Heritage sees season come to a close in Savannah
The 2021 season officially came to an end for the Heritage baseball team last Monday as the 10thranked Generals ran into a buzzsaw in Savannah as second-ranked Benedictine swept the Class AAAA best-of-three state quarterfinal series, 11- 2 and 20-1.
Heritage ended its season with a stellar 26-9 overall mark, while the Cadets took a 31- 4 record into their state semifinal series against fourth-ranked North Oconee, who swept Troup in their quarterfinal series.
“This year had a lot of anticipation and build-up to it, especially after the Covid-shortened season of 2020, and I think our guys had a great approach to the season and how important each opportunity was that presented itself,” said head coach Eric Beagles. “I’m proud of how our guys battled back from adversity this year and put themselves in a position for the postseason.”
Benedictine 11, Heritage 2
The series opener saw Will Walker belt a two-run homer for the Cadets to give them a 2-0 lead after the second inning. However, the Generals would get the runs right back a half-inning later.
A two-out error put Dylan Bryan at first and got the rally going. C.J. Robertson followed up with a single that moved Bryan all the way to third and Cade Kiniry came through with a run- scoring single. One batter later, Cannon Stafford ripped an Rbi-double to bring in Roberston with the tying run.
It would stay 2- 2 until the bottom of the fifth when Benedictine pushed home three runs and, an inning later, the Cadets pulled away with a sixrun frame.
Heritage continued to scrap until the final out, getting two runners in scoring position in the top of the seventh, but failing to score.
Robertson went 2 for 3, while Caden Snyder and Alex Mixon also had singles for Heritage. Zach Barrett pitched five innings, walking two and giving up six earned runs.
Benedictine 20, Heritage 1
The Cadets took a 2-0 lead into the top of third inning of Game 2 when they erupted for eight runs. They would tack on a solo run in the fourth before scoring nine more times in the top of the fifth.
Heritage would score the game’s final run in their last at-bat on an Rbi-single by Robertson. Kiniry and Bryan had the only other hits for the Generals in the game, both singles.
Kiniry, Landen Skeen, Taylor Vinson, Jonathan Glover and Garrison May all pitched for Heritage in the nightcap, allowing seven earned runs with three strikeouts and 10 combined walks.
Beagles credited his senior class for having a big impact on the team’s mindset in the playoffs, especially in their way to rebound after narrowly missing out on a region title.
“Their ability to refocus and properly prepare for the playoffs was great to see,” he continued. “I think that our experience was a huge factor in our guys being able to withstand a six- run first inning outburst by Stephenson in (the first game) of the playoffs. That alone speaks volumes to their mental toughness to not allow the circumstances to dictate how they played. It was very rewarding to see them get to celebrate after such a tough start.”
He added that the seniors would be greatly missed because of what all they brought to the program.
“They knew and taught our standard of play to the new guys,” he explained. “Anytime you have players that reinforce the values, standards and expectations of your program, usually good things will come as a result of that and that’s exactly what happened this year with our 2021 baseball team.”