Sports

BY RUSS REGAN
Okay folks, here we are again and hopefully things are starting to turn the corner. We have our first live, in America, sporting event this weekend. American MLB is close to coming back and we have an official NFL schedule released. Let’s just hope some fans can attend the games, sooner than later.
The biggest news came from baseball as it looks like spring training part two isn’t far away. A middle of June date has been thrown out there for teams to gather to get ready for a shortened 2020 season. The official word should come this week but it looks like an 80 game season that will start the first of July. The word is that the schedule will be mostly division games and possibly regional matchups like maybe, Boston? The idea of putting teams in three regions isn’t likely to happen. It does look like the teams will have bigger rosters even though a number hasn’t been released just yet. I did watch some Korean baseball late Saturday night. It was live and yes, it was pretty good. The stands were empty of course, but it can’t compete with the American game.
Live sports will return to television this weekend, as a charity news golf game will be on NBC. It will be a team event, as Rory McLilroy and Dustin Johnson will take on Rickie Fowler and young Matthew Wolff. Yes, on paper it looks like a mismatch but who knows what can happen. That will take place on Saturday afternoon. The next weekend also has a team charity event and this one will be huge. It will feature Tom Brady and Phil Mickelson going against Peyton Manning and Tiger Woods. This one should be great to watch. The first nine holes will be best ball and the back nine will be alternate shot. This is the second time Phil and Tiger have hooked up in a big charity event. Phil beat Tiger in a playoff in 2018. This one will be on Sunday the 24th at 3:00 p.m. It will be on TBS and TNT.
The NFL schedules were officially released on Thursday. The NFL Network made it into a three-hour primetime presentation. This will be a tough one for the Falcons. Let’s take a look at things. The NFL South will be tough. Honestly, I don’t see a win over Tampa or New Orleans. I think that a split with Carolina is likely so that 1-5 to start with and the non-division games are tough. They have a rough road schedule. They play in Green Bay, Dallas, Minnesota and Super Bowl Champion Kansas City. I don’t see a realistic win in these four at all. The home schedule is more possible as they host Seattle, Chicago, Denver and the Las Vegas Raiders. The opener against the Seahawks looks rough but the rest are possible. On paper this looks like a 6-10 or 7-9 record, Things don’t look good for Dan Quinn and company this fall. Of course, you don’t pay football on paper, so who knows what may happen?

BY: RUSS REGAN
Unlike last weekend, with the NFL draft, there weren’t any live sports over the weekend.
We had some things like a virtual Kentucky Derby and actually a Falcons trade. Also, Major League Baseball had some news that is somewhat optimistic.
As most of you know, Saturday was suppose to be the running of the Kentucky Derby. Of course, it was not run but a “virtual” version was done. It was an “all-star race” so to speak as is was only run with triple crown winners.
The 1977 winner Seattle Slew had the lead until the stretch until the greatest of all-time made his move. Secretariat, the 1973 winner would win in the end. No margin of victory was given.
The good news is there will be a real Kentucky Derby, we hope, September 5, 2020.
I admit I made a big deal out of the Falcons not making a trade in last weekend’s draft, but they wasted little time making a very small but questionable one.
They sent a seventh round pick to the Dolphins for former number one pick Charles Harris. He was the Dolphins top pick the 23rd overall from Missouri. He is a defensive end that has produced virtually nothing. He has just 3.5 sacks in his three years and he is no longer a starter. He will make just less than two million dollars this season. He was due over ten million option for 2021; fortunately the Falcons declined the option.
Speaking of options, the Falcons have declined the option on their own top pick of the 2017 draft. Defensive end Takk McKenley has had a rough three years as a Falcon and has had shoulder issues. If you were wondering, yes, the Falcons did trade a third round pick to move up to get him. Maybe the team can dump him for a seventh round to get the other pick back.
There was other Falcon news as it was announced that their game in London has been moved back to Atlanta. They were scheduled to play Denver but the game was moved back to Atlanta. They were scheduled to play Denver but that game has been moved due to obvious reasons.
Also there were projections for the compensatory picks for the 2012 draft. The picks are given to teams that lost players to free agencies. Austin Hooper and Devonte Campbell. It looks like they may get on extra fifth round pick and possibly a pair of sixth rounder’s.
The NFL will officially name those awarded picks the first of May.
The powers that be in major league baseball say that it looks hopeful that teams will play in their home ballparks when the season starts. Baseball has several other plans like the three divisions on spring training sights. It is hopeful that the season will start late June or early July. There is no set on the number of games on the schedule yet. I know that 100 games and possibly an early December world series are hopeful. It doesn’t look like the fans will be in the stadiums when the season starts.

NFL DRAFT
By Russ Regan
I will be the first to admit that I am not a huge football guy; I am not even the biggest football fan in my household by far, but I do love the NFL draft. Like everything else right now, it was different but it had a little distraction because nothing else was able to take place. This one had a lot of story lines to say the least. When would “Trader Thomas” make a deal for the Falcons? How many bulldogs would join Andrew Thomas in the first round? How would Jake Fromm fare? Would his lack of arm strength overcome his brains? What about the kicker, Rodrigo Blankenship? Would the all American get picked or would he become an undrafted free agent? Let’s talk about it, so here we go.
As you know, Thomas Demetrioff is known to be a trader in the draft. Heck, he even got the name Trader Thomas because he has made at least one deal in 13 straight drafts. The word on the streets is that he was going to trade up for either C.J. Henderson from Florida, Derrick Brown from Auburn or even Isaiah Simmons from Clemson. As I said, I really wanted to see them trade down and get extra picks in this talented deep draft. As we know, three quarterbacks, as expected, came off the lead quick.
As I held my breath, Simmons, Brown and Anderson came off the boards, but the one thing that was wide receivers. Granted the Falcons didn’t really need one but it was perfect leverage for a trade down. Well, sure enough, Cal Doe Lamb, the greatly talented wide out, fell to number 16 where the Falcons were picking. The Eagles needed one and they were at number 21. So, I thought they were perfect for a deal. Then came the announcement of corner back A.J. Terell from Clemson. I know that the team needed one after releasing Desmond Trufant but this was a horrible pick. He was projected to be a late second round pick. Lamb would have been great with Jones and Ridley but at trade down! Sure enough Lamb went to Dallas and reports were the Eagles called Atlanta about Lamb but were turned down.
Rumors started to spread early Friday about a Falcon trade up. I have to question if Demitrioff had the power to make moves because once more nothing happened. I really did like the second and third round picks.
