ST. SIMONS ISLAND — Tiftarea Academy was right with their opponent in both baseball games Saturday, but No. 1-ranked Frederica Academy advanced to the Final Four in GIAA Class 3A.

Tiftarea, which shook off a tough start in 2025, finishes 12-16.

Frederica broke out of late-inning ties in both contests. They won the opener, 11-7, after plating four in the fifth. Game two saw the Knights score six in the top of the seventh, breaking a 3-3 score.

Tiftarea hit two homers in the first contest, one from a very unexpected source — Ridley Monk.

After Frederica went up 5-0 in the first, Monk cut it to 5-4 on a three-run blast that also scored Jackson Gray and Reed Jackson. It was Monk’s first homer of the year.

Robert Garner hit a solo shot in the third for the Panthers to trail 6-5. Later in that frame, Gray drove in Dawson Butler to tie.

It was 7-7 in the fifth when Pax Fernandez scored on an error. Frederica scored four in the bottom half, then held off the Panthers the rest of the way.

Monk drove in three and Gray, two. Winston Lamb struck out five.

FREDERICA 9, PANTHERS 3

Tiftarea went up 3-0 in the second. They watched Frederica chip away to tie in the fourth. Neither gained an advantage in the next two innings before the Knights exploded in the seventh to take the series.

Jackson and William Garner had RBIs. A balk brought home Jackson.

Robert Garner held Frederica at bay until running out of pitches in the sixth inning. He struck out seven for the night.

Frederica limited Tiftarea to four hits for the contest, two by John Jackson.