MACON, Ga. — It wasn’t easy, but then again championships aren’t supposed to be.
The Piedmont Academy baseball team found itself on top of the mountain once again Saturday winning a deciding third game against long-time rival Gatewood, 9-2.
The GISA Class AA championship series, played at Mercer University in Macon, was a tale of two storied programs which both wanted the championship trophy, but it was the Cougars who showed they wanted it a little more even as their backs were against the wall at times.
“It was a great way to finish the season,” said Piedmont’s John Reasoner. “We knew if we kept playing our game then everything would turn out fine.”
Piedmont (19-6 overall) took a 1-0 win the series opener on Friday behind another pitching gem from senior Cameron Mobley. Gatewood rebounded for a 5-2 win in the second game on Saturday morning.
The Gators took an early lead in the third and deciding game but Piedmont finally came alive offensively and powered its way to a victory behind a solid pitching performance by David Bishop and homers from Mobley and Jeb Satterfield.
As nervous as Piedmont fans were, the final out on Saturday afternoon meant more hardware for the trophy case.
The third game saw Gatewood take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. It wasn’t until the bottom of the third that the Cougars took a 3-1 advantage. Piedmont was struggling at the plate but used some walks and hit batters and some Gator defensive miscues to manufacture runs.
Brody Anderson’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth inning pushed the advantage to 4-1. That’s when Gatewood looked to make one final push.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Gators loaded the bases with no outs. Bishop pitched out of the jam, however, with two strikeouts and a flyout to center field. The lead was preserved and would never be relinquished.
Monster two-run homers by Mobley and Satterfield in the bottom of the sixth inning sealed the deal for the Cougars.
“We got what we were after,” Mobley said about the championship. “We made it interesting for a while but we were determined.”
Senior Tanner Locklear said after losing the second game of the series the team just needed to grind out a win in game three.
“We did that and it was a great way to go out by defeating Gatewood,” Locklear said.
It was the first state championship as a coach for Piedmont’s Matt Britt.
“It has been a great ride,” Britt said. “I have talked to many people I haven’t spoken to in a while. It has been awesome reconnecting with people. The actual baseball feelings are also great. The way we played I couldn’t have been prouder.”
Piedmont opened the series with a 1-0 win on Friday in Macon. Mobley had another outstanding performance on the pitcher’s mound with 15 strikeouts. For his senior season, Mobley threw 49 innings and allowed just two earned runs while striking out 99 batters.
Runs were tough to come by for both teams in the series opener. Gatewood looked for an early lead, but from center field Bishop threw out a runner who was trying to reach home.
The lone run of Game 1 came in the bottom of fourth. Locklear was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a passed ball. Mobley then advanced the runner on a groundout to second base. Gavin Mask delivered an RBI single to score Locklear and make it 1-0.
That slim lead would hold up as Mobley was untouchable on the mound.
The Cougars hoped to close out the series in Game 2 Saturday morning but the Gators had other ideas. Gatewood never trailed in the contest.
Mask went the distance for Piedmont scattering six hits and striking out three. Bryce Johnson had an effective outing for the Gators with 13 strikeouts.
“Our pitchers have carried us all season and it did again in the championship series,” Britt said. “Cameron really threw incredible in Game 1. They had one opportunity to score off him and David made the play from center field. Gavin kept us in Game 2. We just couldn’t get it going against their best pitcher.”
Despite some success at the plate at certain times in the series, the Cougars did not have the offensive output typically seen by a winning team in a three-game series.
“Overall, it was not a good offensive weekend at the plate,” Britt said. “We walked a lot and we earned those. We were in some 1-2 counts or even 0-2 and fought pitches off and earned walks. We also had some batters who were hit by a pitch. All base runners are important. We did just enough with sac flies as well.”
Each of the three Piedmont seniors (Mobley, Locklear and Satterfield) were chosen as All-Stars by GISA. The association decided against having an actual All-Star game, however, so Saturday’s games concluded the high school careers for the trio.
