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SEHS prepares for region baseball tournament
Dalton Redmond
No. 2 Dalton Redmond slides into third base safely on a 2-RBI triple in the bottom of the 5th to give the Mustangs a 7-0 lead.
Published: Apr 2, 2025, 6:42 PM

By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald



GUYTON – The Region 1-5A crossover baseball tournament begins Thursday and for South Effingham and the other seven participants, it might as well be the start of the state playoffs.

The Mustangs (13-8) placed third in the South subregion and will travel to the North’s No. 2 seed Greenbrier (9-10) for a best-of-three series with a doubleheader Thursday and a third game, if necessary, on Friday.

The loser of the first-round series will be eliminated from a spot in the 5A state championships. Take away 2020 when COVID halted spring sports, South Effingham has not missed the state playoffs since 2012.

The Mustangs enter the region tournament after a series with Bradwell Institute, a struggling program that will be the only Region 1 team excluded from the tournament after finishing fifth in the subregion. Only the top four qualified from each side.

The region semifinals are scheduled for April 15 with the finals to be held April 17.

After Wednesday’s 10-0 victory, following the 22-1 blowout on Monday, Coach Jesse Osborne said the Bradwell series, despite lacking competitive games, still had its benefits.

“We’re trying to get the most out of every game and approach every at bat with an objective,” Osborne said. “We want to gain some momentum for the region tournament.”

Lawton Bowen
No. 7 Lawton Bowen takes 3rd base on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 3rd with the Mustangs leading 3-0. (Photos by Gilbert Miller/Effingham Herald.)
The first-round series is compelling. Greenbrier won 25 games and advanced to the Elite Eight at state in Class 5A a year ago before moving into the region this season.

The Wolfpack’s 2025 record is deceiving because nine of the 10 losses (four by one run and two by two runs) came against teams ranked in the top 10 of their classifications by ScoreAtlanta.

Greenbrier was swept in a three-game set by Effingham County, ranked seventh in Class 5A by ScoreAtlanta, but two losses were by a run.

The Wolfpack lost two games to Harlem (No. 1 in 3A), Morgan County (No. 1 in 2A) and Winder-Barrow (No. 8 in 5A).

South’s record also comes with a bit of deception. The Mustangs’ eight losses are by a total of 15 runs.

Only a 3-1 midseason stumble against Statesboro kept SEHS from a three-way tie for first with Glynn Academy and Brunswick.

Glynn, a squad that the Mustangs beat in two of their three meetings, eventually claimed the South subregion’s No. 1 seeding.

Brunswick finished second in the subregion and SEHS won the third game in that series, 13-2.

“The kids will be excited. They know the task at hand,” said Osborne about the region tournament.