Archive for May, 2012

By Score Atlanta

In the Class A state championship series, Providence Christian split two games with host Charlton County to force a Game 3 today. The Stars won Game 2 15-8 after losing Game 1 6-3.

The second game turned in the fifth inning when Providence Christian exploded for seven runs to take a commanding 13-7 lead. Austin Loyd and Max Broom each had two-run singles while Josh Carter and Eric Stahl also had RBIs.

Austin Golden had a homer and four RBIs in Game 2.

In Game 1, Charlton County started the top of the first inning with three straight hits. Drew Storen capped the rally with a two-run single to give the Indians a 2-0 lead.

In the third inning, the Stars tied the game on an RBI single by Loyd and a wild pitch. Two errors in the fifth allowed the Indians to re-take the lead at 3-2.

Chris Smith drilled a two-run homer in the sixth to break the game open. Smith also tossed a complete game for the Indians to earn the win with three earned runs on five hits. Smith …

Continue reading Stars split with Charlton County »

By Score Atlanta

Appling County 6, Pierce County 4: Byron Buxton tossed a complete game in Game 3 of the Class AA championship series and struck out 18 while scoring twice to lead Appling County (35-8) to the state title. The host Pirates scored four runs off Pierce County (30-9) starter Will Lowman, chasing the Game 1 winner after recording just one out. Devin Causey and Kyle Miller each drove in a pair of runs and Jeremy Ammons scored twice for the Pirates. Pierce County’s Cole Dowling scored a run and drove in two.

Continue reading Buxton, Pirates capture Class AA title »

Football coaches Mark Richt of Georgia and Gene Chizik of Auburn will be guest speakers Friday at the Georgia Minority Coaches Association’s summer conference in Dunwoody.

The conference is Friday and Saturday at the Dunwody Baptist Church Fitness Life Center and is open to coaches of all levels. It will feature football and basketball coaches from high schools and colleges.

For more information, visit the GMCA’s Web site at www.mcaofga.com.

Continue reading Richt, Chizik to speak at Georgia Minority Coaches conference »

By Stephen Black

Score Atlanta

In the Class AAA state finals series, two-time defending state champion Columbus swept host Ringgold 6-3 and 11-1 to win its third consecutive state championship.

Game 2 was decided by the mercy rule when Anthony Young, Jr. and Al Jones scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Blue Devils a 10-run lead. J.T. Phillips pitched a complete game and also homered while driving in two and scoring twice.

The Blue Devils jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first inning, when Pierce Ressmeyer singled in two and Anthony Padron drove in one. In the fifth, Columbus scored five to gain a commanding 8-1 lead.

In the series opener, Kyle Carter, Phillips’ teammate on the 2006 Little League World Series champions from Columbus, pitched a complete game, allowing three runs on five hits with six strikeouts. The Blue Devils led 5-0 after two innings, having scored twice in the first and three times in the second. Columbus was aided in the …

Continue reading Blue Devils sweep Ringgold for third straight title »

By Stan Awtrey

For the AJC

David Mayo declared the Class AAAA championship baseball game was over before it even started. The Loganville shortstop said a pregame meeting left his team with no option other than victory.

The junior then backed it up on the field, leading the Red Devils to a 14-4 six-inning win over Greenbrier in the deciding game in the best-of-three series. It was Loganville’s first championship since 2008.

“We knew it as soon as we stepped on the field,” said Mayo, a transfer from Alvovy High, whose three-run homer in the second inning gave the Devils a 7-0 lead they never relinquished. He was 4-for-9 in the series with two homers and scored four runs.

Loganville (31-9) pounded Greenbrier starter Christian Hill and three other pitchers for 12 hits, with three of them leaving the yard. Garrett Ford and Brandon Pergantis also hit homers. The long homer struck by Pergantis down the left-field line drove home the final two runs to give Loganville a 10-run …

Continue reading AAAA baseball: Loganville wins title »

By Score Atlanta

Pierce County 4-1, Appling County 2-12 : In Game 1 the visiting Pierce County Bears took a 1-0 lead off Appling County standout Byron Buxton on a passed ball. Nate Gay walked and came around to score on the error by junior catcher Guner Sellers. Gay also scored in the fifth on another passed ball.

Pierce County pitcher Will Lowman did not allow a hit until the sixth inning when Justin Javis smacked a triple and scores on Buxton’s sacrifice fly.

The pitchers’ duel continued until the seventh when Gay launched a two-out, two-run home run. The Pirates then plated one in the bottom of the seventh, but Lowman struck out Buxton with two on to end the game.