In round two, Marlon Davidson from Auburn will help the interior of the defensive line. Along with Grady Jarrett, they should do a good job. The team really needs a center in wanting Matt Hennessy from Temple should do a good job as he can learn a bunch from Alex Mack as I am guessing this is his last year as a Falcon. Friday’s picks gave the fan base some hope after screwing up so bad Thursday. Talent was still a plenty on Saturday to gobble up. They had two picks in the fourth round but it looks like they made a mess of it. Linebacker Mycale Walker and safety Jeylin Hawkins had seventh round or undrafted grades coming in. Granted those grades have been wrong beforehand. For the Falcons sake, I hope so. As Saturday rolled on, one thing was for sure; for the first time as general manager in 13 years there would be no Falcons trade. They had no fifth or sixth round picks, so off to round seven we go. They grabbed a punter, granted it looks like a good one, as Sterling Hofrichter from Syracuse is now a Falcon.
In summary, I liked battle picks on Friday a bunch but the rest are suspect at best. Terell was not the right pick in the first round at the time. Trading down was and should have been a given. The reports are that both fourth round picks were huge reaches. Sadly, the punter sounds like the third best round pick and that is really sad. I hope that I am wrong and yes I will admit if I am. The good news is at least he didn’t trade up to get them.
Ok, now for the local front sort of and let’s see how the bulldogs did in the draft. It was pretty much a given that left tackle Andre Thomas would be gone early and he was as the Giants grabbed him number four overall. One man that had moved up lately was right tackle Isaiah Wilson and sure enough Wilson wound up with Tennessee with the 29th pick. The question is would there be first round bulldogs?
Not quite, as Kansas City went a different direction at running back.
D’Andre Swift didn’t last long in the second round as he was gobbled up by Matthew Stafford and the Lions. He should do a good job there.
The next question for the night was about Jake Fromm. He did great on the Wonder lid test but would his lack of a strong throwing arm hurt him? Unfortunately, the lack of arm strength won out. His slide would take him all the way to the middle of the fifth round to the Bills. Barring expenses he will be a back up for Joseph Alley, who was a 2018 top pick. I do think Fromm’s knowledge will help out quite a bit. I really wished Fromm had stayed in Athens.
The Dogs would be SEC favorites and have a shot at a national title. The 2021 quarterback group isn’t nearly as deep.
The Dogs did have more players picked. Sued Soloman Kindley went in the fourth round to Miami. Tight end Charlie Woerner went to San Francisco in round six and linebacker Tae Crowder was the final pick of the draft. What about Blankenship you ask? I wasn’t stunned he wasn’t picked because kickers often aren’t, but several did this year and that surprised me. Rodrego was signed real quick after the draft by the Colts and I know he will do very well there.
The draft was still fun as always despite the Falcons probable mess-ups. I look forward to watching next year with my dad.

BY JOEY MARCHANT
Seven Dodge baseball seniors remembered in tribute
Throughout history, coaches have urged their players to play every game like it was their last.
That became a reality for seven Dodge County seniors as they walked off the baseball field dejected after a 3-2 home loss to Bleckley County on March 10, 2020. Fortunately, the Indians were scheduled to have a rematch with Bleckley in Cochran three days later. The rematch never came as spring sports and later, classes were halted across the state due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Players, coaches and fans waited hoping for school and baseball to resume while realizing that was becoming less likely with each passing day. Finally, reality set in when Governor Brian Kemp issued an executive order that students not return to the classroom this school term. With that, the baseball careers of seven Dodge County seniors were over.
Most high school athletes do not see much varsity action until their junior and senior years. This may be different if the athlete is extremely talented or if the team lacks depth in one or more areas. Most spend their junior year settling into their new roles as team leaders.
Their senior year is supposed to be a time to accomplish some individual goals they may have yet to reach, to cherish every moment with their teammates and to chase a championship all the while knowing and dealing with the fact that this chapter in life is ending.
Most will never put on a uniform again. Those that do will find that the college game is a lot different than the high school game.
I sit here writing this article on April 17, 2020 a night when we were supposed to be honoring these seven seniors and their parents before their final regular season home game against Northeast Macon. Instead, coach Matt Herring cut the lights on at the empty field in case some seniors or their families wanted to ride by. As I reflect on all of this, I am moved to tears. Not much moves me to tears. This year’s senior class is a fine group of high character young men, the kind that you might be okay with your daughter dating.
This is not a surprise as I know most of their parents and grandparents, and they are what I like to call “good salt of the earth type people.” I am fortunate to have had the chance to coach or coach against all of these young men in recreational and / or travel baseball. I have seen the vast majority of their middle and high school games.
When coach Herring arrived at Dodge County, this year’s seniors were in the eighth grade. Coach Herring was faced with a lack of depth early on.
His senior, junior and freshman classes contained only three players each. He did not have enough players to run practice the way he wanted, so he promoted those eighth graders to junior varsity.
They would bypass their final middle school season. They would practice with the varsity, but could not compete in varsity games. In retrospect, this seems fitting now. Many of these guys really did get their four years of high school baseball. Let us take a brief look at this senior class in alphabetical order.
Parker Dixon
Parker is the son of Joey Dixon and Lisa Dixon. His future plans are to attend East Georgia State College Augusta Campus where he will study Nursing while playing baseball for Scoutz USA Baseball based in Augusta. Scoutz USA is a baseball organization aimed at preparing players to compete at the next level. Parker came to Dodge from Bleckley County for his ninth grade season. Parker has always played with a ton of confidence. He got a chance to start as a sophomore playing in 27 of the team’s 30 games and batting .354 with 7 doubles. After missing most of his junior season, Parker was poised to have a huge senior season at the plate. He started all ten games for Dodge at third base and led the Indians to victory by belting a two run homerun in each of Dodge’s first two games this year. Coach Herring had this to say, “Parker’s power at the plate has made him a valuable asset and has garnered the respect of opposing pitchers. He has worked hard to overcome adversity and left a lasting impact on the Dodge Baseball program.” When asked to share his favorite baseball memory, Parker recounted Coach Herring celebrating the 2018 3AA Region Championship by diving into the circle of players postgame.
Parker Hardin
Parker Hardin is the son of Rusty Hardin and Brandi Hardin. His future plans include attending Middle Georgia State College and later Life University in Marietta where he will study to become a chiropractor. Parker started at catcher for Dodge County the last two years after he sat behind All State Catcher Chandler Davis for his first two years. Parker is one of those that I have coached and spent a lot of time around. Parker has always embodied what it means to be a team player. You always knew you would get his best effort every time he put on the mask. There was never any drama with him. He never cared where he was in the batting order. Just pencil him in the lineup and let him do his job. Coach Herring had this to say, “No one has gotten the most out of their ability more so than Parker. His hard work and perseverance have made him one of the best Indians to ever play behind the plate.” A testament to his team first attitude, when asked to name his favorite baseball memory, Parker could not name one individual moment. He stated, “I loved all of it, the practices, camps, bus rides, and especially games.”
