SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. — The Social Circle High School baseball team passed its first playoff test with flying colors.

Spearheaded by strong pitching performances from Caden Richardson and Gehrig Knapp, the Redskins swept Berrien aside 10-0 and 7-1 in the first round of the GHSA Class A Division I State Tournament on Friday at Burks Field. Social Circle (30-2) now finds itself on an eight-game winning streak as it prepares to make a fifth consecutive appearance in the Sweet 16.

“Overall, I think we played well,” Social Circle head coach Kevin Dawkins said. “I feel like we were able to put together our game plans and execute them at the right time. I challenged the guys to work harder in their preparation for the first round and to ignore records and standings. Once playoff baseball comes, you can throw records out the window, so I was very pleased with how our guys competed and how they were able to play clean in all areas.”

Richardson was dominant and efficient in Game 1. The senior ace surrendered just one hit across five shutout innings, striking out five without issuing a walk. Richardson threw 55 pitches, 38 of them for strikes, as he improved to 5-1 on the season and lowered his staff-best earned run average to 1.71. He retired the final seven batters he faced. 

The Redskins pounded out 11 hits, drew five walks and capitalized on four Berrien errors. Sophomore second baseman Ian Miller went 3-for-3 with a double, two singles and three runs batted in to spur the offense. Brayden Allen (2-for-4), Jake Blankenship (2-for-3) and Barrett Bramlett (2-for-3) delivered multi-hit outings of their own, while Garrett Brooks and Cooper Davis also hit safely. 

Miller has established himself as one of the team’s most productive hitters in his first full season at the varsity level, batting .477 with a .610 on-base percentage in 64 plate appearances

“I cannot say enough about the job that Ian has done for us,” Dawkins said. “From starting the season as a backup and not getting many at-bats to emerging as a piece of our lineup that we could not imagine being without … it’s amazing. Having him bat in the two or three hole really lengthens our lineup and gives us the opportunity early in games to put runs on the board. We’ve been very fortunate to have him at the top of the order, and his continued success will only bode well for us.” 

The Redskins set the tone in the bottom of the first inning, where Allen led off with a triple down the right field line and scored on an RBI single from Brooks. Miller followed with a single before two Berrien errors gift-wrapped three runs to Social Circle. By the time the dust settled, the Redskins led 4-0 and the rout was on.

Berrien was on skates the rest of the way. Social Circle plated two runs in the second, one in the third and three more in the fifth, where Davis triggered the mercy rule with a loud run-scoring double into the right center field gap. It marked the 17th time this season that the Redskins had produced double-digit runs. 

Game 2 did not go much better for Berrien, as the Rebels managed to scratch a run across in the first inning but never posed a genuine threat. Knapp stayed composed under duress, filled up the strike zone and scattered eight hits over five effective innings, allowing just the one earned run. He walked two and struck out one, firing 43 of his 61 pitches for strikes to post his team-leading eighth win. Zach Smallwood and Jake Frachiseur each hurled scoreless innings of relief to close it out. 

The top four hitters in the Social Circle lineup—Allen, Brooks, Miller and Luke Cross—combined to go 7-for-11 with six runs scored and three RBIs. Blankenship (1-for-4), Bramlett (1-for-4) and Cooper Duncan (1-for-1) provided additional support, while Lucas Langley came through with a key two-run single and stole another base, pushing his team-high total to 21. 

Next up for the Redskins: a Sweet 16 showdown with Vidalia (16-14), which eliminated Swainsboro in the first round. The two teams kick off their best-of-three series at Burks Field with a doubleheader on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Game 3, if necessary, would be played on Friday at 4 p.m.

“They’re a well-coached team and don’t make many mistakes,” Dawkins said. “It was just three years ago that they won a state championship, so they have that culture of winning that you want. They’ll be a tough opponent that should make for a very fun series.”