Piedmont baseball's AHSAA state runnerup finish included one gutsy performance

Ehsan Kassim, The Gadsden Times
·3 min read

JACKSONVILLE — Only one team can win in a state final, but that doesn't mean the other team's season didn't matter.

That's the message Piedmont baseball coach Matt Deerman delivered after his team's three-game series loss to Trinity Presbyterian in the Class 3A state championship.

"There's only one team that's happy at the end of the year," Deerman said. "But hey, (we) tied the school-record for wins. They won 27 straight games. We played a tough schedule. We do that to try to get to this point. We just couldn't quite get over the hump."

GAME 3: Trinity baseball beats Piedmont in deciding game to win seventh AHSAA state championship

GAME 2: Trinity baseball beats Piedmont in deciding game to win seventh AHSAA state championship

GAME 1: Piedmont baseball beats Trinity Presbyterian in Game 1 of AHSAA Class 3A state championship

Piedmont (36-7) won Game 1 4-2 on Monday, but dropped the final two games 6-5 and 3-1 on Tuesday.

"We talked about the team that makes the fewest mistakes is probably going to win," Deerman said, "and that's pretty much what happened."

It was the seventh state championship for Trinity Presbyterian.

"This is the fourth time we've been here and we haven't quite gotten over that hump," Deerman said. "It was better this time."

Piedmont almost made a comeback in Game 2, scoring three times after trailing 6-2.

"You have two great programs that don't want to lose," Trinity Presbyterian coach Jarrod Cook said. "That team refused to lose and that's the way it should be."

Seniors Austin Estes and Cassius Fairs, the top two pitchers for the Bulldogs, were the players Deerman turned to on the mound for the biggest games.

Fairs sprained his ankle attempting a steal in Game 1 and Deerman was not sure he'd be available. But Fairs did not want to end his high school career, which included a runnerup finish in 2019 and a lost season due to COVID, on the bench.

He aggravated the injury running to first base in Game 3, but kept on going.

"It really didn't have an impact on my pitching," Fairs said. "When I went to dive, the foot kind of went sideways, but the tape kept it pretty stable. It hurt bad, but I had to keep playing for my boys."

Piedmont's Cassius Fairs pitches the ball during game three of the AHSAA Class 3A state championship series on Tuesday, May, 17, 2022 in Jacksonville, Alabama. Ehsan Kassim/Gadsden Times.
Piedmont's Cassius Fairs pitches the ball during game three of the AHSAA Class 3A state championship series on Tuesday, May, 17, 2022 in Jacksonville, Alabama. Ehsan Kassim/Gadsden Times.

Estes and Fairs were two of six seniors, including Omarion Foster, Noah Reedy, Ridge Fagan and Jack Tolbert.

"The past four years have been a blessing," Estes said. "I learned a lot from these coaches and I hope the kids that are playing next year, I hope they learn a lot."

Piedmont does return Jack Hayes, who catches, pitches and hits third in the lineup, along with junior McClane Mohon, who had a long hitting streak earlier this season, and Brodie Homesley, a left-handed freshman pitcher who took the mound in Game 2.

"It's never been about you when you're at Piedmont," Estes said. "When you do things for your team, that's when your name starts popping up. I just hope to see them grow as a team."

Contact Ehsan Kassim at 256-300-5313 or ekassim@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Piedmont baseball falls to Trinity in AHSAA 3A championship