How Benedictine baseball team matches up in state semis with highly regarded North Oconee

After winning a pair of tough battles in three-game series against Troup County and Northwest Whitfield, the Benedictine baseball team is back in a familiar spot in the GHSA state semifinals.

The Cadets (30-6) will host North Oconee (35-1) in a rematch of last year's Class 4A semifinal matchup when BC went to Bogart and swept the Titans. Senior star Carter Holton, now a freshman standout at Vanderbilt, led the way on the mound and at the plate.

The best-of-three series starts with a doubleheader at BC set for 1 p.m. Saturday, May 14. If a Game 3 is needed, it will be Monday at 3 p.m.

By the way: Benedictine's Justin Thomas ready for last playoff run with plenty of MLB teams watching

More baseball:How veterans led Benedictine to oust Troup County, advance to state semifinals

The Titans also lost their star to graduation, as Bubba Chandler signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates after being drafted in the third round of the 2021 MLB draft.

North Oconee is ranked as the No. 9 team in the country (and the top-ranked team in Georgia) by Baseball America, as the Titans are blessed with a wealth of pitching talent.

Left-hander Andrew Arnold and Ben Stuart have both signed with Georgia Southern, and Stiles Begnaud has signed with Brown, with Cole Evilsizor and Justin Byrd headed to play at USC Aiken. The Titans have five pitchers who touch 89 mph, according to PerfectGame.org, led by Gavin Black (Florida Southwestern State), who has been clocked at 93 mph.

Benedictine has some star power of its own led by senior center fielder Justin Thomas, who has signed with UGA and has major league scouts at every game he plays. Thomas is hitting .522 with a 1.783 OPS. He has 13 doubles, five triples and a school-record 16 homers with 70 runs scored and 53 RBI. He also covers center field with the speed of a gazelle.

"We know North Oconee has some good arms, but it's nothing we haven't seen before," Thomas said. "If we play our style of baseball, we have a great chance to win."

Pressing on: How Benedictine baseball team is pressing on after Carter Holton moved on to Vanderbilt

Seeing success:What's behind the success of Benedictine baseball? The Farmer family is at the foundation

Sophomore Parker McCoy has emerged as one of the top players in the state, hitting .505 with a 1.558 OPS. He has 16 doubles, five triples, eight home runs and 68 RBIs, and he's the BC ace with a record of 9-1 and ERA of 0.714.

"We're expecting a battle from North Oconee," McCoy said. "But we know we have the team to win it if we play our best."

Freshman Landon Ludwig has been an impact player for BC. As the No. 2 starter, he's compiled a 6-0 record with a 2.12 ERA. Senior Kam Edge, the standout shortstop who has signed to play football at Army, has been clutch as the Game 3 starter in the playoffs. Edge has a 5-0 record and an ERA of 1.65.

Third baseman Ben Hollerbach (.393 BA, 39 runs, 34 RBIs) and second baseman Charles Pulaski (.326, 25 RBIs) provide excellent senior leadership. Pulaski is headed to Berry College to play baseball, while Hollerbach will be a preferred walk-on as a defensive back on the Georgia Tech football team.

BC coach Kevin Farmer is a veteran coach with a pair of state titles since taking over at Benedictine in 2013, to go along with the two state championships he won previously at Calvary Day.

"We'll celebrate this win and then start to prepare for North Oconee tomorrow," Farmer said Tuesday after the Cadets beat Troup County 7-3 in the deciding Game 3 of the series. "We know they are a great team with excellent pitching. We're hoping it's going to be a great series."

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN