BUFORD, Ga. — Buford baseball coach Stuart Chester has had some frustrating moments in his career. But few will probably compare to what he witnessed on Tuesday.
The Wolves were ousted in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs in tight 4-3 and 2-0 losses to North Paulding at Gerald McQuaig Field. Buford was looking for a return trip to the Elite 8. It was not meant to be.
Three of the six runs allowed in the two games came on high choppers. Another was an unearned run. And the offense, despite rapping out 12 hits and getting 7 walks and two hit batters, left 17 runners on base, 9 in scoring position, five at third base in the series.
“I don’t know how many deep balls we hit. How many balls were hit right to someone?” he said. “I think they turned three double plays in the first game [two to be exact]. We had the bases loaded twice with one out. We couldn't get anybody home. I mean, we were right there.
“You win some close series, you lose some close series. It's just a little harder to swallow when you lose like this and you’re so close all night.”
Buford starters Braden Burton and Luke Hopper both pitched well enough to win, though Burton was tagged for four runs (only three earned) in five innings in Game 1 and Hopper allowed two runs in 3 2/3 innings in Game 2.
The Wolves almost pulled off the ultimate rally in the bottom of the seventh of the first game. Trailing 4-0, they loaded the bases with one out on singles by Ian Chafin and Lio Garcia and a walk to Cannon Goldin. Ryan Johansen drove in Chafin with a single to center. Vance Bock, who had three hits in the opener, knocked in a run and Caleb Griffin made it 4-3 with a two-out hit.
They could have sent Johansen from second to try and tie the game but held him up at third at the last second.
“We get within one, do you send the runner? Do you not? You don't ever want to make that last out (of the game) at the plate,” Chester said. “It's like we never really got a break when we needed one.”
North Paulding reliever Noah Barker got Payton Walker to pop out to right to end the game with the bases loaded, stranding Johansen at third and the winning run at second.
The difference was the Buford offense left 11 runners on base, 7 in scoring position in the opener. The Wolves were just 1-of-8 with RISP until the seventh inning when they went 3-of-5 with RISP but they ran out of outs before they could complete the comeback. By comparison, in the big fifth inning in the first game, North Paulding was 2-of-6 with 2 RBI with RISP.
There would be no rally in the second game as Wolfpack starter Yenli Nolasco went the distance and struck out 4 of the last 6 Buford batters to seal the series win.
“That’s a really good baseball team we lost to,” Chester said. “I think the younger guys like Lio and Dexter and all the others coming back will be better for it. Baseball parallels life, and it's about failure and it's about success and it's about getting up and bouncing back.
“I think this group will be ready for next year and will have this experience to look back on to help them.”
Game 1: North Paulding 4, Buford 3
Burton was solid early, working around a two-out error in the first and getting the Wolfpack in order in the second. But he also was living on the edge as he got to 3-2 on each of the first seven batters.
After needing just 8 pitches to get through the first, Buford loaded the bases in the second against North Paulding starter Raedan Jones. Johansen doubled, Bock singled him to third, and Griffin walked with one out. But Jones was able to get out of the mess unscathed, getting Walker to pop to first and then striking out Chafin to end the inning.
The Buford defense got Burton out of a jam in the third, turning a double play after a pair of singles. Goldin ripped a single and Johansen walked in the bottom of the third with two-out for the Wolves but they could not come around to score.
North Paulding finally broke through in the fourth as Noah Schmid ripped an RBI double off the wall in left to give Wolfpack a 1-0 lead. But Burton was able to get out of the inning without further damage by striking out Nolasco with runners at second and third.
The Wolfpack would open up their lead to 4-0 in the fifth, plating three runs on two hits and a big Buford error.
Buford’s next chance came in the sixth when Bock singled and McCleon Jr. walked with no one out. But the North Paulding defense turned its second double play of the game and Walker struck out to end the inning with a runner at third.
Buford would get the winning run to second in the seventh but left them loaded.
Game 2: North Paulding 2, Buford 0
Unfortunately, the Wolves began the second game where they left off the first, stranding three baserunners, two in scoring position, in the first two innings, making it 14 LOB in the first 9 innings of the series.
The Wolfpack struck first again, plating a pair runs on three hits in the second. Bryce Davis tripled in a run and then scored on Noah Schmid’s single to right.
The Wolves continued to get runners on base but just could not find that clutch hit. They stranded two more in the fourth and another in the fifth, two of those in scoring position.
North Paulding also continued to put pressure on Buford pitching, knocking out Hopper in the fourth. But freshman McCleon Jr. came on to strike out Collin Brightwell to get out of that mess.
McCleon hit a batter and walked another in the sixth but would also strike out the side to keep the Wolves in it. He retired 7 of the 9 batters he faced, five by strikeout.