Timmy Johnson
Timmy is the son of Timothy Johnson and Dianna Lewis. Timmy excelled in football, basketball and baseball for four years for Dodge County. A gifted athlete, in baseball Timmy made his presence most felt on the base paths where he was always a threat to steal or take an extra base. However, his true calling card is his trademark smile and good attitude regardless of the way things may be going on the court or the field. He started in centerfield for Dodge this year. Coach Herring had this to say, “A great defensive outfielder and threat on the base paths, Timmy has shown the innate ability to make things happen in an exciting fashion when given the opportunity. His infectious smile and positive attitude rub off on all of his teammates. Timmy’s athletic future is very bright and Dodge Baseball is grateful to have had Timmy be such a big part of it.”
Andrew Lowery
Andrew is the son of Chris Lowery and Denise Lowery. It seems fitting to mention his grandparents Curtis Sheffield and Edith Sheffield along with brother Dalton Lowery as they were fixtures at the ballpark, both home and away. Andrew plans to attend East Georgia College Augusta Campus and play baseball for Scoutz USA Baseball. Andrew is one of those players who does everything well. He got a chance to start as a sophomore on a team that was loaded with older star players. He played in 28 of the team’s 30 games that year. He sort of flew under the radar batting a solid .263 with 6 doubles while scoring 21 runs. His big moment came late in the regular season that year with Dodge and Bleckley tied in extra innings. Andrew delivered a walk off base hit that scored DJ Bursch with the winning run as Dodge clinched the 2018 3AA Region Championship that day. Not surprisingly, Andrew named that as his favorite high school memory. Andrew’s biggest impact this season came on the mound where he posted a miniscule ERA 0f 0.29 by giving up just 1 earned run in 24 1/3 innings pitched. Coach Herring had this to say, “Since the day he entered our program, Andrew has demonstrated a work ethic that has earned respect from his coaches and teammates. An outstanding outfielder and pitcher, Andrew has left his mark on Dodge Baseball that will forever be appreciated.”
Noah Mincey
Noah is the son of Steve Mincey and Sherry Mincey. He plans to further his baseball career and study Biology at Toccoa Falls College. After sitting behind Chip Burch his first two seasons, Noah has been without a doubt one of the best defensive first basemen that I have seen play anywhere the last two years, including East Cobb, Lake Point or anywhere else. Despite not having prototypical size for a first baseman, he has consistently made his infielders look good often stretching and sometimes leaping to make plays. His bat has steadily improved throughout his career. He hits to all parts of the field, and he probably has more opposite field hits than anyone else on the team the last two years. Asked to name his favorite baseball memory, Noah recounted hitting a homerun at Hawkinsville and being taken on the bus trip for a playoff series against Callaway his freshman year. Coach Herring had this to say, “A true product of hard work, Noah has made himself a reliable first baseman and steady hitter that has become a constant in the middle of the lineup. Noah’s qualities as a successful student-athlete will carry him far on for years to come.”
Roper Weathersbee
Roper is the son of Ed Weathersbee and Wendy Weathersbee. Roper plans to pursue a degree in Computer Science. Roper is another kid that I have coached a good bit in travel ball. I can honestly say that no one on this team has worked any harder on his game or loves the game of baseball any more than Roper. It was not unusual to walk in the Whistlin Dixie Baseball Facility in Dublin and see Roper in the cage taking cuts. This is something he did on his own time above and beyond any regular high school or travel ball practice. If Roper attacks life with the same fervor and passion he did baseball, Roper will go far. Asked about his favorite baseball memory, Roper also pointed to Coach Herring’s postgame celebration after the 2018 Region Championship. Coach Herring had this to say, “After missing the cut in middle school, Roper turned a setback into motivation and came back much improved and has been one of the best examples of unselfishness and positive attitude found on the team. He has improved tremendously each year and has earned his way into various roles on the field. Roper is a shining example of what can be accomplished with persistence and relentless attitude.”
Brodie Woodard
Brodie is the son of Greg Woodard and Amanda Woodard. Brodie plans to attend Georgia Southern University and major in Engineering. Brodie has always carried himself with a quiet confidence, and that transferred to the diamond. Brodie sat behind Tyler Pruett who was a four year starter at shortstop for Dodge. When he got the chance to play, he made the most of it starting for two years at shortstop. He was also one of the better hitters for Dodge the last two seasons, often batting near the top of the order. He also pitched for Dodge where he was very successful. Rather than try to over power hitters, he relied on a good curve ball and his ability to locate his fastball. He was fun to watch pitch. Brodie also mentioned the victory over Bleckley to capture the 2018 Region Championship as his favorite moment. Coach Herring had this to say, “known for being poised and confident in even the biggest moments, Brodie has shown a knack for making big plays in the most high pressure situations. He has pitched and played shortstop at a high level and has hit at the top of the order, doing everything needed to get runs across the plate. Brodie has set a great example for all future Indians.”
I would be remiss if I did not thank the parents of these seniors, several of whom have spent countless hours working tirelessly through the years planning, organizing, cleaning, selling and hanging signs, collecting money, buying and preparing food, sending out text messages and a lot of other stuff. I won’t single out anyone because I may leave someone out, but you did not do it to be recognized anyway.
Without question, the biggest tragedy in all of this is the loss of life from the COVID-19 as the death toll continues to rise. Second is the loss of jobs and the devastation to the US economy, which we hope will recover over time.
Not to be forgotten though is the hard lessons learned by the Class of 2020. This was their last year before adulthood, the last care free year for some.
They had plans of proms, graduation, senior activities and one last shot at a trophy in their sport or activity of choice. However, this is a resilient group. They were born in the months following the 9/11 Terror Attacks, which was a time of uncertainty for all Americans.
They have dealt with the deaths of classmates. hey have been through the armed intruder drills. They will look back on this year with regret for a longtime. However, they will learn that life is too short to be bitter.
They will press on with the opportunities set before them, and they will do great things. And they will plead with their kids to play every game like it is their last.

BY RUSS REGAN
There is actually a lot of sports news this week despite the fact that nothing is going on live. We have a jersey controversy in Falcons land. A possible grapefruit league season for the Braves and that’s not all, we have the Hawks best in a horse competition and even a November masters. Also there is some “legit” pro wrestling controversy.
I guess the biggest news of the week involved the Falcons. The deal that brought Todd Gurley to the Falcons has become official despite the fact he hasn’t taken a physical yet. The deal does include contract protection for the team just in case he doesn’t pass the physical. Now for the controversy, Gurley wore number 3 in Athens and number 30 with the Rams, this year he wanted a change. He wanted to go to number 21 and a hall of famer may have had a problem with it. Deion Sanders who wore the number with the Falcons said he didn’t give him “permission” to do so. Later, he said he was just joking. No public word on whether or not he had a problem with the recently cut Desmon Truant wearing the number or was it a defensive back thing? Don’t forget that the draft is coming next week. It’s not going to be in Vegas but it still will be on ESPN live. Commissioner Roger Goodall will be making the announcements from his basement. I have no clue what the Falcons will do. I hope they trade Desmon and pick up extra picks. If they pick 16, I would think defensive back C.J. Henderson from Florida.
