GHC wins the GCAA and NJCAA Region 17 championship
May 9, 2024
It was an outstanding birthday gift for Georgia Highlands baseball coach Dash O’Neill on Thursday. The Chargers beat Gordon State for a second straight day to win the 2024 Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association tournament championship on their home field in Cartersville.
Georgia Highlands trailed 3-1 in the middle of the fourth inning but the Chargers smacked four home runs in the game and scored seven runs across their final three offensive frames to defeat the Highlanders, 10-3.
On the mound, GHC’s Chandler Anderson tossed a nine-inning complete game. The Morgan County High School product allowed three earned runs — all on solo homers. His pitching line included six hits and one walk with seven strikeouts. He improved to 9-0 on the season.
Luke Orfi led the Georgia Highlands offense with three hits including a homer and three RBIs. Grayson Godbee (home run, two RBIs) and Ryan Martin (solo home run) finished with two hits. Ryan Wideman (double, RBI), Will Cawthon (solo home run), Ali Banks (two RBIs), and Barrett Eldridge (double) added one hit for the Chargers.
The season ends for Gordon State with a 33-22 record.
Georgia Highlands (51-7) advances to the NJCAA Appalachian District Championship Series after going 3-0 in the conference tournament this week. The best-of-three series for the District title is next Tuesday through Thursday. The games will be played at the site of the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association champion.
The TCCAA championship round is on Friday in Columbia, Tennessee. Dyersburg State needs one win on Friday to win that tournament. Cleveland State needs to beat Dyersburg State twice.
The winner of the Appalachian District series next week advances to the 10-team NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado on May 25-June 1.
