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Click HERE for the latest playoff bracket.
Shippin up to Boston by Drop Kick Murphys
Monday, June 7
Monday, May 31
State Championship Coverage - Click below for articles
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/highschool/headlines/95195794.html
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/sports/headlines/95165634.html
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/sports/headlines/95165419.html
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/sports/headlines/95072979.html
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/highschool/headlines/94891344.html
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/highschool/headlines/94672749.html
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/sports/headlines/95165634.html
http://chronicle.augusta.com/sports/2010-05-28/irish-fall-short-first-title-after-magical-run?v=1275097280
Friday, May 21
This is how it all went down!! Final Four Bound!
Bottom of the 7th from Michael Mann (edgewarevideo.com) on Vimeo.
Thursday, May 20
Wesleyan rallies with two-run seventh to advance - Gwinnett Daily Post
SAVANNAH — Wesleyan coach Mike Shaheen has been a part of several classic games during his coaching career. But the decisive game Wednesday in the best-of-three Class A state quarterfinals series against Calvary Day School will be one the Wolves’ head coach likely won’t ever forget. Especially if his team goes on to claim another state championship this season. Trailing the fourth-ranked Cavaliers 3-2 going into the bottom of the seventh, second-ranked Wesleyan rallied for two runs in their last at-bat to pull out a 4-3 victory that sent it to the state semifinals for a third straight season. “We’ve been blessed to be in the playoffs a lot over the last seven or so years and have been in a lot of Game 3s, but this one is definitely up there (among the best of them),” Shaheen said. “I’m proud the players believed, didn’t give up and just battled, and our seniors took over in the end.” One of those seniors was pitcher Kevin O’Leary who bats first in the Wolves’ lineup and led off the bottom of the seventh with a single. Senior right fielder Conor Welton, who had four hits in four trips, followed with another single through the middle to give the Wolves runners at first and second with no outs and bring left fielder Alex Thykeson to bat. Though Thykeson was 3-for-3 at the plate, Shaheen called for his third hitter in the lineup to bunt. Thykeson got the bunt down between home and the pitcher’s mound. The ball was fielded cleanly by Calvary reliever Daniel Payne, who thought briefly about throwing to third to try to cut off the lead runner, but then turned to take the safe out at first. However, the pitcher’s throw sailed over the first baseman’s head and rolled into the outfield, allowing O’Leary to score the tying run. As Calvary right fielder Beau Smith corralled the ball, Shaheen also waived Welton around third in an attempt to score the winning run. A throw to the plate by Smith beat Welton there, but as the senior slid into home feet first, he knocked the ball out of the catcher’s glove to score the game-clinching run. While the Calvary players dropped their heads in disbelief and walked slowly toward their dugout, the Wolves stormed the field to celebrate the wild victory which kept their hopes for a third straight state crown alive. “That was pretty incredible,” said O’Leary, who went the distance on the mound for Wesleyan to come away with the win. “I have to catch my breath.” Welton, who played quarterback for the Wesleyan football team before tearing the ACL in his right knee during the playoffs last fall, said he didn’t realize he had jarred the ball loose until he looked back after crossing the plate. “I was just trying to make something happen,” said Welton, who will play at Georgia next year and didn’t get to play baseball until late in the season after allowing his knee to heal. “It’s like football. I was going hard, and when you do that, something good can happen.” Shaheen wasn’t surprised that Welton’s hustle and effort paid off for the Wolves in a big way. “You can’t doubt a kid like that,” the coach said. “He’s a kid who does make things happen.” Perhaps it was only fitting that the Wolves and Cavs had to go three games to decide their series and that it came down to a thrilling finish. The Wolves (24-9) have won the last two Class A state titles while the Cavs (27-4) also have been one of the state’s most dominant teams in recent years, winning state championships in 2005 and 2007 while also making the state finals in 2006. Last season, Calvary lost to Landmark Christian, the team Wesleyan beat for the state crown, in the semifinals. In 2007, the Cavs eliminated the Wolves from the title chase in the quarterfinals. “This was a great series,” Shaheen said. “I feel bad for their players. They deserved to go to the next round, too. They’re as good as anyone left.” The two state powers split a doubleheader Tuesday with Calvary taking