Chargers win two nail-biters to clinch 2026 GCAA crown

May 8, 2026

Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com

It took extra innings in the seventh game of the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament in Tifton, but the Georgia Highlands Chargers walked off with a 9-8 win over South Georgia State on Friday afternoon to claim the 2026 title. 

The Hawks defeated Georgia Highlands 9-5 on Wednesday to reach the championship round unbeaten and send the Chargers into the losers’ bracket of the double-elimination tournament. GHC responded, winning three straight elimination games to add the tournament title to their regular-season championship.  The Chargers beat Gordon State 12-2 on Wednesday evening and then edged South Georgia State 8-7 and 9-8 on Friday.

Georgia Highlands’ deciding runs came on Carson Page’s sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning of Friday’s first win, and a tenth-inning RBI double by Gavin Savage to walk off the victory in the final game.

The lead changed hands four times in Friday’s first game. The Hawks led 2-1 through four innings, but GHC scored six runs in the fifth to regain the lead. Aidan Larkin’s grand slam and a two-run single by Hayden Miller gave the Chargers a 7-2 lead, but the Hawks answered with five runs over the next four innings to knot the score heading into the ninth.

In the final game, the Chargers led 8-0 through the first four innings, but the Hawks roared back with eight runs across the next three innings to tie the score.

Jack Burns pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth innings of the first game, and retired the final two outs of the tenth inning in the second game to collect both pitching victories out of the bullpen. 

Matthew Perkins (3 IP, 1R, 0ER, 2H, 0BB, 1K) made the pitching start in Friday’s first game. Noah McMahon (1 IP, 1ER, 1H, 2BB, 1K) and Braxton Wade (3 IP, 5R, 1ER, 7H, 0BB, 2K) worked middle relief.

Reed Thursby (5.2 IP, 6ER, 8H, 1BB, 4K) made the pitching start in the final game and worked into the sixth inning. Jackson Scali (0.0 IP, 1BB), Evan Doss (0.2 IP, 2ER, 2H), and Heath Whitlock (3 IP, 0R, 2H, 0BB, 2K) also pitched.

Andrew Bishop paced the Chargers’ offense in the two championship round games with six hits, including a homer and two RBI. Harper Davenport followed with five hits. Mason Moore (four RBI) and Page (sac fly, RBI) each contributed three hits on the day. Emiliano Dominguez (RBI), Caden Marcos (RBI), and Kenton Collier each had two hits. Larkin (grand slam, five RBI), Miller (two RBI), and Savage (RBI) added one hit.

"What an unbelievable display of guts and courage by these young men," said GHC coach Dash O'Neill on Saturday morning.  "They held together when it would have been easy to give in and stayed resilient. I can’t say enough about the grit our pitching staff put on display and the way our offense found a way to get us exactly what we needed to win. Just an incredible day and an incredible performance.  I’m just so proud of my players and my phenomenal assistant coaches for getting it done."

The season ended for South Georgia State with a 34-26 record.

Georgia Highlands (47-13) will host the NJCAA Appalachian District Championship Series against the Tennessee champion. The best-of-three series is scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday (if needed) with a 1 p.m. first pitch each day at Robert Bentley Field in Cartersville. The series winner advances to the NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado, from May 23-30.