The ECI baseball team completed region play last week with a sweep of Portal, winning 19-0 and 16-1. With the victories, the Bulldogs secured their hold on Region 3 and captured their fourth consecutive region championship.
ECI will host GISC in the first round of the state playoffs, which are scheduled to begin on April 22.
To stay sharp ahead of the postseason, the Bulldogs have scheduled four non-region games. They began that stretch last Wednesday by hosting Savannah Christian. ECI was set to host Region 3 runner-up Metter on Tuesday, Division I Region 2 champion Bleckley County on Thursday, and will travel to Statesboro today to take on the Blue Devils.
The Bulldogs dominated Portal in last week’s series, outscoring the Panthers 35-1 while collecting 24 hits. ECI also got a standout performance on the mound from Bryson Thompson, who threw a complete-game no-hitter with no walks or errors, facing the minimum 12 batters in the four-inning contest.
At the plate, Davis Johnson, Lake Bush, Gunner Johnson, and Jacob Hughes each recorded two hits. Jud Underwood added his second home run of the season against the Panthers.
Tuesday’s game also ended after four innings, with ECI scoring 16 runs. Bush and Tuff Boddiford led the way with two hits each. Jackson Kennedy pitched all four innings, allowing three hits and striking out three.
Savannah Christian handed the Bulldogs their ninth loss of the season on Wednesday, defeating ECI 14-2 at Joe Harvey Field. The Raiders showed strength throughout their lineup, out-hitting the Bulldogs 16-4. Jackson Kennedy, Boddiford, Ab Marsh, and Underwood accounted for ECI’s hits. On the mound, Lake Bush, Jud Underwood, and Davis Johnson combined to allow 16 hits and one walk while striking out three.
The region 3 champions Bulldogs will face the Patriots of Hephzibah in the first round of the state playoffs. Georgia School for Innovation & Classics (GISC) enters as the No. 4 seed from Region 5.
In other Region 3 vs. Region 5 first-round matchups, No. 2 seed Metter will host No. 3 seed Johnson County, while No. 3 seed Screven County will travel to 4th seed Glascock Co. No. 4 seed Bryan County will go on the road to Milledgeville to face Region 5 champion GMC.
All first-round matchups in the state playoffs will be played as best-of-three series.
