The ECI baseball team’s goal to return to the state championship game ended Saturday losing both games in the Elite 8 round of the state playoffs. It was already determined by coin flip that whoever won this series would host the winner of the Charlton vs Mt. Zion series in the final four round. The Bulldogs lost to Lake Oconee Academy 4-0 in the opening game and the must win second game to the Titans 6-1 to end ECI’s run. The scouting report on the Bulldogs was, feed them fastballs and you’ll get a plate full of line drives and hits, as the Bulldogs are a dead red fast ball hitting team. The Bulldogs came into the game scoring an average of nine runs per game. But like Glavine showed in the 1995 World Series sixth game against the high scoring Cleveland Indians, good pitching can keep any team off balance. The two Titan pitchers gave the Bulldogs a bellyful of off speed and curve balls, hitting their marks to keep the Bulldogs off balance for most the of the day.
The Bulldogs were limited to just two hits against a Glavine-like freshman pitcher in the first game using off speed and ball placement to shut out the Bulldogs for only the second time this season. In some games, it seems that every hard-hit ground ball or line drive is right “at em”. That seemed to be the case in the second game when just about every Bulldog line drive found a glove in their tracks. After gifting the Titans two runs in the bottom of the first in the second game, the Bulldogs scored their only run of the series in the bottom of the first. The Bulldogs had a few occasions to put runs on the board but left runners on base including bases loaded. The early end was disappointing to the Bulldogs, but certainly not for the season when you are just one of the last 8 teams standing.
The Bulldogs ended the season with a 26-8 record, back-to-back region championships. They scored a whopping 310 runs while giving up just 96 runs to their opponents. This Bulldog team accomplished this after losing three starting pitchers from the 2023 team. Four seniors put on the cleats as an ECI Bulldog Saturday. With big shoes to fill those seniors are Hudson Henry, Andrew Chalkley, Aden McQuaig and Charlie Rehberg.
These seniors end their four-year career with a 90-42 season and 40-12 region record, two region championships, four trips to the state playoffs, three Sweet 16 appearances, two Elite 8 trips, one Final Four and one State Runner Up.
