By: Logan Maddox
Cedartown baseball was swept in the first round of last night’s GHSA playoff matchup. The Dawgs traveled to Bogart, GA for games with North Oconee. North Oconee were the champs of Region 8 whereas Cedartown was the four seed of Region 5.
The Titans won the first game 15-7 thanks to an offensive outburst in the final few innings.
The Dawgs trailed 1-0 when Cade Smith sent his first homerun of the season just past the center field wall to give Cedartown a 2-1 advantage. They added to that lead in the fourth when Corben Cuzzort and Griffin Elder scored on a throwing error. Jerry Simmons came around later on a RBI hit by Easton Oxenreider, making it a 5-1 ballgame.
North Oconee tied it in the fourth, but Cedartown brought across MJ Holiday and Mason Bennett to retake a 7-5 lead in the fifth. Unfortunately, a 6-run bottom half for the Titans gave them an 11-7 lead. They added to this in the sixth and held off a Bulldog comeback to win the game 15-7. MJ Holiday received the loss in game one.
Despite the high scoring affair that was the first game, the second matchup was a completely different story. Game two was a pitcher’s duel throughout as North Oconee won 3-1. The Titans scored in the top of the first, when star player Dom Hughes scored on a routine ground ball from second. After five scoreless innings, the Titans brought across one run in the sixth to take a 2-0 lead.
The Dawgs finally found some life on offense in the home half of the sixth inning, as MJ Holiday scored on a RBI hit by Jacob Bradshaw. A solo homer by Hughes in the seventh made it a 3-1 game. Cedartown had opportunities to tie it in the seventh, with the bases loaded and no outs. Sadly, a double play followed by a groundout brought an end to the Bulldogs’s season.
Dalton Bowman received the loss in game two, but the senior went out with an amazing performance, allowing only 3 runs in 7 innings to one of the best offenses in all of 4A.
Cedartown baseball finished the season 14-16 overall, but made an impressive run to make it to the playoffs this year. It is sad to see a great group of seniors go, including Bowman, Cade Smith, Tyler Gosdin, and Brycen Cheatwood, but the Dawgs had a great year and return a key group of starters to build upon for next year. Congrats to CHS baseball on a solid 2019 season.
Other teams in the area were in action last night in the playoffs as well. In 2A, Rockmart swept Washington of ATL to move to the Sweet 16. Model shocked South ATL, sweeping them as a four seed. Chattooga beat McNair 28-0 and 21-0 to move on as well. Bremen swept Union County to advance to the Sweet 16 too. In 4A, Cartersville swept Oconee County to move on. Two-seed Troup was upset by St. Pius X last night, while LG split with Stephens County. The Grangers will head back to Toccoa Thursday for a winner take all game three. In 5A, the Rome Wolves lost to Decatur in both games.