Chargers Take Third Consecutive GCAA Title
Tifton, Ga – Georgia Highlands College Chargers claimed their third consecutive GCAA baseball title Thursday afternoon knocking off #2 seed South Georgia State 9-8 in 10 innings. The victory gave the Chargers their fourth GCAA/Region 17 Championship out of the past five years.
GHC opened the tournament with a 5-3 win Gordon State. David McKechnie earned the win pitching 5.2 innings allowing two earned run yielding five hits while striking out five. Caden Marcos had two hits including a double, home run and one RBI's.
The Chargers faced the Tigers of South Georgia State in Wednesday's winners bracket game and were forced to work their way out of the losers bracket with a 9-5 loss. Game three the Chargers turned things around by quickly run ruling the Highlanders from Gordon State 12-2.
In the championship game, the Chargers came from behind to defeat South Georgia State 8-7. GHC took a 1-0 lead in the top half of the first inning. The Hawks answered back to take the lead scoring 5 runs to lead 5-1 going to the sixth. The Chargers scored six in the sixth to take the lead to 7-5. The Hawks answered with two in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game only to have the Chargers retake the lead by scoring one in the top half of the ninth inning. The Chargers held the Hawks scoreless in the bottom half of the inning and the Chargers closed out the game with an 8-7 win forcing the "IF" game.
Jack Burns picked up the win going the final two innings allowing no runs and no hits and two strikeouts. GCAA Player of the Year Aidan Larkin led the hitting attack with a home run and four RBI's. Andrew Bishop also homered with an RBI. Hayden Miller had two RBI's.
In the "IF" game yesterday, the Chargers jumped out to an early 8-0 lead and it was looking like the possibility of a run ruled game. The Tigers answered with six homers over the course of the next three innings tying the game at 8-8. A couple of scoreless innings forced extra innings where the Chargers received a walk off double from Emiliano Dominguez to win 9-8.
Jack Burns was named tournament MVP picking up two wins. Other Chargers making the tournament squad are Matthew Perkins, Andrew Bishop and Kenton Collier.
The win advances the Chargers to the NJCAA Div. I Baseball - Appalachian District Championship, where they will host the Region 7 Champion (TN) in a best 2 out of 3 series in Cartersville, GA. with a single game played each day beginning Tuesday, May 12th. The winner of the Appalachian District receives a berth in the NJCAA College World Series in Grand Junction, CO, where ten of the best juco baseball teams in the nation, will battle to be crowned National Champion.