Archers participate and place at Eastern National Tournament
The Dodge County Team Bullseye attended the 2019 Eastern National Archery in Schools Program Tournament last weekend at the Kentucky Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky.
The middle school archers participated as individuals. Deanna Yancey scored 280 and ranked in the top 3% of the middle school girls. Others members of the middle school who attended were Hailey Cossett and Troy Tennell.
The high school team participated in the Bullseye and 3-D tournament. Both teams ranked in the top schools in the country. Jacob Towns placed 4th in the high school division. He won a medallion, plaque and $500.00 college scholarship. Noah Coleman scored a 293 and ranked in the top 1% of all Bullseye participates. Jade Barlow and Zoey Durden were the top female archers for both teams.
Member of the high school are as follows: Josh Williams, Noah Coleman, Nickolas Varndoe, Clay Robinson, Evan Kirkley, Zoey Durden, Llya Tripp, Aliyah Durham, Zack Anderson, Hayden Spires, Jade Barlow, Ashley Smith and Halie Smith.
The coaching staff attending the tournament was Elaine Pittman, Brenda Williams, Jason Williams, George Johnson and Gabriel Ellis.
Team Bullseye extends their appreciation for all the hard work of the coaches, volunteers and parents.
Sports
Russ's Sports Review
The Braves wrapped up their 10 game road trip on Sunday and all this season has been up and down. After sweeping the horrible Marlins, the Dodgers handled the Braves in three straight. Then came the wild Arizona series. The D-Backs won the first game in extra innings and you have to be thinking oh no, a long losing streak.
Somehow the Braves won the last three and got through the road trip 6-4 and in pretty good shape. They are 21-20 and only (somehow) three games behind the Phillies. The rest of the month looks tough. They started a six game home stand on Tuesday against the Cardinals and then the Brewers came to Atlanta. They will next go to St. Louis and San Francisco. The rest of the month will be a monster.
We finally did see a batting order change on the road trip. Acuna did go back to the leadoff spot. Albies was moved to the sixth spot in the order. Acuna was the top leadoff man in the game in the second half of last season. The order as a whole has been pretty good from the top to bottom with the exception of one guy and it is Ender Inciarte. The gold gloved center fielder is hitting just .218. Changes could be on the way, but more on that later.
Now for everyone’s favorite discussion, the Braves bullpen. Who will be the closer this week? Do you buy Luke Jackson on being the full time closer? Sorry but I am not ready for that. Honestly I have no faith in anybody coming out of the pen.
The Braves will join about nine other teams in he chase for Kimbrel. He will be available without draft pick compensation. I know the Braves would love to have him but will the team win a bidding war? My short answer is no.
If you have kept up with the Braves, this week is the bat of Austin Riley. He is killing it at AAA Gwinnett. The problem is Riley is a third baseman and Donaldson isn’t going anywhere so what to do? The potential solution could be under way. Riley has started playing left field some in Gwinnett. Is he ready to move to the big club? Probably not yet but I think the process is speeding up. After all, the 22-year-old Riley is hitting .300 on the year with 14 homers and 35 RBI’s. His strike out rate is still a little high but it is getting better. In a month or so, I could see an outfield with Riley, Acuna and Markakis. That would make Inciarte the odd man out.
Maybe they could move him for some pitching help, perhaps to Cleveland who could really use an outfielder. That could certainly hurt the defense side of the outfield but it would put more runs on the board.
By now, we will all know the results of the NBA Lottery for the Draft. Lets hope by some miracle that the Hawks can get the top pick and grab Zion. He would help make the team one of the most exciting ones to watch.
I know there are a lot of “closet” wrestling fans out there. There is some huge news that is supposed to come out this week that could change the industry.
As you know, the WWE isn’t really good right now and things could soon get much worse!
Somehow the Braves won the last three and got through the road trip 6-4 and in pretty good shape. They are 21-20 and only (somehow) three games behind the Phillies. The rest of the month looks tough. They started a six game home stand on Tuesday against the Cardinals and then the Brewers came to Atlanta. They will next go to St. Louis and San Francisco. The rest of the month will be a monster.
We finally did see a batting order change on the road trip. Acuna did go back to the leadoff spot. Albies was moved to the sixth spot in the order. Acuna was the top leadoff man in the game in the second half of last season. The order as a whole has been pretty good from the top to bottom with the exception of one guy and it is Ender Inciarte. The gold gloved center fielder is hitting just .218. Changes could be on the way, but more on that later.
Now for everyone’s favorite discussion, the Braves bullpen. Who will be the closer this week? Do you buy Luke Jackson on being the full time closer? Sorry but I am not ready for that. Honestly I have no faith in anybody coming out of the pen.
The Braves will join about nine other teams in he chase for Kimbrel. He will be available without draft pick compensation. I know the Braves would love to have him but will the team win a bidding war? My short answer is no.
If you have kept up with the Braves, this week is the bat of Austin Riley. He is killing it at AAA Gwinnett. The problem is Riley is a third baseman and Donaldson isn’t going anywhere so what to do? The potential solution could be under way. Riley has started playing left field some in Gwinnett. Is he ready to move to the big club? Probably not yet but I think the process is speeding up. After all, the 22-year-old Riley is hitting .300 on the year with 14 homers and 35 RBI’s. His strike out rate is still a little high but it is getting better. In a month or so, I could see an outfield with Riley, Acuna and Markakis. That would make Inciarte the odd man out.
Maybe they could move him for some pitching help, perhaps to Cleveland who could really use an outfielder. That could certainly hurt the defense side of the outfield but it would put more runs on the board.
By now, we will all know the results of the NBA Lottery for the Draft. Lets hope by some miracle that the Hawks can get the top pick and grab Zion. He would help make the team one of the most exciting ones to watch.
