Bulldogs sweep Perry to reach state semifinals
The postseason run of the Cedartown baseball team continued last week as the Bulldogs surpassed their 2021 finish and earned a spot in the Final Four.
Cedartown baseball swept Region 4-4A champion Perry 8-3 and 5-2 on the road in last week’s state quarterfinal series in Houston County on May 9. With those victories in Middle Georgia, CHS earned a spot the Final Four for just the second time in program history.
The Bulldogs traveled to LaGrange on Saturday, May 14, to take on the host Grangers in a doubleheader for the state semifinals. For more on that series visit polkstandardjournal.com.
Both offenses started hot in Game 1 of last Monday’s doubleheader. A two-run double by Reece Tanner and a Cole Dingler RBI single helped Cedartown take a 3-0 advantage in the top of the first before the Panthers responded with two run of their own in the home-half of the inning.
Xavier Holiday would reach on a two-out RBI single to make it a 4-2 ballgame the following inning, but again Perry drove in a run to cut the deficit to a single run. It remained a 4-3 difference for much of the matchup until a bases-loaded walk, RBI single, and dropped third strike allowed the Bulldogs to plate three runs in the sixth inning.
Cedartown added an insurance run in the top of the seventh and coasted to an 8-3 win over a top-ten Perry squad.
Xavier Holiday was 3-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored while Dingler (2-3, RBI), Tanner (2-4, 3 RBI, R), and Chance White (1-1, 3 R) each recorded a double in the victory. MJ Hoilday (1-4, RBI, R), Denver Nale (1-3), and Jay O’Neal (1-4) had base hits in Game 1 and, although he was hitless, Dylan Cupp touched home plate once.
Freshman ace Jay O’Neal was dominant again on the hill for Cedartown. The right-hander bounced back from allowing the early-inning scores to hold the Panthers scoreless over the final five innings. O’Neal picked up a complete-game victory after going seven innings. He allowed three earned runs on seven hits and zero walks while striking out five.
Game 2 was just as tight throughout. The Bulldogs, listed as the home team in the nightcap, had two runs come across in the first on a MJ Holiday single. Perry cut the deficit in half the next half-inning, but Cedartown would retain a 2-1 lead until late in the game.
Defensive miscues in the bottom of the sixth inning helped CHS bring in three runs to take a 5-1 advantage. Though Perry would score again in the final half-inning, it would be too little, too late, as Cedartown punched their ticket to the next round with a 5-2 triumph.
In Game 2, Eli Barrow went 2-for-3 with two doubles and one run batted in while MJ Holiday finished 2-for3 with a double, one RBI, and one run scored. Xavier Holiday (1-3, R), Tanner (1-3), and Ware (1-3, RBI, R) tallied hits in the second matchup as well. Dingler scored once and O’Neal drove in two runs.
The Holiday brothers shut down the Perry offense in Game 2. Senior MJ got the start, going three innings and giving up one unearned run on four hits. Freshman Xavier had four innings pitched, surrendering one earned run on three hits. The brothers combined for seven strikeouts in the series-clinching victory.
With the sweep of Perry (26-11), Cedartown (26-9) advanced to the state semifinals for just the second time in school history. In 2016, the Bulldogs made it to the Class 3A Final Four before falling to eventual state champion Westminster.
This time around, Cedartown did not play a metro-Atlanta private school in the fourth round, but instead faced off with a former Region 5-4A foe. The Bulldogs traveled to Troup County on Saturday, May 14, to meet Region 2-4A
champion LaGrange (29-9) with a Class 4A state championship series appearance hanging in the balance.
The Grangers, who beat Heritage-Catoosa in last Tuesday’s deciding Game 3, benefitted from the GHSA’s Universal Coin Flip which determined that the Bulldogs would travel for the second straight round.
On the other side of the Class 4A bracket, North Oconee swept Thomas County Central and Benedictine beat Troup County in three games.
The winner of the Cedartown-LaGrange series would match up with the North Oconee-Benedictine winner next week in the Class 4A state championship series, which the GHSA announced is scheduled for May 20 and 21 at AdventHealth Stadium, the home of the Rome Braves.