Sports - Topics from June, 2019
Updated: Dodge County 14 and under Girls All Star Team Advance to State
The Dodge County Recreation Department 14 and under girls all star team advanced to the state tournament last week with their wins over Reidsville and Jenkins County. They will play in Jeff Davis later this month. Pictured above are team members: Dylana Barton, Josey Barton, Anna Bowen, Jimiah Burns, Mariah Flowers, Reagan Graham, Jessica Joiner, Georgia Jones, Meg Lewis, Ava Maxwell, Mylee Moore, Jaunavae Pattillo and Cailyn Wise. They are coached by Blakelyn Bundick, Katie Selph, Linzy Bowen and Gracie Lewis.
Russ's Sports Review
It was a huge week for baseball at the Dodge County Recreation Department (DCRD). Twelve out of town teams invaded Eastman for the Georgia Recreation and Park Association (GRPA) district one class “C” boys 12 and under tournament. It was a great week as the department was in great shape as Kyle Shipman and Shane Dunlap had the fields looking great.
The department battled extreme heat and dry conditions until rain moved in prior to the tournament. As said Director Travis Niblett on the fields “the weather was something we couldn’t control. It went from hot and dry to wet with no in between. I thought our fields played great. Our guys did a great job getting the fields ready to go”.
Live pitch baseball also presents its own set of challenges. A GRPA mandated pitch count is in effect for the amount of pitches a pitcher can throw in a game and in the tournament. There also has to be rest in between a certain amount of pitches. Travis Niblett had high praise for the staff “DCRD’s staff put on a clinic in this tournament. Many thanks to Hailey Hickman, Jenna Hickman, Caitlyn Gooch and Margaret Simmons who kept the books and the extreme challenge of keeping pitch count logs for 24 games. Things went without a glitch,” said Niblett.
As for the tournament itself, things started out on Monday. There were five games on the agenda. The weather did allow all five games to be played. The featured game was Reidsville playing Screven County. Reidsville had a strong team and won 5-0.
Tuesday was supposed to be a huge day with nine games on the schedule. The day featured perhaps the best-played game of that tournament as Reidsville played Glenville. Reidsville eventually won an extremely well played game, ending 5-4 in extra innings. The host team Dodge got underway in a 4:00 p.m. start. Dodge took an early 2-0 lead but the weather turned around 4:30 p.m. and the game was called for the day around 5:00 p.m.
On Wednesday, play got underway at 12:00 p.m. Unfortunately for our Dodge team, Johnson County would rally late to beat Dodge 10-5. The weather would play another role by mid-afternoon as lightning would suspend play for about an hour. Dodge would unfortunately be eliminated later in the day in a loss to Screven County. Play ended just before midnight as ten games were completed in a very long day.
On Thursday, play started at 2:00 p.m. under absolutely beautiful conditions. The tournament would be narrowed down to three teams, as Reidsville would wait for the winner of Screven County and Glascock County. The early game between Glascock and Screven would be a wild one. The lead would swing back and forth and eventually go to extra innings tied at 8-8. Glascock would eventually win 11-10 in nine innings in a game that took over three hours to play. That advanced them to the championship game against Reidsville. Reidsville was too much as they grabbed the championship with a 12-3 win. Both teams will be in the class “C” state tournament that will start at the end of the month.
The tournament was very well attended as 2500 people were at the event for the week. Thanks goes out to the Albany Umpires Association for doing a fine job of umpiring the event. Thank you to the gatekeepers Julianne Bellflower, Seth Cossett and Logan White. Thanks also to Body Gray who helped out on many fronts, to Earl Boutwell and staff with the concession stand and to Kyle Turner and Phillip Kilgore of the Georgia State Patrol for providing security for the event.
The department battled extreme heat and dry conditions until rain moved in prior to the tournament. As said Director Travis Niblett on the fields “the weather was something we couldn’t control. It went from hot and dry to wet with no in between. I thought our fields played great. Our guys did a great job getting the fields ready to go”.
Live pitch baseball also presents its own set of challenges. A GRPA mandated pitch count is in effect for the amount of pitches a pitcher can throw in a game and in the tournament. There also has to be rest in between a certain amount of pitches. Travis Niblett had high praise for the staff “DCRD’s staff put on a clinic in this tournament. Many thanks to Hailey Hickman, Jenna Hickman, Caitlyn Gooch and Margaret Simmons who kept the books and the extreme challenge of keeping pitch count logs for 24 games. Things went without a glitch,” said Niblett.
