Region 3 champions enter AA playoffs as third seed; host No. 30 South Atlanta Friday
Fifth-ranked Pierce County closed out its regular season splitting its final two games with Class 5A Coffee.
The split gave the Region 3 champion Bears (20-8) their fourth 20-win campaign (2017, 2021, 2022) under ninth-year head coach Andrew Evans.
The Bears lost for the third time in four games following a six-game winning streak to close out region play falling 4-2 Tuesday, April 15 to visiting Coffee (17-12), winners in seven of its last eight games.
PCHS bounced back Thursday, April 17 scoring twice in the seventh inning to end the Trojans’ five-game winning streak posting a 3-1 victory.
Pierce County enters the state tournament having scored 14 runs in its last seven games while allowing 12 closing with a 43 mark.
The Bears will open the playoffs as the third-seed in the field of 32 teams behind No. 1 seed Morgan County (24-5) and No. 2 seed Rockmart (23-5).
The Bears will host 30th-seed South Atlanta (7-10) of Region 6 in the first round with a doubleheader set for Friday, April 25. Game 1 is tentatively scheduled for 4 p.m.
The Pierce County-South Atlanta winner advances to face the winner of 14th-seed Cook (20-9), third in Region 3, and 19th-seed Hardaway (167) of Region 1 in the second round beginning Thursday, May 1 with an “if” game Friday, May 2.
Region runner-up Appling County (16-12) earned one of 24 at-large berths. The Pirates are seeded eighth and will face 25th-seed Region 5’s Therrell (11-10) Crisp County (12-18), who finished fourth in Region 3, is seeded 22nd. The Cougars will open at 11th-seed Shaw (17-13) of Region 1.
Coffee......................4 No. 5 Bears ..............2
BEARVILLE — Coffee’s Michael Strickland backed his complete game performance with a threerun homer in beating the Bears.
Strickland allowed just four hits taking a no-hit shutout into the bottom of the sixth. He fanned seven, walked one and hit a batter in his 91-pitch outing.
His three-run homer came in the first inning off Jaxton Harris (4 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 8 K, 2 BB, 1 HBP). After Ben Fussell (1-for-2) drew an eightpitch walk, Jimmy Timothy’s ensuing sacrifice bunt was mishandled. Strickland launched an 02 Harris offering over the fence in left for a quick 30 lead.
Harris pitched around an error in the second, a hit batter and error in the third, and a walk in the fourth exiting the game after 79 pitches.
Jones Herrin (3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 K, 2 BB) surrendered a pair of two-out singles in the fifth and pitched around error in the sixth. He was touched for a run in the seventh after giving up a leadoff double, consecutive fourpitch walks and a sacrifice fly to Carter McMillan (1for-3) for a 4-2 lead.
Meanwhile, Strickland retired the first 13 PCHS batters before Dylan Figueroa reached on a dropped third strike with one out in the fifth. Following Figueroa being gunned down trying to advance on a pitch in the dirt, Jack McClellan walked.
Chance Williams (1-for-3) recorded the Bears’ first base hit with a one-out single to left in the sixth. Herrin (1-for-3) followed with a single advancing Williams to third.
Williams scored on a two-out passed ball with Herrin’s courtesy runner, Garrett Stevenson, moving over to second. Jonathan Stone (1-for-3) delivered a runscoring single scoring Stevenson cutting the deficit to 3-2.
Strickland needed just four pitches in the bottom of the seventh to sit PCHS down in order.
No. 5 Bears..................................3 Coffee ..........................................1
DOUGLAS — A two-out, two-run single by Herrin in the seventh inning snapped a 1-all tie lifting PCHS over the Trojans.
Fussell (1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 K, 1 BB, 1 HBP) hit Figueroa (1-for-2) to start the seventh in a tie game. Williams (1-for-3) kept the inning alive with a two-out walk.
After Figueroa moved to third on a passed ball and Williams swiped second, Herrin (2-f0r-4) drove home both runners with a base hit giving the Bears the lead.
Herrin (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 K, 1 BB), who worked three innings two days earlier, surrendered a one-out double in the bottom of the inning to Fussell and intentionally walked Strickland with two outs before a routine fly to right ended the game.
The Trojans broke up a scoreless tie with a run in the fourth inning against Emmitt Hall (5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 7 K, 2 BB), who surrendered a two-out walk in the first and wiggled out of a one-out, second and third situation in the second.
Brax Carson (2-for-2) belted a one-out, 2-0 pitch for a solo homer to left in the fourth inning for a 1-0 Coffee lead.
After stranding four runners over the first four innings, PCHS evened the score in its next at bat in the fifth. Beck Hodges drew a one-out walk, moved into scoring position on Christian Osbourne’s ensuing sacrifice bunt, and scored on Williams’ two-out, infield hit to even the score at 1apiece.
The Bears left Stevenson, courtesy running for Stone (1-for-3) who blo0ped a one-out single, stranded in the sixth.
Stevenson (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 K, 1 BB), who relieved Hall to start the bottom of the sixth, left the go-ahead run at second.
Dylan Figueroa (15) fouls off a pitch in Tuesday’s matchup with Coffee. The ball just missed the senior’s left foot. Photo By RICK HEAD
