Vikings Battled Till The End
The #8 ranked Treutlen County Vikings baseball team saw their playoff run come to a close last Wednesday, falling to the #6 ranked Lake Oconee Academy Titans in the second round of the GHSA State Baseball Playoffs. Traveling to Greensboro for the best-of-three series, the Vikings were handed a double-header sweep. The Titans controlled the opener from the first pitch, but they had to survive a fierce late-inning rally from Treutlen in the nightcap. The series loss brings a close to the Vikings' season, finishing with an impressive 24-9 record.
Game 1
The first game of the series belonged to the Titans. Lake Oconee’s bats were dialed in early, jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on the back of a three-run home run. The second inning was a mirror image, as the Titans hung another five runs on the board, punctuated by a second three-run shot.
Facing a 10-0 deficit, the Vikings couldn't find a rhythm at the plate. Lake Oconee’s pitching staff shut down the Treutlen lineup, allowing just two hits and enforcing the run rule to take a 10-0 victory in five innings.
Game 2
Game two looked like it might follow a similar script. Lake Oconee manufactured two runs in the top of the first inning and added another in the third to build a 3-0 advantage. Treutlen finally broke through to get a run across in the bottom of the fourth, but the Titans quickly answered. Two runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth stretched the Lake Oconee lead to a daunting 8- 1.
Down to their final three outs in the bottom of the seventh, the Vikings refused to go quietly. The lineup finally found its footing, stringing together crucial atbats to put heavy pressure on the Titans. Michael Boone sparked the offense by driving in a run with an RBI double, followed by an RBI single from Gavin Bailey. With the bases loaded, Juddson Wilkes delivered a clutch, bases-clearing double to cut the deficit to 8-6. The tying run was within reach, but the Titans managed to secure the final out, escaping with the 8-6 victory to seal the series.
While the sweep stings, the seventh-inning fight was a fitting snapshot of the Vikings' year. They battled to the final pitch, capping off a gritty and highly successful 24win campaign for Treutlen County.
