Appling County and Pierce County were finally able to settle the Class AA baseball championship as the Pirates won Game 3 and the state title, while Providence Christian and Charlton County split two games.

In the Class A state championship series, Providence Christian split two games with host Charlton County to force a Game 3 today. The Stars won Game 2 15-8 after losing Game 1 6-3.

The second game turned in the fifth inning when Providence Christian exploded for seven runs to take a commanding 13-7 lead. Austin Loyd and Max Broom each had two-run singles while Josh Carter and Eric Stahl also had RBIs.

Austin Golden had a homer and four RBIs in Game 2.

In Game 1, Charlton County started the top of the first inning with three straight hits. Drew Storen capped the rally with a two-run single to give the Indians a 2-0 lead.

In the third inning, the Stars tied the game on an RBI single by Loyd and a wild pitch. Two errors in the fifth allowed the Indians to re-take the lead at 3-2.

Chris Smith drilled a two-run homer in the sixth to break the game open. Smith also tossed a complete game for the Indians to earn the win with three earned runs on five hits. Smith struck out eight.

Stahl had an RBI single for Providence Christian.

Game 3 will be played tomorrow at 1 p.m. in Folkston.

Appling County 6, Pierce County 4: Byron Buxton tossed a complete game in Game 3 of the Class AA championship series and struck out 18 while scoring twice to lead Appling County (35-8) to the state title. The host Pirates scored four runs off Pierce County (30-9) starter Will Lowman, chasing the Game 1 winner after recording just one out. Devin Causey and Kyle Miller each drove in a pair of runs and Jeremy Ammons scored twice for the Pirates. Pierce County’s Cole Dowling scored a run and drove in two.

It is the first baseball state title in Appling County history.

Tags: Appling County, Pierce County, Charlton County, Providence Christian, GHSA baseball