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The Grace Christian Academy Cougars baseball program made history on Monday night as they opened the 2023 season in their brand new baseball facilities on Faceville Highway. Named after Chuck Miller and the Miller Family, the festivities began Monday afternoon as the Miller family threw out the first pitch to open the 2023 season and the new complex. Not only was it a groundbreaking night for the Cougars and the Miller family, but the Cougars capped it off by opening the season with a 3-0 win against Southwest Georgia Academy.

The opening pitch was especially significant as GCA elementary student Paxton Miller, threw a strike of a first pitch to his cousin Beau Adams, who plays for Southwest Georgia Academy but regardless of the colors, it was a family affair to open the new complex.

Led by first year head coach Ryan Riles, the Cougars defense was the star of the show on Monday night as they shutout the Southwest Georgia Academy hitters. Aiden Whittaker took the mound for the Cougars and was dominant from the start as he struck out the first batter he faced. Whittaker remained consistent throughout the night as he threw five shutout innings, striking out eight batters and only allowing one hit.

It was a pitchers duel on both sides on Monday night as both pitchers combined to strike out 13 batters. The Cougars bats did just enough to get the job done as they made some noise in the fifth inning as Graham Beckham and Landon Temples each picked up a pair of base hits to put runners in scoring position.

After capitalizing on pass balls and savvy base running, the Cougars were able to get runners across the plate and close SGA out with a 3-0 win as the Cougars start their season 1-0. Head Coach Ryan Riles was pleased with the defense his team showed and knows they must remain consistent in their defensive approach and get better each day.

“It’s a great way to start off the season,” said Riles. “I am going to continue to push defensively at practice and really challenge them to be more aggressive at the plate. Aiden was dialed in on the mound and Keith came in and shut it down. Overall it was a great win.”