In Game 2, Will White and Josh Deen dueled through the first four innings. In the fifth, Appling County put 12 runs on the board on 10 hits and three bases-loaded walks. Josh Barber drove in four runs while Buxton drove in three and scored twice. Deen pitched all five innings to pick up the win for Appling County.

Continue reading Bears, Pirates split first two games »

Parkview and Matt Olson are familiar with state championships. They also know a little about seventh-inning heroics.

Olson, a Vanderbilt signee, hit a two-out home run to break a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning Saturday in Parkview’s 6-3 victory over Brookwood. It completed a sweep of the best-of-three Class AAAAA championship series at Parkview’s Hugh Buchanan Field.

A year ago, Olson hit a three-run homer against Hillgrove to break a seventh-inning tie in the clinching game of that championship series.

In the first game Saturday, Olson hit a two-run homer and was the winning pitcher in a 5-2 victory.

‘’I’m proud of my personal achievements, but I’m more proud of back-to-back state championships,’’ said Olson, who finished the season with a .407 average, 11 homers and 51 RBI in Parkview’s 31-6 season. “I like big situations, and I got a couple of good pitches to hit today.’’

Parkview became the first school in 10 years to win consecutive titles in the …

Continue reading Baseball: Parkview sweeps Brookwood for AAAAA title »

By Stan Awtrey

For the AJC

The fact that their Class AAAA baseball series will spill over onto Memorial Day didn’t seem to bother either of the two finalists.

“Hey, if they scheduled it on the moon we’d find a way to get there,” said Greenbrier coach Chris Wilkins.

Greenbrier and host Loganville split a double-header on Saturday to force the deciding game in the best-of-three championship series, which will be played Monday at 2 p.m. at Loganville’s Red Devil Field.

Loganville (27-10) won the first game 4-2 and Greenbrier (31-4) bounced back for a 12-3 victory in the nightcap.

The opener was decided when Loganville shortstop David Mayo hit an 0-2 pitch for a three-run homer to help the Red Devils overcome a 2-1 deficit. It was sweet payback for Mayo, whose bad throw on a rundown the previous inning had allowed Greenbrier to score the go-ahead run.

Loganville’s starting pitcher, left-hander Christian Miller, kept Greenbrier off-balance with his change-up. Miller …

Continue reading AAAA baseball: Loganville splits with Greenbrier »

Christian Hunnicutt, the Buford football assistant who was selected in January to start the new program at Cambridge High in north Fulton County, has stepped down, Cambridge athletics director Matt Lawless confirmed Friday.

“Unfortunately these last few weeks have been very trying on his family and he worked hard to get the program up and running, but he decided it was best for him to explore other opportunities,’’ Lawless said. “It was a decision he made in the best interest of his family and ours as well, and we support him in that.’’

Hunnicutt had taken Cambridge through spring practice, when ended two weeks ago. Lawless said he expected a new head coach to be named quickly but did not set a timetable. He said most of the staff that Hunnicutt had assembled would remain.

Cambridge, which will draw from Milton, Alpharetta and Roswell high schools, will play a full Region 7-AAAAA schedule in 2012 and opens Aug. 31 at home against Riverwood.

Hunnicutt had coached …

Continue reading Cambridge football job open again as Buford assistant steps aside »

Parkview and Brookwood are playing for the Class AAAAA championship series in baseball beginning Monday at Parkview with a double-header. A third game if necessary would be played at Parkview on Monday.

Here’s a statistical look at each team:

BROOKWOOD (25-10)

Batting order

CF Cedric Mullins – .426-5-28 (8 SB, team-leading 35 runs, 21 extra-base hits)
RF Jordan Dykes – .307-0-17 (6-for-6 in SB, team-leading 4 sac bunts)
3B Michael Gouge – .395-2-24 (team-leading 16 doubles)
1B Ryan Woodard – .324-0-27 (team-leading 17 walks)
P/DH Lucas Sims – .364-1-30 (11 doubles)
C Clint Carr – .264-0-12 (4 RBI in semifinal series)
LF Garrett Reynolds – .413-0-11 (team-leading 10 SB)
2B Zach Moon – .265-2-16
SS Blake Schuck – .241-0-5

Rotation

SP Lucas Sims – 7-0, 1.18 ERA (91 SO, 70.1 IP, committed to Clemson)
SP Allen Tokarz – 4-5, 2.66 (only 13 BB in 55.1 IP)
SP Ryan Woodard – 6-3, 2.29
RP Michael Ranieri – 1-0, 0.95 ERA (4 saves)

PARKVIEW (29-6)

Batting order

SS Edwin Arias – …

Continue reading Baseball: A statistical breakdown of Parkview-Brookwood series »

Baseball, the last of 16 Georgia high school sports to declare state champions, is down to the finals beginning Saturday. Well-represented among 10 finalists are Gwinnett County (Parkview, Brookwood, Providence Christian) and rural southeast Georgia (Appling County, Pierce County, Charlton County).