I know there are a lot of “closet” wrestling fans out there. There is some huge news that is supposed to come out this week that could change the industry.
As you know, the WWE isn’t really good right now and things could soon get much worse!
Russ's Sports Review
Okay. It was a good week for the Braves as they won five of seven games against the Padres and the horrible league’s worst Marlins. They are 6-4 in their last ten and only stand 1.5 games out of the lead in what has been an underwhelming National League East so far. Right now they are in Los Angeles playing a good Dodger team. After this rough series, they will go to Arizona to play a much better than expected Diamondbacks team. The D’Backs swept the Braves in Atlanta in April.
The highlight of the week was Friday night against the Marlins. It was the re-match against Jose Urena. You remember Urena, right? He beamed Acuna last year and hurt his wrist. I had a feeling that something was going to happen back at him. Sure enough, Braves starter Kevin Gausman threw a pitch behind Urena, but it missed him.
It was considered to be on purpose and I do feel like it was, so Gausman and manager Brian Snitker were both ejected from the game. The Braves won as Touki Toussaint pitched four really good innings out of the bullpen. Touki was brought up Friday “just in case he was needed” and headed back to AAA on Saturday. I am sure the Braves will be heavily fined and I am sure Gausman will be suspended by the league this week. Hear me out before being critical of my upcoming statements. I know the Braves are only 1.5 games out of first place going into Monday’s play, but I do not see the East staying at this level and frankly, I think this is the kind of team the Braves are going to be this season. The bullpen is a mess and honestly I don’t see Kimbrel coming in to save the day. This team will score some runs but I don’t think the pitching will hold up over 162 games. An 85-win season is probably the best they can do and I don’t think when the dust settles that they will make the playoffs.
There are six players that are my personal key to look at for the 2019 season. Let’s start with the offense. The trio of Albies, Acuna and Swanson are important to this team. Of course Acuna and Albies signed cheap long-term deals. They both are real streaky but if they stay healthy, things will be fine for many years to come. The third is Swanson. He is leading the club in RBI’s with 25. His defense is very good so if he can hold his own at the plate, things should be just fine. I didn’t mention Freeman because we know what he is going to do. It looks like help is on the way but more on that a little later.
Now for the pitchers. The most important to me are Fried, Soroka and Toussaint. I know Touki is in AAA but if Fried and Soroka can keep the pace up, those could be a great one-two punch. Personally, I would rather see Touki stay in the majors but that is my take and his upside may be higher than the rest.
I said earlier that help is on the way. Here is the report from the farm. The hottest by far is third baseman, Austin Riley at AAA Gwinnett. He has ten homers in just 113 at bats. He hit four this week including a 492-foot shot. He is also hitting .301 on the year. The problem is that I do not see any big club play for him soon. Josh Donaldson will be the third baseman unless he is injured. Another player that needs a chance is Cristian Pache. He is a 20-year-old centerfielder. He is hitting .300 on the year. The big deal about him is his glove. Many consider him the best outfielder period. I know Inciarte is a golden glove outfielder but his bat is not an asset. I would love to see him in center in the 2020 season.
The one arm I would like to see get a shot maybe next year is 21 year old right-hander Ian Anderson. He is at AA Mississippi. He needs to work on his control just a little and maybe a chance to the 2020 rotation.
I am sticking to my predictions on the 2019 team not making the post season. If the organization can get some financial help, the future can be real bright for years to come!
The highlight of the week was Friday night against the Marlins. It was the re-match against Jose Urena. You remember Urena, right? He beamed Acuna last year and hurt his wrist. I had a feeling that something was going to happen back at him. Sure enough, Braves starter Kevin Gausman threw a pitch behind Urena, but it missed him.
It was considered to be on purpose and I do feel like it was, so Gausman and manager Brian Snitker were both ejected from the game. The Braves won as Touki Toussaint pitched four really good innings out of the bullpen. Touki was brought up Friday “just in case he was needed” and headed back to AAA on Saturday. I am sure the Braves will be heavily fined and I am sure Gausman will be suspended by the league this week. Hear me out before being critical of my upcoming statements. I know the Braves are only 1.5 games out of first place going into Monday’s play, but I do not see the East staying at this level and frankly, I think this is the kind of team the Braves are going to be this season. The bullpen is a mess and honestly I don’t see Kimbrel coming in to save the day. This team will score some runs but I don’t think the pitching will hold up over 162 games. An 85-win season is probably the best they can do and I don’t think when the dust settles that they will make the playoffs.
There are six players that are my personal key to look at for the 2019 season. Let’s start with the offense. The trio of Albies, Acuna and Swanson are important to this team. Of course Acuna and Albies signed cheap long-term deals. They both are real streaky but if they stay healthy, things will be fine for many years to come. The third is Swanson. He is leading the club in RBI’s with 25. His defense is very good so if he can hold his own at the plate, things should be just fine. I didn’t mention Freeman because we know what he is going to do. It looks like help is on the way but more on that a little later.
Now for the pitchers. The most important to me are Fried, Soroka and Toussaint. I know Touki is in AAA but if Fried and Soroka can keep the pace up, those could be a great one-two punch. Personally, I would rather see Touki stay in the majors but that is my take and his upside may be higher than the rest.
I said earlier that help is on the way. Here is the report from the farm. The hottest by far is third baseman, Austin Riley at AAA Gwinnett. He has ten homers in just 113 at bats. He hit four this week including a 492-foot shot. He is also hitting .301 on the year. The problem is that I do not see any big club play for him soon. Josh Donaldson will be the third baseman unless he is injured. Another player that needs a chance is Cristian Pache. He is a 20-year-old centerfielder. He is hitting .300 on the year. The big deal about him is his glove. Many consider him the best outfielder period. I know Inciarte is a golden glove outfielder but his bat is not an asset. I would love to see him in center in the 2020 season.