As for the tournament itself, things started out on Monday. There were five games on the agenda. The weather did allow all five games to be played. The featured game was Reidsville playing Screven County. Reidsville had a strong team and won 5-0.
Tuesday was supposed to be a huge day with nine games on the schedule. The day featured perhaps the best-played game of that tournament as Reidsville played Glenville. Reidsville eventually won an extremely well played game, ending 5-4 in extra innings. The host team Dodge got underway in a 4:00 p.m. start. Dodge took an early 2-0 lead but the weather turned around 4:30 p.m. and the game was called for the day around 5:00 p.m.
On Wednesday, play got underway at 12:00 p.m. Unfortunately for our Dodge team, Johnson County would rally late to beat Dodge 10-5. The weather would play another role by mid-afternoon as lightning would suspend play for about an hour. Dodge would unfortunately be eliminated later in the day in a loss to Screven County. Play ended just before midnight as ten games were completed in a very long day.
On Thursday, play started at 2:00 p.m. under absolutely beautiful conditions. The tournament would be narrowed down to three teams, as Reidsville would wait for the winner of Screven County and Glascock County. The early game between Glascock and Screven would be a wild one. The lead would swing back and forth and eventually go to extra innings tied at 8-8. Glascock would eventually win 11-10 in nine innings in a game that took over three hours to play. That advanced them to the championship game against Reidsville. Reidsville was too much as they grabbed the championship with a 12-3 win. Both teams will be in the class “C” state tournament that will start at the end of the month.
The tournament was very well attended as 2500 people were at the event for the week. Thanks goes out to the Albany Umpires Association for doing a fine job of umpiring the event. Thank you to the gatekeepers Julianne Bellflower, Seth Cossett and Logan White. Thanks also to Body Gray who helped out on many fronts, to Earl Boutwell and staff with the concession stand and to Kyle Turner and Phillip Kilgore of the Georgia State Patrol for providing security for the event.
Baseball Tournament Is Underway
The District One Class “C” Georgia Recreation and Parks Association 12 and under baseball tournament will continue today (Wednesday, June 12) at the Dodge County Recreation Department. Games will continue until the Friday night championship game.
Admission for the tournament is $2.00 for youth ages 6 to 17 and 55 and over.
Ages 18 to 54 will be $5.00 and children under six are free.
Admission for the tournament is $2.00 for youth ages 6 to 17 and 55 and over.
Ages 18 to 54 will be $5.00 and children under six are free.
Russ's Sports Review
As I mentioned last week, it would be a huge week for the Braves and that is the way things turned out. Things did not start well at all. On the field, they dropped 2 of 3 to a fair Pirates team. Off the field, Craig Kimbrel headed to the Cubs in a three-year, $43 million dollar deal. Reports are that Atlanta didn’t make the final four. Then came late Thursday. Word started to surface that the Braves had the lead on starting pitcher Dallas Kuechel. I still had plenty of questions but around 11:00 p.m., the word was out that the Braves and Scott Boras had agreed on a one-year, sort of, worth $13 million. Kuechel was scheduled to start Saturday for Gwinnett but he was rained out. Hopefully, he got to start Monday for Class “A” Rome. Kuechel seems to think it will only take two minor league starts to get ready. Right now, it looks like he would replace Gausman in the rotation. I really like the deal but bullpen help has got to happen or I think they will be in real trouble.
In a Sunday afternoon move, Atlanta did sign first round draft pick Shea Langeliers. The Baylor catcher was the ninth overall pick in last week’s draft. He is known to be a spectacular defensive catcher. The majority of the experts think he will hit plenty well enough.
Now for the week on the field. The offense was pretty good at times as Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna, Jr. led the way. Acuna hit a three run game tying homer in the ninth on Sunday to send the game to extra innings. The Braves beat the Marlins 7-6. As for Freeman, he was rock solid as always. He had ten hits on the week including three homers and seven RBIs. It wasn’t a great week for super rookie Austin Riley. He only went five for 30. He did have a pair of very big hits as he hit a three-run homer Monday to help the Braves come back and beat the Pirates. On Saturday, he had a late double and scored the games only run in a 1-0 win. Thanks to some late game heroics by the Reds, the Braves entered Monday night’s play only one game out of the lead in the unpredictable National League East. Things will get interesting this weekend as the Phillies come to Sun Trust Park.
