Game 107 - Salem HS at Forsyth Central HS

May 2 at Forsyth Central High School in Cumming, GA

It's not often you get a No. 4 seed upsetting a No. 1 seed in the fist round of the Georgia high school baseball playoffs. If it does happen, it's usually a champion from a weaker region that runs into a 4-seed from a strong region and there's your upset.

This series was a bit different because Salem came in as the No. 4 from a strong region that includes state powers Loganville and Gainesville. This team earned its way into the state playoffs with big wins all year, including one each over the other three tournament teams from the league (Winder was the other). And the Seminoles were due: the program was appearing in the state playoffs for the first time since 2010 and trying to win its first series since the 2008 team went to the final four.

After game one Friday it looked like it could be Salem's series. The Seminoles got a complete game, one-hit effort from lefty Kevin Barham and scored twice in the top of the eighth to win 3-1 and steal a 1-0 lead in the series. But that's just when Region 7 champ Forsyth Central woke up.

The Bulldogs had 12 hits and used a complete game, no-earned run effort from Luke Howard and evened the series with an 8-3 victory in game two.

Salem never recovered.

Led by Parker Morrison, Central cruised to a 10-0 win in six, run-rule-shortened innings in the rubber game and took the series 2-games-to-1. Morrison was fantastic, scattering three hits and striking out nine in a 92-pitch effort. Three complete games for the Bulldogs (Western Carolina signee Reed Clark went the distance in the game one loss), who allowed two earned runs in 21 innings (0.66 ERA) and move on to the Sweet 16.

Morrison

Advice!

High school baseball fans love to give advice and they love to give it over and over again, loudly, for the entire game. Saturday's rubber game was no different.

Take it away everyone in attendance possessing vocal chords:

"Let it travel" (said three times)
"One pitch at a time" (2)
"Just keep pitching"
"Gotta' stop the bleeding"
"See it, hit it" (2)
"Reset, reset!"
"Adjust to it" (4)
"Tough with two, tough with two" (2)
"Win every pitch" (2)
"Something hard up the middle"
"Go up there hackin'!"
"Let your defense work!" (2)
"Good take" (4)
"Base hit, ball four" (7)
"Driver's seat right here, kid"
"Hit it where it's pitched"
"Still a lot of baseball left" (5)
"Roll a pair" (11)
"Pick you out one"
"Way to be a wall" (3)
"Dig in and battle for me"