Newnan wins 5-A State Baseball Championship with sweep of Houston County

Pictured above: The Newnan Cougars celebrate their 5-A State Title on Monday night after sweeping Houston County. (GHSA Photo)

From Staff Reports

The Newnan High Cougars won their second state championship in school history on Monday night by capturing the GHSA Class 5-A crown with a 3-1, 11-1 sweep of Houston County at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville.

The Cougars, under the direction of head coach Marc Gilmore, finished the season with a sterling 32-5 record. That mark also included a perfect Region 3-5A slate.

Newnan lost just once during the 5-A State Playoffs as it disposed of Decatur (14-4, 4-0), Lassiter (13-0, 8-2), Habersham Central (2-1, 2-4, 6-2) and River Ridge (9-1, 2-1) along the way to the 2025 title.

It’s the second state championship for the Cougars who also claimed the 1991 4-A crown after sweeping Walton in the final series.

Cougars sophomore Hayes Maginnis struck out 10 in getting the complete game win in the opener on Monday night. He gave Newnan a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly, then Brodie Campbell added a RBI-single to push the margin to 2-0. Caleb Lamb’s sacrifice bunt pushed across the final run to give the Cougars a 3-1 edge in the sixth inning.

In the nightcap, Newnan plated seven runs in the fourth inning to extend its 4-1 lead to 11-1. The Cougars won in five innings forcing the 10-run mercy rule. Jaden Hill also went the distance in the second game to pick up the victory with five strikeouts.