Basketball season officially ended last week for Georgia High School Association schools, but baseball season has been going strong since last month. Several Savannah area teams have region championships on their mind as we reach the midway point of March. The Prep Sports Report takes a look at some of these teams with "Diamond Notes" below.
(Stats, records, schedules, etc. are courtesy of GameChanger, Maxpreps, Georgia Dugout Preview and The Atlanta-Journal Constitution. Please send your team's information to kdemasi@prepsportsreport.com throughout the season for inclusion in the PSR roundups.)
CLASS 6A
RICHMOND HILL
RECORD: 10-3
AJC POLL: NR
GA DUGOUT POLL: 4
MAXPREPS RANK: 6
Richmond Hill's losses to Class 3A No. 1 Pierce County and Class 4A No. 5 Benedictine to open the season made for a tough 0-2 record at the start. The Wildcats only got better from there, however.
RHHS rattled off 10 straight wins after that 0-2 start, and didn't lose again until falling 4-1 on Monday (March 14) to Class 6A No. 9 Glynn Academy. The Region 2-6A rivals will meet again on Wednesday at Glynn before matching up in a third game to conclude the week-long series on Friday, March 18 at Richmond Hill.
Leighton Finley (3-0) has been dominant on the mound for The Hill. He has struck out 37 batters while walking just two in 17 innings of action. Finley has allowed one run this season and has eye-popping ERA (.412) and WHIP (.471) stats thus far. He is hitting .325 at the plate and also has five doubles and two triples with 18 runs scored.
Evan Cowan leads the Wildcats with a slash-line of .412 average/.543 on-base/1.132 OPS to go with his 15 runs batted in and five stolen bases. Connor Truax leads RHHS with eight stolen bags.
SOUTH EFFINGHAM
RECORD: 8-3
AJC POLL: 3
GA DUGOUT POLL: NR
MAXPREPS RANK: 3
South Effingham has been pegged as a state championship contender in Class 6A since the preseason predictions began last winter and the Mustangs have done nothing to suggest otherwise through 11 games of the season.
Pitchers Nick Milbrandt, Kaleb Johnson and Avery Sikes have formed quite the trio thus far, combining for a record of 7–1 on the mound. Johnson (2-1) has struck out 24 batters in 20 innings while compiling a 1.75 ERA (.85 WHIP). Milbrandt (3-0) has thrown 18 ⅓ innings with 18 punch outs and a 1.91 ERA while Sikes (2-0) has posted a 1.31 ERA through 16 innings of work.
At the plate, South has been balanced with an emphasis on hitting for average showing in the stat sheets. Hunter Walthour (.429 AVG/.474 OBP) has 14 runs batted in this year – six of those have come with two outs in the inning. Noah Hollis (.417/.463) leads the team with 13 runs scored and is tied with Walthour for the team-lead in total hits (15).
CLASS 4A
BENEDICTINE
RECORD: 9-2
AJC POLL: 5
GA DUGOUT POLL: 4
MAXPREPS RANK: 2
The Cadets began the season with a difficult non-region schedule and got out of the gates with a 2-2 record. Since then, Benedictine has won seven straight games, including a decisive 10-0 victory over Region 3-4A foe Islands on March 10.
Benedictine won its first three region games against New Hampstead, Jenkins and Islands by a combined score of 40-0. The only two losses of the season for Kevin Farmer's club so far have come against Class 6A No. 9 Glynn Academy and Class A-Private No. 1 Mount Paran.
Farmer's career record as a Georgia High School Association head baseball coach is 474-141 (.771).
ISLANDS
RECORD: 5-10
AJC POLL: NR
GA DUGOUT POLL: NR
MAXPREPS RANK: 20
The Sharks have played a tough schedule under head coach Brandon Collins, and Islands should benefit from that high-;evel competition as the season goes along.
Mitchell Singletary leads the team in hitting with a slash line of .512 batting average, .583 on base percentage and a 1.193 OPS. Joey Cardillo (.500/.603/1.190) leads the team in runs scored (16) and stolen bases (six).
