The seventh-ranked Bacon County Red Raiders baseball team continued its season into May, making it to the Final Four, or semifinal round, of the state playoffs. After making the playoffs as the No. 3 seed from Region 2-AA with an overall regular season record of 18-10, the Raiders marched through the first three rounds.
“We are trying to make sure we are playing our best ball as we enter the playoffs,” Derek James, Bacon County baseball coach, said as the season came to a close.
In the first round of the state playoffs, the Red Raiders swept a doubleheader from sixth-ranked Harlem High School 4-2 and 5-4. Bacon advanced to the Sweet 16, where they hosted Rabun County from northeast Georgia. Again, the Raiders won two straight in a doubleheader against the Wildcats, winning 11-0 in five innings in Game 1 and then enduring a pitcher’s duel through five innings in the nightcap when the Red Raiders started pouring it on for a 12-3 final victory.
The win moved Bacon County into the third round and a second road playoff game.
This time the Raiders had to travel the 90 miles to Cochran, Georgia, to face Bleckley County, the No. 1 seed from Region 3 and No. 9 ranked team in the state. The Royals had a regular season record of 21-7 and defeated Early County in the first round with back to back mercy-rule victories. In the second round, Bleckley County downed fourth-ranked Heard County by winning the final two games by one run each to move into the quarterfinals against Bacon.
The Raiders took an early lead against the Royals only to see Bleckley County come back to tie it at 2-2 in the seventh inning of Game 1. In extra innings, the Raiders took control and won 7-3 in nine innings. That set up Game 2, where Bleckley took an early lead only to see the Red Raiders come back and take the lead in the third inning. Dawson Dyal hit a solo home run in the fifth, and Bacon County won 14-4 to advance to the state AA semifinals.
In the Final Four, Bacon faced Elbert County, the No. 1 seed from Region 8. The Red Raiders traveled to Elberton to face the state’s top-ranked team that had a 24-5 record on the season. The Blue Devils defeated Thomasville in the quarterfinals to move into the Final Four.
The Red Raiders fell behind by a run early until Dawson Dyal doubled in two runs in the fourth inning to put Bacon ahead for good. The Raiders took Game 1 3-2 and then battled the Diamond Devils in Game 2 before falling 2-1. That forced a Game 3 held on a Thursday night in Elberton. The Blue Devils jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as they downed Bacon 6-1 and took the series 2-1 to move to the state championship game against Jeff Davis County, while Bacon saw its season end.
“I am really proud of what these players did during the season,” James said. “In a time in sports where there are so many selfish people, it was great to see this group play as one. The team effort was led by our seniors. We are going to miss Xavier Hayes, Dawson Dyal, Alex Turner, Klein Nipper, Tyler Altman, Peyton Nobles, and Lane Foster. These guys did a great job representing Bacon County.”
SE-SF-0617-Bacon page
By Rob Asbell
Photos by Debra Tanner
Raiders Make the Final 4