The one arm I would like to see get a shot maybe next year is 21 year old right-hander Ian Anderson. He is at AA Mississippi. He needs to work on his control just a little and maybe a chance to the 2020 rotation.
I am sticking to my predictions on the 2019 team not making the post season. If the organization can get some financial help, the future can be real bright for years to come!
Dancers and tumblers bring home
over 20 awards at competition
Members of the Georgia Peach Dance and Tumbling Competition Team competed in the Regional Dance Competition in Dublin on April 12 through April 14.
Competiting against teams with 20 plus members, the 12-member team brought home: four platinum elite awards, 11 platinum awards, four high gold awards, one judges award for most entertaining, one second place overall award out of 10 routines, one first place overall award out of nine routines, one fourth place overall award out of 23 routines, one eighth place overall award out of 23 routines, one 11th place overall award out of 27 routines, one fourth place overall award out of 27 routines, one third place overall award out of 27 routines, one second place overall award out of 10 routines, one first place overall award out of 10 routines, two second place break down awards, two first place break down awards and four top performer of the day awards.
Team members pictured above are Raegan Lancaster, Kynslie Reynolds, Azaria Huttoe, Adrianna Leschak, Tamiah Smith, Camille Orange, MJ Orange, Heaven Ibarra, Isabelle Burch, Kadee Walker, Ella Walker and Amarianna Johnson. The instructor for the group is Sarah Ashley Winans.
over 20 awards at competition
Members of the Georgia Peach Dance and Tumbling Competition Team competed in the Regional Dance Competition in Dublin on April 12 through April 14.
Competiting against teams with 20 plus members, the 12-member team brought home: four platinum elite awards, 11 platinum awards, four high gold awards, one judges award for most entertaining, one second place overall award out of 10 routines, one first place overall award out of nine routines, one fourth place overall award out of 23 routines, one eighth place overall award out of 23 routines, one 11th place overall award out of 27 routines, one fourth place overall award out of 27 routines, one third place overall award out of 27 routines, one second place overall award out of 10 routines, one first place overall award out of 10 routines, two second place break down awards, two first place break down awards and four top performer of the day awards.
Team members pictured above are Raegan Lancaster, Kynslie Reynolds, Azaria Huttoe, Adrianna Leschak, Tamiah Smith, Camille Orange, MJ Orange, Heaven Ibarra, Isabelle Burch, Kadee Walker, Ella Walker and Amarianna Johnson. The instructor for the group is Sarah Ashley Winans.
Indian baseball season ends in playoffs
By Joey Marchant
Dodge had a tough draw in the first round of the state playoffs traveling to Alma on April 24th to face the 8th ranked Bacon County Red Raiders who had a record of 21-8. Bacon had a solid lineup, good pitching and excellent defense. They were easily the best team Dodge faced this year.
Andrew Lowery took the mound for Dodge in the first game and pitched a complete game allowing just four runs on nine hits. He walked one batter and hit one batter. He struck out two. Dodge played solid defense behind Lowery.
Dodge got on the scoreboard first in the third inning when DJ Bursch walked and stole second. Garrett Durden drove in Bursch with a base hit to give Dodge a 1-0 lead.
Bacon tied it at 1-1 in the bottom of the third.
It appeared Bacon would break it open in the fourth, but Bursch got a great jump on a ball hit in the right center gap and made a diving catch for out three. At the crack of the bat, it looked like a sure double that would plate two runs. The score remained tied.
Dodge had a chance to take the lead in the fifth. Brendan O’Connor reached on an error. Durden walked, and Brodie Woodard walked to load the bases with one out. Kadin Burse hit a rocket right at the third baseman which had it been a few feet either way would have plated two runs. That did not happen. The third baseman made the catch and was able to beat O’Connor to the third base bag for the double play to end the inning.
Bacon added two runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 3-1 lead.
Dodge had another opportunity to score in the sixth as Lowery, Parker Hardin and Bursch all drew walks to load the bases with two outs. Dodge could not score. You cannot load the bases twice without scoring against a good team and expect to win.
Bacon added another run in the bottom of the sixth on a questionable balk call as Lowery attempted to pick off a runner. Bacon led 4-1.
Woodard and Burse had base hits for Dodge in the seventh bringing the tying run to the plate. Dodge ended the game by grounding into a double play falling by a score of 4-1.
Leading hitters for Dodge were Brodie Woodard who was three for three with a walk and Garrett Durden who was one for three with one run batted in (RBI).
Dodge would need to win the second game to stay alive and force a third game the next day. Parker Gay started the second game on the mound for Dodge. After struggling early, Gay settled down and showed a lot of guts the rest of the way pitching five innings allowing six runs on seven hits.Gay walked two batters and hit two batters. He struck out six.
Bacon came out on fire taking a 5-0 lead after one inning. Gay worked his way out of a bases loaded one out jam in the second by getting a ground back to the pitcher and a fly out to first base.
Gay struck out the side in the third but did allow an unearned run thanks to a walk and a Dodge error. Bacon led 6-0.
Gay did not allow a run in the fourth. Meanwhile Dodge went hitless through the first three innings. Dodge rallied in the fourth. Garrett Durden and Brodie Woodard had consecutive base hits to start the inning. Noah Mincey would later draw a walk, and DJ Bursch came to the plate with two outs. Bursch was due for the big hit Dodge so desperately needed. Bursch was averaging one homer a week over the last month. He got a belt high fastball and did not miss driving the pitch to the deepest part of the ballpark. Had he pulled the pitch to left as he had done often over the last month, it would have been another homerun. Bursch would have to settle for a bases clearing double over the head of the centerfielder driving in Durden, Woodard and Mincey. Parker Hardin singled driving in Bursch to cut the Bacon lead to 6-4.
