LFO's Nelson Chapman slips past a tag attempt by Dade County shortstop Seth Swader during a Region 7-AA game March 8 in Trenton, Ga.. Although Dade County committed five errors in a 10-6 loss that day, the Wolverines have since made big improvements and lead the region standings with a week left in the regular season.T RENTON, Ga. - Things weren't very rosy for the Dade County High School baseball team a month ago.
Sitting at 6-6 overall after losing two consecutive Region 7-AA games, the Wolverines were at a crossroads. This wasn't some young team trying to find its way. This is a senior and junior-dominated team coming off a second-round appearance in the 2017 GHSA playoffs that had high expectations under new coach Aaron Simmons.
But early on, uneven performances - mainly too many walks by pitchers and errors by fielders - had Dade's postseason plans in serious jeopardy. The low point came in a 10-6 loss to Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe on a frigid night in which the Wolverines committed five errors.
"We just weren't a very good team at that point," said Simmons, who had previous prep coaching success at Sequatchie County in Tennessee. "Defensively, we had to get better. A lot of the games we lost early were about getting behind batters and not making routine plays. We worked on that day in and day out, and we started turning things around."
And what a turnaround it's been. In the past four weeks, Dade has nine consecutive wins, eight of them in region play. The biggest was an 8-4 conquest of Rockmart, ranked No. 2 in Class AA at the time.
Simmons' team backed that up with a win over Pepperell when the Dragons were second in the region standings, and after Chattooga's upset of Rockmart on Thursday, the Wolverines (10-2 in 7-AA) are in first place.
The secret to the rally? According to senior Greg Templeton, it's nothing magical.
"It's just the want-to," he said. "We let things slide a little too much early on, but we wanted to make it back to state, so we decided to put in the work. We knew we had the talent to win this region, but we just weren't playing like it."
Templeton, the team's ace (4-1, 1.73 ERA) and leading hitter (.421, 16 RBIs, 21 runs scored), held Rockmart's talented lineup in check in the signature win, with junior Noah Bone (.387) leading the attack with four RBIs. The game, Simmons said, was a big confidence booster.
"I knew our guys were ready to play and they wanted it," he said. "We now believe each team we play we can beat on any given day. It meant a lot, our biggest win of the year so far for sure, and I think it changed some people's minds about us."
The Wolverines aren't loaded with power - they have only a handful of home runs all year - but they make consistent contact and ended the week batting better than .350 as a team. Leadoff man Chase Bradford and fellow senior Seth Swader are each hitting .412, with Bone leading the team with 20 RBIs.
The No. 2 pitcher is junior Harley Walker (3-1, 3.23 ERA), with Bone often coming on late to close games.
Now the ones being chased in the region standings with a week left in the regular season, the Wolverines have clinched a state playoff berth. Wins against Chattooga and Gordon Central would clinch the program's first region championship since 1967.
"We don't plan on letting up now," Walker said after the win over Pepperell. "We don't just want to go to state, we want to be the region champions and make it all the way. With the way we're playing right now, why not?"
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.