Baconton Charter beats Miller County to claim Region 1-A title

BACONTON — Taber Raley smiled for just a brief second after a strikeout to end the game.

Brantley Morgan sprinted toward the dugout.

Baconton Charter head baseball coach Bubber Birdsong took off his cap and ran his fingers through his hair.

One just might get the impression that the Blazers were glad to see this one end.

Baconton Charter claimed its first Region 1-A baseball title since 2013 with a 9-6 victory over Miller County on Wednesday. While it wasn’t the best way, the Blazers found a way to celebrate the victory. It not only earned them the coveted region crown but guaranteed them a berth in the Class A public school state playoffs that begin next Friday.

Since the Georgia High School Association uses a power-ranking system for Class A schools to determine its 16-team playoff field, region champions earn an automatic berth. And Baconton’s 18-6 record assures the Blazers they will play host to a first-round state playoff series.

“I’ll take it,” Morgan said. “It’s a win and a region championship. We didn’t play as well as we should have, but we won and that’s all that matters.”

Baconton had just five hits but took advantage of 16 walks issued from Miller County pitchers.

Miller (12-8-1) scored a run in the first inning on an RBI single from Hunter Givens. Then the Pirates added two more in the second on RBI singles from Cody Chapman and Bo Mock. The way Chapman was in control on the mound, the Blazers wondered if they would push any runs across the plate.

Baconton loaded the bases in the second on a pair of walks and a hit batsmen before Chapman worked himself out of the jam.

Baconton trimmed the deficit to 3-1 in the fourth when a walk forced home a run, then the Blazers took advantage of seven walks during a six-run fifth to grab the lead for good.

They added a pair of runs in the sixth inning to make it 9-3, highlighted by an RBI single from Spencer Culp.

But Miller scored three in the top of seventh and had the tying run at the plate before Raley recorded a strikeout to preserve the victory.

“It was ugly but it was a win,” Birdsong said. “We didn’t play very good, and we finally broke through against Chapman. Our guys started having some good at bats.”

Raley wasn’t as sharp as he was the last time the Blazers defeated Miller County 6-0 on March 22 at Terrell County High School. However, the senior allowed just six hits and struck out eight in the complete-game victory. After the second inning, he set down 13 of the next 14 batters he faced before issuing a walk with an out in the seventh inning.

Grant Smithwick finished 2 for 2 to lead the Blazers’ offense. Brooks Pinson added a double, while Morgan finished 1 for 3.

Baconton won’t know its first-round playoff opponent until the Georgia High School Association finalizes its power rankings early next week.