Gay finished his high school career on a positive note sitting down the Raiders in order in the fifth. Woodard had his fifth base hit of the day in the bottom of the fifth, but Dodge could not score.
Landin Crummey came in to pitch the sixth for Dodge. Crummey deserved to escape the inning unscathed, but two Dodge errors led to a Bacon run and a 7-4 Bacon lead.
Bacon all but closed the door in the seventh by scoring four runs for an 11-4 lead. Dodge would not give up until the final out. O’Connor reached on an error and went to third on a base hit by Durden. O’Connor scored on a wild pitch. Woodard walked. Burse recorded the final Dodge hit of the season and his high school career driving in Durden with the final Dodge run of the season in the 11-6 defeat.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Garrett Durden was two for four with two runs scored. Brodie Woodard was two for three with a walk and one run scored. Kadin Burse was one for four with and RBI. DJ Bursch was one for three with double and a walk with three RBI and one run scored. Parker Hardin was one for one with a walk and one RBI.
Dodge finished the season with a record of 17-9. Great things are expected from Dodge next year as they return seven players with significant starting experience and a host of capable reserves.
By Joey Marchant
Dodge had a tough draw in the first round of the state playoffs traveling to Alma on April 24th to face the 8th ranked Bacon County Red Raiders who had a record of 21-8. Bacon had a solid lineup, good pitching and excellent defense. They were easily the best team Dodge faced this year.
Andrew Lowery took the mound for Dodge in the first game and pitched a complete game allowing just four runs on nine hits. He walked one batter and hit one batter. He struck out two. Dodge played solid defense behind Lowery.
Dodge got on the scoreboard first in the third inning when DJ Bursch walked and stole second. Garrett Durden drove in Bursch with a base hit to give Dodge a 1-0 lead.
Bacon tied it at 1-1 in the bottom of the third.
It appeared Bacon would break it open in the fourth, but Bursch got a great jump on a ball hit in the right center gap and made a diving catch for out three. At the crack of the bat, it looked like a sure double that would plate two runs. The score remained tied.
Dodge had a chance to take the lead in the fifth. Brendan O’Connor reached on an error. Durden walked, and Brodie Woodard walked to load the bases with one out. Kadin Burse hit a rocket right at the third baseman which had it been a few feet either way would have plated two runs. That did not happen. The third baseman made the catch and was able to beat O’Connor to the third base bag for the double play to end the inning.
Bacon added two runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 3-1 lead.
Dodge had another opportunity to score in the sixth as Lowery, Parker Hardin and Bursch all drew walks to load the bases with two outs. Dodge could not score. You cannot load the bases twice without scoring against a good team and expect to win.
Bacon added another run in the bottom of the sixth on a questionable balk call as Lowery attempted to pick off a runner. Bacon led 4-1.
Woodard and Burse had base hits for Dodge in the seventh bringing the tying run to the plate. Dodge ended the game by grounding into a double play falling by a score of 4-1.
Leading hitters for Dodge were Brodie Woodard who was three for three with a walk and Garrett Durden who was one for three with one run batted in (RBI).
Dodge would need to win the second game to stay alive and force a third game the next day. Parker Gay started the second game on the mound for Dodge. After struggling early, Gay settled down and showed a lot of guts the rest of the way pitching five innings allowing six runs on seven hits.Gay walked two batters and hit two batters. He struck out six.
Bacon came out on fire taking a 5-0 lead after one inning. Gay worked his way out of a bases loaded one out jam in the second by getting a ground back to the pitcher and a fly out to first base.
Gay struck out the side in the third but did allow an unearned run thanks to a walk and a Dodge error. Bacon led 6-0.
Gay did not allow a run in the fourth. Meanwhile Dodge went hitless through the first three innings. Dodge rallied in the fourth. Garrett Durden and Brodie Woodard had consecutive base hits to start the inning. Noah Mincey would later draw a walk, and DJ Bursch came to the plate with two outs. Bursch was due for the big hit Dodge so desperately needed. Bursch was averaging one homer a week over the last month. He got a belt high fastball and did not miss driving the pitch to the deepest part of the ballpark. Had he pulled the pitch to left as he had done often over the last month, it would have been another homerun. Bursch would have to settle for a bases clearing double over the head of the centerfielder driving in Durden, Woodard and Mincey. Parker Hardin singled driving in Bursch to cut the Bacon lead to 6-4.
Gay finished his high school career on a positive note sitting down the Raiders in order in the fifth. Woodard had his fifth base hit of the day in the bottom of the fifth, but Dodge could not score.
Landin Crummey came in to pitch the sixth for Dodge. Crummey deserved to escape the inning unscathed, but two Dodge errors led to a Bacon run and a 7-4 Bacon lead.
Bacon all but closed the door in the seventh by scoring four runs for an 11-4 lead. Dodge would not give up until the final out. O’Connor reached on an error and went to third on a base hit by Durden. O’Connor scored on a wild pitch. Woodard walked. Burse recorded the final Dodge hit of the season and his high school career driving in Durden with the final Dodge run of the season in the 11-6 defeat.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Garrett Durden was two for four with two runs scored. Brodie Woodard was two for three with a walk and one run scored. Kadin Burse was one for four with and RBI. DJ Bursch was one for three with double and a walk with three RBI and one run scored. Parker Hardin was one for one with a walk and one RBI.
Dodge finished the season with a record of 17-9. Great things are expected from Dodge next year as they return seven players with significant starting experience and a host of capable reserves.
