Again?? Chargers are back to back Region 17 Champions!
Back to back! For the second year in a row and the third season in the last four, the Georgia Highlands Chargers are NJCAA Region 17 Champions! Pitching was key for the Chargers in a tournament that featured five teams packed with firepower. GHC got three quality starts from their trio of All-Conference starting pitchers Max Eichenberger, Andrew Arnold, and Kaiden Krak, as well as two dominant relief appearances from freshman fireman Jackson Greer. The offense did their part as well, scoring more than ten runs in each of the three contests. Sophomore All-Conference sluggers Ryan Martin, Kenskey Thomas, and Tyler Phillips each hit .545 in the regional and combined for eight extra base hits, including four home runs.
The Chargers got out of the gates hot, mercy ruling East Georgia in just six innings by a score of 11-1. The Bobcats managed only three hits and one run off of Max Eichenberger, who struck out six and went the distance for the win. Ryan Martin and Ian Fullerton each homered in the game and collected three RBIs.
In game two, GHC faced Andrew College, who was fresh off of an upset victory over second seeded Gordon State. The game was tight early, with Andrew jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the third inning. The Chargers answered quickly, tying things in the bottom half of the inning before pushing out to a sizeable lead as the game went on. Andrew Arnold threw six solid innings, striking out six and allowing three earned runs on seven hits. Jackson Greer came in to protect a 9-4 lead in the seventh and was perfect in two innings of work. The GHC offense pounded out 17 hits and 12 runs led by Ryan Martin who homered twice and drove in five.
In the Championship game it was #1 vs #2 as the Chargers teed up against the power laden Gordon State Highlanders. An error, a pair of walks, and a single led to two runs in the top of the first for the Highlanders, but starter Kaiden Krak induced an rally killing double play to end the inning and fired off five straight scoreless innings before being relieved with one out in the seventh inning. GHC took the lead 3-2 in the bottom of the second on back to back two out RBI base hits from Kenskey Thomas and Ryan Martin. The Chargers piled on four more runs in the sixth. Tyler Phillips led off the inning with a blast over the left field wall to get things started. Wyatt Gatling followed with a hard single to right field, and Caden Marcos, who showed bunt to start the at bat, drilled the second homer of the inning to straight away left field. Heath Whitlock finished off the scoring after he walked, stole second, and came in to score on a pair of wild pitches. A three run homer by the Highlanders chased Krak form the game with one out in the seventh inning, and Jackson Greer came in for the second time in two days to stop the bleeding. Defending a 7-5 lead, Greer punched out the next five hitters in a row before ultimately finishing off the Highlanders in a 10-7 victory.
Head Coach Dash O'Neill was proud of his team after the game. "Man, these guys are just tough as hell," the skipper said. "They have battled through so much adversity to get here. We had five position players go down and another five pitchers and they never blinked. We had guys playing out of position and in different roles than they are used to and they never made excuses. After last year, they knew there would be a target on their back, but they just hung together and decided they weren't going to let anything stop them from having a special year. I am just so proud of them, and I am excited we get to stay together a little while longer."
The Chargers are now the GCAA Regular Season Champions and the NJCAA Region 17 Champions with an overall record of 45-10. Next week they will travel up to Morristown, TN to play Walters State in the best of three Appalachian District Championship.