Lee County baseball advances to second round

ATLANTA — The Lee County Trojans are planning a trip to the Georgia coast this week after blowing up Lakeside High School of DeKalb with a season-high 18 hits and beating the Vikings 12-3 Friday afternoon.

It was Game 3 and the rubber game of the first round of the Class AAAAAA state playoffs. The Trojans will now head to South Effingham near Savannah on Wednesday for a doubleheader and then the rubber game if needed on Thursday.

The Trojans jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and added five more runs in the third to lead 9-1 early on. The Trojans pounded out 18 hits against the Vikings, including a perfect 4-for-4 game by junior right fielder Luke Addison. Addison also reached base on a walk, scored three runs and knocked in another. Luke Powell added three hits to the attack and batted in four runs. Gavin Lacey and Smith Pinson each knocked in three runs. Cooper Ray also knocked in a run for the Trojans.

Powell and Alex Newton each smacked doubles for the only two extra base hits.

The Vikings had allowed only three hits to the Trojans in Game 2 of the series after the Trojans smacked nine hits in the first game.

“Our guys came out swinging throughout the lineup,” said Lee County head coach Brian Trivette. “We’ve had some really good focused offensive sessions in practice lately. We hit it well in game one of the series, but we didn’t see 18 hits coming. Hopefully guys are starting to trust themselves at the plate and just play.”

On the mound, senior Chandler Cannon pitched six innings and allowed just five hits and three runs — only one of which was earned. Drew Dixon pitched the final inning for the Trojans.

South Effingham (24-8) is the top team coming out of Region 2 after beating Heritage 7-3 and 15-1 to advance.

Special