BY NOAH GRIFFITH
FOR THE OBSERVER
SMITHS STATION — The Glenwood School baseball team is two wins away from reaching its second 3A state championship appearance in as many years after sweeping the Altamont in the third round Thursday, May 7.
Following a weather delay that postponed the end of Game 1, the No. 1 Gators (30-8) returned to Bill Bowers Park and finished off the Knights (16-13) 14-2 in a mercy-ruled-shortened opener and 13-6 in the second game to set up a semifinal matchup with area rivals and No. 8-ranked Lee-Scott Academy.
“Being back here after being on the road in round two [against Wicksburg] — it’s comfortable, and it’s nice to show what Glenwood baseball is all about,” said head coach Tim Fanning. “I was proud of the guys. We scored a lot of runs and did it the right way.”
Before the rain stoppage in the bottom of the third in the first game, Glenwood had already compiled 13 runs on 12 base hits and batted around the order in each of the first two innings. Although the offense halted briefly with one run on no hits in the last two offensive frames in Game 1, the Gators got rolling again in Game 2 for 13 more runs on 12 hits and four walks.
Senior left fielder Cam Dawson led the way, going 3-for-3 with three singles in game two while tallying three RBI and four runs scored combined in the doubleheader.
“[Dawson] was the player of the game,” Fanning said. “He’s another senior who didn’t start last year but got his opportunity and has taken full advantage of it.”
Asher Long and Carter Judah also turned in multi-hit performances along with booming doubles off the fence. Sawyer Moss added an RBI single and scored three runs in game one, and both Cal Lawrence and Trey Claridy drove in multiple runs on multi-hit nights.
“You can get hit a little bit as long as you don’t make mistakes,” Fanning said. “I was proud that we didn’t strike out a lot, we put the ball in play and forced mistakes. That’s what our lineup is built to do.”
On the mound, Cooper Favors started game one and threw three innings, allowing one run on two hits before the weather stoppage. Because of pitch count restrictions, he was unavailable to resume on Thursday. He was relieved by Ethan Henderson, who gave up a run on two hits in the fourth inning.
It looked like the Altamont bats were coming alive after Nolan Connor drove home Cruz Cunill in the fourth, but Peter Sfkanios took the mound for Glenwood in the fifth inning and shut down any potential rally. The lefty retired the side in order in the top of the fifth to secure the mercy-rule victory.
“I know we had a big lead, but I think he got three outs on eight pitches. He came in last week and got five outs on 12 pitches,” Fanning said. “To have somebody like that to go to out of the bullpen is a safety net for a coach.”
In game two, Rhett English dueled with the Knight’s ace pitcher in Cunill. English pitched four innings and surrendered three runs on three hits and three strikeouts. Cunnil looked strong early, but the Gators got to him late as he pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up 10 runs on nine hits.
“[English] is only a sophomore, but he is mature beyond his years,” Fanning said of his starter. “He walked a few and gave up some hits, but he just bared down and said ‘coach, I got you.’”
A flamethrowing Claridy relieved English and pitched the final three innings, striking out several despite struggling to find his command in the fifth inning. He walked one before giving up a line-drive homer to hot-hitting Aubrey Sanders. After that, however, Claridy found his stride and silenced the Knights through the final two frames to secure the seven-run victory.
Altamont showed its offensive firepower in game two behind Sanders’ two-homer game, and Cunill and Tylan Floyd also flashed their skills both at the plate and in the field. In the end, the Gators overpowered the Knights, as they have done to their opponents in six out of seven playoff games thus far.
Glenwood’s win sets up a semi-final series with Lee-Scott with a trip to the state championship on the line. The Gators swept the Warriors in a regular-season series in Auburn, outscoring them 26-7 across three games.
Lee-Scott traveled to Glenwood for a three-game series, including a doubleheader on Wednesday, May 13 with a potential game three Thursday evening.
“It’s a historic matchup in this rivalry. With it being in the AHSAA fourth round instead of the second round in the AISA, the excitement just kind of builds,” Fanning said. “I have great respect for [head coach Jarrod Cook] and their program, and they have two dudes pitching one and two for them, so we better be ready.”
