'At age 71, this is mighty special': Harlem baseball nabs second-straight GHSA state title
ROME – This was something we hadn’t seen in more than 40 years.
Harlem baseball swept Calvary Day to secure its second straight Georgia High School Association Class 3A state championship.
It was the first time a Bulldogs team had gone back-to-back since winning three straight from 1981-83. Before speaking about anything else after the win, coach Jimmie Lewis raved about his group of eight seniors.
“These eight seniors, right here, are something special,” he said. “They’re a bunch of whackos now, but they’ll play. They’ll never give up, they’ll never quit. This is a pretty doggoned good group. Their two years in high school, they’re 75-2. That speaks for itself. At age 71, this one is mighty special.”
It also increased a postseason winning streak to 20 games for the Bulldogs.
Harlem (40-1) took Game 1, 13-5, on the back of timely hitting and another excellent outing from senior lefthander Amerson Guy. Much like Will Holder the year before, senior righty Caiden Coile tossed a gem in Game 2, shutting down the Cavalier offense while going the distance. He struck out six in the 7-0 win.
Guy and Coile were the most formidable 1-2 punch in Class 3A this postseason. The bullpen only threw a handful of innings during the state playoffs and the pair seemed like they were going to go all seven innings each night.
Holder probably could have gone an inning or two on the mound if the situation were dire enough, but Lewis was glad it never came to that. The Georgia Southern commit started at first base for both games in Rome.
“They about had to. To go through two years of playoffs undefeated, these guys right here knew they had to go to the mound and do their job,” Lewis said. “We had Dominique Titus, a good relief pitcher, and Walker Spivey. They did an excellent job and they did it all the way down the stretch. I can’t ask for no more.”
Harlem’s dazzling middle infield shined in the state championship
Filling what were likely the biggest shoes from the 2023 team was senior Jeremiah Hamilton. With Tristan McCladdie now making plays at Clemson, the former utility player quickly grew into the everyday shortstop for the Bulldogs. As it turns out, he learned from someone with a lot of experience at the position.
“In the offseason, I was at the field a lot,” he said. “Taking a lot of ground balls with Tristan and just talking about a lot of things I needed to know. We started working out and getting better every day.”
Hamilton’s double play partner, second baseman Jackson Decker, received some lofty praise from his head coach during the postgame press conference.
“The best infielder I’ve ever coached in 48 years, without a doubt,” Lewis said.
Harlem baseball fans turned out in droves for state title
To no surprise, half of AdventHealth Stadium was a sea of red Friday evening. The Harlem faithful traveled across the state, just as they had a year ago. Even though the Bulldogs were able to go through the state playoffs in their own backyard this time around, Lewis reminded us it didn’t matter where the games were played.
“I’m going to say something real quick,” he said. “We’ve got the best fans in all of the world, without a doubt. We had a mob here tonight. We had a mob every night we played at home. They were always there. If we went and played in California, we would’ve had a mob with us. Fans, we love you.”
Retirement not on Jimmie Lewis' mind
Lewis just completed his 48th season of coaching. Naturally, folks wonder how long he’ll keep doing it. After last year’s state title, he famously said he was going to coach until he ‘dropped dead in the third base box.’
With his seventh state championship in hand, that answer hasn’t changed much.
“They’d put me in a pine box,” Lewis said, laughing. “I love it. I’m 25 right now and I felt the adrenaline when we got on the bus to get here. I even carried my own heavy bag. With people like this and the ones that are coming up, it’s fun. These players and assistant coaches will get you young. We have the best assistant coaches in the game and I give all the credit to them and the players.”
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Harlem baseball wins consecutive GHSA Class 3A state championships