the opener 2-1 in eight innings and Wesleyan winning the second game 8-1 to force Wednesday’s deciding game. It looked like the Wolves’ inability to produce the big hit early might end up costing them. They loaded the bases in the first with one out, but Calvary sophomore pitcher Ryan Lawlor got the next two batters to escape the jam. In the third, the Wolves, who were the home team after winning a coin flip, did plate a run on a single to left that drove in Welton for a 1-0 lead. But again after loading the bases with one out, the Wolves couldn’t take advantage as they left the sacks full. Calvary scored twice in the fourth for a 2-1 lead. After the first two batters in the inning reached on singles to put runners on the corners for Skyler Strickland, the Cavs’ cleanup man laid down a sacrifice bunt for the first run. The go-ahead run scored following an error by the Wolves. Calvary extended its lead to 3-1 in the fifth when Jamie Bragg led off with a double to the fence in center and later scored on a groundout to second for the second out of the inning. The Wolves got within 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth when Welton led off with a double and went to third on a single by Thykeson. Cleanup batter Gardner Heaner then hit into a double play, but Welton scored in the process to get Wesleyan within one. Calvary stranded runners on first and second in the sixth and Wesleyan also left one on in the bottom of the frame. But after O’Leary retired the Cavs in order in the seventh, Wesleyan came to bat optimistic it could tie the game if not win it in its final at-bat. “I didn’t doubt we could do it,” O’Leary said. “When I got a hit and (Welton) singled behind me, our hitters are too good not to produce in those conditions.”
Wednesday, May 19
Stanton delivers crucial victory - Gwinnett Daily Post
SAVANNAH — Like two years ago in the state baseball quarterfinals, Wesleyan’s trip to South Georgia didn’t start out well. The Wolves lost a one-run game in the opener of a doubleheader at Pierce County in 2008, but went on to win the next two games and eventually claim the Class AA state title. Can Wesleyan bounce back again this season and pull off a second title run since dropping to Class A? The Wolves recovered from a 2-1 loss in eight innings Tuesday in Savannah to beat Calvary Day 8-1 and force a deciding third game today at noon against the Cavaliers. Strother White was the hard-luck loser in the opener, but came back to hit a home run in the second game in backing Devin Stanton’s strong pitching. “It’s a lot like Pierce County,” Wesleyan coach Mike Shaheen said. “I hope it turns out the same way. Kevin O’Leary will get the start for No. 2-ranked Wesleyan (23-9) in the deciding game against host Calvary Day. The Cavaliers (26-3) finished the regular season ranked No. 4. O’Leary (5-2) was the winning pitcher when Wesleyan crushed No. 1-ranked Landmark Christian 19-4 in the deciding game of their three-game second-round match-up in Norcross last week. The winner of today’s game in Savannah will face No. 6 Brookstone (22-8) or No. 9 Holy Innocents’ (24-8) in the semifinals on Monday. Those teams play a deciding game in Columbus today after Holy Innocents’ bounced back from a 3-2 loss for a 3-1 victory Tuesday. The Wolves, the Region 7-A champions, hit six homers in the deciding game against Landmark Christian and had scored 60 runs in their first five playoff games. But Calvary Day’s John Carr (8-1) shut them down in the opener, out-dueling White. The Cavaliers’ winning run came on a single by Ross Howard in the first extra inning that drove in Beau Smith. “Strother pitched great, but we just didn’t hit,” Shaheen said. “We let that first game slip away.” White (10-2) gave up just six hits — all singles. But the senior right-hander didn’t get the usual support from the Wesleyan offense. Conor Welton drove in the Wolves’ first-game run with one of his two hits. O’Leary also had two singles and Mason Colquitt doubled for the game’s only extra-base hit. Calvary Day, the Region 3-A winner, won its first four playoff games by a 44-6 margin. But White nearly stopped them in the first game and Stanton did in the second game. The senior left-hander limited the Cavaliers to three singles and had seven strikeouts to four walks. “Devin was lights out,” Shaheen said. White had three hits and four RBIs, his two-run homer in the third inning breaking the game open. Daniel Cardwell and Gardner Heaner each had two hits and a RBI for the Wolves, who won the Class A state title last season after claiming the Class AA championship in 2008.
Tuesday, May 18
Pitching figures to be key again in quarterfinals - Gwinnett Daily Post
Booming bats were the biggest factor for Gwinnett’s survivors during the opening round of the state baseball playoffs. However, pitching was perhaps the key for the four remaining area teams after the second round, and all of those teams are hoping for similar mound results as they take to the field for the quarterfinals in their respective classifications today.