Four basketball players receive state honors
By Chad W. Smith
Several Dodge County High School (DCHS) basketball players were selected to various all-state teams for the 2018-19 basketball season.
Three senior members of the girl’s team received honors. They are Destanee Wright, Europe Brown and LaShauna Coley, along with boy’s senior Chris Clark.
Destanee Wright, a four-year starter for the DCHS Squaws basketball team, led her team to the Region 3AA Championship for the second year in a row and was named Region 3AA Player of the Year. She finished her senior season averaging 23.6 points a game, nine rebounds a game and 3.9 steals a game. She scored 1,000 points by the end of her junior season and finished with over 1,650 points in her high school career. Destanee was named the 2019 AA State Player of the Year by The Atlanta-Journal Constitution (AJC) and was named to the AJC AA All-State First Team; 2019 Georgia Athletic Coaches Association (GACA) South Senior Player of the Year; 2019 GACA South Senior All-Star Team; 2019 HypeSouth All Middle Georgia Best Offensive Player (leading all of Middle Georgia with 655 points); 2019 HypeSouth All Middle First Team and 2019 Sandy’s Spiel Girls AA All State Honors First Team.
Europe Brown finished her senior season averaging 16.9 points a game and scored over 1,000 points in her high school career to help lead the Squaws to their second Region 3AA Championship and to the state playoffs. She was named to the 2019 GACA AA South All State Team; 2019 AJC AA All State Second Team; 2019 Sandy’s Spiel Girls AA All State Honors Second team and 2019 HypeSouth All Middle Georgia Honors Second team.
LaShauna Coley finished her senior season averaging 10.6 points a game after missing the first eight games due to illness. She was named 2019 HypeSouth All Middle Georgia Honorable Mention.
Chris Clark led the Indians this year with 16.9 points a game. Clark was named to the 2019 GACA AA South Boys’ All State Team.
By Chad W. Smith
Several Dodge County High School (DCHS) basketball players were selected to various all-state teams for the 2018-19 basketball season.
Three senior members of the girl’s team received honors. They are Destanee Wright, Europe Brown and LaShauna Coley, along with boy’s senior Chris Clark.
Destanee Wright, a four-year starter for the DCHS Squaws basketball team, led her team to the Region 3AA Championship for the second year in a row and was named Region 3AA Player of the Year. She finished her senior season averaging 23.6 points a game, nine rebounds a game and 3.9 steals a game. She scored 1,000 points by the end of her junior season and finished with over 1,650 points in her high school career. Destanee was named the 2019 AA State Player of the Year by The Atlanta-Journal Constitution (AJC) and was named to the AJC AA All-State First Team; 2019 Georgia Athletic Coaches Association (GACA) South Senior Player of the Year; 2019 GACA South Senior All-Star Team; 2019 HypeSouth All Middle Georgia Best Offensive Player (leading all of Middle Georgia with 655 points); 2019 HypeSouth All Middle First Team and 2019 Sandy’s Spiel Girls AA All State Honors First Team.
Europe Brown finished her senior season averaging 16.9 points a game and scored over 1,000 points in her high school career to help lead the Squaws to their second Region 3AA Championship and to the state playoffs. She was named to the 2019 GACA AA South All State Team; 2019 AJC AA All State Second Team; 2019 Sandy’s Spiel Girls AA All State Honors Second team and 2019 HypeSouth All Middle Georgia Honors Second team.
LaShauna Coley finished her senior season averaging 10.6 points a game after missing the first eight games due to illness. She was named 2019 HypeSouth All Middle Georgia Honorable Mention.
Chris Clark led the Indians this year with 16.9 points a game. Clark was named to the 2019 GACA AA South Boys’ All State Team.
Russ's Sports Review
This past week was a very big one for the future of the Falcons. The annual NFL draft was held in Nashville, Tennessee. This was the draft that the team was hoping would fix the defensive line. The key word here is “hoping”. Things really looked good as major targets Ed Oliver and Christian Wilkins actually fell down a little. Oliver fell to ninth and was picked up by Buffalo. I cannot imagine what it would have required to move just five spots.
No big deal I thought as Wilkins was still on the board at 13. I don’t know if the Falcons brass thought the Dolphins were looking quarterback but they weren’t and Wilkins is off to South Beach. I would think a third round or maybe a fourth would have gotten the Birds the 13th pick. My hopes for a trade down were dashed as the Falcons decided to go for guard Chris Lindstrom out of Boston College. After going “who is this guy”, I started to check my mock drafts and yes, this guy was a huge reach. He was mostly viewed as a second or even third round pic. I guess the pair of free agent guards that they signed aren’t projected to be very good.
My last hope was maybe the Falcons would grade back into the bottom of the first round. Sure enough, they dealt their second and third round pick to the Rams for the 31st pick. After wasting little time, they picked another offensive lineman. You have got to be kidding me! Kaleb McGary from Washington. I think he will do fine but is he actually the team’s biggest need? So much for improving the defensive line. I hope no one gets hurt!
That takes us to day three. The Birds traded up six spots to take Kendall Sheffield, a corner back out of Ohio State. Reports are he is real fast and has decent size as he is right at 6 feet tall. Why did he fall to the fourth round? Of course he is hurt! He tore his pectoral muscle at the combine. They worked out the draft from the powerhouse programs of Charleston, Louisiana-Monroe and okay Washington and Pittsburgh. There was an NFL record 64 players out of the SEC. Guess how many the Falcons got? You guessed it, zero! For the record, the six true Super Bowl Champion Patriots grabbed five SEC players out of the ten players they drafted. Listen, I hope the pair of offensive linemen are Falcons starters for 15 years but they don’t address their biggest need this year. Things could be worse. It might be the Braves bullpen! Yes, it was another rough week for the boys of summer. They went 2-4 on the week and they were fortunate to win one of the games they did win.
