Baconton Charter sweeps Irwin County, heads to Final Four

BACONTON — Marc Logue didn’t arrive at Baconton Charter talking about patience, rebuilding or laying foundations for the future.

He came chasing rings.

“I don’t have a lot of years to get 300 wins,” Logue said Wednesday night with a smile. “I’m chasing rings now. I told the guys from the start that our goal was to get to Statesboro.”

Now the Blazers are one step away.

Behind dominant pitching performances from Hudson Coronati and Daniel Cruz, Baconton Charter swept Irwin County 4-3 and 11-0 Wednesday night before a packed and roaring home crowd to advance to the GHSA Class A Division II Final Four for the first time in school history.

The Blazers had reached the Elite Eight three previous times, but had never broken through to the state semifinals until now.

And from the opening pitch Wednesday, the atmosphere felt different.

Fans packed the Blazer Field stands and lined the fences surrounding the field, erupting with every strikeout, diving play and big hit. Irwin County brought a large and loud following of its own, complete with ringing cowbells and a fan dressed as an Indian beating a tom tom drum throughout the night.

Every pitch seemed to carry postseason weight.

Logue believed his team was prepared for it.

The first-year Baconton Charter coach intentionally built one of the toughest schedules in the area, loading the regular season with opponents capable of testing the Blazers long before the state playoffs arrived.

“I really think it has to do with our tough schedule,” Logue said. “I intentionally scheduled games with teams that I knew would give us really strong pitching — teams like Worth County, Valwood and Brookwood. We lost some games because of it, but we got into some dogfights with that schedule and I believe that helped prepare us for winning today.”

The Blazers looked ready from the beginning.

Coronati set the tone in game one, striking out 11 batters while throwing a complete game in the 4-3 victory. The senior left-hander allowed just three hits and repeatedly worked out of trouble as Irwin County threatened late.

Baconton Charter grabbed control early when Quinton Peterson drove in a run with a groundout in the first inning before Cruz ripped a two-run double later in the inning. Coronati added another run in the second with an RBI single to center field.

Irwin County battled back and cut the lead to one run, but Coronati closed the door to preserve the historic victory.

Cruz, Corbin Suggs, Kayden Logue, Victor Esquivel, CJ Richardson, Coronati and Colton Suggs each collected hits in the opener while the Blazers played error-free defense.

The second game became a showcase of Baconton Charter’s depth and toughness.

Earlier in the week, Cruz did not even appear likely to play because of injury. Instead, he delivered six shutout innings while striking out seven batters in the 11-0 victory.

“Corbin Suggs and Daniel Cruz were both dealing with injuries this week,” Logue said. “Fortunately, they toughed it out and were able to help us win.”

The Blazers pounded out 13 hits in the nightcap.

Victor Esquivel drove in the game’s first run in the second inning before Peterson added a two-run single in the third. Coronati delivered the loudest moment of the night in the seventh inning when he blasted a three-run homer to right field as the Baconton crowd erupted again.

Peterson finished 4-for-5 while Suggs, Kayden Logue and Esquivel each collected multiple hits.

After surviving a difficult playoff series at Bowdon last week, Logue said his team once again showed resilience when the pressure increased.

“We fought back last week in Bowdon and we did it again today,” Logue said. “We opened it up and fought today. I couldn’t ask for anything more. Everybody played well and everybody contributed.”

Waiting in Lakeland now is perhaps the toughest challenge in Class A Division II baseball — two-time defending state champion Lanier County.

But before the Blazers can even think about a state championship series, they may have another scheduling battle ahead.

As currently scheduled, the Final Four conflicts with Baconton Charter’s graduation ceremony. Four baseball players are set to graduate, and Logue’s own child is among the graduating class.

Logue said he is working to adjust the schedule.

In most schools, graduation and a Final Four trip would be separate milestones. Next week at Baconton Charter, they may arrive together.

Logue came to Baconton chasing rings.

Now the Blazers are still chasing one, too.