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SPRINGFIELD, GA – For the final day of a slate of four games in six days, the Effingham County High School baseball team was able to get into a routine.
Coach Eric McCombie explained that on Saturday morning, the Rebels players hit the weight room, ate breakfast, took their swings at batting practice, and had lunch – all before playing a home game on a pleasant afternoon against their rivals from South Effingham.

“So we had a routine of what we were going to do today, and that puts them into a soft and comfortable place,” McCombie said.

The Mustangs had something to say about making the Rebels uncomfortable, hitting the ball hard in the opening inning and scoring the game’s first two runs before ECHS used a three-run fifth inning to surge to a 4-3 victory.

Both teams had played the night before, absorbing one-run losses, which for ECHS (13-2) snapped a nine-game winning streak. But looking back on the week, the Rebels should regard it as a successful run through a gauntlet.
They knocked off this same SEHS squad 5-2 on Monday in Guyton, followed by a 4-3 home victory over Calvary Day on Thursday, a 13-12 setback against host Savannah Christian on Friday, and Saturday’s triumph.

“I knew coming into the season that this week was going to be tough,” McCombie said. “Kind of had it circled the whole year. We were playing four games against three programs that are ranked in the state. I feel confident, ready. I think these guys, more so, want it for each more other than anything. When you’re good and you want to play for each other, it’s scary.”

Effingham County’s sizzling start to this season should be forewarning to the other teams in Region 1-5A, which is split between North and South subregions. South Effingham (8-5) and ECHS are in different regions, meaning their two games in the past week could be their only meetings unless they cross over in the region playoffs and/or in the state playoffs.

“When it’s crosstown rivals, it means more to the players,” ECHS senior Ryan Wells said after Saturday’s game, in which he was 3-for-3 with an RBI and made a defensive gem in right field to help preserve the outcome. “We’ve played (the Mustangs) every year. They have a history of beating us. So every time we come out here, we try to do our best to beat them. This year we did, but we might have to see them again in the region playoffs. Hopefully, we’ll beat them again.”
Wells referenced the Mustangs’ success, including a 3-0 sweep of the Rebels – outscoring them 23-4 -- en route to a 23-12 record last season and a berth in the GHSA Class 6A playoffs. The Rebels, conversely, were 10-20 in 2024, playing at 6A.

It’s a new season, and South Effingham coach Jesse Osborne said he approached the past week as a chance to give less-experienced players reps and make improvements. For example, he didn’t start ace pitcher Lance Cantaline in the two games against the rival Rebels.

“We’re young. We’re just trying to find guys to add depth to our lineup down the stretch,” Osborne said.

“(The Rebels) didn’t see our best. They didn’t see us play our best. We didn’t see what we’re capable of. I’m not hesitant even saying that,” Osborne added. “When the games really matter, I think you’ll see a little different gumption about them. They knew what we were doing coming into this week. Not to diminish the series; it is what it is. It’ll be different if we see each other later on.”

Rivalry game, part 2
Effingham County had pitched one of its fine starters, junior right-hander Kyle Thomas (3-0, 1.19 ER, two saves, six walks, 28 strikeouts), in Monday’s clash with SEHS. Right-hander Wes Ward, part of a senior-heavy roster, got the call on Saturday afternoon against Mustangs junior Bryce Hodges.

Ward got a called third strike to open the game, then Mustangs star shortstop Dalton Redmond drilled his first offering to the left-field wall. JT Brantley followed with a second-straight double for the first run. 

Hodges got into a jam in the bottom of the inning by hitting a batter, who reached on an error and a wild pitch, but kept ECHS off the scoreboard.

Then Hodges led off the second with a single. Courtesy runner Peyton Seguin advanced on a sacrifice bunt, then a hit batter and walk loaded the bases. Lawton Bowen hit into a fielder’s choice to bring home Seguin for a 2-0 lead.
But that would be it – until the seventh inning – for the Mustangs’ offense, as Ward settled down and allowed only three hits and two runs in his five innings. 
“The first inning, we came out, and we’re hitting balls,” Osborne said. “(The Rebels) made adjustments on the mound, and we didn’t make adjustments at the plate. That’s why you have a bunch of zeros there piled up (on the scoreboard).

“There at the end, we started making some adjustments, but you kind of give yourself a hole,” the SEHS coach continued. “They have confidence moving forward and we didn’t make the adjustments. What it comes down to, this is a game of adjustments. We told them that from the get-go. The team that makes those adjustments is usually the team that wins.”

Effingham County cut the deficit in half by manufacturing a run in the second inning with the help of two of the Mustangs’ five errors in the game – a glaring statistic in a tight contest.

Jacque’s King led off by driving the first pitch from Hodges to left field for a single. Wells followed by grounding an infield single between third base and shortstop. King advanced to third on an errant pickoff throw and scored on a wild pitch.

The Rebels pushed for more runs with a walk and a dropped infield pop-up but left two on base.

In the big inning
Hodges kept ECHS off the scoreboard again until the fifth inning, which Thomas opened with a line-drive triple to the left-field corner. Thomas scored on the play due to a bad exchange between the left fielder and the cutoff man.

McCombie said Thomas hadn’t batted in a game all week and wasn’t scheduled to play – he batted third as the designated hitter – until one of his teammates showed up late on Saturday and was pulled from the lineup. The coach called it the next-guy-up mentality.

“Our lineup is 1 through 9,” McCombie said. “We’re not depending on anybody. We’re depending on everybody, including guys off the bench.

“When they believe in each other, we don’t have to depend on one guy. We can depend on nine, 10, 11, 12 that I know can get it done.”

The Rebels got it done, breaking a 2-2 tie with two more runs in the fifth. Aiden Garcia reached on an error at center field and was replaced by pinch runner Caleb Swindle, who stole second base and moved to third on a groundout.
SEHS brought the infield in with one out, and the strategy worked as Swindle had to hold at third on a sharp grounder to shortstop Redmond, who looked the runner back before throwing to first for the second out.

Wells and Kris Swinney negated that temporary highlight with back-to-back RBI singles for a 4-2 advantage.

McCombie noted the Rebels’ ability to score runs. They average 8.9 runs per game while yielding 4.0. The coach also credited the pitching of starter Ward and relievers Travis LaFontaine (scoreless sixth with two strikeouts) and Ayden Roeser with confidence-building efforts against a quality opponent.

Roeser has some tough breaks in the seventh after yielding a leadoff infield single to pinch hitter Evan Hollis, who smashed the pitch off Roeser. One out later, Wells made a diving catch in right field to keep batter Bowen off the basepaths.

“I actually didn’t see the ball because the sun’s horrible in right field until it was right on me,” Wells said. “That was just instinct diving. I’m glad I made that play, helped my pitcher out, get us out of a rough spot.”

The Mustangs stayed alive on a throwing error, and Neal Baker, running for Hollis, scored on a wild pitch for a 4-3 margin. But third baseman Garcia gathered up a grounder and threw to first to register the final out.

EFFINGHAM 4, SOUTH EFFINGHAM 3

Photo Credit:  Courtesy Birk Herrath Photogrpahy

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