A trio of great pitching performances powered Gatewood to three wins recently, with just one game left on its regular-season schedule.
The Gators opened with a 17-3 win over Dominion Christian in Marietta last Monday, followed by a 9-2 win at home the next day over Central Georgia Arts (CGA).
Ben Pearson pitched all five innings in the mercy rule victory over Dominion Christian, striking out four batters and allowing just six hits and three runs. The Gators’ offense piled up 14 hits and 13 RBI in the lopsided win.
Jayden Moss pitched 6.1 innings of Gatewood's 9-2 win over CGA, striking out seven batters, walking two, and allowing six hits and one earned run. Gatewood’s offense had nine hits and nine RBIs, including a Ben Brannen two-run homer in the sixth inning.
The Gators’ lone loss last week came in Macon to First Presbyterian Day, ranked first in the state by MaxPreps.com. The Vikings beat the Gators 4-1, despite a masterful performance by Gatewood’s Lawson Moore on the mound. Moore pitched a seven-inning complete game, striking out five batters and allowing nine hits, with zero walks and two earned runs.
Still, the Gators struggled to score despite having five hits and two offensive walks.
Regardless, Gatewood head coach Brandon Moss said he feels his team is hitting its stride at the right time, heading into the final week of the regular season.
“As the season has progressed, things have ironed out nicely, and roles have been established,” Moss said. “We have a good feeling about where we are offensively, our pitching is trending in the right direction, and defensively we are starting to jell the way we need to for a (playoff) run.”
Moss said he was proud of his pitching staff and impressed by the improvement they showed last week.
“This was a big week for all three of our starters,” Moss said. “They all either threw complete games or gave us at least six quality innings. That was probably the biggest takeaway from this past week, getting our guys deep into the game and seeing them compete with high pitch counts.”
This week, Gatewood got off to another good start with a 7-5 win over Pinewood Christian in Eatonton behind another great pitching performance. Pearson and Brannen combined for the win, with Pearson going 6.2 innings on the mound while striking out seven Patriots and walking just two.
When Brannen took over, he secured the win by retiring the only batter he faced with a strikeout.
This week, the Gators traveled to Bellville on Wednesday (past press time) to face the Patriots in their final game.
The Gators return home next week to host Pinewood on Tuesday at 5 p.m. and will visit Bellville again next Thursday to face Pinewood Christian for their 2026 regular-season finale.