Now, for the Hawks, Sunday night eight players actively played a horse competition that was on ESPN. The Hawks Trae Young went against the now retired Chancey Billings. Young got off to a quick start getting H O R on Billings but unfortunately things fell apart and he lost. I hope the NBA can continue but I don’t know.
Now for the Braves, I think major league baseball wants to start really bad and who knows this no deal plan might work. The proposed would be for the teams to split into the cactus and grapefruit leagues like spring training. The teams would then be split into divisions and play from there in empty spring training stadiums. Who knows, it just may work? We will see because word is they want to start in May.
Last week was supposed to be master’s week. Of Course, they didn’t play but it was nice to rematch my favorite two masters of all-time. Wednesday was number one on my list with the 1986 session Jack came back with the great 30 on the back nine to win his sixth green jacket. It's interesting to note that despite his six championships he ranks only 63rd on the all time winning money list. Saturday was number two with the 2004. Of course, that’s when Phil came from behind to finally win his first of three green jackets. Who knows what a November Masters will bring?
There was some WWE news over the weekend that Ronda Rousey left the federation due to being unpopular with the fans. Word is that is legit. I did think she did a good job in getting women’s wrestling on the map. I do see her coming back more sooner than later. She is under contract for another year.
To wrap things up, it time to say goodbye to the XFL again. Vince McMahan’s league has suspended operations once more. Word is this is the final time in football for the WWE owner.

Dodge's First Bulldog
By Joey Marchant
Governor Brian Kemp’s executive order providing that students not return to the classroom this year to help prevent the spread of the
novel corona virus effectively ended the high school baseball season in Georgia and with it the careers of seven
Dodge County seniors. I will be back next week to take a closer look at these seniors.
For now, here is a story about Dodge County’s first football star.
Over the years, Dodge County has sent many players to the University of Georgia.
The late Jimmy Harper was a two time All SEC offensive lineman who won a national championship and blocked for Herschel Walker in the
early 1980s. At a time when offensive linemen were much smaller than today, Harper stood 6’6” and weighed 280
pounds earning him the nickname “The Mountain.”
Maurice Harrell was a 6’3” strong safety from Dodge County who transitioned to tight end for coach Ray Goff
in the early 1990s. Kalvin Daniels earned a spot in Athens as a walk on running back for coach Mark
Richt from 2007-2009 where he made the Dean’s List while competing against Knowshon Moreno and Thomas Brown.
Most recently, Chauncey’s Leonard Floyd played under coach Richt becoming the ninth overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and signing
a multimillion-dollar contract with the Chicago Bears. After being released by the Bears recently, Floyd signed a oneyear deal with the Los Angeles
Rams worth $10 million. With incentives, Floyd could earn $13 million this year.
However, Dodge’s first Bulldog is little known today. David Roscoe Peacock was born in Dodge County on March 15, 1890. At some
point, he picked up the nickname “Emp” and was known by this moniker throughout his time in Athens. Emp starred at the offensive guard
position and blocked for Georgia’s first All American and College Football Hall of Famer Bob McWhorter. Emp was named All Southern in
1911 and 1912. He was chosen as captain of the 1912 team.
The Athens Banner Herald called Emp “one of the most aggressive linemen in the South.” Emp weighed only
185 pounds. He also played baseball at Georgia and was very involved in campus life. After graduating in 1912,
Emp returned to campus as an assistant coach in 1913, and he later coached football at Mercer.
Not only was Emp a leader on the football field, Emp was a leader of men as well. Emp earned a Bachelor’s Degree in
Law from the University of Georgia, and he then earned a Master’s Degree in Law from the University of Michigan.
Emp soon returned to Eastman where he practiced law before being elected to the State Senate and chosen to
serve as president pro tempore in 1916. At the young age of 26, Emp was the second in command of the Georgia
State Senate. He served only one term. Emp’s leadership continued when he resigned as State Senator to serve his country in World War I. The following
is Emp’s letter of resignation written to Governor Hugh Dorsey and published in the Atlanta Constitution: “Dear Governor: Realizing that the
country needs every available man possible in the military service at this time, and that there are other men that cannot
go to the front for various reasons and who can serve the State of Georgia in her legislative halls, I am tendering my
resignation as State Senator from the Fifteenth Senatorial District. With kindest regards to you and Mrs. Dorsey, I am
your friend D. Roscoe Peacock.” Emp served for two years in Europe participating in several major offensives.
How many today would resign their position to join the military in time of war?
Emp returned home to Eastman where he practiced law after the war. He married Mary Jane Kingery of Emanuel County, and the couple had
the first of their three children in Eastman. Emp chose to run for congress in 1920 against incumbent William Washington Larson of Laurens County,
but the football and war hero could not even carry his home county of Dodge as he was soundly defeated. Perhaps
Emp felt betrayed because he left Dodge County a few years later for Bradenton, Florida. The Tampa suburb was in those days about the
size that Eastman is today. There he practiced law, invested in real estate, raised cattle and lived what appears to have been a quiet life. The
Army veteran checked into Bay Pines V.A Hospital in Saint Petersburg, Florida in 1944 where he later died at the age of 54.
In the Butts Mehre Heritage Hall on the campus of the University of Georgia, there is located a touch screen
interactive display which allows visitors to place their fingers on a map of Georgia and see former football lettermen from each county.
Touching Dodge reveals no mention of Emp Peacock. It’s as if the pages of time have erased Ole Emp Peacock from the memories of
Dodge County citizens, but from what I can tell, he represented Dodge well throughout the state, the nation and the world.

The Georgia High School Association called a meeting for March 27th to discuss all possible options for resuming spring sports. Before that meeting could take place, Governor Kemp extended Georgia school closings through April 24th. The GHSA seems to be holding off on any sort of decision pending Governor Kemp’s next move, which should be made known in the next three weeks.
With no current baseball to report on, I thought it would be interesting to look back at one of Dodge’s oldest and most accomplished baseball players of whom I suspect most have never heard. John Byron (“Jimmy”) Vaughan was born in Eastman in 1892. Jimmy played baseball growing up in Eastman, but I do not know much about Jimmy’s exploits until he joined the Macon Peaches of the South Atlantic League in 1914.
Jimmy made his minor league debut 106 years ago to the day that I am writing this article on March 27, 1914. Jimmy was 22 years old. Jimmy’s first assignment was to face what would turn out to be the 1914 World Series Champion Boston Braves.
