With Brookwood and Wesleyan having wrapped up their respective classification's state championship Friday, the high school baseball season
has officially come to an end.

Still, there is one question that lingered even longer than both team's celebrations following their respective sweeps Friday night.

If it were possible to set up one last matchup between the Broncos and the Wolves for the unofficial Gwinnett County (and with all due respect to
Loganville, Cartersville and Pacelli, perhaps the state all-classification) championship, who would win?

The whispers were circulating throughout the postseason, just as it was during football season (the great Buford vs. North Gwinnett debate) and boys
basketball season (Norcross vs. Wesleyan). In fact, they really were louder than mere whispers in some cases.

Well, we'll never really know for sure, but it's fun to try to answer the burning question. So, let the speculation begin.

First, let's try to set a few parameters before we get too far into it. For starters, we are talking a best-of-three series like any other playoff
series, and not just a one-game, winner-take-all situation (baseball is more suited for the former, rather than the latter).

Secondly, it doesn't seem fair for either team to have a home-field advantage, especially Wesleyan. Given the cozy confines of Donn Gaebelein
Field and the way both teams hit, the two pitching staffs might be put at too much of a disadvantage. So, we've got to find a neutral site to play
this game in.

Given the interest this series might generate, the future stadium for the Gwinnett Braves in Buford would be perfect. But since construction won't be
done for about another nine months or so, that's out.

While I don't think many of the high school fields around the county would be able to hold enough fans to meet the demand, Fathers Field at Mill Creek
might be a good fit. It's pretty equidistant from both schools, and the dimensions (320 feet to the corners, about 350 to the alleys and 370 to straightaway center) are close to ideal for a high school park.

OK, with those caveats out of the way, let's look at the matchups. Offense - Pretty even. Both teams are strong 1-9 in the batting order, put the ball in play often and have plenty of power. And both are built more on the three-run homer than manufacturing runs (though both seem capable of doing so, if necessary). It's hard to match Wesleyan's version of Murderer's Row, but Brookwood's propensity for coming up big in the clutch makes them a formidable foe.

Pitching - This might be the most intriguing matchup, especially a potential opening duel between aces Grayson Garvin of Wesleyan and Chase Hawkins of Brookwood (a matchup we may see someday in the SEC depending on what happens this week in the draft). Both have shown the ability to matchup with a top-notch counterpart, with Garvin having beaten fellow draft prospect Michael Palazzone of Lassiter in the season opener, while Hawkins outlasted Walton's Mark Pope last Friday.

Garvin's late-season arm soreness is a dynamic that could change things, though Wesleyan's depth may balance that out, with Devin Stanton, Ben Tucker, Drew Fithian, Phil Freeman and a now healthy Brooks Colquitt having thrown significant innings this season.

By contrast, Brookwood is set with its rotation of Hawkins, Alex Beebe and Matt Adams, and can turn to Michael Brown to close out games. Outside of that nucleus, however, the Broncos have few pitchers who saw much action this year, which provides a significant X factor if they have to go to the bullpen early in a game.

Defense - Both teams are solid in the field and provide at least one guy - Wesleyan shortstop Connor Winn and Brookwood centerfielder Ryan Lewis - who can make a huge difference.

Coaching - Hard to argue with any move the Broncos' Rick Howard or the Wolves Mike Shaheen made this season.

Conclusion - It's going to sound like a cop out, but it's hard for me to pick one of these teams. If someone forced me to make a decision, I may have to go with Brookwood, only because I've seen the Broncos more than I saw Wesleyan this season, and I have a better frame of reference with them. But how do you pick against a team that hit about 70 home runs and has four Division I college signees, including one of the most dominating pitchers in the state?

One thing is certain. While only Brookwood has been mentioned in the three major national rankings this season, both deserve to be there now. While it remains to see if the pollsters have been paying attention, but let's see what our reader's think. Who wins this fictional dream series?

Final reminder for our coaches

It's been a blast of a first season for me covering Gwinnett baseball. The only business left is our all-county team.

Coaches, most of you should have already received an e-mail from me about nominations for our team. For those who haven't, please e-mail your nominees (and any relevent statistics) to me at
david.friedlander@gwinnettdailypost.com as soon as possible this week.

Also, we will be running our final county statistical leaders with the All-County team. So, if you have not yet sent in your final stats (including playoffs for those that qualified), please do so at the aforementioned e-mail address or by fax at (770) 339-8081, also as soon as possible.

And now, I'm rounding third and headed for home.