Alpharetta coach Angela Hurt warned her team that Roswell was going to come out with some fire on their Senior Night, and the Lady Hornets did. But …
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Back row from left, Coach Pierce Lawrey, manager Matthew Woods, Nathan Offutt, Deen Brooks, Hunter Davis, Alex O’Shaughnessey, Will Geraghty and coach Charles Guthrie. Front row from left, John Lividitis, Jake Fulwiler, Robert DeGolian, Mac Budd, Robert Winborne and Tommy Duffy.
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Last week the 12U Buckhead Braves defeated Ocee Park, sweeping the best-of-three series two games to zero in the Cal Ripkin Georgia State championship.
The Braves are now in the midst of preparing for the South East Regional tournament, which will be held at Frankie Allen Park beginning July 22.
The Braves beat Ocee Park in dominating fashion, winning each game 10-0.
“We got off to a good start by scoring five runs in the first two innings,” head coach Matthew Woods said. “Our whole lineup hit very well from top to bottom.”
In Game 1, the Braves jumped on Ocee Park early and never looked back, going on to win in four innings due to the 10-run rule.
Braves’ pitcher Deen Brooks went the distance in game one, striking out seven batters en route to his shutout.
Robert DeGolian and Hunter Davis provided all of the offense the Braves would need in Game 1. Davis hit a three-run bomb to set the tone early, while de Golian went 3-3. Tommy Duffy and John Livaditis also added homeruns.
“It all starts with our leadoff guy, Robert,” Woods said. “He has been on fire for a while now.”
Game 2 proved to be much of the same, though the Braves would need three pitchers to keep Ocee Park off of the scoreboard.
Robert Winborne started on the mound for the Braves. He threw 3.2 innings of shutout ball, but had to be relieved in the fourth.
Woods called on DeGolian to get out of a fourth-inning jam, and he came through to preserve the shutout. Nathan Offutt closed the game out, throwing two scoreless innings.
Woods said he felt the Braves had a great shot of winning the state tournament, but he did not think it would be so one-sided.
“I didn’t expect to win [the state tournament] so easily,” he said. “We thought we had a good chance to win, but [Ocee Park] has some good players, but things kind of fell into place and we played really well.”
The Braves now have three weeks to prepare for the Regional tournament held at their home field. The SE Regional will include teams from the Carolinas, Tennessee and Florida.
Should the Braves win the July 22 tournament, they would qualify for the cal Ripken World Series, which will begin August 12 in Aberdeen, Md.
