The Southeast Bulloch Yellow Jacket baseball team secured themselves of at least the No. 2 seed in the upcoming state Class-AAA playoffs after a 15-0 win over Beach Tuesday evening in Brooklet.
The Jackets and Bulldogs were playing in the subregion crossover game with the Jackets as the No. 2 seed and the Bulldogs the No. 3. All four teams on the Southeast Bulloch side of the subregion won on Tuesday giving the Jackets the No. 2 seed in next week’s state playoffs.
SEB took little time in dispersing Beach as they scored five runs in each of the first three innings. Seven of the Jacket starters each had one hit while Andrew Waters adding a pair of RBIs. Ryan Hammack, Greg Pedan and Murphy Grovenstein each pitched one inning and only allowed one baserunner on a hit batsman.
“We kind of set up our region tournament in a non-traditional way but we felt that would be in the best interest of all the teams,” said SEB coach Brandon Peterson. “I feel like we go into the state playing really well. We have the opportunity to host as the No. 2 seed and we are really looking forward to it.”
The Jackets still have an outside chance of being the No. 1 seed. Class-AAA has their postseason determined by a power poll. Calvary Day is currently ranked No. 3 in the state and is the top seed in the region, but will not play other public schools in the postseason. GHSA officials will determine who moves into the vacant No. 1 spots and a complete bracket will be released by Sunday.
Pitching is always at a premium in the state playoffs as there will be a doubleheader on the first day followed by an “if” game the following day if the two teams split. Peterson likes what he has seen from his pitching staff and feels confident in the team adjusting to the playoff format.
“We have really only played one doubleheader this year, but with our region schedule we are used to playing three games in three days,” Peterson said. “Cade Harnage has been solid all year and Ryan Hammack has done a really good job. We were a little concerned with Murphy Grovenstein as his bicep was bothering him, but he pitched Tuesday and looked good.”
Southeast Bulloch will open things up against a yet to be determined foe April 25 with a doubleheader. The third game will be played Saturday, April 26 if necessary.
