Crisp County falls just short of state baseball title

CARROLLTON — The hard-hit fly ball carried deep into the center field gap.

Crisp County High School’s Devin Taylor watched the ball drift into the deepest part of Carrollton’s Cole Field. And with Chris McGinnis standing on second base, the Cougars sought to tie the game in the top of the seventh inning.

Instead, Carrollton outfielder Andrew Turner drifted back and hauled in Taylor’s shot, sending Carrollton to its first state baseball championship since 1962 with a 2-0 victory Monday afternoon in the GHSA Class AAAA finals.

After the two split the first two games on Saturday, the Trojans took Game 3 of the best-of-three series, besting the Cougars in a game that seemed just out of Crisp County’s grip. Taylor’s deep fly out seemed to characterize Crisp County’s effort on Monday — good, but just not enough.

“The ball carried well here,” Taylor said. “I figured it would have went out, but oh well, it didn’t.”

Taylor’s drive in most parks would have gone out. But at Cole Field, the 402-mark in center gave the advantage to the pitcher.

“I did,” said Crisp coach Bill Pate when asked if it looked like Taylor’s blast was headed out. “That’s just the way it worked.”

Carrollton plated both of its runs in the fifth inning, using three of its six hits in the game to push both runs home. It saddled Taylor Walls, who had shut down the Trojans in a Game 1, 12-0 victory, with the loss.

The senior entered in relief of starter Witt Campbell, who had worked the first 2 2/3 innings and was masterful with the exception of the fifth when he surrendered a leadoff double to Mitch McLendon, then following a strikeout, back-to-back RBI singles from Will Hesterlee and Roury Glanton gave the Trojans all the runs they needed.

In fairness to Campbell and Walls, they got no help offensively. The Cougars stranded 10 on base and had runners in scoring position in five of the seven innings, including leaving the bases loaded in the third inning.

“We didn’t come up with any clutch hits when we needed to,” McGinnis said. “Sometimes, the ball bounces your way, sometimes it doesn’t. But we left everything we had on this field. We couldn’t have ask for anything more.”

It was a stinging loss the Cougars won’t easily forget. Seeking to win the school’s first title in any sport since 1961, Crisp fell just short. After an easy win in Game 1 on Saturday, Carrollton rallied back to take Games 2 and 3.

“I thought after that first game, we definitely had it,” Taylor said. “We had runners on, but we just couldn’t get them across the plate.”

It marked the final game for five seniors. Unlike last season when the Cougars lost in the state semifinals, McGinnis said Monday’s loss was tough to take.

“It hurts badly when you are that close to winning it,” he said. “We won Game 1, 12-0, and then we didn’t come back and win Game 2, it’s hard. But I know these seniors are going to do well, so that doesn’t make it quite as bad.”