Rockdale Post 77 further proved that on Monday night, beating Gainesville into submission - literally - in a 13-3 rout at Henson-Carr Legion Field rout that was called due to the 10-run rule.
It was the eighth straight win for Rockdale (18-11), which clinched the fifth seed in the American Legion State Baseball Championship Tournament that starts Wednesday at Douglasville's Hunter Park and runs through July 26. It looks as though Rockdale will play visitor to host Douglasville, should they hold on to the sixth seed.
And, as if the two teams weren't connected enough, Rockdale might just give a tip of the hat to Conyers for spurring its current win streak.
Rockdale hasn't lost since dropping a twin bill to Coach Eddie Bagwell's team on June 28. The two teams meet again in another doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. in a game that won't mean much more than in-town bragging rights for teams that have both clinched tourney seeds (Conyers is No. 2).
"Eddie (Bagwell) has probably the best Legion team I've ever seen, and I've been doing this for a while," said Rockdale Coach Jack Murphy. "But we have a great group of kids that are really starting to come around at the right time."
That sentiment was sure on display against an outmatched Gainesville team.
The effort was spearheaded by Cole Peeples and J.C. Dunagan on the offensive end, and Nathan Fawbush never gave the visitors a shot from the moment he took the mound.
Fawbush, who took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, finished with seven strikeouts and allowed just two hits (the second a two-run homer that broke up his shutout) in six innings of work.
Cameron Griffin, Rockdale's standout pitcher/infielder who has yet to be cleared to swing a bat after injuring his hand, closed out the win for Fawbush, striking out six straight at one point to end the game.
"Fawbush and Griffin brought it hard," Murphy said. "Our pitching is really coming on, and we showed it."
The hitting isn't such a slouch, either.
Peeples clubbed a moon shot to centerfield to kick off the scoring in the second inning, making it 2-0 for Rockdale.
After Peeples hit a base knock to lead off the fourth, Dunagan started his big night with a double that scored the first baseman and shortstop Josh Flippen.
Leadoff hitter and catcher Marcus Smith pushed Dunagan home with a double of his own, making it 5-0 after four.
Peeples led off with a double the next inning, and Dunagan again brought he and Flippen home with a double, increasing the lead to 7-0 after five.
Dunagan again spearheaded the scoring for the third consecutive inning with a double that capped a four run inning to give Rockdale an 11-2 lead.
A late homer wasn't enough to avoid the run rule when Rockdale added two more for the final margin in the eighth inning.
Dunagan, Rockdale's third baseman, finished with three hits and five RBI, while Peeples ended the day with three hits, including a two-run homer.
And with that, the streak rolls on into the state tournament.
"It's nice to put together some wins, but the goal is to make sure we're ready for state, which I think we will be," Murphy said. "Streaks are meant to end, but I don't want ours to end at state."
