After season-ending loss, Benedictine baseball team says goodbye to a special senior class

Benedictine ran into a buzz saw Saturday in the GHSA Class 4A baseball semifinals against nationally-ranked North Oconee, which cruised to the series victory with 16-4 and 10-0 wins.

North Oconee, ranked No. 9 among high school teams in the country, improved to 37-1 on the year. Left-hander Andrew Arnold earned the win in Game 2 for the Titans, with Ben Stuart picking up the victory in the first game. Both pitchers are headed to play at Georgia Southern.

The Titans' offense was unstoppable — slamming seven homers in the two games. Justin Byrd and Cale Stricklin each homered in both games for North Oconee, which will face the winner of LaGrange and Cedartown in the state finals.

Benedictine coach Kevin Farmer said the Cadets lost to one of the best high school teams he has seen.

"Coach (Jay) Lasley has that team primed and ready to win a state championship, and they showed it today," said Farmer, who has won four state crowns in his career — two at Calvary Day and two at his alma mater of BC, where he took over in 2013.

"We didn't help ourselves with the mistakes we made. You can't walk batters and make errors against a team like that. You need to play a perfect game to beat them."

Farmer was reflective and emotional about saying goodbye to a special senior class for the Cadets. Led by Justin Thomas — the center fielder who has signed to play at Georgia — the senior class includes shortstop Kam Edge, third baseman Ben Hollerbach, second baseman Charles Pulaski, first baseman Carter Welch, Grayson Spence and Tristian Littlefield.

Previously: Benedictine's Justin Thomas ready for last playoff run with plenty of MLB teams watching

More baseball: How Benedictine is pressing on after Carter Holton moved on to Vanderbilt

The group played a pivotal role in the Cadets' run to the 2021 Class 4A state finals, where they lost to Marist. Over the last four years, BC has gone 98-28-2, with two trips to the semis and a Sweet 16 run in 2019. The 2020 postseason was canceled by COVID-19.

"We had Carter Holton (now a freshman at Vanderbilt) graduate last year. Now to lose this group is going to be tough. It's tough to tell these seniors goodbye, but we wish them all the best in college," Farmer said. "We're going to have to have some younger guys step up to fill some big shoes next year."

It was the final athletic appearance for Thomas, who also was a star on the BC football team that won a state title in the fall. Thomas hit .517 with a school-record 16 homers, 53 RBIs and 70 runs on the year.

"It's weird realizing this was the last game I'll play for Benedictine," said Thomas, who has had a number of Major League scouts watching his this season as his draft stock rises. "I'm going to miss playing with all my friends. They've become like family over the last four years. I'm going to remember those long Saturday practices we always had and the brotherhood we had with our teams."

Kam Edge and Ben Hollerbach were also standouts on the state championship football team. Edge is headed to play football at Army, while Hollerbach is set to walk on as a defensive back at Georgia Tech. Pulaski has signed to play baseball at Berry College.

"We have the greatest fans and the best people at Benedictine," Edge said. "Playing here with my teammates, friends and coaches has changed my life."

Benedictine has some talent coming back led by rising junior Parker McCoy, who was the Cadets' No. 1 pitcher and dominant at the plate this year. He hit .496 with eight homers and 70 RBIs.

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"We're going to miss our seniors — those guys treated me like a brother ever since I met them," McCoy said. "They gave everything they had for this team and set an example by never giving up. I think this loss is going to fuel the fire for us for next year. We want to come back and win it all."

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Benedictine baseball says goodbye to senior class led by Justin Thomas