Rockmart players douse head coach TC Boyd after the Yellow Jackets swept Franklin County to win the Georgia High School Association Class 2A state baseball championship at AdventHealth Stadium.
GHSA Class 2A State Championship Series: Rockmart sweeps past Franklin County
ROME, Ga. -- Trey Luke heaved one final pitch for a strikeout, pumped his fist, then was mobbed by his teammates.
Luke's complete-game shutout in Game 2 of the best-of-three Georgia High School Association Class 2A state baseball championship series propelled the Yellow Jackets to the state title Wednesday night at AdventHealth Stadium. The Jackets won both games by 6-0 scores.
Luke's six-hit shutout came on the heels of Game 1 starter Hunter Atkins' three-hit shutout. The left-handed pitchers helped Rockmart complete a 33-5 season, the best in school history, and the Jackets finished on a 19-game winning streak.
It was the second time in five seasons that Franklin County (30-13) finished as the state runner-up. The Lions lost in the 2021 Class 3A state championship series to North Hall.
Atkins set the tone for Rockmart in the opener, needing just 70 pitches to shut down the Lions in a game that lasted just one hour and 25 minutes. He allowed just four hits -- two coming from Franklin County star outfielder Ty Peeples.
The Yellow Jacket also did their share on offense to support Atkins, stringing together six runs on 12 hits. Atkins' RBI single highlighted a two-run first inning as the Jackets never looked back. They added three more in the third inning and another in the fourth innings to take a commanding lead.
Neyland Hulsey finished with three hits including an RBI double. Luke, Rob Yagyu and Atkins finished with two hits apiece in Game 1.
It took Rockmart a little time to get going in Game 2, but with Luke in control, the Jackets pushed a trio of runs across the plate in the third inning courtesy of an RBI single from Kason Zuker and a two-run single from Brax McBryde. They added one more in the fourth for a 4-0 advantage, then Atkins' RBI single in the sixth highlighted a two-run inning that gave Rockmart some insurance runs.