The Gatewood baseball team advanced to the GIAA Class AA Final Four for the fifth-straight season by sweeping rival Brentwood in a doubleheader on May 16 in Eatonton.
The Gators dominated the Eagles with a pair of shutout wins, defeating them 9-0 in game one and 10-0 in game two.
Several players delivered stellar performances, but the most notable was Walker Roberts, who had a 3-for-3 afternoon at the plate in game two, featuring a home run and five RBIs, in addition to a five-inning pitching performance with zero hits allowed and 10 strikeouts.
Gatewood head coach Brandon Moss bragged on his two-way All-Star after Thursday’s sweep.
“While it’s no surprise that [Roberts] has been a force, what he was able to do last week was nonetheless incredible,” Moss said.
He also expressed praise for a pair of underclassmen who stepped up for the Gators’ playoff run.
“Brady Haley and Drew Love are young guys that both had huge series,” Moss said. “Drew Love drove in four runs in the first game, and Brady Haley had four hits in game two to drive in some runs and get rallies started, all while alternating between third base and left field.”
The Gators will need Haley and Love to continue stepping up, along with Roberts and the rest of the team, as it prepares to face the Trinity Christian Crusaders this Thursday in a semifinal doubleheader. Also on Thursday, Trinity Christian posted back-to-back wins of 6-4 and 9-2 over Georgia Christian to advance.
The Gators defeated the Gators twice in region games during the region season, but Moss does not expect to see the same opponent this time around.
“I think we will see a little bit of a different team than we saw during region play. They had some key guys out for various reasons, so they weren’t able to have their best rotation against us,” he said.
Regardless, the Gatewood coach remains confident in his team.
“We know the things they like to do offensively, so we will be prepared for that, as well as how we will attack situations on the offensive and defensive side. But we will have to wait to see how they approach us with their better arms," Moss said.
Gatewood will host Trinity Christian at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. this Friday, with a 2 p.m. game scheduled for Saturday, if necessary.
The series winner will advance to the GIAA Class AA final round (yet to be scheduled) against either Southwest Georgia Academy or Edmund Burke Academy, both of which also won their quarter-final matchups with 2-0 game results.