Wildcats sweep Luella

By Christian Malone

VALDOSTA — The Wildcats are going to the quarterfinals.

Valdosta High’s baseball team earned a spot in the third round of the AAAAA state playoffs with a doubleheader sweep of Luella Wednesday at Bazemore Field. The Wildcats won the first game, 7-5, then took the nightcap 6-4.

“It’s a good feeling,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said. “I’m happy for our guys and our coaches and fans.”

The Wildcats (25-5) will play either South Forsyth or Kell next week at home. The War Eagles and Longhorns split their first two games Wednesday.

Valdosta survived a nailbiter in the first game, holding on to win 7-5 after Luella rallied from a 6-0 deficit in the top of the sixth.

“We beat a very good baseball team,” Shuman said. “They were as good as anybody in our region. It was not over until the last out in both games.”

Valdosta had a six-run third inning. Luella had a five-run sixth. Other than that, the game was a pitcher’s duel between Valdosta’s Earl Daniels and Luella’s Scott Groover.

Daniels (10-0) pitched a complete game, allowing five runs, eight hits and striking out nine. Groover also went the distance, allowing seven runs, six hits and striking out four.

Groover cruised through the first two innings, but got in trouble in the third. Jamie Turner opened the inning with a double to left. Groover struck out Kyle Rowe swinging on a pitch in the dirt, but catcher D.J. Wilson’s throw to first was off the mark, and Rowe was safe. Groover walked Stuart Brooks to load the bases, then walked Taylor Prain to force in a run. Groover struck out Thomas Lovett, but hit Cameron Cain with a pitch, bringing home another run. Galen Smith’s ground ball to short brought home Brooks, making it 3-0. Groover hit Daniels in the head, reloading the bases.

Chad Prain hit a ground ball deep into the hole. Lions shortstop Trey Malone got to the ball, but his throw to first was high. Taylor Prain scored, and Cain kept running from second and scored, making it 5-0. Turner singled past the third baseman, scoring courtesy runner Herb Reinhard.

Daniels shut out the Lions for five innings. But he ran into trouble in the sixth. He walked ninth hitter Jared Ashburgh, yielded a bloop single to Chance Masters, then walked Malone to load the bases. Up stepped Wilson, Luella’s biggest bat. Daniels got Wilson to swing and miss at two curve balls, but then got a pitch up in the strike zone. Wilson drilled it to the fence in deep right center field. Ashburgh and Masters scored, and Malone raced for the plate as the throw came in. Smith, the Valdosta catcher, reached for the ball, but was slightly blocked by Masters, who was standing by the plate, and Malone scored. Valdosta coach Bart Shuman argued that interference should be called, but the run stood.

Ryan Marsh followed with an RBI double, scoring another run to make it 6-4. Later in the inning, on an 0-2 pitch with the bases loaded, Daniels hit John Welborn, making it 6-5, with still only one out.

At that point, Daniels made the biggest pitch of the day. He got Ashburgh to hit a ground ball to Taylor Prain at short. Prain flipped it to Cain at second, then Cain fired to Turner at first for the inning-ending double play.

“The double play in the first game was big,” Shuman said. “Bases loaded, one out, 6-5. That was huge.”

Valdosta came back with an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. One out singles by Turner and Rowe put two men on. Then Taylor Prain lined a single over the second baseman’s head, plating Turner to make it 7-5. Daniels then shut the door in the seventh.

Turner went 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI for Valdosta. The Prain brothers each drove in two runs.

Valdosta 6, Luella 4

Just like it had in the first game, Valdosta jumped out to an early lead, then held on after a Luella rally.

Rowe (11-1) gave the Wildcats another strong outing. He retired the first 11 batters he faced, and allowed just six hits, striking out five.

Valdosta gave him an early lead to work with, scoring twice in the first and two more times in the third.

Taylor Prain singled to lead off the game, took second on a groundout and went to third on Cain’s single up the middle. Two batters later, Daniels beat out an infield single, scoring Prain. Chad Prain followed with an RBI single, bringing home Cain to make it 2-0.

With one out in the top of the third, Daniels walked, advanced on an errant pickoff throw, took third on a Chad Prain single and scored on a passed ball. Later, Turner singled between third and short, bringing home Prain to make it 4-0.

Rowe was perfect for the first 3.2 innings, but then ran into trouble. Wilson ended his perfect game with a single and Marsh followed with another single, putting two men on. Then Andrew Tumlin hit a fly ball the opposite way that carried over the left field fence for a three-run homer, turning a 4-0 Valdosta lead into a 4-3 game.

But Valdosta gave itself two insurance runs in the sixth. After Cain walked, Smith greeted reliever Josh Pape with double to deep left field. Cain raced around third and beat the throw home. Daniels followed with a single to right, and courtesy runner Wesley Welch scored to make it 6-3.

“Galen was great behind the plate, and had that big double in the sixth,” Shuman said. “Instead of a one-run lead, we had a three-run lead.”

Shaun Ulrich had an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh for Luella, but Rowe retired the final three batters to close out the game.

For Valdosta, Taylor Prain went 3-for-5 with a run, Daniels was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, Cain was 2-for-4 with two runs and Chad Prain went 2-for-3 with a run. Wilson went 2-for-3, the only Luella player with more than one hit.