Brookwood defeats Deerfield Windsor to take title

William Huff
With the regional championship hanging in the balance, the Brookwood Warriors took on Deerfield-Windsor on Friday. As Brookwood and Southland Academy were tied for first in the region, the Warriors waited eagerly to see if Southland would fall to Valwood. However, they had their own contest to focus on.

The Warriors started out hot on the mound as pitcher Rodge Waldrop started the game with a four pitch strikeout. He followed that up with two more punch outs. While the Brookwood offense couldn’t get the bats going early on, Waldrop stayed sharp. After giving up a double in the second, Waldrop struck out three consecutive Knights to end the threatening inning. As he left the field in the second with six strikeouts to his credit, Waldrop was fired up.

“He’s a bulldog and he’s just proven that time and time again,” said Head Coach Daniel Funt.

A lack of offense plagued both the Warriors and the Knights in the early innings. Both teams recorded doubles and a number of stolen bases, but clutch pitching kept the runners at bay.

The scoring broke open in the fifth inning when the Knights knocked in a run and took a 1-0 lead. That lead would not hold, however, as Camden Harbin would outrun a throw to second for a double and put himself on second and Owen Bodell on third. Disaster then struck for the Knights as a wild pick off attempt sent Bodell racing home to tie the game at one.

A quick top of the sixth by Waldrop put the Warriors back in the batters box and they were ready to swing. After Zack Counts was walked, he took second on a wild pitch. Quickly after, Issac Richardson sent the ball screaming off his bat and doubled, sending Counts to home plate to give Brookwood a one run lead.

Though the Warriors would threaten to score again, a pitching change gave the Knights what they needed and they got out of the inning.

The Brookwood fans began to roar as victory closed in in the top of the seventh. The Warriors were three outs away from a potential region title. A ground out and a pop fly sent two Knights packing and put two outs on the board for the Warriors. One out away. As Waldrop reached his pitch count for the game, the ball was placed in the hands of Parker Lee to get the last out. A hard hit ground ball was fielded and the Warriors took the win.

A celebration ensued as it was announced over the PA system that Southland had been defeated by Valwood, leaving the Warriors in first place as region champions. Players doused Funt in gatorade as they celebrated their region title.

“Unbelievable,” said Funt “Baseball is a grind. It’s such a grind and winning the region is so hard. It’s like I just told the guys it starts all the way back from the last game of the season last year. It’s a great accomplishment and we’ll keep getting better and we can make a long run at this thing.”
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Located in Thomasville, GA, Brookwood School is a private school for grades JK-12. Students benefit from a challenging academic program, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.