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The Troup baseball team is one win away from winning the first state title in program history. The Tigers took game one of the AAA State Championship series over Cherokee Bluff to inch closer to history, but fell flat on their face in game two as the Bears won the game by mercy rule. 

“I thought we played really well in game one and then kind of let things get sideways in game two,” Troup coach Tanner Glisson said. “We split and have a game tomorrow for all the marbles, and we can’t lose sight of that.”

 

GAME ONE:

Troup – 5

Cherokee Bluff – 1

 

The Tigers got off to a quick start in game one. After a scoreless first inning, Troup broke the deadlock in the bottom of the second inning. Jake Perry drove in the first run with a single and Torreion Delaney sent the second home with a double to give the Tigers an early 2-0 advantage.

The Troup lead would stay at two runs until the bottom of the fourth. The Tigers took a commanding 5-0 lead with a trio of runs. An Ethan Goff double got the scoring started in the inning. Delaney kept up his torrid start with an RBI single to give Troup a 4-0 lead. Garrison Edwards closed out the scoring in the inning with an RBI single.

“We really were able to find some holes and find the gaps in ways that we couldn’t do in game two,” Glisson said.

The Bears struck back with a run in the top of the fifth inning, but could not add more as the Tigers slammed the door on the rally attempt. 

Jake Perry got the start on the mound for Troup and was immense, pitching a complete game. The junior allowed just five hits and one earned run on five strikeouts. 

“Jake has been like that all playoffs for u,s and he delivers again tonight,” Glisson said. “I was really, really proud of his performance and the defense behind him.”

Delaney led the offense with two hits and two RBIs while Goff, Perry, Edwards, Davis Moncus, Brady Willis and Carson Walker all had one hit apiece. 

 

GAME TWO:

Troup – 0

Cherokee Bluff – 15

 

The second game was an absolute mess for the Tigers. The third inning proved disastrous as Cherokee Bluff found a way to score eight runs and put the Tigers to the sword early.

It only got worse for Troup from there as the Bears added seven more runs in the fourth inning to end the game by mercy rule. 

The Tigers completely unraveled, committing five errors and using a whole platoon of pitchers. Chase Mosley started on the mound before being replaced by Rylan Cantrell and Cason Spears, who also struggled to contain the potent bats of the Bears.

“We lost our composure when things started to go sideways there,” Glisson said. “I think we just had a pretty good meeting after the game, so I hope that will help them refocus.”

The Troup offense struggled to get anything going as well, producing just two hits —- one from Walker and one from Mosley.  

“It’s a big ball park and there were just too many times that we hit the ball in the air and let them make an out,” Glisson said. “That’s also a really good pitcher, he started in game one of the state championship for them last year.”

 

WHAT’S NEXT:

Troup and Cherokee Bluff will play a winner-take-all game 3 in Rome at noon on Wednesday. Moncus will likely earn the starting nod in game 3 for the Tigers. 

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” Glisson said. “They are a good team and we are a good team and one will be leaving the field happy tomorrow and one won’t. This is why you play this game.”