Rain Suspends Deerfield-Windsor-Valwood State Championship Game with Knights Threatening

STATESBORO — Just when it looked as though Deerfield-Windsor’s season might be slipping away, the skies opened and gave the Knights a lifeline.

Now they’ll have to wait one more night to see if they can take advantage of it.

A heavy thunderstorm halted Game 2 of the GIAA Class AAA state championship series Friday afternoon with top-ranked Valwood holding a 7-6 lead, but not before Deerfield-Windsor mounted a furious comeback and put itself in position to potentially change the entire series.

The game will resume Saturday at 10 a.m. at Georgia Southern University’s J.I. Clements Stadium.

And when it does, the Knights will have exactly the situation they wanted.

The tying run will be standing 90 feet away at third base. The potential go-ahead run will be on first. Cleanup hitter Gage Tomlinson will be in the batter’s box.

For a team facing elimination after Thursday’s 3-0 loss in Game 1, it is about as much as Deerfield-Windsor could have hoped for when the afternoon began.

Valwood appeared headed for a championship early.

The Valiants scored three runs in the first inning and added two more in the fifth to build a 5-0 lead. Deerfield-Windsor finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth, but Valwood answered with another run in the top of the sixth and seemed firmly in control with a 7-2 advantage.

Then everything changed.

The Knights started their comeback in the fifth inning with two outs. Grier Morey drew a walk and Boyd Pollock followed with a line-drive single to center field. Lane Sceals drove in Deerfield-Windsor’s first run with a single to center, and David Hutchins followed with a ground-ball single to left that scored Pollock and trimmed the deficit to 5-2.

Valwood added another run in the sixth, but the Knights refused to go quietly.

Gabe Daniel ignited the rally with a one-out single to right field. Drake Wiggins followed with a single to left before Morey delivered an RBI single to score Daniel.

After Brantley Michlig singled to right to load the bases, a wild pitch brought home pinch-runner Sam Keating, cutting the lead to 7-4.

Pollock then grounded out to score Morey, and Sceals worked a walk to keep the inning alive.

The biggest break came moments later.

Hutchins hit a ground ball to third base and reached on an error. Michlig raced home on the play, making it 7-6 and moving pinch-runner Turner Simmons to third base.

Suddenly, the Knights had all the momentum.

With Simmons representing the tying run at third, Sceals taking his lead at first as the potential go-ahead run and Tomlinson stepping into the batter’s box, Deerfield-Windsor had Valwood wobbling for the first time all afternoon.

That’s when Mother Nature intervened.

The threatening skies finally unleashed a torrential downpour, sending players sprinting from the field and forcing officials to suspend play in the middle of the inning.

Lost amid the late drama was a gritty effort from Deerfield-Windsor starter Collins Clark. The sophomore worked 4 1/3 innings, allowing six runs — only three earned — on six hits and three walks. Sceals came on in relief and kept the Knights within striking distance despite surrendering one run.

Valwood starter Josh Skinner pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing seven hits and five runs while striking out seven. Cody Smith recorded one out in relief before the weather arrived.

Now the state championship series will remain on hold for one more night.