I know the Hawks don’t get much attention but they made another really big trade last week. On Thursday night, the Hawks acquired shooting guard Allen Crabbe and two number-one draft picks in return for Taurean Prince and a future second round pick. In getting Crabbe, they do get his $18.5 million dollar salary. They do get the 17th overall pick in this year’s draft and a lottery protected number one pick next year. I really expect the Hawks to package a couple of this year’s picks to move up in the upcoming draft. Currently, they hold three first-round picks and three second-round picks in this year’s draft. There is no way they keep all three first-round picks so expect early trade action. They also have three first-round picks in next year’s draft as well. I wouldn’t be the least bit shocked if the Hawks are not a contender in the next few years.
In a Sunday afternoon move, Atlanta did sign first round draft pick Shea Langeliers. The Baylor catcher was the ninth overall pick in last week’s draft. He is known to be a spectacular defensive catcher. The majority of the experts think he will hit plenty well enough.
Now for the week on the field. The offense was pretty good at times as Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna, Jr. led the way. Acuna hit a three run game tying homer in the ninth on Sunday to send the game to extra innings. The Braves beat the Marlins 7-6. As for Freeman, he was rock solid as always. He had ten hits on the week including three homers and seven RBIs. It wasn’t a great week for super rookie Austin Riley. He only went five for 30. He did have a pair of very big hits as he hit a three-run homer Monday to help the Braves come back and beat the Pirates. On Saturday, he had a late double and scored the games only run in a 1-0 win. Thanks to some late game heroics by the Reds, the Braves entered Monday night’s play only one game out of the lead in the unpredictable National League East. Things will get interesting this weekend as the Phillies come to Sun Trust Park.
I know the Hawks don’t get much attention but they made another really big trade last week. On Thursday night, the Hawks acquired shooting guard Allen Crabbe and two number-one draft picks in return for Taurean Prince and a future second round pick. In getting Crabbe, they do get his $18.5 million dollar salary. They do get the 17th overall pick in this year’s draft and a lottery protected number one pick next year. I really expect the Hawks to package a couple of this year’s picks to move up in the upcoming draft. Currently, they hold three first-round picks and three second-round picks in this year’s draft. There is no way they keep all three first-round picks so expect early trade action. They also have three first-round picks in next year’s draft as well. I wouldn’t be the least bit shocked if the Hawks are not a contender in the next few years.
SPORTS
All-stars place in tournament
The Dodge County boys 12 and under all-star team placed second (runner-up) in the Perry Junior League Tournament last weekend.
They fought hard after playing for five straight days. The boys were presented with runner-up rings.
Members of the team are Christian Lecouris, Landon Sheffield, Ace Roberson, Brandon White, Griffin Pritchett, Darrell Johnson, Brycen Pruett, Kain Mincey and Asher Wooten.
Coaches for the team are Tom Sheffield, David White, Dusty Pruett and Joel Pritchett.
The Dodge County boys 12 and under all-star team placed second (runner-up) in the Perry Junior League Tournament last weekend.
They fought hard after playing for five straight days. The boys were presented with runner-up rings.
Members of the team are Christian Lecouris, Landon Sheffield, Ace Roberson, Brandon White, Griffin Pritchett, Darrell Johnson, Brycen Pruett, Kain Mincey and Asher Wooten.
Coaches for the team are Tom Sheffield, David White, Dusty Pruett and Joel Pritchett.
Russ's Sports Review
As I mentioned last week, this was going to be a real big week for the Braves. Things started on Monday night with the major league baseball (MLB) draft.
Atlanta had the ninth pick overall and quite frankly, I think things started really good. They drafted Baylor catcher Shea Langeliers. He is considered major league ready as a defensive catcher. His offense started slow with a hamate bone injury. Langeliers charged back in the second half of the season at the plate. He had a huge game in the regionals as he had a five for five game with three homers and 11 RBIs all in one game.
This is a move that I like. Catcher is one of the weaker positions in a strong minor league system. It wouldn’t be surprising in the very least to see him up by the end of the 2020 season.
The team had a pair of first round picks and with the 21st pick, they selected Texas A&M shortstop Braden Shewmake. Personally, I would have loved to see a college outfielder with power but more than likely there was no one left at that spot.
