Playoff highlights: How Benedictine and Savannah Christian advanced to baseball Elite Eight

After losing the first game of its second-round playoff series to Northwest Whitfield, the Benedictine baseball team had its back against the wall on Tuesday.

But a senior class, led by Justin Thomas, wasn't about to let up.

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Thomas, the gifted center fielder who has signed with the University of Georgia, had a series that won't be forgotten as he homered to lead off each of the three games. In Game 2, Thomas went 3 for 4 with a pair of homers, a triple, three RBIs and four runs scored. His second homer in the 16-6 victory was his 14th of the year, breaking the Benedictine season home run record set last year by his good friend Carter Holton.

"This is the best series I've ever had," said Thomas, who went 6 for 10 with four homers, the triple, five RBIs and seven runs scored. "And the win means a lot for us. It give us energy and momentum going into the next round. We're going to play with that same mindset."

Benedictine (28-5) will host a three-game series with Troup County (24-10), which knocked off Marist, which had beaten BC in the 2021 state finals. The quarterfinal matchup starts with a doubleheader Monday at BC with a start time to be announced.

Freshman pitcher Landon Ludwig had a strong outing to earn the win in Game 2, and Robert Carver went 2 for 4, driving in four runs.

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The deciding Game 3 was played Wednesday, with senior Kam Edge on the mound for the Cadets. The standout shortstop, who is headed to West Point to play football, had pitched only 21 innings coming into the appearance. Bu he earned the win with four solid innings, and helped his own cause by going 3 for 3 at the plate, driving in the winning run to force the 10-run rule in the bottom of the fifth in the 12-2 win.

Ben Hollerbach celebrated his 18th birthday by lining a solo shot to right center in the first inning as he went 3 for 4, adding a double, with three RBIs and three runs scored.

"This was definitely the best birthday I've ever had," said Hollerbach, who is going to Georgia Tech as a preferred walk-on as a defensive back in football. "After we lost the first game, it was all about survive and advance. There was never any doubt in our minds that we would win."

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Savannah Christian sweeps Hebron

Savannah Christian advanced to the Class A Private Elite Eight with an impressive sweep of visiting Hebron Christian on Wednesday. The Raiders (27-7) will host Fellowship Christian (26-2) in a doubleheader set for Tuesday at a time to be announced.

Ethan Macklin earned the victory as SCPS won the first game 6-4 as he fanned 10 over 6 1/3 innings, while going 2 for 3 with two RBIs at the plate. Ely Brown was 2 for 3 with an RBI; freshman Jack Stahl went 3 for 3 with an RBI and two runs; and Josh Gates going 2 for 2 with two RBIs.

Daegan Strickland caught all seven innings of the first game, and threw a complete game in a 4-2 win in the second, frustrating Hebron Christian by pitching out of a bases-loaded jam to end the game.

Strickland struck out nine over seven innings of work, and he didn't allow an earned run as he won a close-out game with a complete game for the second time in five days.

The junior improved to 7-3 on the season and lowered his ERA to 2.28.

"For Daegan to catch seven innings in that first game and then come out and deal like he did from the mound in the second game shows what kind of competitor he is," SCPS coach Matt Oglesby said. "The ball was really jumping out of his hand, and he came up big for us again today."

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Habersham tennis teams excel at state meet

Lucy Kelly, a sophomore at The Habersham School, won the GAPPS state girls singles championship Monday as she came from behind to beat Mallory Jordan of Grace Christian 4-6, 6-1, 10-6. Kelly closed out her season with a stellar 17-1 record.

The Patriot doubles squad of Anna Thompson and Erin Lambert beat Kyli Bell and Emma Proctor of David Emanuel Academy 6-2, 6-2 to win the state crown as they finished the season with an 18-1 record.

On the boys side, Henry Brooks of Habersham finished second in singles and Ike Barry and Hamilton Colley took second in the doubles tournament.

The girls team won the state title in the team competition, while the Patriot boys took second.

Coastal Empire All-Star Soccer games set for May 14

Windsor Forest soccer coach and athletic director Cam Turner started the Coastal Empire All-Star Soccer games in 2009 to draw recruiting interest from college coaches to the Savannah area.

The idea has paid off with players earning scholarship offers from the event every year since.

This year's event will be played at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, May 14. Seventy-two players representing 32 schools from Southeast Georgia and the Lowcountry will be participating. There will be four boys teams and four girls teams playing in the event.

Girls games begin at 9:30 a.m. and run through 1:30 p.m., with the boys starting at 1:45 p.m. and ending at 1:45 p.m. Admission is $5, with tickets $3 for children 12 and under.

Area titles for Savannah Christian's Mary Miller, Country Day's Reed Lotter

Savannah Christian's Mary Miller and Savannah Country Day's Reed Lotter earned medalist honors at the Area 1-A Private tournament April 26 at Crosswinds Golf Club.

Miller, a sophomore, fired a 2-under-par 70 for the best girls score. Lotter, a senior, tied with Prince Avenue Christian's Parker Houck with a 66 in regulation. Lotter made a 12-foot putt — his ninth birdie of the day — on the first playoff hole, the par-4 No. 1, for the victory.

The top three teams advanced to state, as well as the top individual not on those teams.

For the girls, Savannah Christian, PAC and St. Vincent's Academy advanced to the GHSA state championship May 16-17 at Governor's Towne Club in Acworth, with Savannah Country Day's Bryn Sorge (89) also qualifying.

For the girls, PAC, Savannah Country Day and George Walton Academy advanced to the state tournament May 16-17 at Dogwood Golf Club in Austell (Cobb County), while Loganville Christian's Jason Grady (73) also qualified.

Boys

Teams (first three qualify for state) — 1. Prince Avenue Christian 277, 2. Savannah Country Day 294, 3. George Walton Academy 316, 4. Aquinas 318, 5. Athens Academy 319, 6. Savannah Christian 340, 7. Calvary Day School 355, 8. Loganville Christian 407, 9.Tallulah Falls 454

How local teams fared

SCDS (294) — Reed Lotter 66, Andrew Messalle 75, Dallas Hunter 76, William Whitfield 77, Lane McCullough 77, Brock Bettle 100

SCPS (340) — Charles Miller 77, Kush Patel 79, Sam Reiser 90, Chip Horton 94, Veeraj Dalsania 102, Gaines Scott 108

CDS (355) — Tyler Frazee 78, Braylon Royal 79, Griffin Wilson 93, Thomas Clements 105, Luke Reed 106

Girls

Teams (first three qualify for state) — 1. Savannah Christian 153, 2. Prince Avenue Christian 164, 3. St. Vincent's Academy 198, 4. Tallulah Falls 210, 5. George Walton Academy 218, 6. Savannah Country Day 240

How local teams fared

SCPS (153) — Mary Miller 70, Ava Cottis 83, Rylan Hurd 108

SVA (198) — Caroline Ryan 98, Tyne Parker 100, Emma North 131, Sophie Deaton 151

SCDS (240) — Bryn Sorge 89, Parker Hall 151

Calvary Day — Maddie Shelden 94.

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN. Nathan Dominitz contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Benedictine, Savannah Christian baseball advanced to quarterfinals