By David Miller
The Appling County Pirates won game three of the State Championship Series on Thursday night, May 31, to become GHSA AA State Champions for the first time in school history.
SHOWN ABOVE ARE HEAD COACH JEREMY SMITH, CENTER, ALONG WITH THE 2012 ACHS PIRATE BASEBALL TEAM INCLUDING JEREMY AMMONS, JOSH BARBER,
BYRON BUXTON, DEVIN CAUSEY, DYLAN CROSBY, JOSH DEEN, COLBY GRIFFIN, DYLAN HUTCHINSON, JUSTIN JAVIS, KYLE MILLER, GAGE PATTON, TYLER SAPP,
GUNER SELLERS, MATTHEW SHUMANS, COLE SIMMONS, CONNOR SIMMONS, ZACK SMITH AND ASSISTANT COACHES TYLER CASON, ANDY DOWDNEY, RANDY HODGES AND ANDREW LIVINGSTON.
Appling Pirates are the 2012 GHSA Class AA State Champions!
The Pirates set the tone early scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Byron Buxton led off the inning with a surprise bunt down the third base line. Will Lowman, pitcher for the Bears fielded the bunt and fired to first. There was no one there to receive the throw as it sailed into the right field corner. Buxton scampered all the way to third base on the errant throw.
Jeremy Ammons followed with a walk. Josh Barber lined a single to right field for a hit with Ammons in motion on the pitch. Buxton scored and Ammons reached third with no one out. Kyle Miller grounded into a fielder’s choice to plate Ammons. Gage Patton reached on an error. A balk moved the runners up ninety feet. Devin Causey delivered a single to center to score Miller and Patton.
The Bears scratched for a run in the top of the fourth. Byron Buxton allowed a single to Bear second baseman Cole Dowling to lead off the inning. Dowling would move to second on a passed ball. A throwing error allowed Dowling to score from second.
The Pirates answered the run and added another in the bottom of the fourth to take a 6-1 lead. Buxton led off with a walk. He stole second and moved to third on a wild throw to second. Ammons again walked. Buxton scored on a wild pitch and Ammons moved to second. Josh Barber laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Ammons to third. Kyle Miller lifted a fly ball deep enough to right field to score Ammons.
Buxton took a 6-1 lead to the mound in the top of the seventh inning. The Pirates needed only three outs to secure its first state championship. Buxton would struggle a little as the Bears mounted a strong comeback effort to cut the lead to 6-4. Buxton got the final out on his 18th strikeout of the night. After the last out was recorded the Pirates rushed the mound to celebrate with Buxton. A “dogpile” developed just in front of the mound full of players and coaches.
Congratulations to the all Pirate players and coaches for a job well done this year.
Coach Jeremy Smith and his staff would like to thank all of the community for the continued support for this team this year. You definitely created a “home field advantage” for the kids.
(See a special keepsake issue inside this week's printed issue)
Jeremy Ammons followed with a walk. Josh Barber lined a single to right field for a hit with Ammons in motion on the pitch. Buxton scored and Ammons reached third with no one out. Kyle Miller grounded into a fielder’s choice to plate Ammons. Gage Patton reached on an error. A balk moved the runners up ninety feet. Devin Causey delivered a single to center to score Miller and Patton.
The Bears scratched for a run in the top of the fourth. Byron Buxton allowed a single to Bear second baseman Cole Dowling to lead off the inning. Dowling would move to second on a passed ball. A throwing error allowed Dowling to score from second.
The Pirates answered the run and added another in the bottom of the fourth to take a 6-1 lead. Buxton led off with a walk. He stole second and moved to third on a wild throw to second. Ammons again walked. Buxton scored on a wild pitch and Ammons moved to second. Josh Barber laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Ammons to third. Kyle Miller lifted a fly ball deep enough to right field to score Ammons.
Buxton took a 6-1 lead to the mound in the top of the seventh inning. The Pirates needed only three outs to secure its first state championship. Buxton would struggle a little as the Bears mounted a strong comeback effort to cut the lead to 6-4. Buxton got the final out on his 18th strikeout of the night. After the last out was recorded the Pirates rushed the mound to celebrate with Buxton. A “dogpile” developed just in front of the mound full of players and coaches.
Congratulations to the all Pirate players and coaches for a job well done this year.
Coach Jeremy Smith and his staff would like to thank all of the community for the continued support for this team this year. You definitely created a “home field advantage” for the kids.
(See a special keepsake issue inside this week's printed issue)
Trackbacks
Trackback specific URI for this entry
No Trackbacks
Comments
Display comments as
(Linear | Threaded)
#1
Kelly Kirksey
on
06/06/12 at 09:17 AM
[Reply]
Wow!!! Great job from a bunch of kids that have played together most of their lives. I live in the suburbs of Atlanta(Buford, Ga) but I will always be a Pirate at heart. It makes it so much sweeter for a school to win it that doesn't recruit like a lot of schools up here.It makes me proud to see our Pirates walk through the Atl. schools that bring players in every year. Trust me when I say these young men have a bond that can never be broken and to do it with teammates they've known all their lives, makes it that much sweeter. Great job Coach Smith and the other coaches.