The second round of the state GHSA playoffs gets under way this week and two area teams are looking to punch their tickets for Columbus. The Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets are hosting Pace Academy with a chance at making their seventh trip to the elite eight, while the Statesboro Blue Devils host Walnut Grove, and are looking for their first trip to Columbus.
The Blue Devils continue to make things interesting for head coach Jim Simmons. Last week Statesboro split on day one with fourth seeded Union Grove, who took them to a third and decisive game on Wednesday, which Statesboro won 7-1.
“We have really been struggling at the plate the last two or three weeks,” Simmons said. “Seeing the same speed of pitching for three straight games over two days, we finally adjusted our timing. We have been getting good pitching all year from Brinson Anne Rogers, and playing well defensively. The hitting has been up and down, but hopefully we found something in that third game.”
“I like what I’ve seen from our hitters in our practices since winning that third game,” Simmons said. “We have done a few things from a hitting standpoint, some drills that have been very effective. I’ve been pleased with the results, now we need to see if that pays off this week.”
The good thing for the Blue Devils is they could see some similar pitching this week. According to Simmons Walnut Grove has similarities to Union Grove on the mound, which is to say not the fastest in the world.
“The scouting report that I have is that the velocity we will see this week is very similar to Union Grove,” Simmons said. “That’s where the drills we have been doing should pay off for us, and help our timing.”
Walnut Grove comes in with a record of 22-8 overall, and entered the region tournament as the number one seed. They were upset in the region championship game by Buford, but swept past Decatur in the opening round winning a pair of games via the run rule, 12-0 and 12-0.
The Warriors are batting .301 as a team, and are led by sophomore Cassie Boatright with a .500 average and three home runs. The Warriors have a lot of young talent, as their top three hitters are all underclassmen.
“They are a very well-coached team,” Simmons said. “They haven’t been around long as a school, but they have already won a state championship, and have been pretty successful at softball. We are expecting a good team to come to town.”
Statesboro and Walnut Grove are scheduled for a doubleheader Tuesday at 4:00 and 6:00. A third and decisive game would be played Wednesday. With bad weather in the forecast for Tuesday, the Blue Devils would possibly play their games Wednesday at the same times.
Southeast Bulloch hosts Pace Academy
The Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jackets are no stranger to the postseason, but have not made it to the elite eight since 2016. Wednesday the Jackets will be looking for the school’s seventh trip to Columbus as they host Pace Academy.
The Jackets come into the sweet sixteen with some momentum having swept Haralson County in the opening round 4-0, and 6-1. Jacket head coach Aimee Civalier was a little worried about playing the Wolverines in the opening round, as she knew they had a good team, but feels that may have actually been a good thing.
“Haralson County was one of the better teams we have played all year,” Civaier said. “We knew that going in, and because they were such a good team it gave us a good indication of where we are, and we had to fight for the wins we got last week. Alana went a solid 14 innings on the mound, and our offense did well against a couple good pitchers”
Last week the Jackets welcomed a team with a 17-10 record, who was actually a fifth seed to town. This week Southeast Bulloch will be playing a Pace Academy team that was 13-14 in the regular season.
The Knights play in region 5-AAA, and were second in the region behind Lovett. They knocked off the number three seed Cherokee Bluff last week at home winning game one 3-1, losing game two 4-3, and then winning game three in an exciting 6-5 victory.
The Knights come in with a team batting average of only .278 and have not hit a home run all season. Their leading hitter is senior Caroline Landis with a .373 average and 17 RBI’s. On the mound the Knights have primarily used two pitchers Landis, and junior Sydney Silverstein who has a 4-2 record and 45 strikeouts in 56 innings pitched.
“They have a couple decent hitters, and their pitching is average,” Civalier said. “They play pretty good defensively, but I feel we are stronger in every aspect of the game over them. If we come to play, like I know we should, we should be able to advance to Columbus.”
Southeast Bulloch and Pace Academy are scheduled to play a doubleheader Wednesday at 6:00 and 8:00. Civalier said she was frustrated about having to move the games to a later time than they originally scheduled 4:00 and 6:00, but she agreed to move them in order to accomodate a few Pace Academy players who were taking the PSAT.
One other team getting the state playoffs underway this week is the Bulloch Academy Gators. The Gators won their region and received a bye into the second round of the state. They will host John Milledge this Saturday in a best of three series at a yet to be determined time. John Milledge swept Brookwood in the opening round 13-0 and 16-0.
