Woodstock sweeps North Cobb

WOODSTOCK — Woodstock is headed to the Class AAAAAAA quarterfinals after sweeping North Cobb Tuesday night.

The Wolverines rode a late-inning comeback to beat the Warriors 9-4 in Game 1, then followed with a 7-2 victory as the offense carried over in Game 2.

One big inning in each game dramatically influenced the outcome as Woodstock built significant leads.

“We had really good at-bats, especially in those big innings,” Woodstock coach Jeff Brown said. “We got into hitter’s counts and hit the ball hard, finding holes. We had some good at-bats with two strikes and were able to foul off some pitches. We just battled.”

Woodstock (27-7) advanced to face Newnan on the road in the quarterfinals, beginning with a doubleheader Monday.

North Cobb (21-11) led for the majority of Game 1, and it was not until a six-run sixth inning that Woodstock took the lead.

The Warriors ran out to a 3-0 lead after a fruitful top of the third inning.

A balk from Woodstock starting pitcher Brayden Davis brought in North Cobb’s first run, and the Warriors quickly added on.

The Wolverines answered in the bottom of the third with two runs and tallied another in the fourth. The major damage came in the sixth inning, though, as Woodstock plated six runs with multiple bases-loaded opportunities.

North Cobb cycled through multiple pitchers and Woodstock made the staff work for every out. The Warriors’ pitchers had some moments early but struggled to gain any traction after the late comeback.

“We knew that one of their strengths heading into this game was their pitching staff,” Brown said. “We knew, if we could get into their bullpen early, that would set us up to win the series. It was good to get those starters out in both Game 1 and 2.”

Woodstock scored another six runs in the fourth inning of Game 2. The offense was on display on back-to-back triples by Gabe Wuerth and Kameron Douglas.

Woodstock starter Kevin Maurer starred in Game 2, taking a no-hitter into the fourth inning and keeping North Cobb off the scoreboard until the fifth. Maurer pitched 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball before getting replaced by Caden Tuck.

Davis kept Woodstock in Game 1, and relief pitcher Colin Bryant was lights-out over the final 3 2/3 innings.

“(North Cobb) is a really good offensive team, especially with the top half of its lineup,” Brown said. “Colin came in and just attacked those guys, throwing breaking balls and off-speed pitches for strikes early in the count. Maurer did a phenomenal job again. He did a good job of mixing in his breaking balls early in the count, plus his fastball was in. He was keeping guys off-balance.”

Woodstock’s pitching had been a strength all season, allowing just 75 total runs, for an average of 2.6 per game. North Cobb surrendered 4.7 runs per game this season.

The late offensive success in Game 1 appeared to bleed into Woodstock’s series-clinching Game 2 win. The two big innings showed a theme, and Brown believes it comes from playing in the challenging Region 5AAAAAAA and having doubleheaders scheduled throughout the season.

“Playing a lot of doubleheaders in the region, we get the feel for it,” Brown said. “When you end the first game on a good note, it usually carries over into the second. Scoring all those runs in Game 1, we were able to keep that rolling.”