RINGGOLD, Ga. – After four hours in the 85-degree heat, Heritage baseball coach Eric Beagles didn’t mind being drenched in ice-cold water.
That shower was even sweeter since it came as a result of the Generals clinching a spot in the GHSA Class AAAA semifinals for the first time in the program’s nine-year history.
The Generals swept a doubleheader at home Wednesday over Hardaway, 5-2 and 6-3, behind complete games from pitchers Cole Wilcox and Alex Barbee.
“It’s special, it really is,” Beagles said. “I’m just happy for these guys. What they put into this and what they do, there’s not a better feeling in the world than to see them happy.”
Junior Wilcox was dominant on the mound in the day’s first game, striking out 10 in the seven innings while giving up only three hits, no walks and no earned runs.
The Generals’ defense was uncharacteristically shaky, committing four errors that led to two unearned runs, but Wilcox was able to limit the damage by consistently attacking hitters. Nine of his strikeouts were on swings-and-misses.
“I love getting the ball in game one. It’s the best feeling in the world,” Wilcox said. “They swing early and often. You’ve just got to keep it away from their barrels.”
Heritage (30-7) struggled on offense as well, particularly in scoring situations. The Generals were just 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 14 men on base.
However, they capitalized on 10 walks, and Johnathan Hickman’s sixth-inning solo homer gave Wilcox the cushion he needed to close out the first game.
Barbee, a senior pitching in what might be his last game at home, followed Wilcox with a gem of his own in game two. He gave up six hits, two walks and one earned run while striking out five.
“They were attacking,” Barbee said. “I just started mixing in my off-speeds and they were chasing. I let my defense work.”
Heritage grabbed the lead in the first inning on a two-run homer by Wilcox, but Hardaway (18-17) fought back and took a 3-2 lead into the fifth inning.
After a leadoff double by Alex Coulter in the fifth, Joseph Hill singled him in to tie the score at 3.
Heritage scored two more times in the fifth and added a run in the sixth before Barbee shut the door on the Hawks and clinched the Generals’ spot in the final four.
“The message has been that we expect this,” Beagles said. “We don’t want them to be satisfied.”
Heritage will take on top-ranked Blessed Trinity in a best-of-three series beginning next Wednesday.
Contact Kevin Llewallyn at sports@timesfreepress.com