Playoff news: FPD, CFCA win in semifinals; Mercer bounced early in SoCon tourney

There’s been lots of playoff sports action this weekend involving Macon teams. Here’s an update on how local high schools and universities fared.

The Stratford girls punched their ticket to the GIAA Class 4A State Championship with a thrilling 3-2 win in double overtime Thursday. The Eagles improved to 19-0 and will try for a perfect record in the title game, which is set for Tuesday.

Stratford will face crosstown rival FPD in the championship game. The Vikings, who have the No. 2 seed in Class 4A, defeated King’s Academy 6-1 after a lengthy lightning delay Friday night. Bowen Matthews and Elizabeth Leslein each had a hat trick in the dominant win.

The Central Fellowship girls also won their semifinal game in Class 2A on Thursday. Star scorer Lois Turner was again a difference-maker, as she scored two goals in a 4-1 victory over St. George’s to send the Lancers to the title game in search of their third consecutive state championship. They will face No. 2 Westminster Christian in the title game Tuesday.

No. 1 FPD baseball defeated No. 4 Athens Christian soundly in a 10-2 win in Game 1 of their best-of-three semifinal series. Athens Christian made five errors, and FPD added on four hits and five walks to keep the offense rolling.

The second game of the series was delayed until Saturday because of rain. It is set for 11 a.m. Saturday at FPD.

Stratford, the No. 3 seed, was on the road against Brookstone. The Eagles had an 8-4 lead over the Cougars before the game was delayed by rain. That series will likely be decided Saturday.

The only local team that had its playoff runs end late this week was the Mercer baseball team, which bowed out of the Southern Conference tournament surprisingly early at the hands of The Citadel.

The Bears, who finished the regular season 43-13 and had the No. 1 seed in the tournament after winning the SoCon regular season title, got blasted 9-2 in their first game Thursday morning. The team’s prolific offense went quiet to open the tournament, as it was 9-0 in the ninth inning after The Citadel scored seven runs in the final frame.

Mercer then staved off elimination in their second game Thursday with a 9-8 win over Wofford fueled by a game-tying homer from Kaleb Huffman and an inside-the-park home run by Chris Katz in the eighth inning.

But The Citadel were waiting yet again Friday morning, as the Bulldogs once again jumped on Mercer’s subpar pitching early and managed to quiet the Bears’ bats. Mercer was stunned in a run-rule loss, 14-4, to end their tournament run.

The quick elimination in the SoCon tournament puts Mercer’s NCAA tournament hopes, which had looked quite promising, in jeopardy. The NCAA tournament field will be announced Monday afternoon.

The Melody will update this story as more scores are finalized this weekend.