Augusta Christian defends SCISA AAAA baseball state title
Lions beat Cardinal Newman 8-0 in deciding game of series
Martinez, Ga. – Augusta Christian School was the defending SCISA AAAA baseball state champion and entered the state playoffs as the No. 1 seed in its 5-team, double-elimination half of the bracket. However, the Lions were just 13-9 overall and scored just one run in their first two games, beating Ben Lippen 1-0 before getting pounded by Pinewood Prep 14-0.
Then something fortuitous happened for ACS. Khaleel Pratt, who has signed to play collegiately with Kentucky, returned from hernia surgery, and one of its leading hitters, Eric Doyon, returned from a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
The return of Pratt and Doyon coincided with their teammates happening to be highly agitated thanks to Pinewood Prep.
“The biggest thing other than those two guys was getting punched in the mouth by Pinewood in Game 2, having a team steal bags up 14-0,” said Augusta Christian head coach Austin Robinson. “Our guys’ switch flipped and they just refused to lose. They wanted to run-rule every team we played. That game is what set our guys in high gear.”
The Lions only won by the 10-run mercy rule once the rest of the way and in fact lost a game. However, they ended up defending their state title. ACS won its tournament bracket and then beat Cardinal Newman in three games in the best-of-3 state championship series, winning Game 3 8-0 on May 16 at the Lexington High School field.
“Defending the title meant everything for those boys, for those seniors, for me,” said Robinson, whose team had a final record of 19-11. “It was another check mark on a job well done and a group who was more relentless than ever. They weren’t OK with anything but being state champs.”
Following the whipping by Pinewood, Augusta Christian responded with a 15-0 victory over Laurence Manning Academy. That set up a rematch with Pinewood Prep with the Lions needing to win twice to advance to the championship series. They did so, winning the first game 16-11 and the second 6-0.
“Week 1 of the playoffs we only scored one when we didn’t have them,” Robinson said in reference to Pratt and Doyon. “When they came back, we scored 37 runs that next week.”
Cardinal Newman, which finished with a 21-9-1 record, was far from easy pickings. ACS won the first game – at home -- 3-1 behind the 5-hit, complete-game pitching of senior Wilson Donnelley. In Columbia, the Cardinals won the second game 7-6 in eight innings to set up the showdown for the final game.
Augusta Christian rode the pitching of Santiago Pacheco and Austin Fox to the 8-0 win. Pacheco pitched no-hit ball for 5 1/3 innings, only being pulled because of the pitch count rule in place after he had pitched the previous day. He struck out five, walked two and hit three batters.
“Santi was phenomenal in the playoffs on the mound,” Robinson said. “With him on the mound we had our best defense in the field and that made his job easier. He started five different playoff games and threw 22 1/3 innings with 24 Ks. The batting average against was .125 and an ERA (earned run average) of only 0.31.
“He was lights out. He let his defense work, and we posted runs behind him. That’s every pitcher’s dream.”
Fox pitched the final 1 2/3 innings, allowed just two hits while striking out three and walking none.
Augusta Christian got Pacheco runs early, scoring three in the bottom of the first inning. It added a single run in the second, three more in the fourth and the final one in the fifth.
The Lions finished with 10 hits with Pacheco and Ethan Duckworth both picking up two hits. Duckworth, who Robinson called the most productive bat for ACS throughout the season, had a double, three runs batted in and scored a run. Pacheco had an RBI.
Luca Perriello, a catcher who has signed with Virginia Tech, and Jonah Shipes both hit solo home runs for Augusta Christian. Fox and Doyon both had a hit and an RBI, Donnelley had a hit and a run, Malachi Duncan had a hit and courtesy runner Ashton Moore scored a run.
Pratt didn’t get a hit but scored twice. He finished the year with a .550 batting average, three home runs and 14 RBI.
Jeb Britt and Alvin Murray had the hits for Cardinal Newman.
First-year Cardinal Newman head coach Robert Hendrix had nothing but praise for his squad.
"I'm super proud of this group of guys," Hendrix said. "You can't take these moments for granted. We had a chance to win the whole thing, and that is incredibly special. It is a great group of young men that do things the right way, on and off the field. I am very fortunate to be their coach and just wish we had a few more games together."
