Jackets’ playoff run comes to an end in Final Four
— All good things must come to an end, and Calhoun’s impressive and improbable run through the Class AAA State Playoffs did just that on Wednesday.
The Jackets were swept by North Hall in the Class AAA Final Four to bring their season to an end as the Trojans played a complete series from an offensive, defensive and pitching standpoint that was too much for Calhoun to overcome.
Calhoun (23-15) fell behind early in Game 1 and saw the Trojans build an insurmountable lead as well as get a dominant performance from starting pitcher Reese Olson, who took a perfect game into the fifth, to drop the opener 10-1.
The second game of the doubleheader was closer, and the Jackets had a few chances to get back into it after three runs in the first three innings by North Hall (29-11), but once again a great effort on the mound from the Trojans Corban Meeler didn’t allow it. Calhoun lost the contest 3-0 as their season came to a close.
“We kind of ran into a buzz saw tonight,” said Calhoun coach Chip Henderson. “They got quality pitching, and we could never really string anything together. Their pitchers pounded the zone, got us behind in the count and it felt like we were swinging down 0-1 or 0-2 all night. That changes your mindset as a hitter, and we couldn’t ever really get anything going.
“North Hall is a great team, and there has to be a winner and a loser in a series like this. Unfortunately, we came out on the wrong end of it tonight.”
Olson held the Jackets to three hits total in Game 1 for a complete-game win on the mound. He went seven innings and gave up just one run while striking out five and walking one. The junior was perfect through four before Calhoun put two hits and their lone run on the board in the fifth.
Offensively for the Jackets, Tanner Gallman had two of the three hits, and Bryson Davis added a hit and an RBI. Starting pitcher Brett Potts, who had been great in the playoffs so far going 3-0, had a tough day on the mound to take the loss as the North Hall hitters were dialed in and racked up 12 total hits.
North Hall leadoff man Taber Mongero was 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and three runs scored in Game 1, and Jackson Latty and Drew Hubbard also had two hits apiece. Latty drove in three runs, and Hubbard had a double and two RBIs. Charlie Erickson contributed a double and two RBIs, and Olson aided his own effort on the mound with a hit and an RBI.
Game 2 didn’t get off great start for Calhoun either as an error in the top of the first led to an early run for the Trojans. They added single runs in the second and third innings to build a three-run lead, and that was all Meeler needed. The senior went all seven innings for the shutout win and gave up just two hits while striking out six.
Calhoun’s best chance at scoring came in the fifth when they had runners reach first and second with one out on a hit-by-pitch and a walk, but they were quickly erased by a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning and the threat. The lone hits for the Jackets came from Matthew Williams and Austin Trammell.
Jackson Braden took the loss on the mound despite some solid work in his Game 2 start. He went five innings and gave up three runs (one earned) on six hits while striking out six. Davis Allen came in to pitch two scoreless innings in relief to finish the game and gave up one hit while striking out three.
Offensively for the Trojans in Game 2, Hubbard had two hits, and Olson and John Mark Montgomery each drove in runs.
Henderson said it’s always tough to see the season end, but he is very proud of what his team accomplished this year and how they fought to make it to the Final Four as a No. 4 seed.
“I see a lot of tears in the kids’ eyes’ out here, and that means that this means something to them,” said Henderson. “It’s always tough for it to end, especially for the seniors, but going through this run the last month or so and proving a lot of people wrong about this team was unbelievable. We were one series away from playing for a state title, and that’s some these kids will draw from going forward in baseball and in life for the ones that won’t be back next year.”
The Jackets will lose six seniors, including Gallman, Davis, Braden, Trammell, Ryan Randall and Alex Hinojosa. Henderson said they have left their mark on Calhoun baseball and he appreciates everything they gave this season and over the last four seasons.
“A lot of them, this is their last go-round playing baseball, and they have given us a lot of memories,” said Henderson. “This team and these seniors have fought and left if all on the field the last four weeks. That’s their trademark. It was a great run, and I’m proud of all of them.”
Despite the losses, Henderson has a strong core of younger players returning next season as they try to build off the momentum of the Final Four run.
“I’m already looking forward to next year,” said Henderson.