EMERSON, Ga. – The inaugural Perfect Game High School Showdown staged in Fort Myers, Fla., in 2013 used a format in which four teams from Florida and four teams from Georgia played a three-game round-robin amongst themselves before the two “state” champions met to crown an overall champion.
That format was scrapped the very next year, but even as the field has grown to 24 teams from six states at this week’s 5th annual PG High School Showdown being played at Perfect Game Park South at LakePoint, it’s inevitable that talented teams from Florida and Georgia will meet head-to-head at some point over the event’s three-day run.
It happened again in a Round of 16 playoff game Friday afternoon, when the Providence High School Stallions out of Jacksonville, Fla., faced-off against the Cartersville (Ga.) HS Hurricanes from just 5 miles up the road; a spot in Friday night’s quarterfinals went to the winner.
It is matchups like this one between two traditional Florida and Georgia mid-sized schools that make the PG HS Showdown such a popular event. It was the case five years ago in Southwest Florida and it’s the same thing today up here in North Georgia.
“We definitely do not want to drive seven hours here and play a team that’s not very good,” long-time Providence head coach Mac Mackiewitz told PG Friday. “When I saw the schedule come out I knew Cartersville would be one of the toughest teams here, and this is exactly why we signed-up in July for this tournament; this is why we’re here. It wouldn’t be the same if we came here and didn’t play teams like Cartersville.”
Longtime Cartersville head coach Stuart Chester – the head coach of the East Team at the 2011 Perfect Game All-American Classic in San Diego – looked at it the same way.
“It’s good to play somebody that’s not from Georgia, and I guess you could say you kind of represent your state in a game like this,” Chester told PG about an hour before the game’s first pitch. “I know Providence is a very good team and year-in and year-out they’re very competitive. It makes for a good mix when you’ve got a Florida and a Georgia team playing each other.”
But there was more than just the Florida-Georgia pairing that made this game so intriguing. Although neither team is ranked in PG’s National Top 50 Rankings, Providence entered the game with a 5-1 record six games into this young season while Cartersville stood 8-1. Both fully expect to challenge for their state’s respective Class 4A state championships this spring.
The make-up of each team’s roster also added intrigue to the matchup. While both will depend on a core group of seniors throughout what they hope will be deep state playoff runs, both can also claim some of the country’s top underclass talent as their own.
Seniors certainly have a pronounced presence on the Providence roster, with seven of them filling spots; five were in Friday’s starting lineup against Cartersville. The upperclass group is led by left-hander/outfielder Elijah Gill, a Florida International signee ranked No. 485 nationally, and right-hander/corner-infielder Max Holmes, a South Florida recruit tabbed as a national top-500 prospect.
There are also seven juniors, five sophomores and one freshman on the Stallions’ varsity roster, and several of those underclassmen are difference-makers. Junior second baseman Alec Sanchez is a Florida State commit ranked No. 67 in the 2018 national class; shortstop Tyler Callihan (South Carolina, 2019 No. 16) and catcher Nathan Hickey (Florida, No. 97) are the team’s top sophomores.
“It’s really kind of like a brotherhood but it’s also diverse,” the Stallions’ Holmes said. “We’ve got some older guys that have been here, and we also have sophomores that have been playing with us since eighth-grade. They’re veterans but they’re still young, and that works well with this team.
“They’ve been playing with us for three years and they have the maturity that they need, and that’s definitely a good asset to have,” he continued. “They’re younger guys that have experienced the speed of the game and nothing’s too fast for them.”
Cartersville might have as much outstanding underclass depth as any team in the country, but there are seniors that can’t be ignored. First baseman Hunter James, catcher Jacob Fowler and second baseman Noah Daniel – all ranked as “high follows” and all uncommitted – lead a contingent of six seniors on the Hurricanes’ roster; three started against Providence.
Chester will count on them to guide the remainder of the roster that features eight juniors, nine sophomores and three freshmen, many of whom rank as the top prospects in their respective classes.
Three juniors and three sophomores really leap off the page. Shortstop Devin Warner is an Auburn commit ranked No. 36 nationally; catcher/both-handed pitcher Anthony Siegler is another Auburn recruit ranked No. 54; outfielder Curtis Wilkes has committed to Georgia State and is ranked as a high follow.om
The three sophomores that have caught the collective eye of the Perfect Game scouting department are Jonathan “JP” Morgan, an Alabama commit ranked No. 190 nationally; right-hander Mason Barnett, uncommitted and ranked No. 401; and catcher Jake Gooch, uncommitted and ranked No. 431.
Three other class of 2019s on the Hurricanes’ roster are ranked as either high follows or follows; freshman shortstop Josh Davis in the No. 149-ranked national prospect in the class of 2020.
“We treat each other like we’re all from the same class; we all play (well) together,” the Canes senior Fowler said. “It’s doesn’t matter if they’re freshmen or sophomores, we’ve all been out here playing at this level, and we respect each other and look up to each other.”
Mackiewitz is excited about this year’s Stallions’ if for no other reason than its enviable depth. Because it didn’t play on Thursday, Providence is looking at playing four games in 24 hours – either in the playoffs or in the consolation round – and that depth will be tested.
Even the guys who don’t get an opportunity to play a lot during the regular season were looking at getting their shots Friday and Saturday, especially the pitchers. The hitters, too, are looking forward to the rapid succession of games simply because if they have one bad at-bat, they won’t be waiting long to take another whack at it; they can afford to have a short memory.
