For just the second time in school history, Habersham Central High School’s varsity baseball program is headed back to the Sweet Sixteen round of the state playoffs after a 7-2 win over South Paulding High School in a decisive Game 3 on Friday night in Douglasville.
Thanks to a strong pitching performance and timely hitting, HCHS will face Etowah High School in the second round. The Raiders will travel to Woodstock for a doubleheader on Wednesday and then an “if necessary” Game 3 on Thursday.
From the first pitch of Friday’s contest, it felt like the Raiders (21-9) were in the driver’s seat, controlling the flow of the game. Still, it took five innings of play before they put runs on the board despite having runners in scoring position early.
The Raiders, in total, left 13 men on base throughout the contest. Eight of those 13 were in scoring position, including leaving the bases loaded in the second, fifth and sixth innings. Runners were stranded at second base in the first and seventh innings.
Despite that, HCHS notched three runs in the fifth, two runs in the sixth and another pair in the seventh to take the win.
In the fifth, senior Konner Burrell delivered an RBI single to score sophomore Maverick Chitwood, who singled to start the inning. Three batters later, senior Hayden Gailey, who singled in the at-bat following Chitwood, scored on a wild pitch.
The next batter, senior Kaleb Chastain was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Then, junior Callum Spivey walked, scoring junior Cody Davis. Davis was on as a pinch runner for Burrell.
HCHS would leave the bases loaded with a strikeout and flyout closing out the top of the frame.
In the sixth, Chitwood again would leadoff and reach base, this time on a walk. After stealing second, the sophomore was able to move to third on a groundout by Gailey. Then, Burrell delivered another RBI single to score Chitwood.
After another walk and hit by pitch, Chastain hit an RBI single up the middle to plate Davis, who was back in to run for Burrell. Another strikeout and flyout ended the inning with bases loaded.
On to the final inning, the Raiders notched their final two runs after a 1-out single from Chitwood got the ball rolling. Gailey followed up with a hit into the hole between the third baseman and shortstop. The shortstop made a great play to keep the ball in the infield, but a wayward throw pulled the first baseman off the bag and the play was ultimately ruled an error with Gailey settled on first base.
From there Burrell drove in his third and fourth RBIs of the night with a 1-out double down the left field line.
The Spartans (20-13) put their two runs on the board in the bottom of the second as the first batter delivered a single to center field. Two batters later, a 1-out double found its way into left field. With two outs, a line drive single into right field scored a pair.
The game was sealed with sophomore Hudson Gailey cleanly fielding a ground ball from his second base spot and delivering a throw to first baseman Charlie Mills for a force out.
Let the celebration begin!
Players not on the field sprinted onto the diamond to celebrate moving on to the Sweet Sixteen by spraying water, chest bumping, hugs and lots of emphatic yells into the night sky.
“I’m incredibly proud of our guys. I’m not surprised at all that we came down here and won this series today,” HCHS Head Coach Chris Akridge.
Following the doubleheader on Thursday, the Raiders were forced to make the two-hour trip back to Mt. Airy, try to get some sleep and come back the next day and get the victory to move on. With those things against them, they stepped up when it mattered and took care of business.
“To be on the road in the playoffs is tough. To travel so far is tough. To split and then have to go all the way back home… We pulled out of (Wilbanks Middle School) at midnight (Thursday) night. I went to bed at 1:30 (a.m.), I know a lot of these guys did too,” Akridge said. “Then we’ve got to come all the way back down here today. That’s a tall task, that’s a tough task for many teams, most teams, but not for this one.”
Akridge said, after getting dominated in Game 2, his postgame meeting with his team lasted about 30 seconds. His message was very direct.
“I looked at them and I said, ‘We just lost Game 2. We’ve got to go back home and come back tomorrow. So what,’” the head coach said. “They’ve embraced that mentality that when something negative happens, they’re not going to let it get to them. They’re going to focus on the next task at hand. I’m not surprised at all that this group of Raiders came down here tonight and won this series.”
Burrell started on the mound for HCHS and went the distance after closing Game 1 Thursday. In that closing effort, the senior threw 20 pitches.
Due to pitch count rules, Burrell was limited to 100 pitches in Friday’s contest. He needed just 87 and finished with just three strikeouts, meaning his defense was strong in support.
“Konner’s performance today was just fantastic,” Akridge said. “He was so efficient and our defense just played phenomenal behind him, which helped keep his pitch count down and helped him go the distance.”
At the plate, five different Raiders picked up hits on the night. Burrell and sophomore right fielder Kreed Barrett each had three hits. Burrell drove in four runs in the contest. Chitwood added a pair of hits and scored three times on the night. Chastain also notched two hits and drove in a run in the game. Hayden Gailey picked up a hit and scored a pair of runs.
Sweet Sixteen
Akridge is in his 15th season as head coach of the Raiders, but he started with the program in the 2006 season under then-head coach Steve Harwood. That season is the last and only time in school history HCHS has moved on to play in the Sweet Sixteen.
As Akridge put it, “Ironically enough, we played Etowah in the second round (in 2006).”
The Eagles (26-5) are, according to rankings, a very solid squad.
The latest Netting Professionals Coaches Poll has Etowah ranked No. 6 in Class 6A. HCHS received votes in the poll, but it’s just outside the Top 10.
MaxPreps has the Eagles at No. 6 throughout Georgia regardless of classification and No. 2 in Class 6A.
Prep Baseball Report has Etowah as the top team in Class 6A and 19th nationally.
In 2023, Etowah fell to eventual state champion Houston County 6-5, 4-1 in the Final Four.
“We played at least one nationally ranked team this year with Cherokee Bluff. It’ll certainly be a tall task for us,” Akridge said. “I don’t know a lot about Etowah, but I know something about the Raiders – our guys are not going to be scared.
“We’re going to go and play our tails off and we’re going to make the people of Habersham County proud.”
