At last the Dragons are state champs

Columbus, Ga — The Pickens Dragons and the Troup County Tigers were back at it on Monday, May 25th as they battled in game three of the 3A State Championship series to crown a winner. The two teams proved during the three game set, that they were evenly matched. A masterful performance from starter Everett Grubbs, and a pair of first inning was enough for the Dragons to hang on and capture their first ever state baseball championship.

 

Robert Turner, would lead off the game by drawing a four pitch walk. After a pop out, Turner, would swipe 2nd to advance into scoring position. Kam Jenkins, would then reach on an infield single as the Dragons would have runners at the corners with 1-out. A.J. Rice, on an 0-2 count, would send a shot down the right field line that would score Turner and courtesy runner Caden Kirchoff to put the Dragons up 2-0.

Rice, would move up to 3rd after a ground out. The Tigers, would get out of the first with a fly out. Dragons starter Everett Grubbs, would toss a 1-2-3 bottom of the first as he picked up a ground out, a strikeout, and a fly out. Heading to the second, the Dragons led the Tigers, 2-0.

 

In the top of the second, Tigers starter Davis Moncus, would toss his first 1-2-3 inning of the game after a ground out, a line out, and a strikeout. In the bottom of the inning, C. Mosley, would reach on a fielding error with 1-out. C. Wilson, would follow that with a single to put runners at 1st and 2nd. E. Grubbs, would get out of the second with a pop out and a strikeout. Heading to the third, it was still 2-0 Dragons.

 

In the top of the third, the Dragons, would once again go down in order on ground out, a line out, and a pop out. In the bottom of the third, E. Grubbs, would only need 8 pitches to get out of the frame as he forced three ground outs. Heading to the fourth, Pickens still led Troup, 2-0.

 

It would be a scoreless top of the fourth for the Dragons as Moncus picked up a pair of strikeouts and a pop out. In the bottom of the inning, Moncus, would reach with a lead off single. C. Walker, would follow that with a single of his own to put runners at the corners with nobody out. The Dragons, would turn a 4-6-3 double play as Moncus would come in to score to make it 2-1. E. Grubbs, would force a ground out to get out of the inning and send it to the fifth.

 

In the top of the fifth, the Dragons, still couldn’t get the bats going as they went down in order on a ground out, a pop out, and a line out. In the bottom of the fifth, T. Dean, would reach with a 1-out single. Dean, would then steal 2nd to advance into scoring position. After a strikeout, G. Edwards, would reach with a 2-out single to put runners at the corners. E. Grubbs, would force a fly out to send it to the sixth with the score still 2-1.

 

Moncus, would continue his dominance in the top of the sixth as he picked up a pair of ground outs and a line out. In the bottom of the sixth, Moncus, would reach on a fielding errors. After a pair of pop outs, Moncus, would swipe 2nd to advance into scoring position. Wilson, would hit a grounder to Jennings Allen at short. Moncus, seeing Allen slip on the play, would head home. Allen, would throw a strike to Kam Jenkins, who tagged Moncus to end the inning.

 

In the top of the seventh, Allen, would reach with a 1-out single. The first base runner of any kind for the Dragons since the top of the first. Moncus, would get out of the seventh with a line out and a pop out. In the bottom of the inning, E. Grubbs, came out looking to finish what he started. E. Grubbs, would force a ground out and pick up a strikeout before having to leave due to pitch count rules.

Turner, would come in from center field to try and pick up the final out of the ball game. Turner, would do just that as he would strike out T. Delaney looking to pick up the win and seal the first ever state championship for the Pickens Dragons.

 

Stats for the Dragons in Game Three:

Robert Turner: 1 walk, 1 run scored, and 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 0 BB, 1 K on 5 pitches

Kam Jenkins: 1-3 with 1 single

Caden Kirchoff: 1 run scored

A.J. Rice: 1-3 with 1 double and 2 RBI

Everett Grubbs: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R/ER, 0 BB, 4 K on 109 pitches

 

With the win, Pickens High School has its first state championship since the 1973-74 Nettes state basketball championship. The 2026 Pickens Dragons baseball team, becomes the first boys team to win a state championship in school history. It is indeed a great day to be a Dragon.