Wesleyan gets best of NCC to claim Class A Private title

LAWRENCEVILLE — Wesleyan swept North Cobb Christian 3-0 and 18-3 on Tuesday night at Coolray Field to claim the Class A Private state championship.

The Wolves’ title came one year removed from losing the title to Mount Paran Christian. It was their fifth championship overall.

“After a tough loss last year, we were trying to come out here and get another shot at it,” said Wesleyan outfielder Cooper Blauser, the son of former Atlanta Braves All-Star Jeff Blauser. “It feels great to come out on top. That’s the goal.”

An offensive outburst in the second inning of Game 1 shifted the series momentum to Wesleyan (35-5) and set the tone for the remainder of the evening.

Bryce Hubbard stepped to the plate with two outs and two runners on — Reed Purcell at second and Druw Jones at first. Hubbard sent a line drive into the right-center gap, plating both runners and breaking the scoreless deadlock.

One batter later, Blauser doubled to the left-field wall, scoring Hubbard. Blauser’s hit scored the final run of Game 1 and proved to be a decisive hit en route to Wesleyan’s opening victory.

The Wolves finished the game with 11 hits and nine walks, leaving only seven runners on-base. Hubbard and Forrest Lietz alone accounted for six of the team’s runs on three hits, while Lietz’s four RBIs led all players on the field.

Despite limiting Wesleyan to only three runs on eight hits, North Cobb Christian starter Armando Nunez earned the hard-luck loss in a 101-pitch effort. Nunez posted eight strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings, utilizing a fastball that touched 92 mph.

Reliever Tobias Rupp followed to close out the game without allowing any additional runs, but the deficit proved too large to overcome.

The Eagles’ offense failed to capitalize with a runner on third in the first, second and fourth innings, and a runner on second in the sixth and seventh. In total, North Cobb Christian (30-9) stranded seven base runners in the shutout loss and finished with three hits.

The championship appearance was the Eagles’ first since the school joined the Georgia High School Association prior to the 2008-09 school year. Previously, North Cobb Christian had won a 2006 state title in the Georgia Independent School Association.

“That Game 1 was a tough game. I mean, we have one bad inning, and then it’s 3-0,” said North Cobb Christian coach Jimmy Keane, who was a player on the 2006 team. “We had our chances, but we just couldn’t do anything with them.”

Game 2 performance was not as competitive.

After a first inning that included three hit-by-pitches and a walk from starting pitcher Blake Dean, Lietz sent a triple into the right-center alley, clearing the bases.

After earning only one hit, the Wolves found themselves with a 5-0 advantage after the first inning and in control of the series’ clinching game.

A three-run second inning, six-run fourth and four-run fifth proved enough for Wesleyan to down North Cobb Christian in five innings.

Despite a second inning response that saw the Eagles push across three runs on three hits, North Cobb Christian seemed overpowered for the majority of the night. That deficiency ultimately resulted in the run-rule finish.

“(Wesleyan is) a very good team and they deserve it. Obviously, it takes a lot to win a state championship,” Keane said. “Hats off to them. They have a great program and have done a great job with a great coaching staff.”

Still, Keane said he remains proud of his team and just how far it has come under his tenure. He described a tangible sense of development around the program that he labeled as special.

“It’s been six years of watching them continue to buy in and watching (the program) go to a place that not a lot of people thought it could go,” Keane said. “There’s some years where you think you’re lucky to get to the last few games, and this year is where I feel like it’s just the beginning for us.”

Keane said he and his team are positive this year’s finish will only inspire future generations.

“I think there’s a lot of excitement as much as there is disappointment about how this ended,” Keane said. “They believed every single out this year, up until the last one. I think watching the kids, even as the game ended, there’s not a doubt in my mind that there are kids out there going, ‘We want to be here next year.’”