It’s been five years since the Buford baseball team reached the semifinals, but that doesn’t mean the Wolves are playing like they’ve never been here before.
Entering today’s Class AA semifinals against Appling County, Buford (27-3) has swept the first three series of the postseason, needing six innings or fewer to win four of the six games. So far in the playoffs, the Wolves are outscoring their opponents 73-14.
“It’s a little bit of a concern as a coach because it has come a little too easy,” Buford coach Tony Wolfe said. “That’s the great thing about having nine seniors. They’re focused on winning the whole thing.”
Pitching and defense is also leading Buford to blowout wins, as the Region 6-AA champions have allowed one run or fewer five times. The Wolves’ 11-8 win over Pierce County in the quarterfinals was the first game they allowed more than three runs.
“They’re still hungry for more,” Wolfe said. “They want to finish this year right.”
Buford, which hasn’t lost since April 15, is riding an 11-game win streak entering today’s doubleheader against the Pirates (22-10, No. 2 Region 2-AA), a team with extensive postseason experience compared to Buford.
Appling County has reached the playoffs every year since 2006, but this is the deepest it has gone in program history, despite playing with just three seniors on the roster.
“We’ve got a class of nine juniors who are pretty good,” Appling County coach Jeremy Smith said. “They’re a good group who have played together for a long time.”
This is the third straight series the Pirates have faced a No. 1 seed, as they swept Dodge County in the second round and beat Hart County in three games during the quarterfinals.
“They’ve won on the road two straight weeks, and they’re playing with a lot of confidence,” Wolfe said. “They’re solid all the way through.”
Wolfe is most concerned with junior Byron Buxton, who struck out five of the last six batters he faced in a Game 1 win against Hart County in the quarterfinals. Buxton (6-0, 2.00 ERA) leads the Pirates with nine home runs and a .558 batting average.
“Apparently he’s the real deal on the mound and at the plate,” Wolfe said of Buxton, who is commited to Georgia. “We haven’t faced a team with a player like that in the playoffs. He’s going to be a challenge.”
The Wolves have their own challenges, especially seniors Jake Heddinger and Jake Burnette, who are both signed to play at Georgia Tech. Burnette is slated to start Game 1, while Heddinger is slated to start Game 3 if necessary.
Junior Sam Clay will take the mound in Game 2, as Wolfe plans to stick with his normal rotation.
“We’ll lean a lot on those guys to keep us in it,” Wolfe said. “But our strength all year has been our depth on offense and in the pitching staff.
“We’re looking for the whole team to contribute.”
The Wolves ended a three-year playoff drought last year, but they were eliminated in the second round by Pike County. Buford reached the final four in 1980, 1985, 2005 and 2006, and it reached the state title game in 1970, 1977 and 1978. The lone baseball title came in 1977.
Appling County is trying to advance to its first state title game, but Smith knows it won’t be easy.
“We’re just going to go after them the best way we can,” he said. “We’ll try and do some little things to put pressure on them.
“We’re going to attack them like we’ve done the last two weeks.”