How Calvary Day celebrated graduation by punching its ticket to state baseball finals

It was a day to remember for Calvary Day seniors on Saturday as their commencement ceremony was held on campus, with salutatorian Caden Arnold delivering a speech where he referenced the Cavaliers' huge baseball game coming up that afternoon.

A few hours after graduating, Arnold and his teammates came out to play at Historic Grayson Stadium as they beat Mary Persons 2-0 in the deciding Game 3 of a Class 3A playoff series behind a complete game by Vanderbilt-bound left hander Will Hampton.

The Cavaliers improved to 27-6 on the year and will be playing in their first state title series since they won the Class A crown in 2007 when they take on Harlem (36-1) at AdventHealth Stadium in Rome. The series is set to start Friday or Saturday (May 17 or 18th) with a doubleheader in the best of three series. A third game, if needed, is set for Monday, May 20.

Arnold, a 4.0 student who is headed to play receiver with the Georgia Southern football team, didn't want to see his baseball career come to an end on Saturday. He went 1 for 3 at the plate and made several key plays in the field to help his team advance.

The biggest play came in the top of the first after Hampton opened the game by walking the first two batters, with the leadoff man advancing to third on a fly ball to center. With runners on the corners and one out, Hampton picked off the Mary Persons' runner at first, who made a break for second. First baseman Quinn Johnson fired the ball to Arnold, who made the tag before gunning down the runner at the plate for a 1-3-6-2 double play to work out of a jam.

"That was a great moment that boosted our momentum and gave us a lot of energy," said Hampton, who settled down and entered ace mode after that frame — as he closed the game by striking out seven, allowing two hits and not walking another batter. "My fastball and curve were working well today, and I was getting ahead in the count with a lot of first pitch strikes.

"Winning this game gives us a ton of confidence — the most we've ever had. We don't fear anyone and want to go win the championship."

Hampton has been the closer this season, but his pitching role has expanded in the playoffs. He is 2-0 on the year with a 0.64 ERA in 33 innings, with 42 strikeouts.

Junior Brody Dawson was the offensive hero as the second baseman went 2 for 3 and drove in both runs, plating courtesy runner Alex Swindell in the fourth inning with a single to center and scoring Max Arnold with a high chopper to third for an infield single in the sixth.

"This is the most memorable game I've played in so far, but we hope next week will be even better," said Dawson, who is also a standout linebacker with the football team. "This team has been unified since we started practicing and now we're where we want to be."

Caden Arnold, a four-year starter at shortstop, is having a huge senior campaign as he is hitting .402, with 45 hits, 52 runs and 36 stolen bases, while anchoring the infield with his steady, and sometimes flashy, fielding skills.

"We were 100% confident with Will (Hampton) on the mound for a Game 3," Arnold said. "That double play was big, because his pitch count was getting up in that first inning. But he just shut them down after that."

Calvary Day Coach Phillip Lee was filled with pride after the game. The former Cavalier standout was playing college ball at Brewton Parker the last time Calvary reached the finals — winning it all in 2007. Now he has his first team in the finals in his 10th year as the head coach.

"It's always a great day to honor our seniors at graduation, but I know baseball was on the mind of our players this morning," Lee said after the win. "Caden made a reference to the game during his speech and the whole crowd erupted. Then we got a huge crowd out here for the game, the support this season has been amazing. We're going to cherish this win right now, and then start getting ready for Harlem."

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSM

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Hours after graduation, Calvary baseball team earns berth in state finals