Safe at home. And on the road. When you insure your home, auto and life with Farm Bureau, your premium dollars remain in Georgia and help support programs like GHSA. (478) 474-8411 • 800-342-1192 • www.gfb.org GEORGIA FARM BUREAU MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY • SOUTHERN FARM BUREAU ANNUITY INSURANCE COMPANY SOUTHERN FARM BUREAU LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY • GEORGIA FARM BUREAU CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY Call your local county Farm Bureau agent for a quote today! AUTO • HOME • LIFE • BANKING ® YOU WERE THERE FOR THEIR FIRST STEP. LET US BE WITH YOU FOR THEIR NEXT. © 2015 Regions Bank. For more information about the full range of services offered with Regions Student Solutions, talk to an associate, visit regions.com/studentsolutions or call 1.800.regions. Confidently send them to college with Regions Student Solutions. SM We offer the financial tools to help make the transition as smooth as possible. Canoochee EMC • Central Georgia EMC • Coastal Electric Cooperative • Coweta-Fayette EMC Diverse Power • Grady EMC • GreyStone Power • Habersham EMC • Irwin EMC Middle Georgia EMC • Mitchell EMC • Ocmulgee EMC • Oconee EMC • Okefenoke REMC Planters EMC • Rayle EMC • Slash Pine EMC • Snapping Shoals EMC • Sumter EMC Tri-County EMC • Upson EMC • Washington EMC Georgia’s locally owned and operated Electric Membership Corporations are proud to sponsor the Georgia High School Association: Official Energy Provider of GHSA since 1999 so much more than electricity... Learn more: georgiaemc.com COMMUNITY YOUTH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LEADERSHIP TRAINING SAFETY ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP VOLUNTEERISM ADVOCACY MEMBER-OWNED THE OFFICIAL BASEBALL OF THE GHSA. Hard work means you don’t cut corners. Every practice and every game are an opportunity to improve, to push the limits and take your game to the next level. Wilson was chosen as the Official Ball of the Georgia High School Association because we don’t cut corners either. The materials and construction of the A1010HS1GHSA ball will hold up rep after rep. WILSON.COM © 2015 Wilson Sporting Goods Co. @wilsonbaseball UP YOUR GAME FOR BETTER GRADES. ©2015. Paid for by the United States Army. All rights reserved. RAISE YOUR GRADES AND TEST SCORE AT MARCH2SUCCESS.COM. For information on GEORGIA March 2 Success, call 404-524-8545. Free Education in Strategic Industries certified engineering technician commercial truck driving computer technology diesel equipment technology early childhood education film and set design healthcare science practical nursing precision manufacturing welding & joining Free Education in Strategic Industries 10 2016 GHSA CLASS A BASEBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016 GHSA CLASS A BASEBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016 GHSA CLASS A BASEBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS T he 2016 Georgia High School Association Baseball Class A State Championship Guide is published by Score Atlan- ta, in conjunction with the GHSA. The guide was designed by Rhonda Rawls, edited by Craig Sager II, Lauren Gold- stein and Kyle Sandy and information was provided by the GHSA. Photos on the cover are courtesy of Tim Morse/Geor- gia Dugout (Treutlen), Robin Rudd (Trion), Tattnall.org,and Jim Lacey (Hebron). For more information on Score Atlanta, go to ScoreAtl.com or call 404-256-1572. GHSA.NET GHSA.NET GHSA.NET CLASS A CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE HEBRON CHRISTIAN @ TATTNALL SQUARE CLASS A - PRIVATE CLASS A - PUBLIC TRION @ TREUTLEN H ebron Christian broke the spell cast over Class A-Private the past two seasons as they defeated defending state champ King’s Ridge in the semifinals. It took the Lions three games to bounce the Tigers, who beat Hebron in a gut-wrenching three-game series last year in the state finals. Entering the tournament as the No. 6 seed, Hebron (29-6) edged past King’s Ridge 5-3 in the clincher. The Lions trailed 3-1 head- ing into the sixth inning before Sloan Bennett blasted a 2-run triple to knot the game up and Shane Smith added the go-ahead run with a sac fly. Bennett finished the game 3-for-3 but it was Spence