STATE CHAMPIONS: Etowah Takes Down Pope for Second Title

LAWRENCEVILLE — Etowah completed its redemption arc Saturday night, battling the weather and its counterpart, Pope, to win the Class AAAAAA state championship at Coolray Field.

With many of the same faces, the Eagles exorcised their demons from 2022, when they fell to archrival Woodstock in the finals. They finished this time, winning 15-0 and 6-4 to notch their second state title.

“This was the year of unfinished business,” Etowah coach Greg Robinson said. “To have three playoff series at home was special to these guys and this community. (Pope is) a perennial contender, and I just can’t say enough about these guys and what they have accomplished.”

After sweeping the state championship series, the Eagles (34-5) finished the postseason without playing a single Game 3. They nearly fell short, but a late-game comeback in the nightcap sealed a second title in eight years and denied Pope a second title in three seasons.

“This team just had the best chemistry and bond that I’ve ever been a part of,” senior second baseman Jake Sabo said. “We all loved each other, and everything was about this game. In 2022, it was only about baseball, but, this year, we were all part of a family.”

Matthew Sharman and Caleb Hughes drew the starts for Etowah, with both throwing complete games and continuing the trend of lights-out playoff pitching. Heading into the championship series, Eagles pitchers had given up just four runs across eight postseason games.

It took just four innings for Sharman to dispatch Pope in the series opener as his offense run-ruled the Greyhounds. He also drove in the first two runs with an RBI double down the right-field line.

“To get those early runs, it really calms me down,” Sharman said. “I just went out there and did what I love to do. As a team, we knew we had to swing it coming into this game, so doing that early and often helped me, and my team played amazing behind me, defensively.”

Sharman took a 7-0 record into Saturday’s series, with his playoff run including a no-hitter against Habersham Central in Round 2. He was efficient in Game 1 against Pope with two strikeouts and two hits allowed on 52 pitches (33 strikes).

Etowah’s offense backed Sharman with three runs in the first and third innings, and a nine-run fourth to complete the run-rule victory as the skies opened up and the tarp rolled out onto the field.

Four Eagles had multi-hit showings in Game 1, led by Bryce Adams, who went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and a walk. Trevor Condon, who hit for the cycle between the two games, launched a three-run home run, his second this year, down the right-field line to help spark the big inning.

Fittingly, Sharman drove in the winning run as he hit a fly ball in foul territory that scored Adams after he tagged up.

Hughes took the mound for Game 2 and was sharp in the first two innings. However, Pope’s Tanner Morneau notched an RBI single in the third inning for his team’s first runs of the series.

The Greyhounds scored two more runs in the fourth, though Hughes settled back down and worked out of trouble. He finished the night with seven strikeouts, three walks, eight hits allowed and four earned runs.

“My defense helped me out a lot tonight,” Hughes said. “I didn’t have my best stuff, but the hitting helped out a lot, too. It helps boost my spirit a little bit when we get a lead, especially when I have these guys in the field.”

Trailing 3-1 to start the sixth inning, Etowah’s offense needed a spark, and it came from Condon, who drove Deion Cole home with an RBI single. After an error advanced the runners, Dimitri Angelakos drew a walk to load the bases, and Jake Zehner’s two-run hit gave the Eagles the lead.

Sabo’s RBI single put an exclamation point on the game-altering inning.

“I think it shows the resiliency of this team, and how we are always fighting,” Angelakos said. “With how we lost two years ago in the back of our minds, we were not going to let that happen again. Everyone brought a little more energy, and we had the chemistry. Everything just clicked.”

For Hughes, Sabo, Angelakos and Etowah’s entire senior class, Saturday marked a storybook ending as they finished their high school careers on top. Robinson and Etowah, after knocking off a five-time champion in Pope, continue to cement itself as a Georgia baseball powerhouse.

“These guys are just gamers,” said Robinson, who won his third state title as a coach after leading Milton to a title in 2004. “We went down against (Blessed Trinity) and beat them in the last inning. And then down late to Pope, we put a five-spot together to win it. … I think playing a tough schedule really helped us. We always kept challenging ourselves, so when we get to a moment like this, we are used to it.”