On the mound for IHS, Johnny Calloway and Jackson Paul have been leading the way. Calloway is 2-1 with a 3.62 Earned Run Average in four starts. He has 28 strikeouts in 19 ⅓ innings of work. Paul (1-1) has a team-best 1.02 ERA and has struck out 22 batters in 13 ⅔ innings.
Charlie Sindahl leads the team's power department with a pair of homers and 15 runs batted in.
CLASS A-PRIVATE
SAVANNAH CHRISTIAN
RECORD: 9-3
AJC POLL: 5
GA DUGOUT POLL: 6
MAXPREPS RANK: 7
The Raiders are playing well under head coach Matt Oglesby. Savannah Christian took two-of-three from Region 3-A Private rival Calvary Day last weekend, winning the first game 5-4 before taking the rubber game by a score of 9-1.
SCPS has won six games decided by three runs or less this season. Oglesby's team steps out of region for its next two games, taking on Islands on March 16 at SCPS and March 21 at Islands.
CALVARY DAY
RECORD: 6-8
AJC POLL: NR
GA DUGOUT POLL: NR
MAXPREPS RANK: 41
Calvary's season has been relatively up-and-down, but the Cavs have displayed plenty of talent to this point. It's enough to warrant attention from the rest of the city and the region. Coached by Phillip Lee, Calvary has gone 6-1 this year when it holds opponents to seven runs or less. When the Cavs allow eight or more, they're 0-7.
Will Hampton has been excellent on the mound and at the plate. The sophomore is slashing .487/.623/1.238 with 12 RBI through 14 games. He has struck out just three times in 53 trips to the plate. As the ace of Calvary's starting staff, the left-hander has a 1.17 ERA and 22 strikeouts across 18 innings of work (2-1 record). Pierce Powell has posted a 2-0 record while sporting a tidy 1.68 ERA across six appearances (8 ⅓ innings).
The Cavs are using an aggressive approach on the basepaths with 28 stolen bases (33 attempts) as a club through the first 14 games. Caden Arnold and Brooks Dawson (.386 batting average and 11 runs scored) lead Lee's team with five swipes each while Brody Dawson and Dylan Shuman have four each.
Calvary meets region 3-A Private rival Savannah Country Day for the first time this season in a critical three-game series set for this weekend. Game 1 is at Country Day on Friday, March 18 (5 p.m.) followed by a doubleheader Saturday at Grayson Stadium at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on March 19.
SAVANNAH COUNTRY DAY
RECORD: 12-1
AJC POLL: NR
GA DUGOUT POLL: 8
MAXPREPS RANK: 2
The Hornets are off to the best start in school history after rattling off 12 consecutive wins to follow an Opening Day loss to Class 6A No. 3 South Effingham. Country Day and head coach Nate Ward slot-in at No. 2 in all of Class A (public and private) according to the Maxpreps computer rankings (through March 10).
Ward's club is off to the best start in program history (since 1991) and this version of the Hornets has knocked off four teams ranked in the Atlanta Journal Constitution's top-10 this season, including a 16-3 drubbing of Class A-Public No. 4 Metter early last week.
SCD's senior standout Barry Kleinpeter is making a legitimate case for city Player of the Year honors as the outfielder/pitcher has led the way from the leadoff spot for SCD. He is slashing .577/.614/1.402 with a home run, 22 runs scored, 12 batted in and 10 stolen bags. As a pitcher, he is 3-0 with a 2.67 ERA and 27 strikeouts across 18 ⅓ innings.
Cade Garrola has driven in a team-high 20 runs while Dalton Brown and Ty Schneider lead the way with two homers each. SCD has hit eight home runs – by six different players – as a team.
Photo - Richmond Hill High School Baseball website
Follow Travis Jaudon on Twitter/Instagram @JaudonSports. Email him at travisLjaudon@gmail.com.
Optim Orthopedics supports Benedictine Military School, Calvary Day School, Richmond Hill High School, Savannah Country Day, South Effingham High School, and St. Vincent's athletics. Benedictine Military School's team doctor is Dr. David Sedory. Dr. David Palmer is the team doctor for Calvary Day School, South Effingham, and Richmond Hill. Savannah Country Day and St. Vincent's team doctor is Dr. Thomas Alexander. Remember, Optim Orthopedics gets you back into the game!
