Benedictine baseball team ends season in state semifinal loss to North Oconee

A memorable season for the Benedictine baseball season came to an end on Thursday night in a fashion that has come to characterize Coach Jason Pascual's squad — with his team battling until the final out was recorded. North Oconee, the No. 1 ranked team in Class 4A, swept the host Cadets — taking the first game 6-2 and edging BC 2-1 in a second-game that came down to the wire.

BC's Joiner Uhrich kept the Cadets hopes alive in the top of the seventh when he lined a one-out single to right center. With two outs, junior Omari Burse had an infield single as Uhrich advanced to to third with the tying run. But North Oconee's Patrick Hassan came in to relieve Davis Roberson and retired the only batter he faced, fanning Cadet sophomore Noah Harris, who was thrown out at first to end the game.

Benedictine finished the season with a 31-8 record and reached the state semifinals for the first time since 2002, when Justin Thomas, now playing in the Houston Astros organization, led the way. North Oconee improved to 30-6 on the season and the Titans will face Kell (25-15) in a series starting with a double-header on Friday, May 22nd at a site to be announced. The Titans will be looking for the third state crown in school history — they won Class 4A crowns in 2022 and 2023.

The Cadets were coming off a remarkable come-from-behind win in Game 3 of a quarterfinal matchup with visiting Cambridge. BC trailed 8-1 in that game, and rallied to win 10-9 in eight innings as Burse went 3 for 5 with a pair of homers, four runs and five RBIs, while earning the win with six innings of stellar relief. In his third year leading the program, Pascual was emotional after the loss, but able to reflect on the great season his squad put together.