By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          When the time comes, Mother Nature may get a ring of some sort. For now, she’ll just get some thanks.

          When weather pushed the GIAA state baseball championship series back from finishing on Saturday to Monday, it was a blessing for Gatewood.

          That gave pitcher Lawson Moore two more days to improve from an oblique injury that most likely would have kept him sidelined – or much less effective - on Saturday.

          Instead, to the somewhat surprise joy of head coach Brandon Moss, Moore turned in a fairly epic afternoon with 11 strikeouts and only two walks in five innings to lead Gatewood to a 6-0 win over Edmund Burke in the Class AA final’s deciding game.

          “The good Lord threw us a little bit of a break by letting us extend the series to today,” Moss said. “Before yesterday, the guy that started and threw five innings today and struck out however many was not available until today.”

Moore, an 8th-grader, told Moss on Friday he might be able to go if the game was moved to Monday. How long he could go was the question, but Moss was set to be happy with any number of effective innings.

Normally a reliever, Moore got the start, because Moss didn’t know long Moore would last.

“You’re just hoping you can get maybe an inning or two of of him,” Moss said. “Lawson Wooten was going to come in after him, and he had 94 pitches left.”

So, the reliever with an oblique issue whiffs 11 and walks 2, and the starter, Lawson Wooten, comes in and closes the door with two innings.

          “That’s called heart,” Moss said. “I can’t say how proud I am.”

          The Gators had the requisite issues in trying to repeat, from some injuries to perhaps a little overconfidence.

          “We have a lot of expectations on us and we’re returning everybody,” Moss said. “Everybody’s going to be look at you with the target on your back.

          “But what people don’t know is that after we got back from spring break, we started dealing with a lot of injuries.”

          And responding to them.

          “These guys just picked up each other where they could,” he said. “We filled holes where we could, we got innings from guys that we don’t normally get innings (from).”

          It culminated in Monday’s celebration.

          The game was played at Tattnall, a field used to state championship play. And the Gators got going pretty early en route to defending their title.

          Gatewood took advantage of perhaps some nerves from Edmund Burke, starting in the bottom of the second. Walks to John Wallace Thompson and Brady Haley along with a wild pitch preceded Caleb Riser’s one-out two-run double to left.

          Moore proceeded to retire the next nine Spartans, getting into the fourth before giving up a two-out walk, followed by a balk and then inning-ending flyout.

          The offense then gave Moore plenty of cushion with a three-run third, the first four batters reaching on an error, single, and two hit batters for a run before a run-scoring fielder’s choice grounder from Jayden Moss. The Spartans balked in a run, their second balk of the inning, for a 5-0 Gatewood lead.

          Riser doubled again, to lead off the fourth, moved to third on a sacrifice, and courtesy runner Jackson Hewatt strolled in on Ames Johnson’s sac fly to left.

          Edmund Burke, which won the AA state football championship over Gatewood about 10 miles away at Mercer’s Five Star Stadium last December, threatened in the fifth, loading the bases with two outs only for Moore to end it with a strikeout.

          He gave way to Lawson Wooten, who gave up two harmless walks in the sixth and a grounder and hit batter in the seventh, ending the day with a routine groundout to second baseman Hunter Johnson.

          Gloves and hats flew and bodies bounced – Wooten was the victim of a WWE-like takedown by shortstop Ames Johnson - amid the forming of a celebratory dogpile.

          The Gators finished 20-8, the Spartans 19-7.

          Riser had two hits and two RBI,

          “This team is deep and there’s a lot of talent on it,” Moss said. “But to be able to go out and put a punctuation mark on it like we did today, you can’t ask them (for) more than that.

Class AAAA

Brookstone 9, FPD 5

          The afternoon got off to a good start for FPD.

          The first three batters of the game reached for the Vikings in the top of the first, and they scored two runs.

          The good part came to a halt after Brookstone promptly exploded for seven runs in the bottom half and stayed firmly ahead en route to its first GISA/GIAA state title, at Luther Williams Field.

          On the verge of getting thumped, the Vikings battled back with one in the fifth and two in the sixth, thanks to Brady McHugh.

          With Hayes Bryant on first, McHugh’s grounder to short turned into a throwing error and run in the fifth, but that’s all the Vikings got.

          Singles by Reynolds Handberry and BJ Hughes followed by Lucas Buckner being plunked loaded the bases with one out in the sixth.

          After the second out, McHugh brought in two runs with a single to left. He reached second on the throw home, but was stranded there.

          Still, the Vikings were down a more manageable three runs, Brookstone already having committed three errors.

          The Cougars got one back in the bottom of the sixth, FPD facing a pair of bases-loaded situations. McHugh fanned Will Turner on three pitches to strand three and keep the damage to a minimum.

          Keon Johnson opened the top of the seventh with a single, stole second and reached third on a passed ball before Tinsley Lewis walked.

          On came freshman pitcher Brennan Neal, owner of a 2-1 record and 2.37 ERA. He ended FPD’s hopes in three pitches, getting a game-ending double play.

          Brookstone finished 28-5, FPD 26-8-1.

Class A: Robert Toombs 7, Flint River 6, Game 3, championship

Class AAA: Terrell 9, Valdwood 6, Game 2, championhip