2021 GHSA Baseball State Champions 1A-4A
The 2021 GHSA baseball state champions were crowned last week in an exciting week full of great games. After not having a full season last year, these teams did not disappoint.
The first Championship game was in the 4A classification, featuring Benedictine High School facing off against Marist High School. Both teams went into this series with impressive regular-season records and continued their hot streak into their postseason play.
Marist jumped ahead early in Game One of the championship series, scoring three runs in the opening inning, and finished the game with two more runs in the fifth inning. Benedictine had several hits during the game, but they were unable to drive home any runners, leaving a zero on the scoreboard for Game One.
Game Two was a low-scoring battle and Benedictine put their best pitcher on the mound, where he recorded 12 strikeouts against 27 batters in six innings, but it would not be enough with Marist scoring in the last inning and going up 2-1 to secure their state title.
The second game had the Wesleyan Wolves going up against the Mt. Paran Eagles for the 1A private championship, where Mt. Paran made quick work of the Wolves in a two-game sweep winning 4-0 in Game One and 3-0 in Game Two.
Possibly the best series of any classification was the 3A state title, where Franklin County battled North Hall for all three games.
Franklin County pitcher Lawson Gailey struggled in Game One, giving up 10 hits and nine runs in just four innings of work. Their struggles would continue when Dee Oliver took the mound early in the fifth inning. North Hall drove in four more runs, extending their lead to 13-1.
In Game Two, Franklin County knew they had to put their best pitcher on the mound if they were going to force a Game Three, so Kayne Jinks’ number was called. Jinks did not let his team down, striking out 10 batters and only giving up two hits in seven innings of work. Franklin County designated hitter Chandler Coulter had an impressive Game Two, going 2-4 and driving two runs home as Franklin County tied the series, with a 3-1 win over North Hall.
In the final game of the series, both teams put up great defensive efforts, with the only run of the game being scored in the sixth inning by North Hall shortstop Jace Bowen. This one run was enough to bring the state title back to North Hall.
The 1A public final saw Gordon Lee High School face off against Metter High School in an exciting three-game series.
Gordon Lee’s offense had an impressive outing in Game One, scoring seven runs while limiting Metter to only four, but Metter was not going to lay down in Game Two as they bounced back to beat Gordon Lee 2-1, forcing Game three.
Game Three was a tough battle, and both teams played extremely well. Ultimately, Metter, riding their momentum from Game Two, defeated Gordon Lee 6-5.
Jeff Davis High School Battled Lovett High School for the 2A State Championship, and, like they have all season, Jeff Davis High School looked dominant, defeating Lovett 5-2 in Game One and 8-3 in Game Two.
Written by: Jacob Johnson
