The Pickens baseball team not only continued its early-season success on the field but also achieved high praise off the field, as well. The Dragons moved their record to a perfect 7-0 on the year with three impressive wins last week. In doing so, they also achieved a first-ever team mark at Pickens. The Diamond Dragons became the first boys team in school history to ever be ranked #1 in a state coaches’ poll.
The Dragons moved up to the top spot in the AAA rankings thanks to victories over Pepperrell, Haralson County and North Atlanta as part of the Pickens Mountain Classic event that took place over a 10-day period. The Dragons, who are coming off a 32-7 record and the school’s first-ever Final Four appearance in 2025, have picked up right where they left off a year ago. What has been even more impressive is the difficult non-region schedule the Dragons have stacked up in 2026. Pickens will play a non-region slate that will feature eight of their nine non-region opponents that made the state tourney in 2025.
The first game of the week against Pepperell not only featured another team of Dragons but also brought a highly decorated team to Jasper. Pepperell lost to Gordon-Lee in the 2025 state finals and finished as a state runner-up. The homestanding Dragons pounded out nine hits and seven walks on the way to a 7-1 victory. Senior right-hander A.J. Rice pitched 6.0 innings and allowed only one hit while striking out 13. The Auburn-commit did not walk a batter and threw only 77 pitches on the night. Fellow senior Robert Turner closed out the game by pitching the seventh inning. The pair also performed at the plate as the duo posted two hits, two walks, three runs scored and four runs driven in. Fellow senior, Kam Jenkins, also had two hits with a run driven in while sophomore Truitt Grubbs contributed two hits to help round out the offensive attack.
Pickens continued to produce some big offense with a 10-0 win over Haralson County. The Dragons used another nine-hit night in a contest that lasted only 4 ½ innings due to the mercy rule. Turner and Jenkins each had a pair of hits while combining for two runs and three knocked in. Juniors Jennings Allen and Dawson Lowitt each had a hit and two runs driven in to cap the outburst. Juniors Jackson Nunn pitched 3.0 innings and struck out three while Tanner Bail fired 2.0 of hitless relief while also striking out three.
The Dragons finished off the week with a 7-3 win over a 6A opponent in North Atlanta. Another 10-hit game enabled Pickens to break open a tight game in the fifth inning. Rice paced the offense with two hits, two runs scored and three driven in while junior Jennings Allen and senior Christian Starks each had a pair of hits to lead the offense. Junior Everett Grubbs pitched 4.0 innings and allowed a pair of hits while striking out seven. Relievers M.T. Crenshaw, Chase Hulsey and Turner closed out the game by pitching the final 3.0 innings with Crenshaw earning the victory on the mound.
Pickens will only have two games this week as the Dragons played host to Ringgold Monday night and will travel to Fannin County on Saturday for a 12 p.m. first pitch. They will return home next week to start region play against White County. The Dragons will play host for a pair of games in the three-game series on Tuesday and Friday with 6 p.m. starts. Pickens will travel to Cleveland for the second game of the series on Thursday.
GEORGIA AAA STATE RANKINGS
1. PICKENS
2. Cherokee Bluff
3. Troup County
4. Peach County
5. Jefferson
6. West Laurens
7. North Hall
8. Harlem
9. Calhoun
10. Adairsville
