Columbus, Ga — On Saturday, May 23rd, for the first time in school history, a boys team at Pickens High School was competing for a state championship. It had been since the 1973-74 state champion Nettes team that a team from Pickens, made it to the state championship game/series. The Pickens Dragons, took on the defending 3A State champions, the Troup County Tigers, in a rematch of last year’s final four. The Dragons, were able to take game one, 7-2. The Tigers, would use a seventh inning rally to steal game two, 8-1.

Game One:

Things started quickly for the Dragons in the top of the first as Robert Turner and Jennings Allen would both reach on fielding errors. The Dragons, would then go 1 for 2 on a double steal attempt as Allen would be thrown out at 2nd. Kam Jenkins, would then draw a walk. Jenkins, would catch the Tigers napping and make it to 2nd on the play. A.J. Rice, would bring in Turner with a single to make it 1-0 Dragons.

Courtesy runner Caden Kirchoff, would advance to 3rd while Rice would make it to 2nd on the play. Christian Starks, would bring in Kirchoff with an RBI sac fly to make it 2-0. The Tigers, would get out of the first with a ground out. In the bottom of the frame, after a strikeout, B. Willis would reach with a 1-out single. Rice, would force a pop out and pick up his 2nd strikeout of the game to send it to the second with the Dragons leading, 2-0.

Everett Grubbs, would lead off the top of the second with a single. Dawson “Boogie” Lowit, would follow with a single of his own to put runners at 1st and 2nd. After E. Grubbs stole 3rd, Matthew Davis, would drive in E. Grubbs with an RBI single to make it 3-0 Dragons. Turner, would then reach on a fielder’s choice as Davis would be forced out at 2nd. Lowit, would advance to 3rd on the play.

Turner, would then steal 2nd to advance into scoring position. Allen, would then be hit by a pitch to load the bases with 1-out. Jenkins, would bring in Lowit with an RBI sac fly to make it 4-0 heading to the bottom of the inning. In the bottom of the second, Rice, would pick up a strikeout, a ground out, and a line out in a scoreless frame. Heading to the third, Pickens led Troup, 4-0.

In the top of the third, Truitt Grubbs, would look to get a rally started after reaching on a 2-out single. The Tigers, would get out of the third after T. Grubbs was thrown out trying to steal 2nd. In the bottom of the inning, G. Edwards, would look to get something going for the Tigers as he reached on a 2-out single. Edwards, would then steal 2nd, and advance to 3rd on a throwing error. Rice, would get out of the third with a strikeout.

In the top of the fourth, Lowit, would reach after drawing a 1-out walk. Troup starter Jake Perry and the Tigers, would get out of the fourth with a 4-6-3 double play. In the bottom of the fourth, D. Moncus, would reach with a lead off single. Moncus, would then take 2nd on a passed ball. Moncus, would score from 2nd on a throwing error. C. Walker, would advance to 2nd on the play.

C. Mosley, would then reach with a single to put runners at 1st and 3rd. Mosley, would then be thrown out trying to steal 2nd. After a line out, Walker, would come in to score on a wild pitch to make it 4-2. C. Wilson, would then draw a walk to keep the inning alive for the Tigers. After a weather delay, Rice, would pick up a strikeout to send it to the fifth with the Dragons ahead, 4-2.

Turner, would lead off the top of the fifth with a double. He would then advance to 3rd on a wild pitch. After a ground out, Jenkins, would drive in Turner with an RBI single to make it 5-2. A wild pitch, would advance courtesy runner Kirchoff up to 2nd. Rice, would then draw a walk to put runners at 1st and 2nd with 1-out. Kirchoff, would move up to 3rd after a fly out. Courtesy runner Cooper Helmuth, would then steal 2nd to put runners at 2nd and 3rd with 2-out.

T. Grubbs, would bring in both Kirchoff and Helmuth with a 2-RBI triple to make it 7-2. On a 3-1 count, E. Grubbs, would be hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners. Then, another weather delay. This one, a little longer than the first one. Once play resumed, the Tigers, would get out of the fifth after a successful pick off throw.  In the bottom of the fifth, Rice, would work around a 2-out single by Willis. Heading to the sixth, Pickens led Troup, 7-2.

In the top of the sixth, the Dragons, picked up back to back 1-out singles by Davis and Turner. The Tigers, would convert another pick off throw and then pick up a strikeout to get out of the sixth. In the bottom of the inning, after back to back strikeouts by Rice, Wilson, would reach on a fielding error. Wilson, would then steal 2nd to advance into scoring position. Another strikeout from Rice, would send it to the seventh with the Dragons up, 7-2.

