Jackets’ seniors step up for thrilling Senior Day victory
Calhoun celebrated their seniors on Tuesday prior to their Region 7-AAAAA contest against Woodland, and there was plenty of celebrating at the end of the game as well with multiple seniors playing a huge role in making it happen.
The Jackets had seniors step up at the plate, on the mound and on the basepaths to help earn a dramatic 1-0 victory in 11 innings on their home field over Woodland.
After stellar pitching and defense by both teams held the opposing offenses off the scoreboard for 10 and a half innings, the Jackets (16-6, 9-4 in 7-AAAAA) delivered a clutch rally in the bottom of the 11th that started with a one-out double by senior Barrett Saunders and ended with a two-out, walk-off single by his twin brother and fellow senior Braden Saunders which brought home another senior Dante Morton for the game-winning run.
The thrilling ending wouldn’t have been possible, however, without the major contributions on the mound by another pair of seniors, Hagan Banks and Bryse Ingle, who combined to shut out Woodland (8-18, 4-9 in 7-AAAAA) over 11 innings while allowing just three hits to the Wildcats’ offense.
Calhoun head coach Chip Henderson said the way the game played out with so many of his seniors playing a huge role in a memorable win could not have been more fitting for Senior Day.
“This is such a great group of kids, and they will remember this one for sure,” said Henderson. “This could possibly be their last game on this field and to go out like this is special. It was a tough game and we didn’t get a whole lot of breaks today, but they willed themselves to a victory. I’m excited for them to get a win like this on Senior Day.”
Banks started on the bump for Calhoun and was close to unhittable as he threw nine innings of shutout ball, giving up just three hits while striking out an incredible 17 Wildcat batters.
“We were very concerned of how we would produce in this new classification,” said Davis. “Our girls have worked really hard even when their backs were pushed against the wall in some tough matches… they never quit. We’re looking forward to them taking their scrappiness into the state playoffs.”
Cartersville’s lone point in the championship match came from Emily Bush who won at No. 1 singles. The No. 1 doubles match was pulled before completion due to the result of the team score no longer being in doubt.
The Lady Jackets advanced to the championship match by defeating Cass 4-1 on Tuesday in their first match of the 7-AAAAA Tournament. They got wins from Gallman and Tate at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively, and swept the doubles matches as well with victories by the No. 1 team of Emma Blackstock and Emma Williams and the No. 2 team of Christian and Talley.
The lone point for Cass came at No. 1 singles as Emily Surcey claimed a win.
Next up for the Calhoun Girls is a trip to the Class AAAAA State Tournament. They will host Lithia Springs in the first round at the Calhoun Tennis Center with a date and time to be announced.
In other action from the Region 7-AAAAA Tournament at Dellinger Park:
Calhoun Boys earn No. 3 seed for state
tournament
The Calhoun Boys won on Tuesday in the opening round of the Region 7-AAAAA Tournament at Dellinger Park and then rebounded from a loss in the semifinals to win in the third-place match on Wednesday to claim the No. 3 seed for the upcoming Class AAAAA State Tournament.
The Jackets (8-11) opened the tournament with a strong showing in a 5-0 victory Tuesday over Cass to clinch a State berth and advance to the region semis thanks to singles wins by Chris Arnold (No. 1), Will Meadows (No. 2) and Patrick Meadows (No. 3) along with doubles victories from the team of Jacob Beamer and Jaxon Prater (No. 1) and the team of Eli Tibbs and Hudson Ford (No. 2).
Following that win, Calhoun drew a tough assignment against Cartersville in the semifinals and suffered a 3-0 loss to drop into the region third-place match on Wednesday. The Jackets bounced back nicely, defeating Hiram 5-0 to clinch the No. 3 seed. Wins came from Arnold (No. 1), Will Meadows (No. 2) and Patrick Meadows (No. 3) in singles matches and the team of Beamer and Prater (No. 1) and Tibbs and Ford (No. 2) in doubles action.
“The boys are young this year but have worked very hard to earn the No. 3 seed in our new classification,” said Davis. “We are excited for both teams and look forward to the state playoffs.”
The Jackets will now turn their attention to the Class AAAAA State Tournament where they will visit North Springs in the first round with a date and time to be announced.