The Lake Oconee Academy baseball team (11-1, 5-0) entered the week ranked No. 5 in Class A Division II.
The Titans are off to their hottest start in the program’s short history, and after Tuesday’s 10-4 throttling of Washington-Wilkes, they have won eight straight games heading into Friday’s home doubleheader with the Tigers.
Lake Oconee Academy is clicking on all cylinders at the midpoint of the season. Second-year head coach Mark Miller wants his players to keep their eyes on the prize and not get complacent with the top-five ranking.
“The ranking just means people are voting for us based on our record. We tell our guys that it doesn’t mean a lot until the end of the season. And hopefully, we’ll come out on the other end being number one,” Miller said. “It is something for the guys to understand where we were as a program and where we would like to always be.”
The Titans’ pilgrimage to be near the top of the state’s rankings has been tough, but they’ve done what was needed.
Last week, Lake Oconee Academy swept a solid Aquinas team in a doubleheader. Both games were very close.
In game one, the Titans scored three runs in the third inning thanks to RBI doubles from Jon Funderburke and Will Moore. Trace Wood was almost perfect on the mound, but the Fighting Irish tied the game in the top of the seventh. The Titans then won 4-3 as Cam Kelley had a walk-off single in the bottom half of the inning.
In game two, Aquinas led 2-0 until the bottom of the third when LOA plated four runs to take the lead. Ike O’Neal, Funderburke, Ian Watson, and Moore had RBI hits, giving the Titans a 4-2 advantage. They never surrendered the lead as Funderburke silenced the Fighting Irish’s bats and the offense scored two more runs.
LOA’s momentum carried into Tuesday as it knocked off Washington-Wilkes. The Titans never trailed, either. They scored two runs in the top of the first and added six more in the third, taking an 8-0 lead to the fourth.
LOA’s offense, which finished with 17 hits, plated more runs to reach its total of 10 in the fifth.
O’Neal, Moore, Watson, Hayden Brown, Dylan Hiter, and Ty Hiter all had multi-hit games on Tuesday.
Funderburke started on the mound, giving his team five complete innings. The freshman gave up two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts and only three walks. Dylan Hiter and Maddox Robinson closed out the game.
According to Miller, he’s seen Wood, Moore, and Funderburke have all made big strides this season for his squad. They’ve each given the team a boost in different ways and have contributed to the season’s overall success.
Funderburke is the team’s 3-hole hitter and has been solid on the mound. Wood is another strong arm, proving to be effective with 16 strikeouts against Aquinas. Moore is the team’s catcher and is hitting near .500.
“They’ve been contributing in different ways,” Miller said. “That’s what you like to see as a coach.”
LOA still has two more games against Washington-Wilkes. The series winner between the Titans and Tigers will likely decide the region champion. Miller needs his guys to lock in for the series and the rest of the year.
He wants his players to attack the day and take their schedule one game at a time.
“We’d like to be ranked in the top of the state every year so our program is known for winning baseball,” Miller said. “We don’t put a lot of emphasis on it, but it’s nice to be recognized. Our job is to win today, though. That’s the biggest thing.”