Shewmake is considered a foul-line to foul-line hitter but not a lot of power. He has good speed and he doesn’t strike out a lot. So we will have to see how the second guy works out.
When the clock struck midnight on Monday, the draft pick compensation came off of Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel.
There is no question that the Braves could use either or both of them but getting them is a totally different story.
I know that the Phillies, Yankees, Cub and Brewers are among the teams that could use Kimbrel in particular.
I believe that Kimbrel could be the key to the winning team in the National League East. If the Braves find a way to get them, I think it is a toss up on who wins the East.
If the Phillies get him, I think the Braves have little chance and would be playing for the wild card. Don’t get me wrong, I would love Keuchel but I think the bullpen must be addressed in order for them to compete.
Now for the week that was for the Braves. Honestly, it wasn’t very good as they went 2-3 at home against Washington and Detroit. Despite their struggles, it was worse for the Phillies as they were swept by the Dodgers.
The Braves only trailed by a game going into the Phillies late Monday night game against San Diego. On the surface, it shouldn’t be real hard work as Atlanta plays in Pittsburgh and Miami.
The legend that is Austin Riley is still rolling. He has eight homers in his first 17 games. He is one of only four players ever to do that.
You have to like the pitching of Mike Soroka and Max Fried. Both of them seem to have a great future. Wouldn’t it be great if the Braves could acquire a veteran like Kuechel or Bumgarner to put with these two fine young guys?
This doesn’t seem to work when Georgia hosts a baseball regional. Last season, they fell to Duke but surely it couldn’t happen again, could it?
Unfortunately, it was yes. After ripping Mercer in the first game 13-3, things went south in a hurry for the fourth seeded Dogs. They were whipped twice by a Florida state team that was fortunate to be in the tournament. The talented Georgia pitching staff was no match for the hot hitting Seminoles.
Hopefully the Dogs won’t pull a three-peat next year!
Atlanta had the ninth pick overall and quite frankly, I think things started really good. They drafted Baylor catcher Shea Langeliers. He is considered major league ready as a defensive catcher. His offense started slow with a hamate bone injury. Langeliers charged back in the second half of the season at the plate. He had a huge game in the regionals as he had a five for five game with three homers and 11 RBIs all in one game.
This is a move that I like. Catcher is one of the weaker positions in a strong minor league system. It wouldn’t be surprising in the very least to see him up by the end of the 2020 season.
The team had a pair of first round picks and with the 21st pick, they selected Texas A&M shortstop Braden Shewmake. Personally, I would have loved to see a college outfielder with power but more than likely there was no one left at that spot.
Shewmake is considered a foul-line to foul-line hitter but not a lot of power. He has good speed and he doesn’t strike out a lot. So we will have to see how the second guy works out.
When the clock struck midnight on Monday, the draft pick compensation came off of Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel.
There is no question that the Braves could use either or both of them but getting them is a totally different story.
I know that the Phillies, Yankees, Cub and Brewers are among the teams that could use Kimbrel in particular.
I believe that Kimbrel could be the key to the winning team in the National League East. If the Braves find a way to get them, I think it is a toss up on who wins the East.
If the Phillies get him, I think the Braves have little chance and would be playing for the wild card. Don’t get me wrong, I would love Keuchel but I think the bullpen must be addressed in order for them to compete.
Now for the week that was for the Braves. Honestly, it wasn’t very good as they went 2-3 at home against Washington and Detroit. Despite their struggles, it was worse for the Phillies as they were swept by the Dodgers.
The Braves only trailed by a game going into the Phillies late Monday night game against San Diego. On the surface, it shouldn’t be real hard work as Atlanta plays in Pittsburgh and Miami.
The legend that is Austin Riley is still rolling. He has eight homers in his first 17 games. He is one of only four players ever to do that.
You have to like the pitching of Mike Soroka and Max Fried. Both of them seem to have a great future. Wouldn’t it be great if the Braves could acquire a veteran like Kuechel or Bumgarner to put with these two fine young guys?
This doesn’t seem to work when Georgia hosts a baseball regional. Last season, they fell to Duke but surely it couldn’t happen again, could it?
Unfortunately, it was yes. After ripping Mercer in the first game 13-3, things went south in a hurry for the fourth seeded Dogs. They were whipped twice by a Florida state team that was fortunate to be in the tournament. The talented Georgia pitching staff was no match for the hot hitting Seminoles.
Hopefully the Dogs won’t pull a three-peat next year!
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