It took a three run homer in the 8th by Donaldson on Sunday to win 8-7 over the Rockies. The offense isn’t the problem. The heart of the order, Donaldson, Freeman, Markakis, Albies and Acuna has all been good. The pitching is not so good. Gausman allowed ten runs in two starts and Teheran hit the wall after five innings. A positive thing is that Soroka-Fried and Foltynewicz all pitched good but they also had a win and a loss to show for it.
The problem is this staff has no ace and no closer. We all knew this when the season started and yet ownership has done nothing. The bullpen allowed nine earned runs in six innings against the Rockies over the weekend. I think AJ Minter will be a solid pitcher in the game but he is not ready to be a closer for a contender. If only there was a seasoned closer out there that could be had for say a second round pick. The Kimbrel story has gotten out of hand. If you want a silver lining to the 13-14 Braves, it is that they are only two and a half games out of first place going into Monday night’s play. The problem is the rest of the east will continue to get better. Will the Braves?
No big deal I thought as Wilkins was still on the board at 13. I don’t know if the Falcons brass thought the Dolphins were looking quarterback but they weren’t and Wilkins is off to South Beach. I would think a third round or maybe a fourth would have gotten the Birds the 13th pick. My hopes for a trade down were dashed as the Falcons decided to go for guard Chris Lindstrom out of Boston College. After going “who is this guy”, I started to check my mock drafts and yes, this guy was a huge reach. He was mostly viewed as a second or even third round pic. I guess the pair of free agent guards that they signed aren’t projected to be very good.
My last hope was maybe the Falcons would grade back into the bottom of the first round. Sure enough, they dealt their second and third round pick to the Rams for the 31st pick. After wasting little time, they picked another offensive lineman. You have got to be kidding me! Kaleb McGary from Washington. I think he will do fine but is he actually the team’s biggest need? So much for improving the defensive line. I hope no one gets hurt!
That takes us to day three. The Birds traded up six spots to take Kendall Sheffield, a corner back out of Ohio State. Reports are he is real fast and has decent size as he is right at 6 feet tall. Why did he fall to the fourth round? Of course he is hurt! He tore his pectoral muscle at the combine. They worked out the draft from the powerhouse programs of Charleston, Louisiana-Monroe and okay Washington and Pittsburgh. There was an NFL record 64 players out of the SEC. Guess how many the Falcons got? You guessed it, zero! For the record, the six true Super Bowl Champion Patriots grabbed five SEC players out of the ten players they drafted. Listen, I hope the pair of offensive linemen are Falcons starters for 15 years but they don’t address their biggest need this year. Things could be worse. It might be the Braves bullpen! Yes, it was another rough week for the boys of summer. They went 2-4 on the week and they were fortunate to win one of the games they did win.
It took a three run homer in the 8th by Donaldson on Sunday to win 8-7 over the Rockies. The offense isn’t the problem. The heart of the order, Donaldson, Freeman, Markakis, Albies and Acuna has all been good. The pitching is not so good. Gausman allowed ten runs in two starts and Teheran hit the wall after five innings. A positive thing is that Soroka-Fried and Foltynewicz all pitched good but they also had a win and a loss to show for it.
The problem is this staff has no ace and no closer. We all knew this when the season started and yet ownership has done nothing. The bullpen allowed nine earned runs in six innings against the Rockies over the weekend. I think AJ Minter will be a solid pitcher in the game but he is not ready to be a closer for a contender. If only there was a seasoned closer out there that could be had for say a second round pick. The Kimbrel story has gotten out of hand. If you want a silver lining to the 13-14 Braves, it is that they are only two and a half games out of first place going into Monday night’s play. The problem is the rest of the east will continue to get better. Will the Braves?
Tennis
By Mary Beth Dopson
The Dodge County High School Tennis team hosted two competitors two weeks ago to begin the first round of state playoffs.
Both the boy’s and girl’s team were victorious in their played matches and will advance to the “Sweet 16”, second round, in the playoffs.
The boys battled against Swainsboro High School and swept their opponent with a 5-0 team win. Winners for the boys included: first singles Jaret Underwood, second singles Nathan Newman, third singles Dane Hardin, first doubles Jason Peterson and Orlanda Brown, and second doubles Brayden Nardi and Ryan Clements.
The girl’s team defeated their opponent, St. Vincent’s Academy, with a team score of 3-2. Winners for the girls included: second singles Jessie Thomas, first doubles Abby Christian Manning and Abbey Manning, and second doubles Mattie Grace Hutcheson and Precious Coleman.
The teams traveled to Augusta on April 22nd to play their Sweet 16 match against Davidson Fine Arts School.
The boy’s and girl’s team showed up and showed out in their played matches and will advance to the Elite 8, third round, in the playoffs. The crowds were fired up watching the intense matches played.
The boys battled against Davidson Fine Arts School and won with a score of 3-2. First singles Jaret Underwood pulled out an outstanding win of 6-3 1-6 6-1 in a third set. Third singles Dane Hardin dominated his opponent with a 6-1 6-2 win. First doubles Jason Peterson and Orlanda Brown played awesome with a 7-5 6-3 win.
The girl’s team defeated their opponent, Davidson Fine Arts School, with a team score of 3-2. Third singles Annie Jones won in a tough played match win of 6-4 6-2. First doubles Abby Christian Manning and Abbey Manning smashed their opponents with a 6-2 6-3 win. Second doubles Mattie Grace Hutcheson and Precious Coleman crushed their opponents with a 6-2 6-2.
