Weekly news and notes for week ending March 5, 2016

Posted 3/6/16

 

By Tim Morse

Georgia Dugout Preview

 

With just the third week of the Georgia High School baseball season completed, several pitchers across the state appear to be in midseason form.

Gainesville High's Jonathan Gettys hurled his third career no-hitter last Wednesday in a 10-0 victory over Apalachee in a game that was shortened by the mercy rule. Gettys struck out 13 in five innings and issued just one walk. 

Houston County pitcher Tanner Hall struck out 15 and allowed just two hits in a 5-0 victory over Northside-Warner Robins last Friday.

Schley County's Michael Leeder struck out 11 in a perfect game 10-0 victory over Webster County last Friday.

 

One of the more prestigious national tournaments will be played this weekend in Emerson at Lakepoint with the Perfect Game High School Showdown. The tournament runs Thursday through Saturday.

Buford, Cartersville, Hillgrove, Houston County, McEachern, Mountain View and Parkview will represent Georgia in the tournament.

Class AAAAAA

East Coweta is off to a 7-1 start. The Indians recorded a key 4-3 victory over Troup last week. Pitcher Thomas Leone and Mason Frady held Troup to three runs on seven hits in the victory.

After a loss to Collins Hill last Saturday, Parkview rebounded to beat Cartersville, Mill Creek and Marist to improve to 3-2. ... Milton dropped its first game last week to North Forsyth. ... Lee County, Lakeside-Dekalb and Walton are the last three unbeaten teams in Class AAAAAA.

Class AAAAA

Defending Region 7-AAAAA champion Forsyth Central could be the team to beat again. The Bulldogs defeated Cambridge, previously ranked 10th, three times last week. Parker Morrison earned the victory in a 6-2 win on Monday, then a three-run sixth inning helped Ethan Hankins to a 6-3 victory before the Bulldogs made the most of just two hits in a 7-3 victory to earn Ryan Cox the victory.

Dalton is off to a 5-1 start in coach Rhett Parrott's first season. The Catamounts' only loss was a 6-2 setback to Gordon Lee. ... Greenbrier named its field Terry Holder Field Saturday, honoring the coach who won three consecutive titles from 1997-99 in its first three years of existence.

Class AAAA

Locust Grove was the 2015 Region 4-AAAA champions last year and advanced to the state quarterfinals before getting swept by eventual state champion Buford. The Wildcats exacted a little bit of revenge last Monday when Gavin Lee's three-run homer sent Locust Grove to a 3-0 victory. Ethan Lindow, Odlanier Rodriguez and Nolan Crisp allowed Buford just two hits.

It wasn't a good end of the week for Troup, who dropped a pair of games to East Coweta and Northside-Columbus. That was after the Tigers scored a 5-1 victory over arch-rival LaGrange last Monday. Miles Cameron drove in three while Winston Turner and Colby Darda combined to allow LaGrange just a run on three hits.

A pair of Southwest Georgia schools are off to quick starts. Cairo is 8-0, while Bainbridge is 9-1. ... Cartersville's normally front-loaded schedule is no different this season. The Hurricanes have lost to Class AAAAAA powers Lambert, Johns Creek and Parkview and are 1-3 so far. ... Madison County could give Region 8-AAAA favorite Buford a stiff test this season. The Red Raiders are off to a 7-0 start.

Class AAA

Blessed Trinity has picked up from where it left off from last year. The two-time defending state champions are off to a 6-0 start and defeated Lambert, Pope and St. Pius X. Hayden Lehman and John Michael Bertrand combined to allow just a run on three hits in a 5-1 victory over St. Pius X last Friday.

First-year coach Dwayne Sapp has Dawson County off to a 6-1 start. The former North Oconee coach took over this season and has recorded a victory over state runner-up Jefferson. ... Appling County was the Region 1-AAA favorite, but a trio of other schools are off to strong starts. Pierce County (8-1), Dodge County (6-1) and Tattnall County (7-1) all have just one loss apiece. ... Franklin County has established itself as perhaps the team to beat in Northeast Georgia. The Lions have beaten Stephens County, Hart County and Elbert County two times each.

Class AA

Wesleyan lost a wealth of talent after winning the Class AA title last year. But the Wolves appear to be picking up where they left off last season. Wesleyan is 8-0 and took down Providence Christian 6-3, South Effingham 3-1 and defeated Benedictine 8-5 in Savannah on Saturday. Andy Archer earned the victory but he got enough offense to help him. Colin Hall, Mikey Olson and Michael Payne each had two hits. Olson had a three-run homer and finished with four RBIs. Chase Marini went 3 for 4 with a homer and a trio of RBIs for Benedictine.

The hottest team in Class AA may be Jeff Davis. Most believed Region 2-AA would be a two-team race between Benedictine and Bacon County, however, Jeff Davis is 8-1 and beat Statesboro, Appling County and Colquitt County last week.

Class A public

Charlton County outdueled Commerce in a key early-season battle Saturday. The Indians won 7-4 behind junior Austin Knowles who allowed six hits and four runs (one earned) to outduel Commerce's Cole Chancey. Knowles helped himself with a triple and a pair of RBIs, while Andrew Chesser added a double and a pair of RBIs.

A team to keep an eye on is Baconton Charter. The Blazers are off to 7-1 start, including a 9-8 victory over Class AAAA's Worth County last Thursday. Worth is the only team to beat Baconton. Brooks Pinson and Will Bush each had doubles and a pair of RBIs in the victory over Worth County.

Taylor County is off to an 8-0 start and Portal is 5-0. ... Top-ranked Schley County lost its first game last week when the Wildcats fell to Class AAAAA Hardaway.

Class A private

For those who thought Kings Ridge Christian lost too much talent to contend, the Tigers showed they are still among the state's elite when they took down top-ranked Hebron Christian 7-3 Saturday in nine innings. Michael Wein's RBI double broke a 3-all tie. Lawson Hill, Kyle Brnovich, Trey Parker and John Byrnes collected two hits apiece to lead Kings Ridge. Hill added a triple.

A pair of one-run losses hurt Eagles Landing Christian this week. The Chargers lost to George Walton 8-7 and Hebron Christian 2-1. ... Savannah Christian beat Metter 9-3 last Monday to earn coach Carl Carter his 500th coaching victory at the school. ... Tattnall Square took down a pair of higher-classification schools in Crisp County and Archer on Saturday.