By Jonathan Deal
jonathan@athensnews-courier.com
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Athens will get a rematch with an area-foe Friday when the Golden Eagles travel to Muscle Shoals for a second-round playoff game. The teams split a pair of games earlier this season, before Muscle Shoals won the tiebreaker 7-4.
Athens hopes to continue the success it had against East Limestone in its first-round win. The Golden Eagles scored 31 runs in the three game series, highlighted by a 20-5 victory in the first game. The five-inning opening series win was led by a monster game from senior Jackson Burgreen.
Burgreen hit four doubles and a single, resulting in five RBIs for Athens. AHS coach Thad Prater said the big night from Burgreen is what he has come to expect from the senior.
“Jackson has hit this way the whole year,” Prater said. “He really had a big year for us. We knew some other guys would have to step up and they have. It’s not like one person, but more of a team effort.”
The team concept is something Prater has tried to implement all season long. After losing several key players from last year’s team that reached the Class 5A semifinals, Prater knew teamwork would be essential if Athens was to repeat that success.
“We’re just glad to make it this far,” Prater said. “I think this team, this year is probably more of a team because it takes all of them to get it done. It’s not just one, two, three, four, five guys — it’s everybody working together.
“That’s our motto this year —that as a team together everybody achieves more. I think they are trying to prove that.”
While Burgreen had a big game in that opening series win, other players stepped up during Saturday’s 4-3 rubber match to win the series. In that game, Brett Lewter pitched six innings to pick up with win with Burgreen pitching a scoreless seventh. Lewter also added a game-tieing RBI in the fourth inning.
The game remained tied 3-3 until Brett Kerr’s sixth-inning RBI drove in Jonathan Pruitt to seal the win for Athens. Kerr’s game-winning groundout was an example of the teamwork Prater has emphasized this season, where a different player can win the game on any given day.
Athens will have its hands full Friday when the team travels to Northwest Shoals Community College to play a Muscle Shoals team that has defeated the Golden Eagles twice this season.
“They’ve go two solid pitchers,” Prater said about Muscle Shoals. “Muscle Shoals is a very good baseball team. They’ve got good solid defense along with pitching. Coach Langston does a very good job with them.”
First-pitch between Athens and Muscle Shoals is at 5 p.m. with the second game to follow 30 minutes afterward. The rubber match will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, if necessary.
