John Milledge Academy (JMA) wrapped up its second-straight GIAA AAA baseball state championship last Monday.
The Trojans faced off against the Pinewood Patriots in a rematch of last year’s championship series, which JMA won in three games. The Trojans and Patriots were set to play May 18, but game one got pushed back to last Saturday at SRP Park in North Augusta.
JMA enjoyed a strong game one, downing Pinewood 6-0, with the victory highlighted by Jackson Thomas, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound senior, pitching a complete-game shutout while allowing only two hits. Thomas also hit a monstrous home run off the left-field SRP scoreboard.
The Trojans had six different runners score runs in game one, with Thomas and Blake Bellflower leading the way with two hits apiece.
Game two was held this past Monday at Edmond Burke Academy in Warrenton after inclement weather approaching Augusta forced the game to be moved just hours before starting.
JMA broke things open in the third inning when senior Banks Eady singled on a line drive that scored freshman Bryce McDonel and senior Cayden Avant for a 2-0 Trojans lead. Pinewood answered in the bottom of the third with a run on a JMA wild pitch.
The Trojans then exploded in the fourth inning, scoring nine runs to take what turned out to be an insurmountable 11-1 lead.
Seniors Brady Rollins and Thomas both singled before Bellflower hit a three-run homer to center field to extend JMA’s lead, followed by junior Bud Veal hitting a single to score McDonel.
Banks Eady next hit a three-run homer to left field to boost JMA’s advantage to 9-1, and with two outs in the top of the fourth, Thomas pounded a homerun to center field that also scored sophomore Remington Weaver to give the Trojans an 11-1 lead.
Pinewood would go three-up, three-down in the bottom of the fourth and JMA added one more run in the fifth inning on a hit by pitch with the bases loaded before a flyout ended the inning.
Just as Thomas had in game one, junior Cooper Wilburn went the distance on the mound for JMA in game two, throwing three straight outs in the bottom of the fifth to end the game on a run-rule basis and seal John Milledge Academy’s secondstraight baseball state championship series victory.
Thomas had a championship series to remember, hitting two home runs in two games, allowing two hits, and striking out six batters. Wilburn finished game two with five innings pitched, two hits allowed, one run, and seven strikeouts.
Just as in game one, senior Banks Eady had a great day at the plate for his final JMA game, leading the team in hits with three, RBIs with five, and sending one ball outside the fence.
When asked about the entire weekend John Milledge head coach Chad Starley described it as a “roller coaster” after having to change locations twice, especially on the day of game two.
Starley called his team’s performance “fantastic,” and said, “We knew we had our guy going on the mound, he was gonna’ throw strikes and compete every pitch and we knew that at some point the bats were gonna wake up.”
The coach also singled out twins Banks and Briggs Eady for their yearlong efforts and contributions.
“Not just on the field and them just being winners. Everybody gravitates to them. They’re great kids. They work hard and the other kids see what hard work does for you,” Starley said. “They compete no matter what; they always compete. It’s just in them. They’re fun to be around.”
Starley also expressed gratitude toward this year’s senior class, which in addition to those previously mentioned included catcher Brady Rollins and infielder Tyler Greene. He described how the senior players provided a stabilizing influence at practices, at team dinners, and in the locker room.
“In anything we did they always carried us,” Starley said. “They were an absolute joy to coach the last couple of years.”