Dominating wins of 5-1 and 8-0 over Trinity Christian last Thursday sent Gatewood’s baseball team to its sixth consecutive GIAA Class 2A state championship series.
The Gators will look to capture their fourth straight state title this week when they face the Heritage Hawks Thursday through Saturday, if necessary, at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro.
An impressive combination of pitching and hitting powered Gatewood to back-to-back wins on May 21 in Eatonton against the visiting Crusaders. Ben Pearson started Game 1 and allowed just four hits and one earned run.
At the plate, the Gators produced eight hits and five runs, highlighted by home runs from Pearson and Ben Brannen.
Game 2 followed a similar script, as starting pitcher Lawson Moore delivered another seven-inning complete-game shutout after his strong outing a week earlier. The southpaw recorded 12 strikeouts while allowing just two hits and one walk to secure the series-clinching win.
Gatewood’s offense nearly doubled its production in the second game, jumping from eight hits in Game 1 to 17 in Game 2. The Gators drove in seven runs and added an unearned run, while drawing three walks and striking out just three times.
The biggest question entering 2026 for the Gators centered on experience, with just one senior and two juniors on the roster. However, head coach Brandon Moss said those outside the program may have underestimated the team’s depth.
“I don’t think that people realized how deep our roster was last year. As well as we played last year, I don’t think we got the respect that we should have for how deep our roster was,” Moss said. “All of our seniors deservedly had a lot of recognition, but we had a lot of young players who were really carrying a big load that people weren’t really noticing. And now they’re getting their opportunity to go play for a state championship and show what we’ve got and just prove the depth of this program.
“The word that comes to mind is honor. It’s an honor because, as I said, you don’t just get these opportunities. I know it seems like you do, but you don’t,” he added.
The former MLB outfielder also reflected on what it means to him personally to continue Gatewood's championship streak.
“Proud. Anytime you go to a state championship, it’s something that took a lot of hard work to get to. It didn’t just happen by accident,” he said. “You sit there in those moments, and when you get the final out, you want to enjoy it because you’re getting the opportunity to play the final games of the season and play for a trophy.
“It’s an honor. It’s an exciting thing to be there, whether it’s your first one, or if you haven’t been in a long time, or if it’s your sixth in a row. It’s something you should celebrate, something you should be excited about. It’s something that means a lot to the kids, the work, and the program, so I get pumped up. I don’t get pumped up too much about any other games until we get here, and now it’s a good feeling after you put all that work in.”
The Gators now turn their attention to the championship series. Heritage enters the matchup at 19-13 and riding momentum after a 7-3 upset over Southwest Georgia Academy in Game 3 of last Friday’s series, which marked the Hawks’ first state championship appearance since 2010.
Gatewood and Heritage will meet at Georgia Southern’s J.I. Clements Field on Thursday at 1 p.m. and again at the same time on Friday. A deciding Game 3, if necessary, will also be played Saturday at 1 p.m. in Statesboro.