Chiefs join Wildcats and Vikings in state baseball tournament

Three out of the four teams from region 5-A AAAA made the state tournament.

The McIntosh Chiefs varsity baseball team played a third and deciding game against Lithia Springs on Thursday evening and won 6-0 to win the series and punch their ticket for a trip to the Class AAAA state baseball tournament. The Chiefs outscored the Lions 14-6 in the series and have won six of their last eight games.

The Chiefs took the first game behind good pitching from Brandon Hannon and a three run home run from Geoff Murphy. Dwight Smith went 3-for-3 in the second game but fell short 4-2. Nolen Huber pitched a masterpiece for the Chiefs in game three, according to head coach Brad Campbell. Murphy, Brennan Morgan and Taylor Brown all homered in the win.

McIntosh will play at Loganville next Friday at 3:30 p.m.

Starr’s Mill was not as fortunate in their series against Alexander. The two teams split their games on Wednesday and Alexander shut the Panthers out on Thursday afternoon 4-0. It was the second game in a row in which the Panthers were held to no runs.

In the end, region 5-A AAAA sent three teams to the state tournament - the region champion Whitewater Wildcats as the top seed, Northgate as the the second seed and McIntosh as the fourth seed. Projections have Whitewater hosting Heritage, Northgate hosting Salem and McIntosh playing at Loganville. The bracket should be finalized by Monday.

Look for a preview of the opening round of the state baseball tournament in Wednesday’s paper.