Perhaps the two surviving teams that got the most clutch pitching performances were Mill Creek (25-5) and Wesleyan (22-8). The Hawks got complete-game victories from Eric Alonzo (5-1, 2.97 ERA) and Matthew Grimes (9-1, 1.33 ERA) in subduing Etowah in two well-pitched games by both teams. They also have some depth with No. 3 starter Brian Stillwell (3-2, 3.97 ERA) and relievers like Taylor Alexander (2-0, 1.50 ERA) and Greg Brody (1-0, 2 saves, 0.00 ERA). The depth in arms is something coach Doug Jones believes can be an advantage when his team hosts Redan today at 5 p.m. The Raiders (19-12) rely more on bats like Patrick Smith (.463, 9 HR, 43 RBIs) and Deion Williams (.371, 3 HR, 20 RBIs) than a pitching staff with a collective 6.13 ERA. “You’ve got to have kids who’ve logged innings,” Jones said. “There are a lot of teams out there who are going to run some kid out there who hasn’t been out there very much.” Wesleyan relied perhaps even more on its pitching depth in the second round. Even after losing with defending Daily Post Pitcher of the Year Devin Stanton (3-0, 1.79) not having his best outing, the Wolves got a big pick-me-up from starters Strother White (10-1, 3.44) and Kevin O’Leary (5-2, 3.99) to outlast Landmark Christian in three games in a rematch of last year’s title series. Throw in versatile lefty Mason Colquitt (3-2, 2 saves, 2.21) and coach Mike Shaheen feels pretty good about his rotation heading into today’s quarterfinal series against Calvary Day (26-2) in Savannah. But he also knows he must get similar performances from his staff this time around, with the Cavaliers featuring a 1-2 punch of junior Dom DeMasi and sophomore Ryan Lawlor, who combined to give up just two earned runs and strike out 20 batters in 10 innings in a second-round sweep of Seminole County. “I just feel like the big thing (against Landmark) was our pitching depth,” Shaheen said. “We knew that even if we lost to their ace, we’ve got two other guys who can step up. “I think it says a lot that even though Devin didn’t pitch his best game, those two other guys (White and O’Leary) stepped up. And we feel like we’re three starters strong, but if we had to close with Kevin in a game on Day 1, we could start Mason in Game 3 and still feel good.” Pitching was also a key for Gwinnett’s other two remaining teams — Providence Christian (18-12) in Class A and North Gwinnett (19-11) in Class AAAAA. The Stars got outstanding work from starters Billy Mangum (4-1, 3.53) and Kevin Dodson (3-5, 3.89) and relievers Glen Williamson and Josh Carter to hold one of Gwinnett’s hottest hitting lineups in Hebron Christian in check in the second round. That quartet held the Lions, who had averaged more than 10 runs per game, to just six in a second-round sweep, and are hoping for more of the same when Providence travels to Augusta to take on Aquinas (22-8) and pitcher Erin Hawk and slugger Sam Few. By comparison, the numbers put up by North’s staff in a second-round sweep of North Cobb were quite modest, considering the Warriors reached them for a combined 18 runs in the series. But when the Bulldogs needed outs in big situations, arms like left-hander Michael Aker and right-hander Daniel Szathmary came up big. The staff will need to come up big again when North travels to Douglasville to take on Chapel Hill (24-8), which has had some clutch performances of its own lately from pitchers Martin Castro, Austin Rains and Dusty Davis, plus hitters like Davis and Kyle Barrett.
