ACE pitching locks down against Haralson County for playoff series win

With ACE pitcher William Makowski strolling to the plate in a clutch situation during the Gryphons’ first-round playoff game Friday night, head coach Bubba Pool had a decision to make.

“Makowski came up with runners on first and second, and I was over there (at third base) thinking about it. I was gonna tell him to bunt right there,” Pool said.

He smiled.

“I talked myself out of it.”

It was the right call, as Makowski helped himself out with a three-run bomb that fueled the Gryphons’ 7-1 victory over the Haralson County Rebels and gave ACE a sweep to advance to the second round of the GHSA Class A-Division I playoffs.

Makowski’s key home run was just one piece of a balanced offense for the Gryphons, who won the first game 9-3 behind home runs in the fifth inning from Slade Hodge and Sebastian Falduti. 

It was Hodge and Makowski’s pitching, though, that made the difference for ACE, which holds the No. 9 seed in the bracket. 

A home run from Junior Hutson gave Haralson County three runs in the second inning of Game 1, and it looked like the first-round series might be a gritty one. But from that second inning on, Hodge and Makowski combined to pitch the next 12 innings of baseball and only allowed a single run. Makowski struck out 11 batters in Game 2.

“Both of those guys, man, they did such a great job. We preached all week: pound the zone, pound the zone, trust your defense. That’s exactly what they did,” Pool said.

The coach expected excellent performances out of two of the team’s biggest stars.

“They’ve been so good for us all year. Makowski was fired up today. All day today, he was like, ‘Coach, I feel good. I’m on.’ Slade was the same way. I went and saw him this morning, he said, ‘I’m dialed.’ When your top two guys say that, you feel pretty good,” Pool said.

The Gryphons improved to 23-7 on the season and proved their talent against a Haralson County team that played in a tough region with top teams during the regular season. While things looked close in the first few innings, ACE pulled away with plate discipline once they settled in.

“Early on we were kinda swinging too early. Our whole attack all year has been to be patient, see a lot of pitches. We feel confident with two strikes on us. We kinda had to slow our guys down,” Pool said. 

After going down 3-1 on the long ball, the Gryphons did not blink. They plated a trio of runs themselves in the bottom of the second thanks to some small ball — a single, a walk and an error set the table before two errors allowed ACE to take a 4-3 lead.

The advantage would only grow from there, as Hodge bounced back from his early woes to pitch the rest of the game without allowing another run. He finished with four hits allowed, two walks and six strikeouts.

That effort from Hodge was necessary for a bit, as it stayed a 4-3 game until the ACE order exploded for five runs in the fifth. Hodge helped himself with his home run before Falduti followed with another blast to make it 9-3, which held as the final score.

The Gryphons’ plate discipline improved in Game 2, which did them wonders. They worked two walks in the top of the second inning before Makowski helped himself with his home run, which he annihilated over the left-center field wall to make it 3-0.

ACE scored another run in the third and three more in the fourth to take firm control of the game with a 7-0 lead. Makowski stayed locked in on the bump. The Rebels managed to plate one run with a walk and a base hit in the fourth, but the pitcher bounced back with hard strikes and a few nasty breaking balls that caught Rebel batters looking.

Makowski finished the game with 11 strikeouts and only allowed two hits and two walks.

The Gryphons will face No. 8 Fitzgerald on the road in the second round next week, as the Purple Hurricane defeated East Laurens 2-1 and 14-3 to advance Friday night.