Pitching is the key to any long prep baseball postseason run and three Northwest Georgia teams have the arms to get it done as the GHSA playoffs begin Tuesday with doubleheader starts to best-of-three series across the state.
It’s those doubleheaders that put stress on a pitching staff, but if things go as planned, Ringgold, Gordon Lee and Heritage are set up well even if opening-round series go the distance.
Pitching has always been a strength at Ringgold and this year is no different, even with the graduation of Best of Preps player of the year Ross Norman.
As the Tigers (21-6) prepare to host Gilmer (15-13) from tough Region 7 Tuesday in a Class AAA series, they have another true ace in senior Sebastian Haggard, who enters the playoffs with a 7-0 record, an ERA under 1 and the ability to finish what he starts.
“He’s every bit of an ace,” Ringgold coach Drew Walker said after Haggard shut out Gordon Lee last week. “That guy has had a couple of outings that may be the best I’ve seen, including three complete games under 80 pitches. He will go down as one of the elite ones to pitch here.”