Before this year, the last time a Glynn team made it this far was in 1990 — 31 years ago.
Glynn’s won nine of the last 11 games, and it seems the Terrors seem to be hitting their stride.
“I just think we’re peaking at the right time, and that’s been the plan all along,” said Glynn Academy coach Trent Mongero. “Throughout a 30-game high school season, you’re going to have ups and downs. We’ve battled the adversity of injuries and losing players. Then just kind of getting into a funk where we could only score two runs, it seemed.”
Glynn went four straight games towards the end of the regular season struggling to get the bats going, but once they scored four in their last loss to Statesboro, it seemed like they flipped a switch. Since then, the Terrors have averaged 9.8 runs in their last five games.
“Once you do it a few times — hitting is contagious,” Mongero said. “Now the guys believe a little bit more, and of course, the deeper you get into the playoffs, the better the pitching you’re going to face, so it’s not always going to be that way.
“The big thing is just having competitive at-bats — competing at the plate. Have a quality at-bat where you can have some production of some type to help move a runner, extend a pitcher’s pitch count, whatever. Try to keep strikeouts to a minimum and move the ball around to put pressure on defenses — the guys have done a good job of that up and down the lineup.”
Against Westlake, Brady Davis led the team as he went 5-for-6 at the plate, tallying 5 RBI and scoring three runs himself. After having Tommy John surgery earlier this season, Mongero said he didn’t know if Davis would return at all this season. However, he got cleared the last week of the season and since then has just been an additional spark to a lineup that can score from the 1-hole to the 9-hole.
When he got cleared, Mongero said he thought about putting him at the leadoff because they moved senior Blake Wood to the third slot. After Hank Noonan suffered some medical issues that sat him down for the remainder of the year, Tyler Motos got put in the leadoff, and Davis was second.
“He’s done exactly what we felt like he could do,” Mongero said. “He’s a gritty player. He’s tough. He’s a dirt dog, and he finds a way to get the barrel on the ball. So he’s done what we felt like he would do and provided a spark.
“Then with Blake and Tyler Devlin in the three-four hole now — they’re more in a position to drive in some runs. Brady has provided a spark, but he’s not the only one. Tyler Motos and numerous guys up and down the lineup, even Mancil in the 9-hole, turning the lineup back over to the top. So it’s worked well for us, and we’re going to stick with it and see if it can’t carry us even through the next round.”
Overcoming adversity has been one of Glynn’s mottos this year. From losing starting pitchers to getting into a funk, delaying the series against Westlake another day was just another notch on the adversity belt.
There was a ton of rain in that area, so the games got moved from Wednesday to Thursday, forcing the Terrors to stay cooped up in a hotel for another night after arriving Tuesday.
So what did the Terrors do? Mongero said they traveled to Buford to support the Glynn Academy’s girls soccer team in their state playoff game to get the guys out of the hotel and moving around.
That delay didn’t seem to bother the team as they manhandled Westlake in Game 1 and hung on to win a tight one in Game 2
“The guys showed up. We attacked them early and put them in a hole. They were never really able to recover, and we were able to win big in five,” Mongero said. “As with most state playoff doubleheaders, Game 2 is a totally different scenario, and it was.
“We’ve been in numerous one-run games all year, so we’d like to think that that played to our benefit. All the guys stepped up — we had numerous different guys stepping up doing different things, whether it’s pitching, hitting, fielding, getting a bunt down or making a big play. So it was a complete team effort.”
Glynn’s pitching was also part of the success as, once again, Tom Echols got the start for the Terrors in Game 1 and Blake Wood in Game 2. Shaun Munoz came in for relief in Game 2 and was able to hold off Westlake.
“Pitching sets the tone,” Mongero said. “It all starts with the mound and what we’re doing there. That’s literally the first piece of the puzzle when it comes to winning.”
Echols threw for five innings, giving up one run on two hits while striking out four batters. He also contributed at the plate, going 4-for-4 as well. Wood pitched the first three innings in Game 2, giving up three runs on three hits while striking out two batters. Munoz pitched the final four innings, giving up two runs on four hits while striking out five batters.
“We’re going to need all three pitchers to continue to pitch well if we want to move on past the Elite Eight into the Final Four,” Mongero said. “It’s no secret. Everybody’s got to continue to step up their game — that’s what state playoffs are all about.”
Despite breaking a 31-year drought, Mongero said, making it to the Elite Eight comes as no surprise to him and his team. If they didn’t make it this far, they would have been disappointed.
“We felt like we had a team last year that could get to the Elite Eight and possibly further. They didn’t get that chance,” Mongero said. “What they did do is they pass the torch through work ethic, commitment, team mindset, through discipline, putting in the work in the fall and the weight room and all of it. They passed that torch on to this group.
“These guys are very talented within themselves. Our non-region schedule early on — Baseball at the Beach — where we try to play the best possible opponents we can face. We do play in a good region, a very good region. All that prepares, it battle tests you — it gets you ready. We’re going to go compete our rear ends off and see if we can’t keep this train rolling into the Final Four, but it’s not going to be an easy task.”
Glynn Academy will take on another top-seeded team in Allatoona on Tuesday making the trip to North Georgia again. Game 1 is set for 4 p.m., with Game 2 to follow. If there is a need for Game 3, it’ll be on Wednesday at 4 p.m.