NCC fans enjoy trip to Coolray

LAWRENCEVILLE — The North Cobb Christian fan base was excited to see their baseball team play in the Class A Private state championship series, even if they had to make the long trip into Gwinnett County to do so.

Lee Smith, a parent and fan of the program, said it was “an amazing accomplishment” for the Eagles to play for the state title Tuesday against Wesleyan. He was impressed with the crowd turnout and atmosphere around the crowd of around 2,000 fans at Coolray Field, home of the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers.

Parker Smith, a teacher at North Cobb Christian, lauded the work of the players.

“They’ve worked really hard and they deserve to be here,” Smith said, adding that he believed it was well within reason to be there, no matter the extended travel time — more than 50 miles from North Cobb Christian to Coolray Field.

“You know what? (Traveling) was a little bit tough with rush hour traffic, but well worth it to watch the guys play,” Smith said.

Smith also said the games could have been held at Truist Park — as was done with the Class AAAAAA and Class AAAAAAA series — but he still felt appreciative.

“It would have been cool if it was at Truist Park, but we’re just thankful to be playing the game,” Smith said.

Jack Hewitt and Tremaine Davis, graduating seniors who played basketball at North Cobb Christian, were elated about seeing the baseball team vie for the championship, even though the games did not go in the Eagles’ favor.

“I know all the players are having the time of their life and really excited and wanting to win,” Hewitt said, “but as a fan, just seeing the whole school (rally) together — it’s really cool to see. It has brought everybody together, from the lower school all the way up to the high school.”

Davis said he had not witnessed the baseball team get past the quarterfinals until this year.

“Since I’ve been here, we haven’t gotten past the elite eight,” Davis said, “so to see them do it, it’s pretty, pretty cool.”

Hewitt said center fielder Michael Mullinax was his favorite player, while Davis said first baseman Lukas Farris was his favorite.

“Oh, man. I don’t discriminate,” Smith said. “I don’t pick and choose (favorites). All of our players — I know them personally, so I’m rooting them on. That’s awesome.”