The state baseball playoffs don't begin until May 6, but for the Roswell baseball team, they began a week earlier.

On Friday, the Hornets welcomed North Forsyth onto their home field and both teams were very aware of one thing: the winner moves on to the playoffs, the loser sees their season end.

Unfortunately for Roswell, they got the latter part of the deal. Despite 3.1 perfect innings pitched to start the game Payton Smith, the Hornets fell to the Raiders 5-1.

"[The playoff berth] was in our hands and we didn't do it," a somber Mike Power said after the game.

Roswell got on the board first in the bottom of the first when Drew Davis put down a perfect sacrifice bunt that scored Chad Woodhead. Woodhead had earlier reached base on a double, he then advanced to third on a wild pitch to setup up Davis' bunt.

Unfortunately for Roswell, Woodhead's run would be the only one the Hornet's would score and his hit would be one of only three on the day for the team.
Through three innings, it looked like Roswell's lone first inning run might be enough for the win because Hornet starter Payton Smith had a perfect game going. However, North Forsyth's Tyler Riddle ended the perfect game bid in the fourth with a solo home run that knotted the game up at 1.

"Payton did a great job, he kept us in the game," Hornet coach Mike Power said afterward. "He gave us an opportunity to win, we just never got on track offensively."

The Raiders then tacked on one more run in both the fifth and seventh innings, along with two in the sixth that accounted for the final score.

Roswell threatened to score in the fourth, fifth and sixth; they had a runner in scoring position with one out or less in each of the three innings, but they were never able to capitalize. "When you have runner's in scoring position – especially in a pitcher's duel – you have to score them," Power said.

Roswell ends their season with a record of 11-13.