NORCROSS, Ga. -- Game one of the GHSA Class AA baseball quarterfinal series felt like a Rhonda Rousey choke hold for the Gordon Lee Trojans.
Game two, then, was more of a Floyd Mayweather special -- you lost, but you wonder just how it happened. The Trojans, losers of 10-0 and 7-1 games to top-ranked Wesleyan on Tuesday, did not leave Donn Gaebelein Field thinking they were the better team.
They did exit knowing they were better than the level of their play Tuesday.
"They're a good club and you've got to play mistake-free to even be in the game with them," Gordon Lee coach Mike Dunfee said. "They're good, and I told our kids that if you play this game for so long, you're going to have a day like this. We had some errors defensively that you cannot have against a great ball club."
A much-anticipated pitching matchup in game one between Gordon Lee ace Conard Broom and Wesleyan's Andrew Sauer never materialized. A double by leadoff man supreme Jahmai Jones, a walk and Carter Hall's three-run homer gave Sauer more than enough support.
The right-hander allowed just five hits and had only one rough spot, stranding Trojans runners at third and second in the second inning. He struck out only three but never let the visitors get comfortable in the batter's box.
"Sauer pitched a heck of a game, and the other kid in game two (Andrew Ward) is going to be a good one," lauded Gordon Lee senior Jake Rogers. "They kept us off-balance and they hit their spots. When they made mistakes we hit them, but they didn't make many."
After Carter's early homer Broom, who ended his Gordon Lee career one win shy of tying the state's all-time win mark, kept the Wolves off the board until the fifth. Jones, who was in the middle of every big Wesleyan inning, led off with an infield single and quickly stole two bags. Will Collins walked and Hall added to his RBI collection with a two-run double.
Broom was pulled and the Wolves ended the game in the sixth on Jones's three-run homer. Jones, a probable high-round draft pick next month, scored six runs in the two games.
Wesleyan (28-4) managed just three hits in game two against Gordon Lee sophomore Chaney Rogers and reliever Ethan Clark, but four walks, a handful of wild pitches and passed balls were the Trojans' undoing.
Jones was hit to lead off the game, moved to second on a sacrifice, stole third and came home on Colin Hall's groundout.
Gordon Lee (19-9) tied it in the bottom half when Chaney Rogers' sacrifice fly scored Sean Coakley against Ward. Rogers and Ward matched zeros for the next three innings before Wesleyan took the lead on a two-out passed ball in the fifth.
That miscue seemed to unsettle the Trojans, who committed three errors in the sixth as the wheels fell off, leading to four Wolves runs and effectively ending the game and Gordon Lee's season.
"I've never been more proud of a team," said Dunfee, whose team rallied from a 5-7 start. "What more can I say about these seniors than they had 99 wins and gave me everything they had. They sent a message to the younger guys about how to play this game."
Added Chaney Rogers, who is set to play for Cleveland State Community College: "Playing on this team been the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, and I've grown up a lot over the last four years. It's been so much fun, and I wouldn't trade these guys for anyone and this experience for anything."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.