By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
GUYTON – South Effingham baseball coach Jesse Osborne wouldn’t make any excuses about a first-round exit from the Class 6A state baseball championships after 4-1 and 4-0 losses to Woodward Academy April 25.
“Hats off to them,” Osborne said. “We hit the ball and they went and got it. The cards didn’t go our way.”
It was that type of year for the Mustangs, who finished fourth in Region 2. South was 8-1 against the three teams below it in the standings and 3-6 against the top three teams.
Unfortunately, the fourth-place finish earned the Mustangs (19-13 overall) a matchup with a team with a region winning streak of 68 games dating back to 2019.
Osborne said Woodward Academy had a team tailor-made for its smaller ballpark with artificial turf. And the War Eagles pitchers allowed just one unearned run in the two games.
Evans, Brunswick and Glynn Academy – the three teams ahead of SEHS in Region 2 – all had easier first-round matchups and went a combined 6-0 and outscored their opponents 61-10 while advancing against Region 3 teams at state.
“If you look at us on paper, we had a veteran team coming back,” Osborne said. “Nick (Cooper), Dru (Futch), Ty (Cantaline), Cade (Priester) and all our seniors, they are guys who have been contributors for four years and they did a good job of helping the younger guys. It was a good season.”
South improved by a game from its 18-win season a year ago. The Mustangs won a game from Evans, Brunswick and Glynn Academy in region play (although they lost those three-game series 2-1), beat 23-win North Forsyth, took two from 21-win Islands, won 2 of 3 from Richmond Hill and swept rival Effingham County.
SEHS ended the regular season on a six-game winning streak. Osborne said he thought the three victories over the Rebels to start the winning streak might be the jump start the team needed to elevate its play for the postseason.
The Mustangs swept Grovetown by a combined score of 23-1 in the final regular-season series.
“In the series with Effingham, a sweep doesn’t happen very often against your rival (first time since 2021) and we had lost two out of three to them last season,” Osborne said. “I thought it could be just what we needed. I thought we had it in us. We were in every series and this group competed. They were a fun group to coach.”
There will be rebuilding ahead for Osborne and his staff but some key returning players should help make a strong foundation. Sophomore righthander Lance Cantaline emerged as the Game 1 starter in region play and highly regarded junior Dalton Redmond was a standout at shortstop.
Underclassmen catcher JT Barkley, infielder Evan Hollis and outfielder Lawton Bowen each gained valuable experience. Bryce Hodges, a sophomore pitcher, will be expected to help next spring.
“There are several young arms from the JV we’re excited about,” Osborne said. “We’ll be young, but they have talent.”
