Sports

Trojans survive

• One year after reaching the Class AAAA Final Four, the Lee County baseball team fights off Evans High in the decisive Game 3 of their first-round series, and stave off what could’ve been a disastrous early ending to another stellar Trojans season.

Matt Stewart

LEESBURG- Tenth graders aren't supposed to have nerves of steel.

But Saturday, with Lee County facing an early summer layoff in the third and final game of its opening round Class AAAA playoff series, the No. 1-seeded Trojans turned to two of their youngest pitchers to advance, 5-2, over Evans High.

Sophomores Matthew Suggs and Justin McCalvin teamed up to limit the Knights to just two runs - despite allowing 11 hits for Evans, which left 12 runners stranded during seven innings after loading the bases four times.

"Those two youngsters did a great job," said Trojans coach Rob Williams, whose team avoided a massive letdown with the decisive victory Saturday after winning 16 of their last 18 games this year and reaching the Final Four last season.

Lee now will host Starrs Mill in the second round at home Wednesday in a doubleheader at 5 p.m.

Williams said Friday after the two teams split a doubleheader that he might need "Johnny Wholestaff" to pitch Saturday, referring to the need for several pitchers to throw in the third game.

"We didn't need all of (the pitching staff), but they were ready," said Williams,season.

Suggs got off to a rocky start on the mound in the first, loading the bases with no outs. He gave up one run when Evans' Tevin Nelson scored on Jeremy Rice's squeeze bunt but escaped without further damage.

"I was nervous," Suggs said of getting the call with the Trojans' season on the line. "But, then again, it's just another game."

Lee County (20-9, Region 1-AAAA No. 1 seed) jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second inning, which included RBI singles from Howell White and Brian Hegle. Evans loaded the bases again in the fourth without scoring, but finally chased Suggs in the fifth after Kevin Millward singled home Nelson to inch closer at 4-2.

Suggs threw four innings, allowing two earned runs on eight hits with three strikeouts, but left with the bases loaded in the fifth without retiring a batter in the inning. McCalvin entered with just one thing on his mind.

"Groundballs," he said. "I just couldn't let them score."

The clutch righthanded reliever got one grounder and two infield poputs, leaving the bases packed. He would load the bases full of Knights' runners again in the sixth, but slammed the door shut once more.

"He got us out of the jam," Suggs said of his teammate and classmate McCalvin, who threw three scoreless innings in relief and gave up just three hits.

Trojans' junior shortstop Taylor Howell went 1-for-2 with two RBI Saturday and piled up six total RBI by going 4-for-9 at the plate during the three-game series. Millward went 2-for-3 and Nelson 2-for-4 to lead Evans (15-13, Region 3-AAAA No. 4 seed.) The Knights outhit Lee 11-4 Saturday, but stranded six times as many runners as the Trojans.

Lee advances to the second round of the Class AAAA state playoffs where it will host Starr's Mill (19-9, Region 2-AAAA No. 2 seed) in a doubleheader Wednesday beginning at 4:30 p.m. The Panthers from Fayetteville swept Northside-Warner Robins Friday to move on.

Region 1-AAAA went 2-2 in the first round of the playoffs, with Lee and Thomas County Central advancing.

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