How Savannah Christian And Calvary Won To Set Up An Savannah State Baseball Championship Series

The Calvary Day and Savannah Christian baseball teams are crosstown rivals who relish the chance to battle it out on the diamond.

But with the most recent GHSA reclassification, the adversaries were in different regions this year and didn't have the opportunity to play each other.

But now the squads are set to close out the season by competing on the state's grandest stage as they will play for the GHSA Class A-3A Private School championship in a best of three series at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, the home of the Gwinnett Stripers, the Braves Triple-A affiliate. The series will be played between Monday-Wednesday, May 19-22, with the day of the opening double header expected to be announced on Wednesday, May 14.

The teams earned berths in the state title series by going on the road to sweep their state semifinal matchups on Tuesday.

Calvary Day went to Athens and took down Prince Avenue Christian by winning the first game 8-3, and taking the second game 5-2.

Savannah Christian traveled to Norcross and beat Wesleyan 7-5 in Game 1 and 8-4 in the second game.

Calvary Day won behind excellent pitching as Quinn Johnson earned the win in the first game with the junior fanning 10 batters, while scattering seven hits over six innings and allowing one earned run.

The Cavs scored seven runs in the second inning to pull away. Dalton Kelley was 1 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs and Brody Dawson was 1 for 4 with a homer and two RBIs as seven players had hits.

In the second game, senior Cutter Powell pitched five solid innings, striking out six and allowing three hits and an unearned run. Ryan Wallace came to the mound in relief in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and no outs and struck out a pair before inducing a fly out that he nabbed himself. In the final frame, Wallace snared a line drive up the middle and doubled up the runner off second to end the game.

Sam Renshaw went 2 for 3 with a triple, homer, two runs and two RBIs and Johnson was 1 for 3 with a homer and two RBIs to lead the offense.

"That was a clutch relief appearance by Wallace to come into that tough of a spot and pitch his way out of it," Calvary coach Phillip Lee said in a phone interview after the game. "Our guys continue to impress me with the way they rise to the challenge. We knew Prince Avenue Christian was a really good team and that we were in for a dog fight, but they battled and got the job done."

Calvary Day (27-7) advanced to the Class 3A finals last season, where the Cavs lost to Harlem.

Johnson has been a star on the mound and at the plate for the Cavs all year. He's hitting .324 with two homers and 24 RBIs, while compiling a 5-1 record with a 1.51 ERA. After the game, he talked with a reporter in a phone interview and said the team was watching Savannah Christian in its second game with Wesleyan and rooting for their cross-town rivals to win it.

"Today I was able to locate with my off speed stuff and was getting weak contact. There was a little bit of a battle with the umpire, but we got through it, and the guys gave me all the run support I needed," said Johnson, who is receiving recruiting interest from schools such as Georgia Southern and Kennesaw State.

"I would love to play Savannah Christian, it would be a great matchup and a great experience with two Savannah teams playing for the title. It means a lot to us to get back to the state championship series, but we're more controlled about it this year. We know the job isn't done yet. I think the experience we had last year will help us in this one."

Savannah Christian went to Wesleyan, known for its small, hitter-friendly ball park, and smacked four homers in the first game and two in the second to take down the Wolverines.

Junior Chase Boyer was 2 for 3 with a pair of home runs and two RBIs in Game 1, while catcher Cardin Patrick was 2 for 4 with a homer and an RBI. Harding Dennis was 1 for 4 with a round-tripper as Brody Schuman earned the win with a complete game.

In the second game, Patrick homered again as the junior went 1 for 3 with two RBIs. Freshman Jiwoo Hong was 3 for 3 with a home run, two runs and two RBIs. Athen Hudspeth was 2 for 4 with two RBIs, and Dennis went 2 for 4 with a double and a run. Mason Omohundro had a big game going 4 for 4 with a run. Dalton Kelly earned the win — allowing two runs in four innings.

"The biggest thing for us today is we never got down when things went wrong," said Savannah Christian coach Matt Oglesby. "Wesleyan went up 3-0 early in the first game, but we knew things could change quickly on a field like that. The guys didn't let it faze them. They showed resiliency and played our brand of baseball. We grinded this one out."

Both Lee and Oglesby talked about the respect they have for each other, and each other's programs. And they are both looking forward for a chance to see Savannah baseball shine on the big stage next week.

"It's a bit of a trip up to Atlanta to play in the series — but it's going to be such a great experience for the players and fans of both teams," Oglesby said. "We know there's going to be a lot of hype leading up to this one, but I don't think it will take away from the series. Coach Lee and I respect the heck out of each other, and we're looking forward to competing for the championship."

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Calvary Day and Savannah Christian baseball teams to meet in state finals