CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. - Opponents may not have known much about Austin Thompson when the 2017 baseball season began.
But with a little more than two weeks left in the regular season, they can't help but take notice.
Thompson pitched a gem Tuesday night at home as top-ranked Gordon Lee won 3-0 over North Cobb Christian in a Georgia Region 6-A game.
Thompson, a junior, improved his record to 7-0 with a complete-game shutout, giving up two hits and three walks. He allowed only one baserunner past second base.
He pitched for the Trojans' junior varsity team last season as a sophomore.
"You could see it last year that he wanted the ball," Gordon Lee coach Mike Dunfee said Tuesday. "This year I knew he was going to step up. He's a bulldog. He's one of those kids that when you give him the ball he doesn't want to give it back until the game is over. You love kids like that."
Thompson had plenty of help behind him, as the Trojans turned two double plays and made several other outstanding plays that kept North Cobb Christian (9-8, 4-5) from starting any kind of rally.
"The defense just keeps getting better," Dunfee said. "We've had some injuries and had to move some people around, but people are stepping up and doing their role, and it's fun to watch."
Gordon Lee (15-3, 9-0) got all the runs it needed in the first inning, scoring two on hits by Chaney Rogers and Noah Peterson. In the sixth the Trojans added a run on a sacrifice fly after loading the bases with nobody out.
Thompson and Eagles pitchers Lee Cunningham and Zach Turner gave up only six hits total.
Gordon Lee is currently ranked No. 1 in Georgia's Class A Public division, but Dunfee and the Trojans are focused on the bigger picture.
"We preached at the beginning of the year, I don't care what the polls say. It doesn't matter until the end of the year," Dunfee said. "It's fun for the fans, but I try to keep our guys even-keel and humble and just keep playing day by day. It's a great bunch of kids that have worked hard since the fall."
Contact Kevin Llewallyn at sports@timesfreepress.com.