The Stallions graduated only one starting senior from the 2016 team that finished 25-8 and lost in the semifinal-round at the Florida Class 4A state tournament. That means that basically the entire roster returns for this season, and it’s a nice mix with seven seniors. Seven juniors, five sophomores and one freshman.
Gill and Holmes will be counted on for a lot this spring, not only because they are the team’s top-two arms but also two of the top hitters. They are also “fantastic defenders” in Mackiewitz’s words and always seem to be finding ways to help the Stallions win games in a variety of ways.
Mackiewitz called Callihan and Hickey, his two standout sophomores, “absolute baseball rats” noting that Hickey plays three positions: pitcher, catcher and shortstop. Callihan loves to hit – and does so with regular frequency – while also playing left-side infield positions with a special aplomb. Sanchez, Callihan and Hickey have been on the varsity unit since they were eighth-graders
“We’ve got a good mix, too, in that we’re not really pitching dominant or hitting dominant or on defense, we really just play all phases of the game,” the head coach said. “We don’t have hitters that just want to hit – they really take pride in their defense; they really work hard – and it’s been one of the most fun teams to coach. I’ve been at Providence for 17 years and I can’t remember having more fun than I’m having this year.”
Chester has been fond of saying throughout his decorated career that his teams are only going to be as good as his seniors. It’s a little different this year only because there might be games when only one senior is the lineup. It’s all going to depend on who’s doing the pitching and who might be hot at the plate during one particular stretch.
“The good thing about those six seniors is that they’ve been here for four years and they kind of lead the team and can kind of show the younger guys how we approach the game,” Chester said. “But when you look at guys like Anthony (Siegler) and Devin (Warner), they’ve been starting since they were freshman so I kind of look at them as seasoned.
“I don’t think you can beat experience,” he continued. “Baseball will beat you by itself regardless of what kind of talent you’ve got, and I think experience and how you approach a tournament like this is very important.”
Cartersville opened play at the Showdown on Thursday with a 4-1 victory over James Clemens HS (Madison, Ala.). Siegler threw a complete-game, two-hitter without allowing an earned run, striking out nine and walking one; he also smacked a triple.
Daniel doubled, singled, drove in a run and scored two others to lead the Canes at the plate. It’s a team that plays extremely well together with total disregard of rather or not the guy next to you on the field or behind you in the lineup is a senior, junior or sophomore.
“We’ve all been playing since we could barely walk and we all come out here and practice our butts off together,” Fowler said. “We’ve ran together, puked together, cried together and just done everything as a team. We’re ‘Purple’ and that’s kind of how we live. … Wearing the Purple is an honor and it’s something that you’ve got to work for.”
An hour or so before the Providence-Cartersville game got underway, Mackiewitz was asked his feelings about facing a program with the record of success like the one Chester has built in the north Atlanta suburbs – the Canes have won seven Georgia state championships since 2001.
“You can compare this to a heavyweight boxing match: all the big dogs can throw a punch but few can take a punch,” he said. “When you have so many games in a short span, you’re going to get hit in the mouth … and it’s all about how you react
“I get really excited for these heavyweight title fights because I know we’re going to get punched in the mouth and I want to see how our guys react,” he continued. “I think that will tell us a lot about how we’ll be in the (state) playoffs because that’s how playoff baseball is.”
The game didn’t disappoint. The Stallions jumped out early, leading 5-0 after 1 ½ innings, but the Canes chipped away to make it 5-2 after two and 5-3 after three. It was 6-3 after 4 ½ and 6-4 after Cartersville added a single run in the bottom of the sixth.
It stayed that way heading into the bottom of the seventh, and Cartersville used a bunt single and two hit-by-pitches to load the bases with two out. Holmes, working in relief, managed to induce the final out on a long fly ball to left to secure the 6-4 victory for the Stallions.
Gill, the senior left-hander, made the start and battled through 5 1/3 innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on eight hits while striking out six and walking two. The Stallions totaled nine hits, with Hickey and Cameron Wright each collecting two singles and an RBI. Sanchez doubled, drove in a run and scored a run; Jake Morrow singled and drove in a pair.
The Hurricanes totaled 10 hits with Daniel, Martin and Fowler each collecting two –one of Daniel’s was a double – while Preston Welchel singled and drove in two.
“I really think this is one of the best tournaments in the country,” Chester said. “Not only do we get the opportunity to see some of the best talent, it gives our kids exposure. Perfect Game is second-to-none when it comes to the scouting and baseball in general, and it’s absolutely an honor to be involved in this.”
Added Fowler: “We enjoy coming out here and playing together; working as a team. Being in this atmosphere it feels like it’s home again, that we’re playing on our own field. We enjoy this and coming out here as a team is something we like to do.”
This was a showdown within the Showdown, two talented teams with nice mixes of seniors, juniors and sophomores who know how to go out and achieve the positive results they seek.
“I tell the guys all the time that if you can play, I don’t care how old you are,” Mackiewitz said. “It makes it a lot of fun, and hopefully we can do this again next year and we can play Cartersville and other quality teams like that.
“Whether your team goes 4-0 or 2-2, you’re better when you get back home,” he concluded. “Obviously, we want to win bad but however this thing shakes out we know that when we get back to Jacksonville we’re going to be a better team.”