NEWBERRY — After punching their ticket to the SCISA Class 1A State Baseball Playoffs, the Newberry Academy Eagles (4-7 overall, 4-6 region) finished their campaign at home last Tuesday after losing the first round series to Jefferson Davis Academy.
The best of three series began Monday of last week with the Jefferson Davis Raiders hosting the Eagles. In his last time on the mound before playing for Emmanuel College next year, senior pitcher Jay Alford got the start and put in a four-inning shift that allowed three hits and three runs all aided by fielding errors, despite his eight strikeouts. Alford was credited with the loss after being relieved by junior Tyler Dorsey with the score 3-0 in favor of the Raiders. Unfortunately, the opposing offense could not be stopped by the change, the final score was 10-0 after six innings of play.
The second game was played the next day in Newberry as the Eagles faced a win or go home scenario on their home diamond. For the majority of the game, it seemed as though Newberry Academy would fight another day as they held a one-run lead through four innings. That one and only run is credited to freshman Thomas McLean, who got on base after being hit by a pitch and stole two bases en route to the score. Senior right-fielder Austin Hendrix, who just started playing baseball this season, led all Eagle batters with two hits in three at-bats. McLean closed the game out on the mound after playing shortstop, allowing no runs in 1.2 innings and striking out three of the nine batters he faced. Junior pitcher Jackson Montgomery took the loss as Jefferson Davis found their swing in the fifth inning, scoring three runs on the way to a final score of 4-1 and the end of Newberry Academy’s season.
With this season in the books, Newberry Academy has a lot to be proud of. In Head Coach Travis Green’s first season, they were able to make it to the first round of the playoffs after missing the cut by one game last year. The team also improved its region record from 2-5 in 2022 to 4-6 this year and will only lose five players to graduation.
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