CALHOUN, Ga. -- There's a buzz surrounding the Sonoraville baseball team, attention brought about by a string of recent big-game wins. There's talk of hosting a state playoff game and winning a region championship.
For a program with very little history, the recent run is nothing short of historic. Thad Harris, however, isn't impressed. Sonoraville's two-way star thinks nothing the Phoenix have done is surprising, so when asked to explain the success, his answer was simple yet telling.
"We've always believed in ourselves," the left-handed pitcher and slugger said, "but now we're playing like it. We're hitting better and we're pitching better. We didn't start the year playing like we can, and now we are."
The Phoenix began the year state-ranked in Class AAA but got off to an 0-3 start. They continued to flounder at 3-5, falling off the state radar and putting such a promising season in peril.
To make matters worse, a game with new Region 6-AAA foe Calhoun -- four-time Class AA state champion, crosstown rival Calhoun -- was next. It wasn't make-or-break time, but if the Phoenix were going to get serious the time was now.
Harris, 0-2 at the time with an earned run average approaching 9, proceeded to pitch five innings of one-hit, 12-strikeout ball as Sonoraville won 1-0 and sparked a 9-1 run that has restored the team's goals.
"That game may have saved our season," Sonoraville coach Deron Walraven said. "Thad kind of put us on his shoulders that day, and he hasn't stopped since. He's such a competitor and he works as hard as anyone I've been around in a long time. He's just got that desire to be the best he can be, and it shows when he goes out there and performs."
Harris has four other wins since then, including a complete-game shutout of Calhoun last week, and has allowed seven earned runs and 28 hits while striking out 56 in 39 innings. He's also hit six home runs in that span and is currently hitting .345 with a .478 on-base percentage, an .800 slugging percentage and 18 runs batted in.
"His bat has gotten hot; he's hit all six of his homers the past couple of weeks," Walraven said of the team's leadoff hitter. "When he takes the mound everyone expects us to win, and when we get a lead on people we can play the game a little looser when he's on the mound."
Sonoraville, at 12-6 and 8-2 in 6-AAA, is one game behind Ringgold in league play and will host the Tigers on the regular-season's final day next Friday. With the sweep over Calhoun and Tuesday's win over Adairsville, the Phoenix are in strong shape to at least host a first-round playoff series for the first time in school history, though they want more.
"This season is huge for this community," said Harris, who has signed with Winthrop University. "We haven't played Calhoun in three years, and to beat them twice in one year is so big for this program and this community. I know our parents are really proud of us, but we're not through. We want a region championship."
No doubt Harris will get that final start and the playoff series opener a week later. And no doubt the Phoenix will take the field those days with a swagger, knowing their big-game leader is in control.
"Thad always seems to be at his best in big games," senior outfielder Brandon Dendy said. "When he's pitching and we get a couple of runs, we know it's over. Our confidence is so high right now, and this is what we've been playing for."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.