Deerfield-Windsor, Frederica Split Thriller; Title Berth on Line Sunday

ALBANY — By the time the rain finally arrived Saturday afternoon, Deerfield-Windsor and Frederica Academy had already spent six exhausting hours slipping through mud, trading punches and battling for a trip to the state championship series.

Now it comes down to Sunday.

The Knights and Frederica split a tense semifinal doubleheader Saturday at Deerfield-Windsor, forcing a rare Sunday afternoon showdown with a berth in next week’s GIAA Class AAA championship series at Georgia Southern University on the line.

First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

Friday’s opener had already been washed away by thunderstorms, and both teams raced to complete Saturday’s games before another round of rain rolled into Albany. The final outs were recorded only minutes before the skies opened again.

By then, the emotions had already overflowed.

Frederica captured Game 1, 5-4, when Deerfield-Windsor committed a seventh-inning error that allowed the winning run to score. The muddy infield conditions added tension throughout the afternoon, with some Frederica supporters loudly voicing frustration from the stands.

Still, Deerfield-Windsor never unraveled.

“We played two tough games today,” Deerfield-Windsor coach Kyle Keen said. “We got a little down after losing that first one, but our guys answered back in game two with a win.”

The opener featured momentum swings nearly every inning.

After Frederica grabbed a 3-2 lead in the fourth, Deerfield-Windsor answered when Boyd Pollock raced home headfirst through the muddy plate area on a clutch two-out hit from David Hutchins.

Frederica moved back in front again in the fifth after a throwing error during a stolen-base attempt allowed a run to score. Moments later, catcher Drake Wiggins redeemed himself by firing a strike to West Rushton at second base to erase another runner trying to steal.

The Knights tied the game again later in the inning after Frederica threw away a pickoff attempt, but Deerfield-Windsor stranded the bases loaded before Frederica finally pushed across the winning run in the seventh.

Game 2 belonged to Collins Clark.

After allowing two early runs, the junior left-hander settled in and dominated, tossing a complete game as Deerfield-Windsor claimed a 4-2 victory to keep its season alive.

“Collins Clark gave up two runs early but then settled in and we were able to dominate,” Keen said.

Lane Sceals continued his torrid postseason at the plate with three hits and three stolen bases, while the Knights finally broke through in the sixth inning when Frederica committed a costly error that allowed two runs to score.

Now everything shifts to one final game.

Keen said All-Region junior Gage Tomlinson is expected to take the mound Sunday for Deerfield-Windsor. Tomlinson enters with a 2.94 ERA and a team-leading .378 batting average.

After two rain-soaked days, muddy uniforms and playoff tension that refused to ease, the season now comes down to one final afternoon in Albany.