Seniors shine as Brookwood’s season comes to an end
After Friday’s extra-inning loss, the Brookwood Warriors came into Saturday ready to fight for their season. They came into game two against Pinewood with their season on the line and hopes for a long playoff run ahead of them.
Game one was slow offensively as both pitchers controlled the strike zone and forced a lot of pop ups and ground balls. Brookwood took the lead early after Zach Counts and Isaac Richardson found themselves on base in the second inning. Counts made a gutsy steal to third and their were runners on the corners with one out. Parker Lee stepped up to the plate and hit a deep fly ball that was caught, but paved the way home for Counts to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.
The middle innings were quick as both Pinewood and Brookwood struggled to get their bats going. Senior Will Elkins was on the mound for the Warriors and pitched an excellent seven innings. He hit his stride in the fourth and stuck out three of the four batters in the inning. In fact, in innings four, five and six, Elkins struck out seven batters.
“Well, knew I trusted my defense so whatever pitch my catcher called I just worried about hitting that spot and if I miss, missing where I’m supposed to,” said Elkins. “It felt pretty good.”
The Senior pitcher continued his dominance with two strike outs in the seventh to end the game and tie the series as Brookwood won 1-0.
“We gave ourselves a chance in the series and that’s all you can ask for,” said Head Coach Daniel Funt.
The Warriors were not so fortunate in game two, however. The game started slow with several quick innings, though Brookwood threatened to score with the bases loaded in the second. It wasn’t until the fourth inning when things started to unravel for the Warriors.
Pitcher Parker Lee was on the bump for Brookwood and, though he wasn’t getting many strikeouts, the
senior forced plenty of easy balls for his fielders.
That all changed in the fourth when Pinewood scored off a hard hit single to right field. The Patriots would score three more in the fifth, two of which came off of a deep home run, to make the score 4-0 Pinewood. Lee was then pulled and Owen Bodell took over on the mound for the Warriors.
Though Lee was’t able to hold back the Patriots on the mound, he was able to strike back at the plate. Lee led off the bottom of the sixth with a long solo home run that made its way to the trees behind the fences. Lee’s homer gave the Warriors life and they were able to mount a small two out rally. Chris May stepped up to the plate with two outs and runners on first and second. May connected and sent the ball up the middle for a base hit that scored Senior Jackson Vaughn making it 4-2.“I think that’s been them all year to fight back,” said Funt. “That’s just their character. That’s just how they are, to find a way to try and fight back and make it a ball game. This is baseball, man, crazy things can happen.
However, the life was drained from the Warriors as Pinewood led off the seventh inning with a solo shot to right field that bounced off the tin roof of the Brookwood training facility. Lee would find a gap in the bottom of the seventh for a single, but it was too little too late and the Pinewood Patriots moved on with a 5-2 win over Brookwood.
The Warriors season may have ended earlier than they hoped, but they have nothing to hang their heads about. Brookwood took home the region championship in the regular season for the first time since 2012. They were in a constant battle for first place with Southland Academy and Valwood, both of whom they beat in the regular season. The team showed up and showed out all season and that is something to be proud of.
Funt will have the tough task of replacing an impressive group of seven seniors. Stars of the program like Elkins, Counts, Lee and Vaughn will be sorely missed. Tears were shed as the senior Warriors left the Brookwood diamond for the last time, but their last season as Warriors was an impressive one and there is no doubt that they left it all on the field.
Brookwood School
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.