The No. 3 ranked Redan Raiders swept Fannin County in the opening round of the Class 3A state baseball playoffs to be one of three DeKalb County teams to advance to the Sweet 16.

Redan (23-9) won the opener 3-0 behind the pitching of Darius Pope (5 strikeouts and 1 hit over the first 3 innings) and taking advantage of three hit batsmen in the first inning.

James Parris was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the first and Latrell Wyatt walked. A balk and a wild pitch later Parris scored the only run Pope would need for the 1-0 lead. Wyatt would score as a throw to third by the catcher went into left field to make it 2-0.

Redan’s first hit came in the form of a double off the bat of Taj Bradley with one out in the bottom of the third inning. Bradley moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly to deep center by Orlando Adams for the final of 3-0.

The Raiders were leading Fannin (15-15) 6-2 heading into the top of the fifth inning in the second game at Redan when they struck for 10 runs and ended the game early.

Redan moves on to host Crisp County (13-18) in a doubleheader on Wednesday starting at 4:30 pm. First year Redan head coach Alexander Wyche has the Raiders in the second round for the first time since 2014 and with the most wins (23) since the 2013 state championship team finished 30-7.

Crisp County is coming off a 12-5, 11-3 sweep of Jenkins (Savannah) in the first round. A third game, if necessary, is set for 12:00 pm on Thursday.

Class 6A

The Tucker Tigers continued their hot streak winning their 22nd consecutive game on the way to a 14-2, 6-0 series sweep of Brunswick at Tucker in the first round of the Class 6A state playoffs.

Brunswick (13-17) came close to ending the streak in the second game before the Tigers (26-6) rallied from a 6-4 deficit to win 9-7 in an extra inning of play.

Jalen Sewell’s single into center in the top of the seventh turned the deficit into a 7-6 Tucker lead with just three outs needed to end the game. Brunswick responded with a big solo homerun to tie the game and send it into the eighth inning.

Calden Nolf and Louis Davenport reached and were on second and third when Trevon Flowers ripped a two-run double to give the Tigers the lead for good at 9-7. Makai Holloway closed out the game getting a line out 6-4 double play to end the game and send the Tigers into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2003.

Trevon Flowers had six RBI off a two-run double in the first, a fielder’s choice in the second and a three-run homer in the third to lead the Tigers to the 14-2 win in the opening game.

Coach Vince Byams club has set a new school record for wins with 26 (25 4 times).

Tucker advances to host River Ridge (25-7) which bested Dacula 1-0, 9-8 to advance to the Sweet 16 in a 2:00 pm double-header on Wednesday and a third game, if necessary, set for 4:30 pm on Thursday. Brunswick is the only common opponent for the second round opponents with River Ridge winning 9-2 over Brunswick early in the season.

In other Class 6A action, the Stephenson Jaguars fell 15-5 and 14-2 to on the road to Richmond Hill to finish 16-13 on the season.

Class 5A
The Arabia Mountain Rams made school history during its 2-1 Class 5A opening series win over Villa Rica this past weekend.

The Rams rallied from a one game to none deficit following Villa Rica’s 6-3 opening game victory at Arabia Mountain. The Rams came back to take the nightcap 11-5 (a program first playoff game win) to force a third game on Saturday.

Arabia Mountain went on to win the third game 10-5 to win the school’s first baseball playoff series in four tries. Coach Eric Hoxie’s squad also set a new school record for wins as it improved to 20-9 on the season. The previous best was a 17-7-1 record in 2013.

The Rams play host to McIntosh (20-12) which defeated Thomas County Central 2-1 and 8-3 to advance. The doubleheader is set for 2:00 pm on Wednesday and the third game, if necessary, for 5:00 pm on Thursday.

In other Class 5A baseball play, Chamblee (22-10), Columbia (25-7) and Southwest DeKalb (15-12) all dropped their opening playoff series 2-0 to end their seasons.

Druid Hills (18-12) bounced back from a 10-0 loss in its opening game of the Class 4A playoff series against West Laurens with a 3-2 victory in the second game to force a third contest on Saturday. West Laurens (21-9) clinched the series with an 18-1 victory in the final game on Saturday.

The Lakeside Vikings (18-11) had their season come to an end with a 2-0 Class 7A series loss to Lambert (20-13). The Vikings lost a tough 5-4 decision in the opener before dropping a 6-0 decision in the nightcap.

DCSD STATE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS RESULTS
Friday, April 28
BEST OF THREE SERIES
CLASS 7A
Lambert (20-13) 5, Lakeside (18-11) 4
Lambert (20-13) 6, Lakeside (18-11) 0
Lambert wins series 2-0

CLASS 6A
Tucker (26-6) 14, Brunswick (13-17) 2
Tucker (26-6) 9, Brunswick (13-17) 7 (8 innings)
Tucker wins series 2-0

Richmond Hill (21-10) 15, Stephenson (16-13) 5
Richmond Hill (21-10) 14, Stephenson (16-13) 2
Richmond Hill wins series 2-0

CLASS 5A
Villa Rica (17-12) 6, Arabia Mountain (20-9) 3
Arabia Mountain (20-9) 11, Villa Rica (17-12) 5
Arabia Mountain (20-9) 10, Villa Rica (17-12) 5
Arabia Mountain wins series 2-1

Kell (22-11) 14, Chamblee (22-10) 0
Kell (22-11) 11, Chamblee (22-10) 3
Kell wins series 2-0

East Paulding (17-13) 10, Columbia (25-7) 1
East Paulding (17-13) 13, Columbia (25-7) 1
East Paulding wins series 2-0

Carrollton (27-5) 10, Southwest DeKalb (15-12) 0
Carrollton (27-5) 22, Southwest DeKalb (15-12) 3
Carrollton wins series 2-0

CLASS 4A
West Laurens (21-9) 10, Druid Hills (18-12) 0
Druid Hills (18-12) 3, West Laurens (21-9) 2
West Laurens (21-9) 18, Druid Hills (18-12) 1
West Laurens wins series 2-1

CLASS 3A
Redan (23-9) 3, Fannin County (15-15) 0
Redan (23-9) 16, Fannin County (15-15) 2
Redan wins series 2-0

DCSD STATE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
Wednesday, May 3
CLASS 6A
River Ridge (25-7) at Tucker (26-6), (DH), 2:00 p.m.

CLASS 5A
McIntosh (20-12) at Arabia Mountain (20-9), (DH), 2:00 p.m.

CLASS 3A
Crisp County (13-18) at Redan (23-9), (DH), 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, May 4
CLASS 6A
River Ridge at Tucker, if necessary, at 4:30 p.m.

CLASS 5A
McIntosh at Arabia Mountain, if necessary, at 5:00 p.m.

CLASS 3A
Crisp County at Redan, if necessary, at 12:00 p.m.

Admission Cost:        
Wednesday Doubleheader – Adults $10.00; Students $10.00
Thursday Single Game If Necessary — Adults $10.00; Students $10.00