Panthers to play Friday doubleheader
May 5—MILLEDGEVILLE — For the first time this postseason, the Tiftarea Academy Panthers will start with a doubleheader. The Panthers, who take on John Milledge Academy in the GISA Class AAA semifinals, are scheduled for two games Friday, the first at 2 p.m., according to brackets on MaxPreps.
Tiftarea matches a 19-7 record against the Trojans' 20-4. The series winner advances to next week's state finals against either Westfield or defending champions Pinewood Christian.
Perhaps the biggest matchup of the semis will be between Hayden Murphy and Keaton Prior. Both athletes lead their teams in pitching and hitting.
Prior's MaxPreps stats list a 10-0 record on the hill, complete with a 1.38 ERA and 101 strikeouts. Murphy has won eight games, strike out 114 and has an ERA of 1.01. At the plate, Prior has a .521 average with 19 RBIs, seven runs scored a homer. Perhaps the hottest hitter in Georgia right now, Murphy is batting .543, has scored 34 times, with 36 RBIs. He's belted 10 homers, four since the state tournament began.
Four other John Milledge regulars report averages of .400 or better. Bud Veal is at .478, Banks Eady is at .4435, Briggs Eady hits .416 and Jackson Thomas is hitting .415. Veal is also the leader in RBIs (27) and runs (35).
Beyond Prior, the Trojans mainly rely on Thomas and Cooper Wilburn to pitch. The bullpen appears to be a thin one. Outside of the main three, no other John Milledge pitcher lists more than six innings pitched. In contrast, every Tiftarea arm out of the pen has pitched at least that much.
The biggest difference between the two is the type of schedules they've played in 2022. John Milledge has exclusively played against private schools; their losses are to Westfield (2), Brentwood and Bethlehem Christian. Ten of the Panthers' 26 games have been against public schools and 12 games have been outside the GISA. They are 8-4 in these contests.
Their stats have predictably not been as flashy. John Austin Lee's .365 mark is second on Tiftarea, followed closely by the .352 from Jam Presley. Logan Moore and John Jackson are both hitting over .300, at .313 and .310, respectively.
Moore is second on the team with 20 RBIs. Jackson and Wesley Malone each have 19 RBIs.
Moore, Robert Garner and Presley are the team's main arms, with Lane Cole providing valuable relief work in the elite eight series against Brookwood.
