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ECHS wins region baseball championship
ECHS Baseball with region trophy 2025
ECHS players lift their Region 1-5A championship trophy in the air to celebrate the school's first baseball title since 2019. The Rebels defeated Greenbrier 3-0 in the finals April 17. (Mark Lastinger for the Effingham Herald.)

By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald



SPRINGFIELD – Effingham County bunched its offense into one productive inning and rode clutch pitching for a full seven en route to a Region 1-5A championship April 17.

The Rebels (25-5) held off Greenbrier 3-0 for their first region title since 2019. They’ll enter the Class 5A state baseball championships as a No. 1 seed on Wednesday (April 23) against Region 5’s No. 4 seed.

The teams will play a best-of-three series with a doubleheader on Wednesday and, if necessary, the deciding third game on Thursday.

ECHS and Greenbrier entered their region championship matchup with offenses on overdrive. The Rebels produced 34 runs in three games while defeating Statesboro twice and Brunswick. The Wolfpack had 30 runs in their three games against South Effingham twice and Glynn Academy.

So, of course, pitching took over Thursday. ECHS righthander Luke Edwards pitched six scoreless innings, scattering four hits and three walks while striking out nine. Reliever Ayden Roeser loaded the bases in the seventh but induced a ground out to end the game, beginning a celebration that eventually led to Coach Eric McCombie’s friendly soaking with ice water.

Greenbrier (12-11) went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position – 0-of-9 against Edwards, who registered six strikeouts in the clutch.

ECHS didn’t have much success against Greenbrier starter Jackson Farlow, but had three of its four hits in the game in the second inning.

Ryan Wells, who had a key triple in the 13-8 semifinal win over Brunswick on Tuesday, laced a run-scoring double to drive in the first run Thursday. Three batters later, Adam Acel doubled in two more runs to provide a nice cushion.

Not many outside the program saw a region championship coming, particularly after winning just 10 games in 2024.

But the Rebels proved they were the elite of the region in 2025 after posting a 17-1 record against overall region competition – 8-1 in the subregion, 5-0 against Statesboro, 2-0 against South Effingham and wins against Brunswick and Greenbrier in the Final Four.

ECHS’ lone defeat in region play came against Lakeside, 4-3, when it failed to hold a three-run lead in the seventh inning.