Jimmy, who had begun pitching at the age of 16, scattered six hits over nine innings in a 4-0 victory over the Braves. Jimmy allowed only one Brave past second base. To be fair to the future World Series Champions, this was a split squad game with the Braves’ A Team traveling to Atlanta to face the Minor League Atlanta Crackers while the Braves’ B Team stayed behind at the Braves’ spring training home in Macon to face the Peaches. The fact that Jimmy was facing the B Team means he probably did not see Boston’s Hall of Famers Rabbit Maranville and the newly acquired former Cub Johnny Evers. However, Jimmy’s feat was still impressive. These were real major league players on a World Series Championship Team.
When Jimmy arrived in Macon, he stood only 5’8” and weighed 145 lbs. He was armed with a good fastball and a curveball, but he had yet to develop his famous spitball. Throwing a spitball involved wetting the ball with saliva in certain spots. Applied over and over between pitches, the saliva would cause the ball to drop sharply as it crossed the plate. A good spitball was almost impossible to hit. Jimmy learned the spitball from another young Macon Peaches pitcher from Columbus, Georgia by the name of Dana Fillingim. The spitball would carry Fillingim all the way to the Major Leagues where he pitched six seasons with the Boston Braves and parts of two more seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics and the Philadelphia Phillies. Meanwhile, Jimmy played the 1914 and 1915 seasons with the Macon Peaches and the 1916 season with the Montgomery Rebels.
In 1917, Jimmy and his wife Joe Lee left Alabama and headed to Akron, Ohio where they both found jobs in Akron’s booming rubber industry. However, Jimmy’s baseball career was just getting started. Baseball was truly America’s National Pastime in those days. In addition to the Major Leagues and the various Minor Leagues existed several Industrial League Teams across America. These semiprofessional teams were sponsored by local industries and made up primarily of factory workers. However, the managers were not above bringing in a ringer or two. This is how Shoeless Joe Jackson found work after being banned from the Major Leagues for his role in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal. Back home, the Eastman Cotton Mill had a team.
Interestingly, Jimmy joined the General Tire Company baseball team despite being an employee of rival Firestone. As you might imagine, this did not go over well with either company. However, rather than changing baseball teams, Jimmy changed jobs taking a position with General Tire in 1919.
Jimmy dominated Akron Industrial League Baseball for several years. Jimmy pitched a total of 10 years for General Tire before the team disbanded in 1929 averaging nine strikeouts a game with a 1.75 ERA. Jimmy threw two no hitters. On six occasions, Jimmy pitched both games of a doubleheader. In 1919, Jimmy went 15-0 and pitched 56 consecutive scoreless innings.
Jimmy’s most famous performance came in 1922 when he hooked up with Firestone’s Percy McKinstry in a pitching duel for the ages. Jimmy struck out 24 batters allowing 7 hits and 0 runs in a game that went 20 innings before being called for darkness. It appeared that McKinstry had bested Jimmy by striking out 33 batters in the contest while allowing 5 hits and 0 runs. However, Jimmy got the last laugh when he blanked Firestone three days later by a score of 4-0 to give General Tire the League Championship. The marathon game is still talked and written about in Akron today.
While pitching for General Tire, Jimmy had several opportunities to pitch against Major League teams and some of the All-Time Greats in exhibition games. It was not uncommon for Major League teams in that day to play an exhibition game against a semiprofessional team in the middle of the regular season. One would expect the Major League teams to rest their star players for these exhibitions, but this was frowned upon as the stars were necessary to maximize the tickets sold and the profit. As Jimmy was General Tire’s best pitcher, he started many of these games.
Such was the case in September 1922 when the New York Yankees came to Akron to face General Tire. Akron was abuzz with news that the Great Babe Ruth was coming to town. The Akron Beacon Journal ran a contest inviting youngsters to guess the Babe’s weight. The kids mobbed Ruth at times during the game. Ever the showman, Ruth would have loved nothing more than to belt a homerun for the kids of Akron. Ruth had hit two homers and two doubles the day before in Philadelphia. The box score shows that Ruth had two hits and scored two runs in the Yankees 11-4 victory over General Tire. However, a newspaper account reveals that Jimmy kept Ruth in the park that day and struck out the Babe swinging in his final at bat.
In other exhibition games, Jimmy faced Hall of Famers Pie Traynor of the Pittsburgh Pirates and George Sisler of the Boston Braves. Jimmy also faced great Negro National League teams like the Kansas City Monarchs and the Homestead Grays who were stationed in nearby Pittsburgh. Jimmy also faced very talented hitters in the Industrial League. On one occasion, Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby brought his Boston Braves to town for an exhibition and left having signed two of Jimmy’s teammates and taken them with the Braves team on the train back to Boston.
Jimmy himself had a chance to sign a professional contract with the St. Louis Browns (now known as the Baltimore Orioles), but he declined presumably because the Browns made known they planned to send him to start off with their Mobile, Alabama minor league team. I wonder if it also had something to do with the Majors having outlawed the spitball after the 1920 season due in part to the death of Cleveland’s Ray Chapman who died after being struck in the head with a pitch. Chapman is believed to have been unable to see the dirtied up baseball. Seventeen major league pitchers then throwing the spitball were grandfathered in and allowed to keep throwing it. Among these was Jimmy’s old friend Dana Fillingim.
When Firestone struggled to defeat Jimmy on the mound, Firestone’s manager lobbied the Akron Industrial League to outlaw the spitball. I am not sure if the Akron Industrial League ever banned the pitch, but Jimmy quit going to his mouth with his fingers and learned to spit in his glove where he could apply the necessary saliva. Jimmy learned that he could produce more saliva by chewing a substance known as slippery elm. Some teams got wise to Jimmy and put a substance known as acacia on the baseballs, which was intended to make the balls less susceptible to spittle. Not to be outdone, Jimmy developed a paraffin ball by secretly applying the substance to his gray uniform and then the baseball. Jimmy would fake the spitball and throw the paraffin ball, which tended to sail rather than drop. Jimmy credited the spitball for his longevity. He noted that he threw the spitball about every three pitches and never had a sore arm. When Jimmy wasn’t pitching for General Tire, he picked up with other teams across Ohio and Pennsylvania getting paid as much as $100.00 a game to pitch.
Jimmy was inducted to the Summit County, Ohio Sports Hall of Fame in 1963. After retiring, Jimmy and Joe Lee moved to Fort Pierce, Florida where Jimmy died in 1966 at the age of 74. If you would like to read more about Jimmy including seeing many photographs, you can access old copies of the Akron Beacon Journal on newspapers.com. I hope that you have enjoyed reading about this forgotten Dodge County baseball player. Next week, I intend to write about Dodge’s first college football star. I doubt you have heard of him either, but you will certainly recognize the surname.

BASEBALL UPDATE
By Joey Marchant
The baseball update is that as of press time there really is no update. Georgia schools remain closed through March 31st by order of Governor Brian Kemp in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. I do not think anyone believes that schools will or should reopen anytime soon. The GHSA has not given any clue to the public about how it will proceed.