Here’s a closer look at the best-of-three championship series in each classification:

AAAAA – Six miles apart off Five Forks Trickum Road, Parkview and Brookwood have met six times for state titles – five in soccer, once in football. This is the first time they’ve met for a baseball state championship. Parkview has won four state titles, most recently in 2011. Brookwood has won two, most recently in 2008. Parkview (29-6) is the Region 8 champion and ranked No. 1 in the state, but is 0-2 against Brookwood (25-10), losing 5-2 and 7-3 in April. Brookwood’s ace is Lucas Sims (8-0, 1.09 ERA), the consensus No. 1 pitching prospect in Georgia. Leadoff man Cedric Mullins (.426, 5 …

Continue reading Baseball: A look at the five state finals »

By Stan Awtrey

For the AJC

Under normal circumstances Brookwood pitcher Ryan Woodard would not have been allowed to pitch the last inning. He had thrown more than 100 pitches and coach Rick Howard is inclined to protect his young arms.

But these weren’t normal circumstances and Howard decided to go with his gut. Woodard rewarded his coach’s decision. The senior right-hander pitched through the heart of the Grayson batting order with two runners on base in the last inning to secure Brookwood’s 7-4 victory in the deciding game of the best-of-three Class AAAAA semifinal baseball series.

“His pitch count was higher than I like it to be,” Howard said. “But I felt it was his game. He’d earned it. He’d thrown his tail off.”

Woodard was the star on Tuesday. He allowed eight hits, four runs, four walks and struck out five. He also had a two-run double in the first inning that highlighted Brookwood’s five-run rally to open the game.

“That helped me relax,” …

Continue reading Baseball: Brookwood advances to AAAAA final »

By Score Atlanta

Parkview 5, Mill Creek 0: Parkview senior Jessie Foster improved his record to 11-0 with a complete game shutout. Foster struck out six while allowing just three hits. The host Panthers were led at the plate by Edwin Arias, who went 2-for-4 with an RBI triple. Hunter Thornton got into the act with two hits and an RBI, while Josh Hart has two runs and an RBI. A three-run seventh broke it open for Parkview.

The defending Class AAAAA state champion Panthers advanced to the finals, where they will host arch-rival Brookwood.

Continue reading Panthers shut out, sweep Mill Creek »

By Score Atlanta

Greenbrier 15, Whitewater 5: The host Wolf Pack crushed 15 hits, five of them doubles, on their way to a five-inning mercy ruled-shortened win.

Christian Hill (7-1) pitched a complete game for Greenbrier, striking out five. At the plate for the Wolf Pack, Knox Marchman was 3-for-3 with three RBIs, Clint Hardy as 3-for-4 with three runs, and Taylor Glover was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs. Greenbrier scored four in the first, and nine runs in the first three innings.

Loganville 2-2, Johns Creek 1-1: Loganville won two games in the final inning Tuesday to advance to the Class AAAA finals series this weekend.

In Game 2 of the series, an RBI single by Justin Friend staked the visiting Gladiators a 1-0 lead. Daniel Milligan tied things in the bottom half of the inning, and the score remained tied until David Mayo’s sacrifice fly scored Kyle Hall to win it for Loganville in 10 innings. Garrett Ford started and threw eight innings for Loganville, before Mayo …

Continue reading Class AAAA Tuesday semifinals roundup »

By Score Atlanta

Columbus 7, Troup 1: Senior Pierce Ressmeyer crushed a first-inning home run to help jumpstart a three-run frame for the host Blue Devils. A bit of controversy stirred in the fourth after Dalton Hadley hit a home run, but was called out for missing home plate. Columbus added some insurance in the seventh on a two-run double from junior Tony Dalponte. J.T. Phillips had an RBI for Columbus. The Blue Devils will travel to Ringgold this Saturday seeking a third straight state title.

Ringgold 11, Gainesville 3: After the visiting Tigers put up two runs in the second inning, Gainesville battled back to tie the game in the fourth on a Hunter Anglin homer. The tie was short-lived, as Andy Mocahbee hit a pair of home runs to help Ringgold to an eight-run fourth inning. Austin Parrish tossed a complete game for the Tigers to earn the win. Gainesville finished the season 32-2, with both losses coming to Ringgold in the best-of-three semifinals.

Continue reading Class AAA Tuesday semifinals roundup »