With new coach Bubba Pool settling in, ACE baseball stays solid

A coach’s first season with a new school can be an interesting thing — a variety of factors can play a role in how the season unfolds, but at the end of the day, folks will be watching and comparing the team’s new leader to past performances.

As far as debut seasons go, ACE baseball coach Bubba Pool is cruising along.

The Gryphons are off to a roaring start as baseball teams pass midseason, boasting a 16-4 record and an 13-1 record in Region 2-A Division I with Pool at the helm, who came to ACE after spending more than a decade coaching at Mount de Sales.

“Coach (Robert) Slocum gave me the opportunity to come to Mount de Sales and I really loved it,” said Pool, who racked up more than 150 wins with the Cavaliers. “I had other opportunities while I was there, but they never felt right. (ACE) just felt like the right move for my family … it’s the start of a new chapter.”

There was no doubt when he arrived that expectations would remain high at ACE, which has won several region championships since the school opened in 2017. Much of that success came under former head coach and athletic director Josh McLendon, who also brought the softball team to a state championship while he was at ACE.

“That was part of why I came here. I knew I wouldn’t be taking over a struggling program, obviously ACE has had a really good program here,” Pool said.

And Pool has stepped right into said program and not missed a beat, as ACE has outscored region opponents 182 to 36 en route to another dominant campaign thus far. The offense hums on a regular basis and is led by senior Slade Hodge, while the Gryphons’ ace — no pun intended — is William Makowski.

“We trust him the most, and we’re going to throw him until he tells us he can’t throw,” Pool said of Mawkowski after a recent game against Dublin.

That game, which ended in a thrilling 9-8 win on a walk-off double by Sebastian Falduti, had a great energy to it, even with other ACE students away on spring break. The Gryphons manufactured the walk-off in the seventh inning by getting multiple walks to load the bases, reflecting a disciplined approach Pool said he’s preached all year.

ACE turned around and beat the Fighting Irish again the next day after that win, this time by a score of 17-8. They are in first place in the region. The Gryphons’ two games against Bleckley County, a perennial powerhouse in the region which is 18-3 so far this year, should decide who takes home the first-place trophy and gets a higher playoff seed.

That’s another key difference between Pool’s old gig at Mount de Sales and the job at ACE — while the Cavaliers spent some time in the GHSA, they were typically in the private school classification; Mount de Sales has been in the GIAA, with fewer teams, for several years now.

“I haven’t noticed a difference talent-wise necessarily. In GIAA you have your top eight or top 10 teams kind of together, in GHSA it’s a little more spread out,” Pool said. “A big thing is we’re in a big region this year with 10 teams.”

That’s why ACE’s current separation is so important going forward — and why that upcoming series against Bleckley County, as well as the one against a talented Washington County team currently in fourth in the region, loom large as the Gryphons hit the stretch run of this season.

ACE should be prepared for that run with its balanced offense and pitching so far. Pool said he’s gotten along well with all of the players on the team and enjoys watching them play, though he’s still settling in just a bit.

“It’s a new challenge every day, and I love it. I love being in a new environment. There were some growing pains early because I had to get to know all the kids and they have to trust me, but things have been so much fun,” Pool said. “I’ll be honest, practice is the most fun for me. It’s just exciting. I get out there and tell ‘em, that ought to be the best part of your day, the two hours you come to practice.”

As for the games, Pool said he relies on that age-old mantra that many coaches lean on as the season progresses: just take it one game at a time.