Baseball Blog: Lowndes quest for a third-straight state title stays alive with sweep over Etowah

The back-to-back state champion Lowndes Vikings are back in the state championship for third consecutive season as they swept the reigning Class 6A state champion Etowah as they took down the Eagles 4-3 in game one followed by a 4-1 victory in game two.

The Vikings were able to get their loss back from early February when Etowah defeated Lowndes 9-3 in its first game of the season.

Lowndes moves to 8-1 in the 2025 postseason, with its only loss coming to Cherokee in game two of their series.

Against Etowah in game one, the Vikings had to come back from a deficit to take the first game of the series as Lowndes found themselves in a 2-0 lead early on in the game. Etowah found themselves up 2-0 in the first inning before Trevor Condons solo shot in the second inning gave them a 3-1 lead, responding to the Vikings scored run.

Following Coleman Lewis single in the third inning to make it a 3-2 ball game, Lowndes found some life at the plate fifth inning as the Vikings took a 4-3 lead thanks to Cason Fletchers RBI single and Noah Burnhams sacrifice bunt as two Viking runs gave them the lead late in the fifth, proving to be the difference in the game.

Garrett Moon was the star of the show for the Vikings in game two as he was on the mound the entire game, totaling 97 pitches and allowing only three hits and an earned run.

The scoring from the Vikings came earlier than game one as they were able to put runs on the board in the second inning thanks to an Etowah error. The third inning featured an RBI-single from Hank Drew, extending the Vikings lead. The Vikings scored one more run each in the fourth and sixth innings as they held on for a 4-1 lead.

Lowndes will now face the winner of Walton and North Gwinnett as the two baseball powerhouses split their semifinals series with a decisive game three happening at 5 p.m. today. The Class 6A state championship will be held at Coolray Field at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20 as the Vikings seek a third-straight state championship.