The GHSA Facebook page still refers to the stoppage in play as a postponement. There is a petition at www.change.org urging the GHSA to try to salvage the spring sports season with over 30,200 signatures. However, the reality is that sports are secondary right now. The number of new coronavirus cases continues to rise as more people are tested. Georgians are dying. Businesses are shut down. Government offices are closed to the public. Stocks have plummeted. About the only thing that hasn’t changed in our world is that Republicans and Democrats in Congress cannot agree on anything.
I do have one correction from last week. The run allowed by Landin Crummey in the fourth inning to Bleckley County was unearned as the run was scored by Jack Fernandez whom Crummey had struck out only to have Fernandez reach safely when the ball got away from the catcher. I incorrectly wrote that Stephen Knighton who Crummey had walked scored the run. Knighton was left on base. Crummey’s stat line was five and two-thirds (5 2/3) innings pitched allowing 3 runs (1 earned run) on 5 hits. He struck out 7 batters and walked 3 batters.
Hopefully, we will have an update next week. Also, I am working on an article about a former Dodge County pitcher who once struck out Babe Ruth.






RUSS"S SPORTS REVIEW
By Russ Ragan
The sports world has never been as quiet as it is now, but it has been an eventful and I think productive one for the Falcons. They started the week with the trade that brought them Hayden Hurst from Baltimore. It should be a good one but they didn’t stop there. Let me start by saying the trade is official but everything else is pending physicals. Atlanta came in horrible cap space, so I am not real sure how they got these other deals done. There are reports that Ryan and Matthews both re-structured their contracts to open up more cap space.
The biggest move of the week came when they signed defensive end Dante Fowler from the Rams. He got a three-year 48 million dollar deal. It is pending physical. He had a great 2019 with 11.5 sacks. He was the number one pick of Jacksonville. Things never got going as he blew out the ACL in his knee on the first day of practice. If he can stay healthy he could make a huge impact for Atlanta.
Speaking of the Rams, congratulations to Dodge Counties own Leonard Floyd. He signed a one year ten millions dollar deal with Los Angeles right after the Fowler deal was announced. He will probably play outside linebacker for the Rams.
Perhaps the most popular deal came Friday morning as the birds signed former UGA star Todd Gurley to a one year deal. The one year five million dollar deal is an absolute steal if he is healthy. That is a huge if, but he was better than Devonta Freeman with one good leg. He won’t be a workhorse but he can bring depth to a running back crew that needed it. Of course, he will also sell a bunch of jerseys that I am sure will go on sale as soon as he passes a physical.
Can you believe that they still weren’t enough? I can’t. On Sunday, they signed their third former first round pick of the week as they picked up wide out Laquan Treadwell. He played four years with the Vikings and it didn’t work out. He will probably be the third or fourth receiver for Atlanta. He has piles of upsize and he might work out.
Yes, it was a productive week as they up four former first round picks and they had one other thing in common, they were all former SEC players. Hurst played at South Carolina, Fowler at Florida, and Gurley at Georgia and Treadwell at Ole Miss. These are quite the pickups for a franchise that for some reason doesn’t draft the SEC conference very much. I like the changes that are coming to the offense. I think it’s safe to say this year’s college draft will be strong on defense.
Barring something major WrestleMania 36 will be a big topic of discussion next week. For sports contest players it might be a good idea to watch wrestling this Monday and Friday night.

By Joey Marchant
For the first time this season, we had a beautiful week of weather that did not interfere with baseball practice or scheduled games. However, a new obstacle has arisen. The COVID-19 virus has made its way to Georgia. On Thursday March 12th, the Georgia High School Association (GHSA), “strongly recommended” that Georgia high schools suspend all sports activities for the next two weeks. According to GHSA Executive Director Dr. Robin Hines, this recommendation was the result of Governor Brian Kemp’s earlier press conference, in which he recommended all schools close for two weeks.
At that time, the ball was left in the court of the Dodge County School System. All sports competitions with other schools were immediately postponed. However, at that time, the team could still practice. The ability to practice ended when Dodge County Schools opted to close indefinitely on March 16th. Later that day, Governor Kemp issued an executive order closing all schools through March 31st. That is where we currently stand.
Now let us look back at the action on the field. Dodge hosted West Laurens on March 9th. West Laurens sent its ace Bradley Wilson to the mound. He is committed to play collegiately for Mississippi State. Wilson’s Perfect Game Baseball profile shows his fastball has been clocked at 90 miles per hour. I would estimate he was around 88 mile per hour for this game as I watched him pitch Friday at Jeff Davis where he was clocked at 88. He kept his fastball down against Dodge and used a nice curveball to keep the Dodge lineup off balance. Parker Dixon got the only hit off Wilson for Dodge as he stroked a double over the head of the West Laurens centerfielder. Davis Marchant squared Wilson up twice, but was robbed of a hit both times when West Laurens made nice defensive plays. Noah Mincey had an infield hit off Tyler Franks who relieved Wilson. Other than that, there was no Dodge offense of which to speak. Brendan O’Connor started on the mound for Dodge where he made his fifth appearance in as many Dodge games. O’Connor pitched four and one-third (4 1/3) innings surrendering five runs, all earned, on six hits. He walked two and struck out one. Garrett Durden relieved O’Connor. Durden pitched one and two-thirds (1 2/3) innings allowing three hits. He was charged with two runs allowed, both earned. He walked one batter and hit one batter. Noah Mincey relieved Durden. Mincey pitched one inning allowing two runs on two hits while walking one batter. West Laurens defeated Dodge 9-0.
Dodge hosted Bleckley County on March 10th. Landin Crummey started on the mound for Dodge and pitched well. Crummey breezed through the first three innings. Meanwhile, Dodge blew a golden opportunity to take and early lead in the second inning. Davis Marchant led off with a base hit to centerfield. Noah Mincey followed with a base hit to right field. Brodie Woodard laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to second and third. Coach Herring called for the suicide squeeze, but Dodge could not get the bunt down in fair territory. A strikeout and a fly out ended the threat for Dodge, as the game remained scoreless. This failure to score would loom large at the end of the game.
[Full Story »] 

By Joey Marchant
Dodge kicked off the 3AA Region schedule by taking two games from Dublin last week in what should be the last time we see these two old rivals play on the diamond for a while. The baseball rivalry between the two towns dates back to at least 1898. Dublin High has a proud baseball history. The fence at Bush Perry Field is adorned with the names of several former college and professional players from Dublin High as well as recognition of several Region Championship teams. However, as kids have fled the City School District in favor of Laurens County Schools, enrollment has dwindled and many of the Dublin High athletic programs have suffered. Dublin Baseball has not posted a winning season since 2015. With Dublin dropping down to the Single A classification, there is no reason for Dodge and Dublin to continue playing in baseball as these matchups do nothing to challenge Dodge. This is my personal opinion only. We will see what happens. I am sure the rivalry will continue in football and basketball.
