Four local baseball teams start title hunt this Friday

The state baseball playoffs will begin Friday and Fayette County will send three teams into the 32 team bracket, while Landmark Christian, last year’s state runners-up in Class A, also start their title quest this Friday.

Starr’s Mill Panthers (17-7) vs. Chamblee Bulldogs (14-10), 4 p.m. Friday

Starr’s Mill got off to a fast start this season, going 6-1 in their first seven games and following that with two three game winning streaks and a 5-1 stretch to end the season. The Panthers have been led by great pitching performances from Ken Jackson and Drew Johnson, but their bats have been strong too, scoring eight or more runs in 13 of their 17 wins. The line-up has been consistent, but some recent standouts have been Danny Beadling, Jackson and Kevin Koziol.

Chamblee got off to a slow start. They lost their first four games but soon went on a 10-3 stretch. The Bulldogs ended the season with a 3-1 record over their last four games.
Starr’s Mill has scored more runs this season (187 -156) and allowed a lot less (97-149).

Sandy Creek Patriots (20-6) @ Lakeside, DeKalb Vikings (16-9), 2 p.m. Friday

The Patriots are a very hot team right now. They went 9-1 over their last 10 games, scoring 93 runs and allowing 35 in that span. Sandy Creek has won in bunches all season long with winning streaks of three, four and seven games. They only lost two games in a row once this season. Sandy Creek has had solid pitching this season from hurlers such as Chase Blount, Hunter Parrott and Aaron Warren, but their lineup, 1-9, is tough. Among some of the team’s top hitters are Chris Triplett, Alex Green and Braxton Lane.

Lakeside, DeKalb is red hot, too. The Vikings have lost once in their last 13 games and have won by double digits in over half of those games. Things seem to be clicking for the Vikings who opened the season with a 3-7 record.

Sandy Creek has the edge in runs scored (242-174), but Lakeside, DeKalb has the edge in runs allowed (83-112).

Whitewater Wildcats (17-7) @ Marist War Eagles (22-4), 4 p.m. Friday

Whitewater started the season with an 8-2 record, but picked up some tough losses against local rivals. Still, Whitewater was able to go 4-1 in the last five games and knock out the top seed from the other sub-region, Alexander, to qualify for the state playoffs. Senior Miles Head is probably the player most talked about, but Jeffrey Ashley and Tanner Dingler have also hit the ball well, while Joey Costello has pitched well, particularly in the clinching game last week.

Marist started the season 7-3 and then won 14 games in a row, nine of them by double digits and eight of those shortened to five innings or less because of the mercy rule. The War Eagles have scored 270 runs to Whitewater’s 187 and have allowed a paltry 52 to the Wildcats 106.

Landmark Christian War Eagles (16-7-1) vs. Bowdon Red Devils (13-9), 4:30 p.m.

Landmark started the season with a 7-2-1 record and has had two winning streaks of four games since. Five of their seven losses have been by four runs or less and their bats are hot right now, having scored 62 runs in their last five games. The War Eagles returned all but two players from last year’s team and get solid performances from Kyle and Colby Wren, Tanner Bryant, and Blake Austin among others.

Bowdon has stumbled a bit down the stretch, closing out the year with a 2-4 record over their last six games and giving up 46 runs in that span. Landmark holds the edge in both runs scored (206-155) and runs allowed (104-113). Bowdon holds the edge in the series dating back to 2005, winning all three match-ups between the schools.