carried a no hitter into the sixth inning, where Chitwood broke the spell with a two-out double to right field.
South Paulding threw Carson Adomnik, who made the most of his playoff start. The sophomore tossed just 84 pitches in his complete game effort. Of those 84 pitches, he tallied 60 strikes while striking out 10 and walking just one. He gave up the lone hit to Chitwood.
HCHS allowed two runs in the first and third frames before holding the Spartans to just one in the fourth. South Paulding added on four in the sixth and their final run in the seventh.
Chitwood and senior Kaydon Bass combined to complete the game on the mound. The pair totaled four strikeouts and walked five in the contest. Nine of the Spartans’ 10 runs were earned runs.