Wednesday, May 12
Baseball's second round full of deja vu - Gwinnett Daily Post
Each team that qualifies for the state high school baseball playoff attempts to etch its name into history. There is definitely a sense of history with matchups involving Gwinnett County teams as the second round gets under way with doubleheaders this afternoon. Among those series, the most intriguing is between Parkview and Lassiter, who begin a best-of-three with a doubleheader at 4:30 p.m. at Hugh Buchanan Field. It will be the fourth time in the last decade the Panthers (25-3) and Trojans (20-8) have met in the postseason. Each of the previous three meetings have produced their share of memorable moments — from Jeff Francoeur’s “Superman” performances that helped the Panthers subdue Lassiter during state championship campaigns of 2001 and 2002, to Robby O’Bryan’s walk-off grand slam in Game 3 of the semifinals, which propelled the Trojans to the 2005 title. Both coaches have seen it all. Parkview coach Chan Brown served as an assistant to Hugh Buchanan in the ’01 and ’02 series before becoming head coach prior to the 2005 season. Scott Kelly is in his first season at the helm after serving as an assistant to longtime Lassiter coach Mickey McMurtry for 10 years. “It’s been a fun series over the years. We’re looking forward to it,” Brown said. “(Kelly has) done a great job with them this year. It will be fun. “The bottom line is, to have a chance to win (the state title), you’re going to have to beat good (teams) no matter what round. Every round presents its own challenge.” Perhaps no one understands that sentiment better than Wesleyan coach Mike Shaheen and his Wolves (20-7). They face perhaps the most difficult second-round matchup of any local team when they welcome Landmark Christian (27-1) to Donn Gaebelein Field at 5 p.m. today for a Class A second-round series with its own history. The two met in last year’s finals, with Wesleyan winning in a stirring three-game series, and a Region 5-A tiebreaker — which relegated the War Eagles to the No. 2 seed behind co-champion Walker — has led to what some observers figure to be a premature rematch. However, Shaheen says he and his players are trying to look at the matchup with a sense of perspective, rather than misfortune. “At first thought, it’s not right,” Shaheen said about the prospect of two of the state’s top teams meeting in such an early round. “But when you really think about it, it’s an awesome series. The thought of these teams not playing (at all) wouldn’t be right either. It’s much of the same cast for both teams, and it should be exciting.” Indeed, many of the central figures in last year’s series — such as Wesleyan’s Devin Stanton, Kevin O’Leary and Conor Welton, and Landmark’s Kyle Wren, Colby Wren and Jonathan Roberts — are back to do battle again. Likewise, several familiar faces will square off in another Class AAAAA series when North Gwinnett (17-11) travels to Acworth to take on North Cobb (20-9), a rematch of a 2008 first-round series won by the Warriors in two games. One series that won’t have any history behind it is the Class A series between Hebron Christian and Providence Christian, which gets under way at 1:30 p.m. at Lion Field in Dacula. Despite being located less than 18 miles apart, the Lions (25-2) and Stars (16-12) have never met. “I really don’t know much about them,” Providence head coach Adam Cantrell said. “They’re such a mystery. I’ve been trying to get good scouting reports, but it’s tough to get when they’ve been run-ruling everybody they’ve played. “I know they’re good and they’ve got the ability to score a lot of runs. Hopefully, my guys will show up and play their best.” Other second-round series involving area teams today include Mill Creek at Etowah and Harrison at Collins Hill in Class AAAAA and Buford at Pike County in Class AA.
Sunday, February 28
Introducing the 2010 Wesleyan Wolves Baseball Team
2010 Wesleyan Baseball Program
2010 Varsity Team
Top: Coach Brian Krehmeyer, Coach Michael Mann, Daniel Cardwell, Jeremy Shirley, Ben Spears, Mason Colquitt, Gardner Heaner, Coach Mike Shaheen Middle: Carter Garrison, Josh Tolman, Strother White, Brooks Colquitt, Kevin O’Leary, Austin Galloway, Alex Thykeson, Devin Stanton Bottom: Conor Welton, Sheldon Connor, Adam Workman, Justin Stevens, Will Schnupp, Drew Widner
2010 Seniors
Will Schnupp, Devin Stanton, Josh Tolman, Carter Garrison, Daniel Cardwell, Kevin O’Leary, Strother White, Conor Welton, Adam Workman, Brooks Colquitt
2010 JV Team
Top: Coach Jack Van Der Sluys, Coach Nate Rupp, Griffin Bone, Jamie Stark, Ty Maughon, Frank Warren, Coach BJ Johnson Middle: Johnny Richards, Michael Armstrong, Pierce Ostwalt, Drew Ritter, Joshua Dobbs, Eric Rappe Bottom: Sam Carver, Joseph Sheffield, Connor Woerner, Ben Johnson, David Monte
2010 Middle School Team
Top row: Coach Bob Worthington, Christopher Peden, Chad Arnold, Chris Batchelor, David Facteau, Coach Jim Green, Coach Dan O’Leary Middle row: Kyle Briskin, Trey Mannion, Chris Campbell, Davis Hodge, Christian Stark, Sam McWhorter, Adam Nakada Bottom row: Will Collins, John Adent, Justin Cowart, Christian Adams, Brendan Abernathy, Grant Colton, Ben Childers
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