Buford baseball earns second-round sweep of Kell
The Wolves swept the Longhorns 3-1 and 5-4.
MARIETTA — Buford's baseball team held Kell to a combined nine hits Thursday, as the Wolves swept the Longhorns 3-1 and 5-4 to advance in the Class AAAAA state playoffs.
"We've had one of the better weeks of practice we've ever had," Buford coach Stuart Chester said. "We didn't take a single minute off, and we prepared for plenty of uncomfortable situations, and that's what these games were."
Buford (22-10) took the lead in Game 1 on a controversial call in the outfield.
Kell center fielder Brad Grenkoski caught a fly ball to end the inning, but after discussing the play, the umpire crew ruled that Grenkoski had dropped the ball, and Buford was awarded the run that scored.
"I never really got an explanation on that one," Kell coach Todd Harris said, "but I've told our team that we just need to control what we can control."
Kell's Hal Stelljes controlled most of his role in Game 1, turning in a complete game and allowing Buford only four hits, but that was enough for the Wolves to get the first win of the series.
In the top of the fifth, Buford's Evan Place drove in Dylan Lesko and Austin Turner with a two-out double, giving Buford a 3-0 lead that it did not relinquish.
In the nightcap, Kell (25-8) led 3-1 in the top of the sixth after a solo home run from Luke Hughes, but things fell apart for the Longhorns in the bottom of the inning. Buford scored four runs, tying the game at 3-all when Eli Ledford walked with the bases loaded, and then going ahead 5-3 on a two-run single by Kaleb Elder.
Kell scored in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice fly from Ben Olson, but Lesko came on to earn the save for Buford, completing the sweep.
"I told my team, the worst part about this loss is that, when I wake up tomorrow, I won't be able to coach these seniors any more," Harris said. "I've heard from coaches all over Georgia who complain about players of theirs who don't listen, or players that don't give it their all, but I never had problems like that with this group. I love these guys."