Hillgrove sweeps Carrollton in Round 2
Apr. 29—POWDER SPRINGS — Hillgrove got two dominant pitching performances to sweep Carrollton in the second round of the Class AAAAAAA state playoffs Friday night.
Lorenzo Atwell pitched a complete game, scattered six hits and struck out five in the Hawks' 11-1 Game 1 victory, and as good as his effort was, he may have been upped one by teammate Ben Hoffman.
Hoffman pitched a high-stress, complete-game shutout. He allowed only three hits and struck out eight as Hillgrove won Game 2, 1-0.
"I thought the kids executed really well," coach David Richardson said. "Lorenzo threw well. He was able to spot all three of his pitches. Ben was outstanding. He threw all three of his pitches for strikes and his change-up was outstanding (Friday).
The win sends the Hawks into the state quarterfinals for the first time since they went all the way to the championship series in 2019. They will host Mill Creek with a doubleheader on Thursday, with a third game on Friday, if necessary.
Things haven't been easy for Hillgrove over the last few years. After advancing to the state championship series, the 2020 season was wiped out because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It went 10-20 in 2021 and 8-22 last year. The team suffered through a combination if inexperience, and injuries to the pitching staff.
"We had some really tough years with some young kids," Richardson said. "The guys have grown up over the last two years."
The maturity was obvious for Hoffman as he hooked up in a pitcher's dual with Carrollton's Cade Cosper, who also went the distance and allowed only three hits. The only run he allowed came in the third inning. With one out he walked Jack Peek, who then stole second base. With two outs, Carson Vick hit a sharp single to right, which allowed Peek to come around to score.
In the bottom half of the inning, Carrollton threatened to tie the game or possibly take the lead. After Hoffman retired the first two hitters, back-to-back singles by Maddox Monsour and Luke Turner put runners on first and second. A double steal moved them up to second and third. With Cosper at bat, and with a 3-2 count, Hoffman got Cosmer swinging at arguably the best change up he threw all night.
"That was the key pitch of the game," Hoffman said. "They had the momentum and we really needed that. It swung all the momentum back to us."
He did not allow a hit over the last four innings and seemed to get stronger the deeper into the game he went. Hoffman retired Carrollton on 11 pitches in the sixth inning and struck out the side in the seventh.
"I felt really secure after that," he said. "The change up really worked and we are able to combo off that pitch to keep them off balance."
The offense flexed its muscles in Game 1. After back-to-back walks to open the second inning, Seth Wright doubled to the wall in left to score two and give the Hawks the lead. One batter later, Cooper May launched an opposite-field home run over the right-center field fence to put Hillgrove up 4-0. May finished the game 2-for-3 with four RBIs
In the third inning, Daniel Parker added an RBI single and May came up again and drove in two with a single to left.
The lead was 8-1 when Hillgrove scored three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to end the game. After Peek doubled, Zach Wieder hit an RBI double to right, Atwell hit and RBI triple and Tanner Greenwald added an RBI single. Atwell finished 2-for-2 with a walk and he was hit by a pitch.
