Tradition does not die in Wayne County. The 1967 Yellow Jackets were the last team from Jesup to bring home a state championship. Fifty years later, the current inhabitants of the “Bo,” Bo Warren Field, the Wayne County Yellow Jackets’ home turf, were once again playing for the state title. The one constant in those 50 years that intertwine those teams forever is an unbridled passion for the game of baseball. An eternal spring for all generations.
The Yellow Jackets faced Loganville for the AAAAA State Championship at Grayson Stadium in Savannah last month. Loganville had finished runner up to Houston County last year. The Red Devils had a strong combination of powerful hitting and tough pitching. The pitching was more than evident when the Red Devils’ Joseph Brandon no-hit and shutout Wayne County, 3-0, in the first game.
In game two, Wayne thought they were experiencing deja-vu, trailing 3-0, but after six scoreless innings the Yellow Jackets scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth. The Red Devils held in the bottom of the seventh for its third State title since 2008.
Despite falling in the championship series, the Jackets had an outstanding season under Coach Justin McDonald.
Expectations are real in Wayne County. Yellow Jacket players know that the non-conference games are going to be tough and Wayne County may come out on the losing end. One of the early losses for Wayne County was a one-run loss to Savannah Christian, who finished as the 2017 GHSA Private School Class A Champions.
Despite some losses in close ball games, the Yellow Jackets finished as Region 2-AAAAA champions and hosted Jones County to open the state tournament.
When Wayne met Jones County earlier in the season they lost the game. In the first round best of three series, it looked like the Yellow Jackets would make an early exit. Jones County pounded out 17 runs off of 14 hits and four Wayne errors. The shell shock was evident and Wayne County hit a must win game two but did so in true Jacket fashion. Wayne stormed back sweeping Jones and got past Buford to move into the Elite Eight against Carrollton. Carrollton came and went quickly as Wayne moved past them with confidence.
Wayne, which was certainly not in unfamiliar territory as a program, had some current players who had yet to play in a final four. Many people around Georgia thought the team from Southeast Georgia possibly had met its match as the Yellow Jackets would face Locust Grove in the semi-finals.
Locust Grove was the defending state champs that had a sophomore pitcher who mowed down 17 hitters with strikeouts in one game and the Wildcats offensive arsenal outscored opponents, 41-3, in the playoffs. Wayne didn’t flinch though. In the same manner that Jones County had forced them to face adversity quickly in the first round, the Yellow Jackets stung Locust Grove, 16-1. Wayne hitters forced deep counts early, getting base runners aboard off of walks and plated three runs off of one hit and two errors. Locust Grove never recovered. J.T. Crosby picked up the win for Wayne allowing one run off of four hits and drove in three runs. James Mauldin drove in five runs and Griffin Boykin had two RBIs
The Yellow Jackets took a go ahead 4-2 lead in the fourth inning from a Ford Townsend single that they hoped would be the deciding run. The Wildcats clawed back in the top of the fifth, retaking the lead, 7-4, and Nolan Crisp held the Yellow Jackets at bay to force game three.
In game three, the Yellow Jackets looked like they were going to be able to handle Locust Grove, but an error and a few hits later the Yellow Jackets had lost a comfortable lead. Both teams would pick up a run here and there and regulation was gone. Trailing 7-6 in the bottom of the tenth, Wayne County found some of that baseball magic that just seems to appear in those situations. Kade Lambert launched a two run base hit that sent them to the state title series.
Eternal Spring: Wayne County Chases History
By W. John Wood
