Buford completed its sweep of the Class AAAA baseball state championship with a 3-1 Game 2 victory over host Whitewater. In Game 1, the Wolves used a 5-0 win to record their sixth shutout of this postseason, which includes all five Game 1’s and Jake Higginbotham’s no-hitter against Perry in Game 2 of the second round. Higginbotham, a Clemson-signee, dominated for five scoreless innings in the series opener, before Connor Bennett came in relief in the top of the 6th and got the visiting Wolves out of a bases-loaded jam. Offensively, Buford got all the insurance runs it would need in the top of the 3rd inning as Joey Bart and Austin Wilhite hit RBI singles to build a 2-0 lead. Griffin Jolliff added a bases-loaded RBI single in the top of the 7th to make it 3-0 and then Caleb Moore followed with a two-RBI double to push the lead to 5-0. Whitewater took a 1-0 lead in Game 2 before Ian Jenkins tied it up 1-1in the bottom of the 2nd inning with a RBI single. The Wolves took control the next inning on a Joey Bart RBI-double and got a third run in the inning after a Whitewater error. Buford loaded bases in the bottom of the 5th with no outs and could not score and in the 6th inning Whitewater put three runners on and failed to get on the board.
Class AAA
Blessed Trinity, Jefferson 3-0, 6-4: Brad Spinner threw a complete-game shutout and the Titans offense struck early to secure a Game 1 victory 3-0 in the Class AAA state championship. The shutout was the Titans’ 20th of the season. Blessed Trinity has allowed just 35 runs through 34 games; the fewest amongst all classifications. Bronco O’Brien kicked off the game with a double and was knocked home by Jack Dunn. Cody Roberts drove home Dunn to gain a 2-0 lead after one inning. Conor Davis, who went 2-for-2, doubled home Dunn in the third inning. Micah Carpenter allowed 10 hits over his six innings of work for Jefferson. O’Brien and Dunn both finished 2-for-4 for the Titans. Spinner struck out five during his strong performance and allowed four hits and one walk. Will Breese finished 2-for-2 for the Dragons in the loss. Jefferson’s four runs in Game 2 were the most allowed by Blessed Trinity in 27 games, but it was still not enough to stop the Titans from repeating as state champions after a 6-4 win. The Titans took a 6-1 lead into the fifth inning. Cody Roberts once again supplied the offense with three RBIs on 2-of-3 hitting. Will Galloway added two hits as well. Jefferson rallied in the fifth inning as it pushed home three runs. Jake Franklin and Micah Carpenter singled in runs while Ethan Garner doubled home Carpenter. The Titans turned to Roberts to stop the bleeding and he did so, pitching two hitless innings with four strikeouts to earn the save and clinch Blessed Trinity’s third state championship.
Class AA
Wesleyan 6, Darlington 4: Andrew Sauer cruised early on the mound for the Wolves in Game 1 of the Class AA championship, pitching four hitless innings before Darlington threatened. Wesleyan gave Sauer an early lead after Carter Hall singled home Jahmai Jones in the first inning. Drew Aspinwall scored a run in the bottom of the third after a Jay Shadday wild pitch. After a Brendan Abernathy two-run homer, Hall added his second RBI of the game to make it 5-0 heading into the fifth. Sauer, who struck out seven during his complete-game four-hitter, drilled a solo shot in the fifth to make it 6-0. Burton Dulaney hit a two-run bomb to straight-away center over the head of Jones to cut the lead to 6-2. Shadday would crush a two-run homer of his own in the top of the seventh to make it 6-4, but Sauer induced a Seth Little fly-ball to strand the tying run at first. Game 2 is scheduled for 1 P.M. on Monday.
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