Duluth, Alpharetta Split Two Games

It will take a third game to decide the second round state Class AAAAA baseball series between Duluth and Alpharetta. 

The teams split a doubleheader Wednesday at Alpharetta, setting up a decisive meeting between the two today (May 12) at Alpharetta at 5:55 p.m.

The Duluth Wildcats (20-11) took the opener 11-3, putting the game away with a 9-run second inning that was largely the result of some sloppy play and shaky pitching from the Alpharetta Raiders.

Alpharetta (17-12) came back in the second game, winning 5-2 behind an outstanding effort from starting pitcher Dmitri Kourtis, who also contributed one of three solo homers by the Raiders in the fourth inning that erased a slim Duluth lead.

Kourtis, who pitched a complete game in an Alpharetta victory over South Gwinnett in the first round, limited the Wildcats to three singles, none of which were sharply hit, and struck out eight. He walked just two and was never in serious trouble.

“The kid threw lights out,” Duluth coach Matt Champitto said of Kourtis, a Mercer signee. 

“I liked the way we came back,” said Alpharetta coach Steve Bohn. “The first game was by far the worst game we played all year; at least that was the worst inning we’ve played.”

The Wildcats put together four hits in the second inning of the opener, and were aided by two walks, three hit batters and a trio of Alpharetta errors.

Alpharetta starter Eric Nyquist, who did not pitch against South Gwinnett because of an ankle injury, retired only three batters, none of the seven he faced in the second inning. His throwing error on a bunt was one of a trio of costly Raider miscues in the inning, and reliever McCauley Bryant hit three of the first five batters he faced, leading to two more runs.

Edward Willemse had one of two singles that got the big inning started for Duluth and scored two of his three runs in the second. He also started a two-run fourth inning with his second hit of the game. Noah Hoback contributed two hits with runners on base, finishing with three hits and three RBI for the Wildcats.

Duluth starting pitcher John Clark was the beneficiary of the offensive output after seeing a solid effort in the Wildcats’ opener last week negated by a Wheeler shutout. Clark pitched a complete game, working around eight hits and a pair of walks.

Kenneth Reynolds had a run-scoring triple for the Raiders in a two-run third inning, and Bryant accounted for the final Alpharetta run with a homer in the sixth. 

The Wildcats scratched out a run without a hit in their first at bat of the second game, with leadoff hitter Evan Dumas scoring after reaching base on a third strike wild pitch. Duluth still led 1-0 after three innings when starting pitcher Zach Erwin suddenly was tagged for three home runs in a stretch of four batters.

“Our pitcher struggled with his location against three of their big hitters,” Champitto explained.

Reynolds tied the game with a liner over the right field fence, and Cameron Stadele launched a long fly ball down the left field line to make it 2-1. Kourtis followed with a blast to center and made the lead stand up when he went back to the mound.

Stadele drove in the final two runs for the Raiders, singling in Reynolds in the sixth and adding a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the seventh. He was 3-for-3 in the second game with 3 RBI.

Chris Rich, who pitched a complete game in Duluth’s clinching 6-2 victory over Marietta’s Wheeler, will get the start Thursday for the Wildcats, with Taylor Hall starting for the Raiders. Hall was the winning pitcher in the second game of Alpharetta’s series against South Gwinnett.

This is the first time Duluth has qualified for the state baseball playoffs since 1997. Alpharetta has made it to the playoffs four times since 2006, but has never progressed past the second round.

The winner of the series will play either Colquitt County or East Coweta in the quarterfinals, with the series scheduled to begin on Tuesday.