CALHOUN, Ga. — As he waited for his turn to bat in the bottom of the sixth inning Friday, Hudson Chadwick stood in the on-deck box and smiled.
The Calhoun High School junior later explained that a strong feeling of intuition had calmed his nerves with the score 3-all against Oconee County late in a game that would send one team on to the GHSA Class AAA baseball semifinals — and send the other team home for the season.
Moments later, the Yellow Jackets would take the lead for good as sophomore Chris Ware’s line-drive single to center field drove in pinch runner Drake Hughey.
Chadwick did his part at the plate by hitting a three-run homer to left field as Calhoun scored five runs in its final inning up to bat, and the Region 7-AAA player of the year followed up in the field in the top of the seventh, stretching far off first base to scoop the ball and complete a 6-4-3 double play that capped his team’s thrilling 8-3 victory at Chip Henderson Field.
For the second straight game in the best-of-three quarterfinal series, Chadwick homered to help No. 2 seed Calhoun (31-6) win again. This victory secured another best-of-three series at home, with No. 3 seed Pickens (33-3) visiting next Thursday for a doubleheader to open the matchup. If necessary, a third game would be played the following day.
By late Friday evening, Calhoun’s 5-4 loss to No. 10 Oconee (23-14) in the series opener a day earlier was long forgotten as the Jackets successfully followed through after their 13-4 win in the nightcap of Thursday’s doubleheader.
“When I was on deck, I started to feel chills and I started smiling before I went to bat. It was just one of those feelings where you know something good is going to happen,” said Chadwick, who is also a star running back and linebacker for Calhoun and played a key part in the powerhouse football program’s run to its fifth and most recent state championship in 2024.
Now the baseball program is closing in on a potential fifth championship to add to those from 2010, 2005, 2000 and 1974.
“That finish to this game was something I have always dreamed of,” Chadwick added. “I felt something special in my heart there. This was a special moment for us, but now we have to reset and move on to the Final Four next week. We want to end this run in Rome with a state title.”
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Cam Stewart set the tone at the top of the lineup for the Jackets as the lone senior in the starting lineup had a pair of singles and two stolen bases, and he reached base in the five-run sixth after a leadoff single by sophomore Matt Zander. Rocco Baxter, Ryder Hood and Mason Peek — a trio of juniors — also had two hits each toward Calhoun’s 11 total.
Before being showered with the contents of a drink cooler in a team celebration and taking a memorable postgame field drag on the Gator utility vehicle with his daughter, fourth-year head coach Matt Montgomery spoke about his team’s all-around ability to make something special happen.
“The fun thing is everybody on our team contributes and can make a special moment happen,” Montgomery said. “If one guy doesn’t get the job done, everybody believes the next one is going to. They have been a lot of fun to watch with how well they play together as a team.
“Tonight was another tight ballgame, and credit to Oconee County, they gave us a challenge this week. We got a couple guys on and got some momentum and broke it open. We were all able to take a deep breath there and pour it on a little bit, especially with Hudson’s three-run homer.”
(READ MORE: Calhoun bounces back, forces rubber match in GHSA Class AAA quarterfinals)
Calhoun turned three double plays in the series finale, which included winning pitcher Ryder Hood building some momentum for the home team as he handled a popup and doubling off the runner at first base with two men on to end the top of the sixth. Hood threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Zander, who allowed three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings.
The Jackets are one of two area teams in the GHSA baseball semifinals, with reigning Class A Division I champion Gordon Lee the other. The top-seeded Trojans advanced by winning both ends of a doubleheader at home Thursday against No. 8 Fitzgerald.
Trion was the only other area team that reached this week’s quarterfinal round, doing so as one of the final eight teams in Class A Division II, but the Bulldogs were swept Wednesday at Emanuel County Institute, losing 10-0, 10-0.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.