Team members pictured above are (front row, l-r) Abbey M. Manning, Precious Coleman, Leighton Jones, Makiya Roberson, Mattie Grace Hutcheson, Abby C. Manning, Mary Beth Dopson; (middle row, l-r) coach Marcie Jones, Annie Jones, Ellie Jones, Olivia Cranford and Jessie Thomas and (back row, l-r) Orlanda Brown, Jaret Underwood, Dane Hardin, Nathan Newman, Brayden Nardi, Ryan Poole, Caleb Singletary, Ryan Clements, Jason Peterson.
The Indians will play the third round of state matches before April 28th against Rockmart.
The Dodge County High School Tennis team hosted two competitors two weeks ago to begin the first round of state playoffs.
Both the boy’s and girl’s team were victorious in their played matches and will advance to the “Sweet 16”, second round, in the playoffs.
The boys battled against Swainsboro High School and swept their opponent with a 5-0 team win. Winners for the boys included: first singles Jaret Underwood, second singles Nathan Newman, third singles Dane Hardin, first doubles Jason Peterson and Orlanda Brown, and second doubles Brayden Nardi and Ryan Clements.
The girl’s team defeated their opponent, St. Vincent’s Academy, with a team score of 3-2. Winners for the girls included: second singles Jessie Thomas, first doubles Abby Christian Manning and Abbey Manning, and second doubles Mattie Grace Hutcheson and Precious Coleman.
The teams traveled to Augusta on April 22nd to play their Sweet 16 match against Davidson Fine Arts School.
The boy’s and girl’s team showed up and showed out in their played matches and will advance to the Elite 8, third round, in the playoffs. The crowds were fired up watching the intense matches played.
The boys battled against Davidson Fine Arts School and won with a score of 3-2. First singles Jaret Underwood pulled out an outstanding win of 6-3 1-6 6-1 in a third set. Third singles Dane Hardin dominated his opponent with a 6-1 6-2 win. First doubles Jason Peterson and Orlanda Brown played awesome with a 7-5 6-3 win.
The girl’s team defeated their opponent, Davidson Fine Arts School, with a team score of 3-2. Third singles Annie Jones won in a tough played match win of 6-4 6-2. First doubles Abby Christian Manning and Abbey Manning smashed their opponents with a 6-2 6-3 win. Second doubles Mattie Grace Hutcheson and Precious Coleman crushed their opponents with a 6-2 6-2.
Team members pictured above are (front row, l-r) Abbey M. Manning, Precious Coleman, Leighton Jones, Makiya Roberson, Mattie Grace Hutcheson, Abby C. Manning, Mary Beth Dopson; (middle row, l-r) coach Marcie Jones, Annie Jones, Ellie Jones, Olivia Cranford and Jessie Thomas and (back row, l-r) Orlanda Brown, Jaret Underwood, Dane Hardin, Nathan Newman, Brayden Nardi, Ryan Poole, Caleb Singletary, Ryan Clements, Jason Peterson.
The Indians will play the third round of state matches before April 28th against Rockmart.
Covenant College softball sophomore Faith Manning was named to the USA South All-West Division second team when the conference named the season award winners on Thursday, April 18, 2019.
Manning, a sophomore from Eastman, is currently batting .330, is second on the team in runs batted in (RBIs) with 14, a slugging percentage of .407, an on-base percentage of .407 and has had 11 walks. Manning has played and started in all 33 games on the year, including 32 starts at catcher. She is one of two Covenant College players to tally four hits in a game this season as she accomplished the feat in a win over Agnes Scott on March 27. Manning has seven multi-hit games on the season.
In conference play alone, Manning led the Scots with a .426 average and 11 RBIs to go along with a slugging percentage of .511 and a .473 on-base mark.
All awards are voted on by the softball coach at each institution. The divisional team voting is completed only by those coaches in the particular division. The first team all-conference and individual award voting is completed by all coaches.
Manning is the daughter of Jimmy and Ashley Manning of Eastman and a 2017 graduate of Dodge County High School.
Manning, a sophomore from Eastman, is currently batting .330, is second on the team in runs batted in (RBIs) with 14, a slugging percentage of .407, an on-base percentage of .407 and has had 11 walks. Manning has played and started in all 33 games on the year, including 32 starts at catcher. She is one of two Covenant College players to tally four hits in a game this season as she accomplished the feat in a win over Agnes Scott on March 27. Manning has seven multi-hit games on the season.
In conference play alone, Manning led the Scots with a .426 average and 11 RBIs to go along with a slugging percentage of .511 and a .473 on-base mark.
All awards are voted on by the softball coach at each institution. The divisional team voting is completed only by those coaches in the particular division. The first team all-conference and individual award voting is completed by all coaches.
Manning is the daughter of Jimmy and Ashley Manning of Eastman and a 2017 graduate of Dodge County High School.
Sports 4-24-2019
Indian baseball team advances to playoffs
By Joey Marchant
Dodge was fortunate to overcome a ton of mistakes against Telfair back on March 25th. This time Dodge was not that lucky as Telfair squeaked out an 11-10 come from behind victory on April 15th.
Parker Gay started on the mound for Dodge and pitched well. Dodge appeared to have a strategy of allowing its pitchers to throw around forty pitches. Dodge was in the midst of seven games scheduled over a nine-day period, so managing pitch counts was important.
Dodge came out swinging in the first. Brendan O’Connor led off with a walk and stole second base. Brodie Woodard drove in O’Connor with a base hit. The ball was mishandled by the centerfielder allowing Woodard to take second. Kaden Burse hit a grounder up the middle that struck second base and caromed into the outfield driving in Woodard to give Dodge a 2-0 lead.
