The ECI Bulldogs swept Trion last Wednesday in the Elite 8 round of the state playoffs, setting up a Final Four match-up with Charlton County.
The Bulldogs and Indians are familiar postseason opponents having played each other several times over the last 15 years. Last season, ECI eliminated Charlton County in the Elite 8 by sweeping the best-of-three series in the opening doubleheader. The two teams also met in the 2023 state championship series at J.I. Clements Stadium in Statesboro, where the Indians claimed the title by defeating ECI two games to one.
Charlton County advanced to the Final Four by sweeping Lake Oconee Academy on Wednesday. The Indians won the opener 7-4 before taking the second game 9-6 to complete the series sweep. Charlton County enters the semifinals as the No. 2 seed from Region 2. Region champion Lanier County also advanced and will face Baconton Charter in the other Final Four matchup.
ECI hosted Trion last Wednesday and run-ruled the visiting Bulldogs in both games, winning each contest 10-0. The shutouts marked ECI’s fourth consecutive postseason shutout and fifth overall in seven playoff games.
Game one remained scoreless until the bottom of the third inning when ECI broke through with five runs and never looked back. Singles by Tuff Boddiford, Bryson Thompson, Jud Underwood, Gunnar Johnson, Jacob Hughes and Ab Marsh fueled the rally.
The Bulldogs added three more runs in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 8-0. A bases-loaded wild pitch made the score 9-0 before Jackson Kennedy delivered a sacrifice fly to end the game by mercy rule with a 10-0 victory. ECI collected 13 hits in the opener. Jud Underwood, Davis Johnson, Gunnar Johnson and Jacob Hughes each finished with two hits.
Underwood started on the mound and pitched three innings, allowing four hits while striking out three batters. He later moved behind the plate after catcher Lake Bush suffered an injury during the game. Jackson Kennedy relieved Underwood and allowed just three hits while striking out three.
Bryson Thompson started game two and continued ECI’s dominant pitching performances. The senior allowed only two hits and struck out eight Trion batters over five innings.
After producing only one extra-base hit in game one — Underwood’s triple — the Bulldogs recorded four extra-base hits in the nightcap. Thompson finished with a double and a home run into the “squirrel nests,” driving in three runs. Underwood added a fourth-inning double, while Kennedy tripled to right field in the fifth inning and later scored the game-ending run on another extra-base hit by Thompson.
The Final Four series against Charlton County begins Thursday at Joe Harvey Field. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 4 p.m., with game two beginning approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the opener. If necessary, game three will be played Friday at 5 p.m.
