The Pierce County Middle School Baseball Team won the conference championship this year.
Coach Juan Alonso did not expect the baseball season to end like this.
As Pierce County Middle School (PCMS) geared up for the 2023 season, he was optimistic. Granted, the team needed improvement in their pitching and hitting, and on paper the players did not strike fear into the hearts of anyone looking at them.
“We’re not a very intimidating team (to look at),” said Coach Alonso. “Some of the other teams that we play have a couple of grown men out there. They were bigger than me and they’re 12 years old.”
Still, Alonso felt like making the top four and playoffs was a possibility.
“Once (our opponents) started to play us, (they) see that we’re fundamentally sound, we’re very strong together as a group and we complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” said Alonso.
Two and a half months later, PCMS has walked away from the season ranked #1, with their first conference win since 2018.
The season started off strong, with wins against Coastal Prospects (18-13, Jan. 21) and Bethune Middle School (12-6, Jan. 26).
Brantley County put up a fight Jan. 27 and PCMS was down 0-3 early in the game before recovering and pulling off a 9-3 win.
After that, the team breezed through the next eight games.
February 2 brought a 10-0 win against Martha Puckett, and Feb. 6 brought a staggering 33-0 victory over McIntosh Middle.
Ware County Middle mirrored Brantley in putting up a fight early on, with PCMS down 0-4. Once again, Pierce pulled through, clinching a 9-6 final score in their favor.
Work on their pitching and hitting paid off, with half the number of strikeouts in as many innings compared to the 2022 season.
More wide-win margins followed against Long County Middle School (10-0, Feb. 15), Waycross Middle School (13-3, Feb. 16), Jeff Davis Middle (8-4, Feb. 18), Appling (8-0, Feb. 23) and another face-off with Jeff Davis (7-2, Feb. 25).
Then came Jesup’s Arthur Williams Middle School.
It was an away game for PCMS, and for the first time in the season, the Bears struggled.
Arthur Williams had 16 hits across the game.
PCMS tried to fight back, scoring a couple runs late in the game and leaving the bases loaded in the seventh inning.
Coach Alonso put what he calls his best pitchers in, but Arthur Williams hit everything.
“It seemed like (Arthur Williams) knew what we were doing before we did it,” said Coach Alonso. “Every single thing went right for (Arthur Williams) we just couldn’t build any momentum whatsoever.”
It was PCMS’s first loss of the regular season: 2-8.
Coach Alonso went on to praise how the team persevered and bounced back in the wake of that loss.
He says the team refused to be defeated, assured that they were still in control of the season and could hang on to the number one seed.
Still, the team realized that they would probably have to face off against Arthur Williams again at conference the following month.
March 2 brought PCMS to the last regular game of the season against Bacon County.
The Bears knew they had to win or they would no longer be the number one seed.
The game was evenly matched, and finished with a 4-4 tie at the end of regulation.
“We ran out of daylight,” Coach Alonso said.
The teams had to come back the next day (Friday, March 3) to finish the game, and PCMS pulled ahead to secure their rank with a 5-4 win.
Monday, March 6 brought the first round of the finals and the predicted rematch with Arthur Williams.
This time, because they were ranked number one, PCMS hosted the game.
Things went well at first, with PCMS pulling ahead 2-0. Then, Arthur Williams earned three runs on hits.
At the bottom of the seventh inning, an infield single put a PCMS player on base.
What came next was what Coach Alonso called the best strikeout he’s ever seen.
“Dylan Johnson (#5) struck out, but had the wherewithal to run to first base,” said Alonso. “(Johnson) doing that caused a little bit of confusion with (Arthur Williams’) catcher, and Grayson Arington (#2) ran from second base to third base.”
Arthur Williams’ catcher threw the ball towards third base and Arington ended up being safe.
Suddenly, PCMS has runners on first and third base with only one out.
From there, Chance Williams (#12) hit a ground ball towards short.
Johnson made it all the way to third base with Arington making it home and tying the score. Williams made it to second base on the throw home.
Then, #6 Jack McClellan stepped up to bat.
At that point in the game, McClellan had struck out three times.
Arthur Williams had scored their last run after the ball bounced out of McClellan’s glove.
“I believe, in his mind, he was blaming himself for the game,” said Coach Alonso. “I kept telling him ‘You’re gonna get another at-bat. I need you for the rest of the game.’”
All that baggage hung over McClellan at plate.
He got a base hit up the middle.
Johnson came home from third base, bringing the score to 4-3 and earning PCMS the win.
Alonso believes overcoming the mental hurdle presented by Arthur Williams was key to PCMS’s ultimate victory.
“The beat us pretty bad the last time we played, and so picking up that win, in that fashion, with the walk-off in the bottom of the seventh (inning)— That was a big moment for (the team).”
PCMS went on to beat Ware County Middle 4-3 Thursday, March 9 and claim their title as region champions.
In 2024, PCMS will continue working on their pitching and pitching strength since the team is losing two of its top four pitchers.
However, a majority of the team will be returning next year. One sixth grader and three eighth graders rounded out a team of primarily seventh grade athletes.
Coach Alonso is already looking forward to it.
“I’m very optimistic (about next season,” he said.
In the meantime, the team is focused on celebrating this year’s success and the journey to their title.
Both conference wins were heightened by community support. Alonso claims the crowds were the largest he had ever seen at a middle school baseball event.
“I tried to tell the boys, embrace this. Enjoy this. Don’t wait until it’s gone because then it might be too late,” said Alonso.