Starks, would keep the top of the seventh alive for the Dragons with a 2-out double. Starks, would be left stranded as the Tigers would get out of the seventh with a strikeout. Rice, back out for the bottom of the inning, would strike out the side in the bottom of the seventh to seal a 7-2 win in game one for the Dragons.

Stats for the Dragons in Game One:

Robert Turner: 2-4 with 1 single, 1 double, 2 steals, and 2 runs scored

Jennings Allen: 1 hit by pitch

Kam Jenkins: 1-2 with 1 single, 1 walk, 1 steal, and 2 RBI

Caden Kirchoff: 2 runs scored

A.J. Rice: 1-2 with 1 single, 1 walk, and 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R/0 ER, 1 BB, 14 K on 104 pitches

Cooper Helmuth: 1 run scored

Christian Starks: 1-3 with 1 double, and 1 RBI

Truitt Grubbs: 2-4 with 1 single, 1 triple, and 2 RBI

Everett Grubbs: 1-2 with 1 single, 1 hit by pitch, and 1 run scored

Dawson Lowit: 1-2 with 1 single, 1 walk, and 1 run scored

Matthew Davis: 2-3 with 2 singles and 1 RBI

Game Two:

The two teams flipped sides for the second game of the doubleheader. In the top of the first, G. Edwards, would lead off with a first pitch single. Edwards, would be thrown out trying to steal 2nd. After a walk drawn by B. Willis, Dragons starter Christian Starks, would pick up back to back strikeouts to get out of the first. The Dragons, would go down in order in the bottom of the first. Heading to the second, it was still tied at 0.

In the top of the second, Starks, would toss a 1-2-3 frame with a pair of strikeouts and a line out. In the bottom of the inning, Starks, would pick up the first hit of the game for the Dragons with a 1-out single. Tigers starter C. Mosley, would get out of the second with a strikeout and a pop out. Heading to the third, Pickens and Troup were tied at 0.

Starks, would need only 7 pitches to get out of the third as he forced a pair of ground outs and a pop out. In the bottom of the third, Robert Turner, would reach with a 2-out double. Jennings Allen, would drive in Turner with an RBI single to make it 1-0 Dragons. Allen, would make it all the way to 3rd on the play. Kam Jenkins, would then draw a walk to put runners at the corners. The Tigers, would get out of the third with a strikeout.

In the top of the fourth, Willis, would draw a lead off walk. After a pop out, Willis’ courtesy runner, T. Pope, would steal 2nd to advance into scoring position. Starks, would get out of the fourth with a pair of line outs. Starks, would lead off the bottom of the fourth by getting hit by a pitch. The Dragons, couldn’t do anything with that as Mosley would pick up a pop out, a line out, and a ground out to send it to the fifth.

Starks, would toss a scoreless top of the fifth with a pair of ground outs and a strikeout. The Dragons, would also go down in order in the bottom of the fifth on a pair of pop outs and a ground out. Heading to the sixth, the Dragons led the Tigers, 1-0.

In the top of the sixth, Edwards, would reach with a 1-out single. After a line out, Edwards, would be caught trying to steal 2nd for the second time to send it to the bottom of the sixth. Jenkins, would lead off the bottom of the sixth by getting hit by a pitch. A.J. Rice, would advance courtesy runner Caden Kirchoff up to 2nd after a sac bunt. Starks, would then be intentionally walked to put runners at 1st and 2nd with 1-out.

Both Kirchoff and Starks, would move up a base after a ground out. The Tigers, would get out of the sixth with a strikeout. Heading to the seventh, the Dragons led it, 1-0.

In the top of the seventh, the wheels sorta fell off for the Dragons as the Tigers would plate 8 runs on 8 hits and several fielding errors to take an 8-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh. Mosley, on to finish the game, would pick up a strikeout, a ground out, and a pop out to seal the 8-1 win in game two for the Tigers.

Stats for the Dragons in Game Two:

Robert Turner: 1-4 with 1 double and 1 run scored

Jennings Allen: 1-3 with 1 single and 1 RBI

Kam Jenkins: 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch, and 2 caught stealing

A.J. Rice: sacrifice bunt

Christian Starks: 1-1 with 1 single, 1 hit by pitch, 1 intentional walk, and 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R/ER, 2 BB, 5 K on 77 pitches

These two teams went to a game three last year in the final four, and they will do it again with a state championship on the line on Monday, May 25th. Game to again be played at Synovus Park in Columbus. Game time is set for 6 pm.