Pike County Wins Thrilling Game 3 Over Redan For GHSA 3A Championship

On Tuesday, the Georgia High School Association baseball state championship series continued and in Class 3A, the Pike County Pirates and the Redan Raiders faced off in a decisive Game 3 for the state title. The Raiders found momentum early after a pass ball by Trevor Bagwell would allow a run to score, giving Redan the early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

The Raiders would add another run in the top of the fourth inning after an RBI single by Anthony Mateo and the Raiders would go up 2-0. Not rattled and inspired by one of their assistant coaches being ejected after his displeasure of a Redan base runner being called safe, the Pirates would fire off at the plate, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, including an RBI double by Josh Buffington that would give Pike County a 3-2 lead.

The Raiders would get the one run back in the top of the fifth inning courtesy of an RBI single by Deniel Ortiz and the game would be tied 3-3 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. Still tied heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, Pike County’s Coleman Johnson would drive a Bernard Moon pitch deep into left field for a two run triple, taking a 5-3 lead. Redan would pick up one run in the top of the seventh inning, but the Pirates would halt their attempted rally, picking up the 5-4 win for the GHSA 3A state championship.

With the win, the Pirates claim their second state championship in three years and for head coach Don Hanson, it was the “resilience” of his players that made the win a great feeling. “What a resilient group of kids,” Hanson said following the win on Tuesday. Hanson credited Redan for keeping the Pirates bats cool in Game 2 on Monday night, forcing the decisive Game 3. “They did a fantastic job over there holding us at bay yesterday and our bats just wouldn’t come unglued, but today they did,” Hanson said.

Hanson also praised pitcher Trevor Bagwell for his performance on the mound in the Pike County win, “Like I told the team this morning, there’s not another pitcher in the state of Georgia that I would want on the mound for Game 3,” Hanson said adding that Bagwell has “done the job” for the Pirates all season and that despite his struggles, “he’s unnerved” and has been their “go to kid” all season.