Johns’ clutch per- formance at the dish and on the mound that locked up Hebron’s chance at the school’s second title. After tossing a complete-game, three-hit shutout in a deciding Game 3 victo- ry over George Walton Academy to advance to the semis, his encore performance in the clincher produced a complete-game allowing just two earned runs and adding an insurance RBI of his own at the plate with a double in the top of the seventh. The Lions meet Tattnall Square Academy (25-7) in the championship, a program look- ing for its first state championship. The Tro- jans will need to be ready for a heavy dose of Jake Hershman, Hebron’s righty on the mound signed to play at Wofford. No. 4 seed Tattnall has swept through the playoffs, posting a per- fect 6-0 record against No. 13 Mt. Paran, No. 5 ELCA and No. 9 Calvary Day. The Trojans turn to a duo of Division-I signees to power their offense. Nick DiPonzio (Wake Forest), Blake Simmons (Georgia Southern) and Garrett Houston make up a potent core. In their 6-1 win over Calvary Day to clinch a spot in the state title game, DiPonzio went 2-for-4 with a 3-run homer to set the tone while Simmons added three hits and two runs. Houston struck out 11 batters in his complete-game outing. On the season Simmons is batting .422 with 31 RBIs. DiPonzio is hitting at a .429 clip and Cory Bartholomew (USC Upstate) is batting .344. Simmons’ younger brother Logan is a sophomore and is second on the team with 30 RBIs. The Trojans turn to Houston (13-1, 1.40 ERA) and Bartholomew (11-2, 0.81 ERA) on the mound. Class A-Public No. 6 Trion (24-7) attempts to raise its third banner and first since 1983 against No. 4 Treutlen (26-5). The Treutlen Vikings are in search of their first-ever state championship after sweeping defending champion Schley County while allowing just two runs. Treut- len’s pitching will be tested by Gabe Howell, a Chipola College commit that has high hopes for being drafted this summer after an incred- ible senior season in which he has hit over .600. The power-hitting shortstop is lethal with the stick. Evan Walker, Drew Williams, Griffin Floyd and Malik Martin join him as top offensive threats. Tristan Cone is the ace up Treutlen head coach Brent Korn’s sleeve. Cone, a Valdosta State signee, leads the Vikings with 30 RBIs and has a .304 batting average. Titus Benja- min has been a table setter with his .391 aver- age and .459 on-base percentage. Treutlen’s stoppers on the mound are Cones and Zach Hughes. Cone is 10-1 with a 1.07 ERA including 120 K’s in 72 innings. Hughes is 9-2 with three saves to go along with his 1.10 ERA. Treutlen has cruised through the postseason and has not allowed more than two runs in a game en route to outscoring opponents 48-to-8. Photo courtesty of Jim Lacey CLASS A FINALS BY KYLE SANDY | [email protected] TITLE DRY SPELLS TO BE BROKEN IN CLASS A WORD FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GREETINGS, GHSA BASEBALL FANS! May 14 Game 1: 4:00PM Game 2: 30 min after Game 1 ends Game 3: (IF NEEDED): May 16,4:00PM May 14 Game 1: 3:00PM Game 2: 30 min after Game 1 ends Game 3: (IF NEEDED): May 16, 5:30PM /OFFICIALGHSA FOLLOW US Live on NFHSNetwork.com W elcome to the 2016 GHSA Championship Series for Baseball, the final GHSA events of this school year. Nearly four weeks ago these teams began competing in these playoffs, and now they are poised for the final challenge – com- peting for the State Championship. The Georgia High School Associ- ation is proud of the commitment to excellence that these players and coaches have demonstrated throughout the season, as the qual- ity of play in high school baseball in Georgia continues to grow. Congrat- ulations to Ernie Yarbrough, GHSA baseball administrator, on a job well done now and throughout the entire season. We hope that you, the faithful fans, will enjoy these games, and that you will demonstrate the high- est levels of sportsmanship as you positively encourage “your team” toward victory. The GHSA is grateful for the generous contributions of its corpo- rate partners and preferred vendors who enable the GHSA to provide these events. As you see the list of these partners around the field, please support them at every oppor- tunity. Gary Phillips Executive Director