In their first playoff series of the 2024 postseason, the Gatewood Gators (17-7) swept the Westwood Wildcats in two games last Friday in a best-of-three series at home in Eatonton.
The Gators won the opening game 15-8, then followed up with a 13-5 win to advance to the GIAA Class 2A semifinal.
Trailing 3-0 after three-and-a-half innings of game one, the Gators came alive in the bottom of the fourth as Lawson Wooten scored two runners on a base hit, bringing the Gators to within a run. Jackson Hewatt drew a walk to tie the game at 3-3, and Ames Johnson doubled, scoring three runs to give the Gators a 6-3 lead.
Adding one more run before the inning ended, the Gators were up 7-3 at the end of four innings.
The Gators never relinquished the lead, adding two more runs in the fifth before Westwood rallied to put another five on the board in the top of the sixth inning to draw within one at 9-8. Still, six more unanswered runs by Gatewood in the bottom of the sixth sealed the game-one win for the home team.
In game two, Gatewood was officially the visiting team, so the Gators led off at the plate in the first inning.
They failed to score, but the Wildcats put three runs on the board to retake an early lead. Westwood next capitalized off their first inning with a two-run second inning to reach a 5-0 lead.
Regardless, Gatewood found some momentum in the top of the third inning after putting two runners on base and then scoring a pair of runs on a Wilson Moore double to left field. Gators pitcher Jackson Love followed up with a great inning in the bottom of the third, striking out a pair and forcing a groundout to end the inning.
Gatewood tied the game at five runs in the fourth inning. Tanner Johnson scored a runner on a single and then scored the game-tying run himself on an Ames Johnson single. Wilson Moore again reached base to score Ames Johnson, and Ben Brannen scored a run to give the Gators a 7-5 lead.
In the sixth inning, Ames Johnson continued to shine, going deep to center field against Westwood for a two-run homer to extend the Gators' lead to 9-5. Caleb Riser recorded his first RBI of the game by sending Brannen home. Another two runs followed after a Walker Roberts double to right field.
Lawson Wooten came in to pinch hit for Gatewood and recorded a hit and an RBI in his only plate appearance of the game. He scored Roberts to give the Gators a 13-5 lead that held up for the win.
It also secured the Gators’ fourth consecutive trip to the GIAA 2-A baseball final four. Ames Johnson led the team in game two with four hits in five at-bats, including his third homer of the season.
Hunter Johnson and Wilson Moore had three hits in four at-bats, and Brannen led the team in scoring three runs.
Love pitched the most innings among the four Gatewood pitchers in game two. He pitched 2.2 innings, striking out five batters with zero walks while allowing just two hits and two runs.
In a rematch of last year’s state championship series, the Gators next face Southwest Georgia Academy (15-6-1) on Friday at 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. (or 30 minutes after game one’s conclusion, whichever comes later). If game three is required, it will be at 3 p.m. on Saturday, with all games to be played at Gatewood.