BASEBALL: Pesky performance from West Laurens, but powerful Pickens pitching prevails in quarterfinal series

JASPER – West Laurens was matched more than evenly enough to hold its own, but the highly-touted pitching of third-seeded Pickens proved just too difficult to hit as the Raiders met a similar fate to the Dragons’ two previous playoff opponents last Thursday in the AAA state quarterfinals. 

Cairo, in the first round, managed only three hits over 12 innings. Second-round foe Adairsville? Just four over 14. 

West Laurens, held to only three in the full-length doubleheader, couldn’t find any additional answers as its recently surging bats were likewise rendered ineffective by a quartet of hurlers who combined to strike out 21. 

Cason Pollock’s solo home run, in a high point of game 1, represented the Raiders’ only hit off of Auburn-committed ace A.J. Rice in the opener, which went to Pickens 3-1. 

Tripp Mascaro singled twice for the remaining two in a combined effort by three hurlers in the finale, a 5-0 shutout to send the Dragons on to their second-straight state semifinal. 

Pickens, dead set on redemption after falling via game 3 walk-off to eventual champion Troup in this round a year ago, will travel a touch north to face No. 2 Calhoun (a winner in three games over Oconee County in the quarters) next week. 

West Laurens’ season comes to an end with a final record of 22-11, following a third region title in four seasons and the program’s deepest state playoff run since 2021.

Though his stuff wasn’t quite as pristine as it was in a walkless no-hitter against Adairsville a week earlier, Rice struck out the same 13, and carved through the Raider lineup in a fashion almost just as impressive with his five-pitch mix featuring a low-90s fastball, slider, curve, changeup and cutter. 

Pollock got ahold of his heater for a drive over the left center field fence that gave West Laurens the first lead. But that was the only productive contact of the day. 

Rice – likely to be a high pick in this summer’s MLB Draft – would go on to face just four in addition to the minimum. 

The Raiders’ patience at the plate was rewarded in four instances where hitters drew walks. 

J.D. Hogan led off with one in the top of the first inning, but was immediately thrown out attempting to steal second as West Laurens tested the arm of Pickens catcher (and Rice’s fourth-year battery mate) Kamden Jenkins on the first pitch to the next batter. 

Kolby Clark reached the same way to open the fourth, but wouldn’t advance; Grant Baker and Buck Shepherd the same with the Raiders down to their final chance in the seventh, just before Rice recovered to record three swinging strikeouts in a row. 

The Raiders’ staff pitched admirably to keep both games winnable despite a handful of big innings for Pickens that were the difference on the scoreboard. 

In game 1, the Dragons scored their only three runs in the third inning, when Matthew Davis Jr. (who drew a one-out walk), Robert Turner, Jennings Allen and Rice (following up with RBIs) were among nine men who came to the plate. 

Four hits, a walk and a hit batter played into the go-ahead inning, which would end with the bases loaded on a fly ball, and Pickens in front 3-1. 

Duggan Malone was still sharp. 

The sophomore hit plenty of corners with his signature front- and backdoor curve, striking out two and working around the other pair Pickens hits – by Jenkins who just missed a home run with his two-out double off the wall in the first inning, and an Everett Grubbs single in the sixth – to keep the remainder of innings scoreless. 

Pickens, as the visitor, started game 2 in optimal fashion with back-to-back singles from Turner and Allen off of West Laurens ace Kolby Clark, whose start was shifted to game 2 in order to maximize chances of salvaging a split. 

The inning got a bit troublesome as Jenkins was plunked to load the bases, and Rice hit a sacrifice fly to left to send home the game’s first run. A walk then re-loaded the bases, and a fielder’s choice (on a potential inning-ending double play that didn’t unfold in time) brought in another to get the Dragons ahead 2-0. 

They’d sneak home a third as Starks’ runner, Cooper Helmuth, stole second to draw a throw that got mishandled, and Caden Kirchoff scored to take the lead to three. 

Pickens tried a similar stunt with Grubbs to create a rundown between first and second, but the Raiders’ Cohen Cardwell kept eyes peeled and fired a rope to catch Helmuth as he broke for the plate and end the inning. 

Clark bounced back with a 1-2-3 second before more trouble ensued in the Pickens third. One-out singles by Jenkins, Rice and Starks fit around a walk to chase home two more, make it a 5-0 ballgame and force a pitching change that brought on Brycen Milton to get the last out. 

The freshman would carry things the rest of the way, covering the final four innings with just one more hit (a double in the fourth to give Turner a two-hit day), three walks, three strikeouts and two runners picked off. 

Mascaro singled in both the fifth and seventh to help West Laurens manufacture some desperately-needed offense in the last several innings.  

But each of their eight baserunners to reach – four more via walk and three on throwing errors – were left on base. 

The first two frames were spotless for Starks, before two errors and a walk gave the Raiders their first pair of baserunners in the third. Pickens recovered in the field to get out of the inning on two nice catches, one on a Hogan liner to third by Grubbs and another via fly ball to Turner in center. 

Starks would leave the mound after four innings of no-hit ball, and only two walks, before Mascaro’s one-out single off of Turner, and a J.J. Giles base on balls in the fifth, got West Laurens back in position to chip away. 

The Dragons’ reliever recovered for a strikeout and groundout, then took care of the sixth inning side 1-2-3. 

A third pitcher in Grubbs walked Pollock to lead off the seventh, then Mascaro singled with one out and Giles took advantage of an error at short to load the bases. 

But Grubbs got the final two to complete a strikeout of the side that ended the game.