STATESBORO — The tone had been set through the first two games — whoever scored first eventually won.

Vidalia scored three times in the top of the first inning Wednesday at J.I. Clements Stadium. Kevin Cox made it hold up. 

Cox struck out nine, including the side in the bottom of the seventh, and the Indians downed Thomasville 7-0 in a decisive Game 3 of their Class AA state championship series. 

For the Bulldogs, the loss ended their season at 30-7 and denied them their first baseball state title since 1999. The Indians captured their third crown in school history and finished at 30-11.

“They’re a huge momentum team,” Thomasville coach Erik McDougald said of the Indians. “They were able to grab momentum and control pace of the game. We just didn’t get an opportunity to catch up or exert any pressure on our end.  

“We knew scoring would be important on our end. Unfortunately, we didn’t get that opportunity today.”

Vidalia scored first in Game 1, and put that game away with eight runs in the third. Thomasville answered right back, scoring four times in the top of the first in Game 2 en route to a 10-3 win.

After the Bulldogs’ Game 2 win Tuesday, the coaches and umpires met to determine and home and away team for Game 3. The coin flip result put Thomasville as the home team. 

That meant Vidalia got to bat first. 

That was OK by Indians coach Brent Korn.

“We lost the toss (Tuesday) night and as soon as I walked over here and told the coaches, I said, that’s a good thing — we can score first and get the momentum,” he said. “That first inning was huge for us.”

Cox gave up two hits — Jace Lowe’s first-inning single and Witt Wetherington’s infield single in the third. He issued two walks and retired 12 of the final 14 batters he faced.

Thomasville got just one runner as far as third, with Wetherington getting to the third with two outs in the sixth. Lowe’s single put runners on first and second with two outs in the first, but Cox got out of the jam with a strikeout.

The hit total was the lowest of the season for the Bulldogs since a March 10 3-0 loss to Lee County, when the Trojans held Thomasville to one hit.

Cox missed all of the 2021 season with Tommy John surgery and was thought lost for 2022 early in the campaign. While chasing after a foul pop-up, Cox, also a second baseman, hit a fence face-first. He suffered a broken jaw on the play and lost several teeth. 

“We didn’t know if he’d play again this year,” Korn said. “Couldn’t be happier for a kid to finish his high school career like he did. It’s just awesome.” 

Ty Dailey’s double to center brought in the first run, and Caden Spivey’s single to center made it 3-0. The Bulldogs couldn’t get an out of a rundown situation, and that extended the inning. Vidalia turned that into the final two runs of the rally.

“We felt OK after that,” McDougald said. “It was a matter of throwing up some goose eggs after that, and we did. We just couldn’t square anything up offensively and make anything happen. (Cox) did a real good job of pitching and kept us off balance. We just had a struggle at the plate today.”

Bulldogs starter Anderson Everett settled in from there and held the Indians in check until the fifth. The Indians loaded the bases with no outs, and Walker Moncus singled down the left-field line, chasing home two runners. Cox looped in a single to make it 6-0, and a sacrifice fly closed the scoring. 

Dailey was 2-for-3 and Bryson Whited also went 2-for-3 for the Indians. For the series, Dailey was 7-for-11 with four doubles and three RBIs. Cox drove in five runs. 

Wetherington had five hits in the series, including the only home run of the three games. Lowe added four hits and four RBIs. 

McDougald lauded his seniors for the examples they set for current and future Bulldogs.

“They have shown that, through hard work and perseverance and playing in a clean and efficient manner, they have set a precedent for these others to follow,” he said. “The best group of human beings doesn’t always win the game. This is a super group of kids. What they are going to do in the future and the way they played the game, they did it the right way. I’m so proud of what they’ve done and so proud of what they’re going to do.” 

McDougald said there were no regrets about how the season transpired, even if the Bulldogs didn’t win it all.

“It’s been an amazing opportunity to wear that diamond T,” the coach said. “We don’t walk away as a winner but we do walk away as a winner. We represented our community well. I still think we’re the city of champions.”