By Adam MacDonald
VALDOSTA — It’s that point in time when local sports are winding down and a long, boring summer is in front of us.
That’s why it’s time for one last hurrah.
A few local teams are still hard at work trying to bring a championship home to TitleTown, USA.
Valdosta State has three teams in the race for national championships — women’s tennis, softball and baseball.
After winning the South Region by beating West Florida on Saturday, the Lady Blazers’ tennis team travels this week to Orlando, Fla., for the NCAA championships. They are one of 16 teams remaining in Division II and will play Lynn on Wednesday.
The Lady Blazers’ softball team is also one of 16 teams remaining in Division II. They are headed to Huntsville, Ala., to take on the Alabama-Huntsville Lady Chargers in the South Region championship on Friday at 1:30 p.m. It’s a best 2-out-of-3 series. This is the furthest VSU (57-6) has made it since 2002 when it lost to Barry in the South Region championship. If the Lady Blazers can win the series against UAH they will advance to the eight-team national championship tournament for the first time in school history.
The VSU baseball team has advanced to its first South Region tournament since 2002. The Blazers (41-19) reached the 40-win mark for the first time since 2002, but they almost saw their season come to an end last week. The Blazers figured they needed at least three wins in the double elimination Gulf South Conference tournament last week. However, they lost the first game of the tournament to Southern Arkansas and were faced with winning three games in three days or packing their bags for the offseason.
After cruising past Ouachita Baptist 16-1 in the first of the three must-win games, the Blazers ran into trouble. They blew a seven run lead to Harding but came back to win 9-8 on a home run by Chase Blackwood in the top of the 10th. Then they overcame a two-run deficit with three runs in the seventh inning to beat West Florida, 7-6, in the third and final must-win game.
The Blazers lost again to Southern Arkansas in the GSC championship game, but the mission of getting into the South Region was accomplished.
They will play Barry on Thursday in Magnolia, Ark., in the first round of the South Region. The winner of the eight-team South Region will advance to the College World Series.
While Valdosta State is having a spring sports season to remember, so are some local prep teams.
The Lowndes Vikings’ baseball team got off to a dreadful 1-7 start this season and took a back seat to the Valdosta Wildcats who held down first place in region 1-AAAAA for most of the season.
However, the Vikings caught fire in the middle of the season. They have won 12-of-15, including a 13-7 drubbing of the Wildcats at Bazemore Field which helped them claim the 1-AAAAA championship.
Lowndes cruised to a 12-0 win and a 7-1 against Newton in the first round of the state playoffs and will play a double header at home starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday against Chapel Hill in the second round.
A baseball team to the north of Valdosta that beat the Vikings twice might have the best chance to bring home a title. But it won’t be to Valdosta. It’ll be to Adel.
The Cook Hornets (25-3) have won 21 games in a row and beat Valdosta once and Lowndes twice this season. They are a 2-AA team that would have won region 1-AAAAA. Cook’s pitching has been dominant. The Hornets are led on the mound by a trio of excellent pitchers which include Kaleb Cowart, D.J. Johnson and Josh Barks.
Cowart is without a doubt the ace and best pitcher in South Georgia. His fastball can reach the mid-90s and he has a devastating curveball. The junior has three no-hitter this season, the last coming in the Hornets’ first round playoff game against Brantley County. Cook won 10-0 in five innings.
Johnson leads off for the Hornets and can play all over the field, though he mostly plays shortstop. On the mound this season Johnson has a 16 strikeout game, two 14 strikeout games, two 11 strikeout games and a 10 strikeout game.
The Hornets outscored Brantley County 22-1 in the two games they played and face Toombs County in a double header on Wednesday in Adel in the second round of the state playoffs.
One last local team has kept its season alive. The Valwood Valiants’ baseball team won a strange first-round series with Memorial Day in the GISA playoffs and will host Heritage of Columbus in the second round on Friday.
The Valiants beat Memorial Day 29-0 in the first game of a best 2-out-of-3 series, then lost 11-7 in the second game. However, the Valiants recovered to win the third game 15-6 and won the series.
It’s the first time since 1993 the Valiants have advanced to the quarterfinals of the GISA playoffs.
