Jackets look to start over in Decatur

This isn’t basketball.

But make no mistake, the Calhoun High School baseball team is looking to rebound.

The Yellow Jackets, who have seen their head coach leave mid-season and finished with a disappointing 7-8 record for third place in the Region 7-5A standings, get the chance to start all over Wednesday night when they play a three-game series against Decatur in the first round of the GHSA 5A state playoffs.

The bounce-back also includes shaking off last week, when the Yellow Jackets completed the regular season schedule by dropping all three games to Blessed Trinity.

After losing the opener last Tuesday to the Titans, 9-1, in Roswell, the Yellow Jackets played them tough twice last Thursday at Chip Henderson Field, but dropped both contests, losing a 7-6 heartbreaker in the first game and then went down 4-2 in the nightcap.

Those scores left the locals in third place in Region 7-5A and set up a date with Region 5-5A second seed Decatur.

For the Yellow Jackets, it is time to look forward and forget about the last month, when turmoil and frustration seemed to be everywhere they turned. And that means coming out firing both barrels — offense and defense — against the Bulldogs, who are a 20-win team that won 13 games in their large nine-team Region.

They have readied themselves for this moment by playing a lot of outstanding teams this year, having traveled from near the Tennessee line (Gordon Lee) to far south Georgia (Tift High School) to play the type of competition that can prepare them for the playoffs.

Just how tough was the schedule the Yellow Jackets played in 2022? Well, they played 29 games and 10 of them, or more than a third, were against teams that won their Region this spring and are currently a one seed going into the playoffs.

Those teams were Pike County, Ola, River Ridge, Rockmart, Metter, Cartersville, Gordon Lee, and Model. And the Jackets also played, and beat, two more teams that won 20 or more games in Sonoraville and South Efflingham.

So this young team with just five seniors on the club, knows what it takes to beat good teams and the hope is they’ll relocate their stride and

have the wind at their backs, starting in the Atlanta area Wednesday night.

Decatur is the two seed out of a strong Region 5-5A as five different teams won at

least nine games in that league this year.

The Bulldogs went 13-3 in their Region to finish second behind St. Pius X, who was 14-1 with that one setback

coming in Decatur. And the ‘Dawgs really had things in cruise control for most of their league games, outscoring the opposition, 163-13, in those 16 outings, meaning they averaged just over 10 runs a game in league play.

Actually, Decatur has had

it going on offensively all year long, scoring 241 runs in its 30 games for an average of just over eight per game. They also allowed just 103 runs, or less than four a game, during that time and recorded five shutouts, along with numerous mercy rule wins, in Region play.

Southwest DeKalb was the third place team out of Region 5-5A with a 12-4 record and they came in a game ahead of Chamblee, which was a solid 11-5 in the district, but was the fourth place team. Northview went 9-7, which would have gotten them into the postseason in a lot of Regions, but finished two games behind Chamblee in fifth place and its season is over.

Calhoun stands 17-12 on the year and the winner of the Calhoun-Decatur matchup will face the winner of the

Veterans-Woodward Academy series next week in the second round. Woodward is the Region 3-5A winner and Veterans is the four seed out of Region 1.

Cartersville was the Region 7-5A champ this year, going 14-1 in league play and Blessed Trinity was second with a 13-2 record. Calhoun was third and Woodland, on the strength of its three-game sweep of Cass last weekend, is the fourth seed out of 7-5A. Both teams went 7-8 in league play.

Cartersville will host Chamblee this week in that firstround 5A playoff matchup and Blessed Trinity will entertain Southwest Dekalb. Woodland will travel to Atlanta to play St. Pius X in that threegame series.

Cass finished fifth in the 7-5A at 4-11 and Hiram came in sixth at 0-15.

Tim Godbee Calhoun first baseman reaches behind him to snag a pop foul ball against Blessed Trinity last Thursday night at Chip Henderson Field.

Tim Godbee The Calhoun catcher applies the tag to a Blessed Trinity runner during the teams’ Region 7-5A doubleheader last Thursday with the Titans.

Tim Godbee The Calhoun right fielder makes the catch while fighting the sun during the Yellow Jackets’ doubleheader last Thursday against Blessed Trinity at Chip Henderson Field.