How many times have CCA Patriot fans watched Blake Bryant throw a gem of a game then witnessed Thomas Gentry nearly duplicate that feat in the next game? It’s happened more often than not.
And it happened again Friday morning at J.I. Clements Field on the Georgia Southern University campus in Statesboro.
With Gentry on the mound, the Patriots defeated the David Emanuel Academy Eagles 5-2 in the GIAA Class A state finals. With the win came CCA’s second consecutive state championship and the fourth in school history.
Though there were a couple of tense moments, the Patriots were never really in trouble Friday morning. Gentry scattered five hits across seven innings, giving up two runs (one earned) while striking out nine. He only walked two Eagles.
CCA scored its runs in the second and third innings. In the second, Jackson Knight singled with the bases loaded, scoring Mason Spivey and Bryant. Later in the inning, Gentry reached on a two-out single that scored Jonah Hall to give the Patriots a 3-0 lead.
An inning later, Bryant scored on groundout by Hall. Then, again with two outs, Williams singled, driving in Spivey in the process. CCA staked a 5-0 lead and wouldn’t score again the rest of the game.
The Eagles weren’t going to go quietly. In the fourth, Brody Fleming scored on a Cooper Riner single to cut the lead to 5-1.
The sixth, however, is where the Patriots found themselves in the most difficulty. After singles by Fleming and Tucker Free, Richard Braddy bunted to Gentry, who threw him out at first. But Fleming went to third and Free advanced to second, putting two runners in scoring position with one out and the tying run at the plate. Riner was up next and he hit a fly ball out to Williams in center for the second out of the inning. Fleming tagged from third and scored. Free was unable to advance and remained at second. That brought Layton Terwilliger to the plate with a chance to do some real damage. He laced a line drive to Williams that looked like it might be problematic. But Williams made an improbable diving catch for an inning-ending (and rally-killing) final out.
In the seventh, the Eagles managed to put two runners on base but couldn’t capitalize. Gentry struck out the fifth batter of the inning for the game-winning (and championship-clinching) third out.
“This championship means everything because it’s what we worked for. I mean, it’s not just a three-month season, it’s a 12-month season. And we worked really hard for this and I’m really glad we got the opportunity to do it with these teammates,” said Gentry.
Hall was 2-4 with a run and an RBI. Gentry was 2-4 with an RBI. Bryant and Spivey scored twice. Bryant also stole three bases.
“This is everything. I’m just glad to be here with my teammates and my coaches who have had my back this whole season and my whole career. I couldn’t be happier,” said Bryant.
“This is what we set out to do from the beginning of the year. We had our goals and the first goal was competing every game. The second goal was winning our region championship. And then that third goal — we were here and we got it done. And I’ll tell you this, these seniors, that’s what it’s about. I’m just happy and proud of those guys,” said head coach Jeremy Coram.
The Patriots finished the season with a 30-2 record. During these two state title runs, CCA has amassed a 53-9-2 mark. Their region record the last two seasons is 17-1. The 2026 team has six seniors – Luke Russ, Skyler Woods, McLean, Bryant, Williams, and Knight – but has a core group of returning underclassmen, including Gentry, who have significant playing (and championship) experience.
Caitlyn Mulvihill contributed to this report.
