Walton captured its first GHSA state baseball championship since 2016 Tuesday night by sweeping Lowndes in the GHSA best-of-three Class 6A state championship series at Coolray Field. (Photo credit: Georgia High School Association)

GHSA Class 6A: Walton sweeps Lowndes for state title

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Walton High won its first Georgia High School Association state baseball championship since 2016 with a best-of-three series sweep of two-time defending state champion Lowndes Tuesday night at Coolray Field in the Class 6A state championship series.

It was the fourth title in school history for the Raiders (35-9).

Walton took a 7-0 victory in the opener, then rallied for a 10-3 victory in the nightcap to dethrone the two-time defending champs who were seeking to become the first state baseball program to win three consecutive titles in the state's highest classification since Parkview won three-in-a-row from 2018-2021 (the 2020 season was canceled by Covid-19).

In Game 1, Walton starter Hyland Brown hurled a three-hit shutout to stifle the Vikings. Brown needed just 93 pitches to cut down the two-time defending state champions.

Walker Killimett's RBI single highlighted a two-run first inning and the Raiders never looked back. Killimett, Parker Dastou and Matthew Haber paced the Raiders' 10-hit offensive attack.

In Game 2, Lowndes (28-13) grabbed an early 3-0 lead in the first inning. The highlight was an RBI double from Noah Burnham and a two-run single from Tyler Parker. But that was all Lowndes could manage as Walton pitchers Josh Segel and Ahren Smith combined to shut down the Vikings.

Walton overcame its early deficit by plating six runs in its half of the first inning highlighted by Killimett's RBI triple and RBI singles from Dastou, Haber, Wyatt Reuter and Todd Haley.