Weekly news and notes (February 17, 2019)

Posted 2/17/19

Fannin County's Chandler Kendall (2) steals third base in a game against Riverwood in the

Baseball at the Beach Tournament on Feb. 16 at Brunswick High School.

Editors Note: Coaches are encouraged to submit their week's best performances to be included in this column each week. Submissions (by school officials only), must be submitted by 10 a.m. each Sunday to be included in the notebook. Submissions must be sent to georgiabaseball2006@yahoo.com.

Westside's Barnes going for win No. 900 this week

Westside (Augusta) High School coach Gerald Barnes won three games last week to push his all-time wins total to 899. Barnes and Westside will get a chance for No. 900 on Tuesday when the Patriots meet Richmond County rival Laney on Tuesday.

Barnes, who has spent his entire varsity career in Richmond County, is looking to become just the second coach in Georgia High School baseball history to record 900 or more wins. The Georgia Dugout Club Hall of Fame coach can join Saint Anne-Pacelli coach Bobby Howard with another victory. Howard, who entered the season with 985 wins after leading Columbus High School to 12 state titles during his tenure, currently has 987 victories after the Vikings won a pair of games during the opening week.

Class 7A

In a 13-3 victory over Central Gwinnett on Feb. 11, Discovery High pitcher Mark McGuire allowed just one earned run. He also went 2-for-3 at the plate with two triples and four RBIs.

Class 6A

In a 3-2 victory over Ware County on Feb. 11, Coffee High pitcher Wes Lott struck out 14 and allowed just three hits and a walk in seven innings of work. He threw just 92 pitches. Meanwhile, freshman Brady Skipper went 2-for-2 at the plate with three stolen bases and scored a run in his varsity debut.

Lanier opened its season with a 17-9 victory over Johns Creek on Feb. 11. Dylan Leahy earned the victory on the mound, while Jake Ludwig led the offense, going 4-for-5 with two doubles, a run and five RBIs. Jadyn Jackson finished 3-for-5 with an RBI, while Chase Coursey, Mikey Kass and Zach Marvel finished with two hits each.

Class 3A

Greater Atlanta Christian’s Harrison Stogner batted .600 (4-for-8) in three games for the Spartans last week. He had a double, a homer and scored two runs. Pitcher Bryceton Payne earned the victory on the mound in a 5-1 victory over Tucker on Feb. 13. He struck out 11 in five innings and allowed no hits.

In a trio of games against Richmond Hill, Benedictine and Greenbrier, Ringgold went 2-1. Holden Tucker threw six innings and allowed no runs, no hits and struck out six in a 6-0 victory over Richmond Hill on Feb. 16. Tucker also went 5-for-11 at the plate in the three games. Andre Tarver went 6-for-12, while Daulton Schley went 3-for-9 with two homers and six RBIs in the three games. On the mound, Wyatt Tennant struck out 12 batters in 4 1/3 innings, while McCain Mangum struck out four, allowed no earned runs and notched a save in four innings.

Class 1A Private

Fellowship Christian sophomore David Bishop batted .600 in the Paladins’ three games against Creekside, Stephenson and Chamblee last week. He finished with two RBIs, a double and stole four bases. Pitcher Isaac Bouton struck out nine in five innings and allowed no hits in a 6-0 victory over Creekside. Meanwhile, pitcher Preston Joye allowed one hit and struck out nine in four innings of work in a 3-2 loss to Stephenson.

Saint Francis senior catcher Bret Madren hit a grand slam walkoff homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to help the Knights defeat Holy Innocents’ 6-3 on Feb. 11. Saint Francis also got strong pitching performances from Will Clark and Harry Cain, who combined for 18 strikeouts in the victory. On Feb. 16 in the first game of a doubleheader against Aquinas, Clark hurled a complete-game victory, striking out six and allowing just one hit. Brooks Mitchell led the offense with a triple, three stolen bases and two RBIs. In the second game of the doubleheader against Aquinas, Cain earned a five-inning victory on the mound, striking out five and allowing just two hits. Kyle Bork led the offense with three hits, three RBIs and a homer. Brooks Mitchell and Clark had three RBIs each.