The coaches worked hard to get these games in. Dodge was scheduled to travel to Dublin on March 3rd and host Dublin on March 6th. Due to the weather forecast for the week, the first game was relocated to Dodge and moved up a day to March 2nd. Light rain started to move in just as the first game was supposed to start. However, the light rain moved through leaving just enough of a window to complete the game before three days of heavy rain moved in.
Landin Crummey started on the mound for Dodge seeking to put behind him the uncharacteristic lack of control that plagued him in his last relief appearance against Crisp County. Crummey did that to some degree as he pitched five and one-third (5 1/3) hitless innings while striking out 12 Irish batters. Crummey did issue 5 walks. Crummey may well have completed the no hitter as he had a pitch count in the high eighties, but there was no sense in stressing his arm this early in the season after he had pitched in relief two days earlier.
Brendan O’Connor continued to be a great table setter for Dodge as he led off with a walk. Garrett Durden also walked. Cole Cranford continued to swing a hot bat as he singled to right field to load the bases. Noah Mincey drew a walk to drive in O’Connor and give Dodge a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, Dodge was unable to break the game open as the next two batters filed out leaving the bases loaded. Dodge added two more runs in the third inning. Cranford reached on a throwing error by the third baseman and ended up on third on the play courtesy of a throwing error by the first baseman. Noah Mincey reached on an error by the shortstop as Cranford had to hold at third. Davis Marchant hit a fly ball on the infield that should have been easily caught but was allowed to drop. Mincey was forced out at second on the play as he had to assume the ball would be caught. Likewise Cranford remained at third. Davis Marchant stole second, and Dublin foolishly threw to second allowing Cranford to trot home easily from third. Marchant advanced to third on a wild pitch. Crummey drew a walk. Cossett came in as a courtesy runner for Crummey. Cossett intentionally broke for second early to try and draw a throw from the pitcher, which worked as planned. Meanwhile, Marchant trotted home from third. Dodge led 3-0.
Dodge scored gain in the fourth when O’Connor had a base hit. He moved to second on a botched pickoff attempt. Brodie Woodard hit a fly ball to left field allowing O’Connor to tag and advance to third. Garrett Durden drove him in with a single giving Dodge a 4-0 lead.
Dodge added to the lead in the fifth. Mincey hit a routine fly ball to left, which the left fielder dropped allowing the hustling Mincey to make it into second base standing. Mincey advanced to third on a passed ball and was driven home by a sacrifice fly from Crummey. Dodge led 5-0.
Dodge scored its final run in the sixth. Woodard led off with a walk. Garrett Durden reached on an error. Cranford grounded out to advance the runners to second and third. Mincey reached on an error allowing Woodard to score. Dodge led 6-0.
Crummey was removed after allowing a one out walk in the sixth. O’Connor came on in relief. The first batter he faced was called out for interfering with the Catcher Parker Hardin as he was attempting to throw out the runner stealing second base. O’Connor struck out the next batter to retire the Irish in the sixth. The Irish did manage to score three runs in the bottom of the seventh to make the final margin 6-3 Dodge County. With all the help from Dublin, this game should not have been close. Dodge could manage only four hits in the game. [Full Story »] 

By Joey Marchant
After having a game at Vidalia rained out, Dodge traveled to Cordele on February 29th for a doubleheader with Crisp County High and Southland Academy of Americus. It was a beautiful day, but the wind was terribly strong and affected the play on the field at times.
Dodge got off to a good start against Crisp as Brendan O’Connor led off the game with a single to right field. Brodie Woodard got down a sacrifice bunt, but with the first baseman charging, the second baseman was late rotating over to cover first and could not handle the throw from the pitcher. Garrett Durden hit a sacrifice fly to score O’Connor from third. Parker Dixon hit into what should have been a fielder’s choice, but the second baseman did not have his foot on the bag when he received the throw leaving Woodard safe at second and Dixon safe at first. Andrew Lowery later served a single into right field scoring both Woodard and Dixon. Dodge led 3-0.
Lowery pitched another great game as he went 5 scoreless innings striking out 7 and giving up 1 hit and 1 walk. Lowery has now pitched 19 innings and given up only 1 earned run giving him a miniscule ERA of 0.3684.
Dodge added a run in the fourth. Garrett Durden led off with a base hit by a diving third baseman. Dixon grounded out advancing Durden to second base. Noah Mincey doubled, but Durden had to hold at third. Lowery got down a suicide squeeze bunt, and Durden was safe at the plate sliding under the tag. Dodge led 4-0.
Dodge added to the lead in the fifth. Griffin Durden and Davis Marchant each drew walks to start the inning. Landin Crummey would hit a sacrifice fly to score Durden. O’Connor would hit a sacrifice fly to score Marchant. Dodge led 6-0, and it appeared the Indians were headed for an easy victory. However, the wheels were about to come off for Dodge.
In the top of the sixth, after Garrett Durden reached on an error and Dixon singled, Lowery got down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. As Lowery hustled down the line, he appeared to tweak something. It is unclear if the decision had already been made to pull Lowery off the mound and save him for the region schedule starting this week, but he was definitely done pitching now.
Crummey came in from right field to start the bottom of the sixth on the mound as Lowery replaced him in right. Crummey just didn’t have good command on this day. Garrett Durden came in to relieve Crummey, and he struggled as well. By the time the inning was over, Dodge had issued 7 walks and hit another batter in the inning allowing the Cougars to close the gap to 6-4 without a single hit recorded in the inning. Dodge could have easily squandered the entire lead, but with the bases loaded and one out, Durden got a sharp ground ball to Dixon who fielded it and alertly stepped on third base for the second out before firing across the diamond to complete the double play at first base.
Dodge got some much needed insurance in the top of the seventh. Bases on balls were now the order of the day as Parker Hardin, O’Connor and Woodard all walked to load the bases. Garrett Durden then walked to score Cole Cranford who had entered as a courtesy runner for Hardin. Dixon grounded out to shortstop to drive in O’Connor giving Dodge an 8-4 lead.
[Full Story »] 

Dodge had to shuffle its schedule as weather threatened to leave them without a single game last week. A game at West Laurens was cancelled when West Laurens cancelled classes for students on Wednesday. By rule, class cancellations prohibit a school from hosting sporting events on that day.
Dodge offered to host West Laurens, but the Raiders declined. On Friday, Dodge County was forced to cancel classes due to weather preventing the Indians from hosting Berrien County as scheduled. Berrien invited the Indians to travel down to Nashville for the second time in seven days. Eager to avenge a gut wrenching defeat at the hands of Berrien, Dodge took the Rebels up on the offer. The Indians took advantage of the hospitality by defeating Berrien 6-1.
