RINGGOLD, Ga. — There were several storylines in Heritage's sweep of Seckinger in the second round of the GHSA Class AAAA baseball playoffs Wednesday, and maybe the most interesting involved a senior and a freshman.
Senior Max Owens fired a three-hit shutout with seven strikeouts in a 4-0 win while also hitting a solo home run in the day's first game, and then freshman Cohen Fletcher provided much-needed relief on the mound in an 8-4 comeback victory to close out the best-of-three series.
The Generals (25-7) will travel to Region 4 No. 1 seed Starr's Mill for a doubleheader Monday in Fayetteville to start a best-of-three quarterfinal series. The Panthers swept through the first two rounds while outscoring their opposition 48-2.
Owens allowed only one runner to get as far as second base in the opener, using his crisp fastball to overpower the Jaguars (17-16), who traveled from Gwinnett County as Region 8's No. 2 seed. He provided Region 7 champion Heritage's first run with his solo shot to open the second inning — adding to his school single-season record — and received two runs of insurance in the third on Brady Chandler's two-out single.
"Max Owens is a heck of a baseball player," Heritage coach David Dinger said. "That's a very good team he just shut out, and he helped himself with a home run. That kid can do a lot of things."
Game two, however, was a completely different story on the mound for the Generals. Starter JC Armour managed only one out after walking the first three Seckinger batters and allowing a two-run single to Caleb Feitz in the three-run inning.
Dinger turned to Fletcher, and the frosh closed that inning and then worked the next two, allowing two hits and no runs while striking out two batters.
"Cohen Fletcher is a freshman who came in in that situation in the first inning, and he gave us a chance," Dinger said. "He was only in a bit, but he changed the game for us. He stopped the bleeding and gave us a chance to come back."
That the Generals did. Heritage, which had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on Owens' RBI single, got within one in the third on Bryce Quails' run-scoring double. The teams traded runs in the fourth, but Heritage ramped up the pressure in the sixth inning, and the Jaguars buckled.
Maddox Henry opened the frame with a single and speedy Cody Bryan reached on an error. Chandler tied the game with a single, and with Owens at the plate, he took off for second. Bryan had a big lead, took off for home as the throw went to second and scored easily for a 5-4 lead.
"You've got Cody Bryan, you're going to be aggressive on the bases because that guy can run and he just scores runs," Dinger said. "We were aggressive, but we have to try everything we can to score."
Heritage got some separation in the top of the seventh with a three-run rally that began with two outs. Henry, who had three of Heritage's nine hits, reached on an infield single, and Bryan followed with a bunt hit that the Seckinger pitcher threw away at first, allowing Henry to score. Chandler added another RBI single and later scored on an error for a four-run lead.
Chandler would end up getting a save after usually reliable closer Ryland Black-Long walked two of the three batters he faced. Chandler recorded two quick outs to send the Generals to the next round, making a winner of reliever Caden Strickland, who went three innings and allowed no runs and one hit.
"Brady is actually our most experienced pitcher, and we had him for tomorrow if we needed, but Ryland just got in a bit of trouble and we didn't want the top half of their order to come back around," Dinger said. "The kids played hard for 14 innings today. We weren't perfect, for sure, but they did what they had to do."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com.