Gatewood closed out its regular season on the diamond with two wins last week, including an important 7-3 victory on Tuesday over region rival Piedmont Academy.
The Gators then traveled to Macon on Wednesday to face 4-A opponent Tatnall Square Academy (TSA) in what turned out to be a big 3-1 upset win for the Gators to finish off the regular season.
The Gators finished 14-7 on the season with a perfect 6-0 record in region play, which earned them a bye week and home-field advantage in the playoffs.
“It is a huge advantage,” head coach Brandon Moss said. “First off, playing at a familiar ballpark is always nice, not to mention not having to travel. Then the added advantage of twice having the last at-bat is a big deal.”
In Gatewood’s Senior Day matchup against Piedmont, senior Lawson Wooten started on the mound for the Gators and began his day with a short inning that included striking out a batter to end the game.
At the plate, the Gators scored quickly, thanks to Ames Johnson's home run to left center field, his second of the season.
That was all the Gators would do in the first, and Wooten had another good inning in the second, striking out another batter, but the Gators bats failed to back him up. Piedmont tied things up in the top of the fourth with a run-scoring single followed by a sacrifice fly to give the Cougars a 2-1 lead.
Wooten got out of the inning thanks to a nice play from catcher Jackson Hewatt to second basemen Hunter Johnson to pick off a Piedmont baserunner and end the inning.
Gatewood reclaimed the lead in the fifth inning.
With two runners on, Hunter Johnson reached base and scored two runs on a Piedmont infield error to give the Gators a 3-2 lead. Ben Brannen then scored a run on a hard single to left field, Ames Johnson scored on a passed ball, and Walker Roberts sent Brannen home with a ground ball hit into left field to give the Gators a 6-2 lead after five innings.
Gatewood won 7-3 behind three Ames Johnson base hits, including two RBIs from the Gators’ shortstop. Wooten pitched 6.2 innings, striking out eight batters, walking two, and allowing six hits and three runs.
On Wednesday at TSA, Gatewood fell behind 1-0 after the first inning, but neither team scored through the fourth before the Gators scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning.
That’s how it ended, with runs scored by juniors Ames Johnson and Hunter Johnson, as well as freshman Drew Love. Junior pitcher Walker Roberts won after posting six strikeouts and going the distance on the mound.
The Gators head into this week awaiting the winner of the Brentwood (11-14) versus Westwood (9-8) series. Gatewood will host the winner of that series this Friday in Eatonton.