Andrew Lowery started on the mound for Dodge and had another excellent performance. He would run his consecutive scoreless innings streak to ten and two thirds (10 2/3) innings before giving up a solo home run with two outs in the third inning. Lowery followed that by hitting a batter, giving up a base hit, and issuing a walk to load the bases with two outs. Lowery got the next batter to fly out to Brendan O’Connor in left field for the third out. Lowery would go on to pitch three more scoreless innings to earn his second win of the season finishing with six innings pitched allowing three hits and one run while striking out three, walking two and hitting one batter. Landin Crummey came into pitch the seventh inning and retired all three batters striking out one.
Offensively, Dodge eventually took advantage of several Berrien miscues while hitting the ball a little better than last week. Dodge also ran the bases well. Dodge wasted a leadoff single by O’Connor and a single and stolen base by Garret Durden who was bumped up to the two-spot in the batting order.
In the second, Dodge wasted a leadoff single by Brodie Woodard. A would be extra base hit by Davis Marchant landed inches foul down the right field line. Marchant then hit into a fielder’s choice erasing Woodard. Marchant was erased when Crummey hit into a fielder’s choice. A Dodge strikeout ended the inning.
In the Dodge third, O’Connor led off with another base hit. He was erased when Durden hit into a fielder’s choice. Parker Dixon flew out to deep center for the second out. Lowery and Noah Mincey drew walks to load the bases. Then Brodie Woodard drew a walk to plate Durden. With the bases still loaded, Coach Herring gave the go ahead for Seth Cossett to attempt a straight steal of home plate. Cossett has good speed and had entered earlier as a courtesy runner for Lowery.
The right handed pitcher was pitching from the windup with the bases loaded, which meant there was nothing he could do but deliver to the plate once he started his motion. Cossett timed it up and went on first movement sliding into the plate before the catcher could receive the pitch and tag him. For good measure, the left handed Crummey feigned a bunt attempt to try and distract the catcher. Mincey and Woodard stole second and third respectively thus completing the rarest play in all of baseball, the “straight triple steal.” Dodge led 2-0.
Dodge would add another run in the fourth. Marchant reached on an error by the third baseman when he hit a high pop up into the swirling wind. The third baseman didn’t have a chance. It looked like something you would see at old Candlestick Park. Timmy Johnson came in as a pinch runner for the designated hitter Marchant and would take his spot in the batting order thereafter. O’Connor then hit one hard to third base that was scored an error as the third base man misplayed the hop. The speedy Johnson advanced to third on the play. With two outs, Parker Dixon doubled to left scoring Johnson and giving Dodge a 3-1 lead.
[Full Story »] 

By Joey Marchant
It was a mixed bag for Dodge County Baseball as they opened the regular season. There were highs and lows. The good news is that Dodge pitching gave up only one earned run in three games and starting pitching and produced two complete games. The bad news is that Dodge struggled at the plate at times and committed a few errors in the field. All in all, the team showed a lot of promise.
Dodge opened at home with Hawkinsville. Andrew Lowery took the mound for Dodge and pitched a complete game shutout giving up only two hits while striking out five and walking two. Lowery was efficient throwing only around seventy pitches. Hawkinsville came out very aggressive at the plate as the first three batters swung at the first pitch. A base hit and an uncharacteristic Dodge error set Hawkinsville up with a chance to take an early lead with runners at first and second base with one out. However, things ended abruptly when Lowery got a ground ball to second base that Garrett Durden fielded and flipped to Brodie Woodard covering second base for the second out. Woodard threw on to Noah Mincey at first for out number three to complete the double play.
Dodge wasted no time taking a first inning lead. Woodard reached on an error by the shortstop. Parker Dixon hit a two run homerun to left field to drive in Woodard. Lowery walked and was replaced by courtesy runner Timmy Johnson. Mincey singled in the gap between first and second base, and the right fielder allowed the ball to roll under his glove all the way to the fence. The speedy Johnson came all the way around to score despite taking a tumble rounding third. Mincey ended up on third where he would remain stranded, but Dodge led 3-0.
Lowery was on cruise control from the second through the sixth innings retiring fourteen of the fifteen batters he faced.
Meanwhile Dodge padded the lead at the plate. In the bottom of the second, Catcher Parker Hardin hit a fly ball to left, which was dropped by the left fielder. Hardin hustled into second base where he was relieved by courtesy runner Kade Harpe. Davis Marchant grounded out to the right side moving Harpe to third. Brendan O’Connor doubled to left center scoring Harpe. With two outs, Durden hit a fly ball on the infield, which inexplicably fell between the first and second basemen for a cheap hit. O’Connor was running on contact, but he had to hold at third due to stumbling rounding the bag. Dixon placed a two strike pitch into left field for a single plating O’Connor and giving Dodge a 5-0 lead.
Woodard walked in the bottom of the fourth and scored from first on an RBI double by Durden. Dixon had an infield hit. Lowery hit a pop up on the infield, which the second baseman seemed to lose sight of before making an unsuccessful attempt to catch it. Durden scored on the play to give Dodge a 7-0 lead.
Dodge added a final run in the bottom of the sixth when Durden led off with a standup triple. Lowery grounded out to third scoring Durden. Mincey followed with a double, but he was stranded. Dodge led 8-0.
Lowery came out for the seventh to try to close out the game. He looked to be tiring as he gave up a base hit and a walk. He later gave up a deep fly ball to center, but Landin Crummey immediately turned and ran the ball down in the air for the crucial second out. Fittingly, Lowery fanned the last batter for his fifth strikeout to preserve the win.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Parker Dixon was 3 for 4 with a homerun, 3 RBI and 1 run scored. Garrett Durden was 3 for 4 with a triple, a double, 1 RBI and 1 run scored. Noah Mincey was 2 for 3 with a double. Brendan O’Connor was 1 for 4 with double, 1 RBI and 1 run scored. Davis Marchant was 1 for 3.
Dodge later made a trip to Swainsboro to take on the Tigers. Brodie Woodard took the mound for Dodge, and he also hurled a complete game. Woodard scattered six hits while walking one batter and hitting one batter. He struck out one batter, and he gave up only two unearned runs.
This game should not have been close as Dodge would leave eleven runners on base. Dodge wasted base hits by Garrett Durden and Parker Dixon in the first inning when Durden was thrown out trying to steal home. It was a good idea as Dixon intentionally tried to get himself in a rundown between first and second in order to allow Durden to score from third. Dodge tries this often and has stolen many runs this way. This time Swainsboro played it well.
Woodard got through the first two innings fairly easily giving up only a double and a single and holding Swainsboro scoreless. Dodge loaded the bases in the top of the third inning. Brendan O’Connor led off with a base hit and was able to advance to second on a ground out by Woodard. Durden and Dixon each walked, but Dodge could not score.
[Full Story »]