Telfair took advantage of two Dodge errors to score one run in the bottom of the first in what proved a foreshadowing of things to come. Dodge came right back in the second. Parker Hardin led off with a walk, and Timmy Johnson came in as a courtesy runner for Hardin. Johnson moved to second on a wild pitch. Cole Cranford hit a ground ball, and Johnson got caught between second and third. However, Johnson was able to elude the Telfair defenders. DJ Bursch hit a long sacrifice fly to score Johnson. O’Connor walked. Garrett Durden singled to score Cranford. The right fielder elected to throw behind O’Connor who was rounding second. The throw scooted through the infield and into leftfield allowing O’Connor to score and Durden to reach second. Woodard reached on catcher’s interference. Noah Mincey singled driving in Durden and Woodard, but Mincey was thrown out trying to make second base. Dodge led 7-1.
Telfair went quietly in the second, and Dodge added to its lead in the third. Hardin singled, and Johnson entered as a courtesy runner for Hardin. Cranford drove Hardin in with a double, but Cranford was thrown out trying to go to third. Dodge led 8-1.
Dodge’s offense then stalled for several innings as Telfair mounted a comeback. Andrew Lowery relieved Gay with two on base and one out in the third. He struck out the next batter. Then he induced a ground ball on which Woodard made a nice play ranging to his left for the third out. Telfair scored three runs in the fourth on a bases loaded double by Ramsey Hancock cutting the Dodge lead to 8-5. A two-run double by Cameo Blankenship and an RBI single by Hancock tied it 8-8 with no outs in the bottom of the sixth. Landin Crummey entered in relief of Lowery and retired the next three batters in order.
Dodge rallied in the seventh without recording a hit. Woodard reached on an error. Burse walked. The runners moved to second and third on a wild pitch. Mincey had a sacrifice fly to score Woodard. Crummey walked. Hardin had a sacrifice fly to score Burse giving Dodge a 10-8 lead. Telfair took advantage of a couple of Dodge errors in the bottom of the seventh. Crummey struck out Landin Connell on a breaking ball in the dirt. Because the pitch was in the dirt, the runner was allowed to attempt to reach first base safely. Dodge threw the ball into right field allowing Connell to trot into second rather than back to the dugout. Jacob Mullis and Jude King reached on infield hits loading the bases. Telfair brought in their slugger Tre Bess as a pinch hitter. Bess had been running the 200 meters at the Region track meet earlier in the afternoon and did not start. It was soon apparent that Bess was swinging for the fences. Crummey managed to throw a fastball by him for the first out. Cameo Blankenship drew a bases loaded walk to score a run. Hancock had a bloop single to center for his fifth RBI of the day tying the game. King was out at third as he had to hold up to make sure the ball fell for a hit. With two outs, Dodge dropped a routine fly ball off the bat of Tre Blankenship allowing Cameo Blankenship to score for the 11-10 Telfair victory. This ended Dodge’s eight game winning streak.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Garrett Durden was one for four with one run batted in (RBI) and one run scored. Brodie Woodard was two for four with one RBI and three runs scored. Kaden Burse was two for three with a walk, one RBI and one run scored. Noah Mincey was one for three with three RBI. Parker Hardin was one for two with a walk and one RBI. Cole Cranford was two for four with a double and one run scored.
Parker Gay pitched two and one-third innings allowing one unearned run on two hits and one walk. Gay struck out two. Andrew Lowery pitched two and two-thirds innings allowing seven runs (five earned) on six hits and one walk. Lowery struck out two. Landin Crummey pitched two innings allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits and one walk. Crummey struck out three.
Dodge returned home to face the Northeast Raiders on April 16th where they won 14-4. Dodge recognized its three seniors prior to this final home game of the season. They are Kaden Burse, DeJa “DJ” Bursch and Parker Gay.
Brendan O’Connor started on the mound for Dodge. Northeast put three runs on the board in the first on the strength of three hits and a Dodge error giving Northeast a 3-0 lead.
Coach Herring penciled his three seniors into the first three spots on his lineup card. They did not disappoint. DJ Bursch led off with a homerun over the leftfield fence, his team leading fourth homerun of the season. Parker Gay and Kaden Burse followed with base hits moving to second and third on a wild pitch. Brendan O’Connor hit a sacrifice fly scoring Gay. Garrett Durden was hit by a pitch. Brodie Woodard singled. Noah Mincey reached on an error, which allowed Burse, Durden and Woodard to score. Andrew Lowery walked. Bursch singled scoring Mincey. Bursch took second on the throw home. A wild pitch allowed Lowery to score and Bursch to go to third. Bursch later scored on a wild pitch giving Dodge an 8-3 lead. Dodge added to the lead in the second. O’Connor was hit by a pitch, and Noah Cummings entered as a courtesy runner for O’Connor. Durden tripled driving in Cummings. Woodard drove in Durden with an infield hit giving Dodge a 10-4 lead.
Dodge added a run in the third. Burse and O’Connor reached on errors. Durden drove in Burse with a single for an 11-3 Dodge lead.
Macky Rowland relieved O’Connor to start the fourth, and he struck out the side. Dodge scored three runs in the fourth. Lowery and Parker Hardin led off with base hits and moved to third on a wild pitch. Bursch walked. Gay hit into a fielder’s choice scoring Lowery. Bursch scored on a bad throw back to the pitcher. O’Connor had a base hit scoring Gay for a 14-3 lead. Northeast would add a run in the top of the fifth ending the game in a 14-4 Dodge victory.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: DJ Bursch was two for three with a walk, a homerun, one RBI and three runs scored. Parker Gay was one for three with a hit batsman and two runs scored. Kaden Burse was one for four with one run scored. Brendan O’Connor was one for two with a hit batsman, two RBI and one run scored. Garrett Durden was two for three with a triple, a hit batsman, one RBI and two runs scored. Brodie Woodard was two for three with one RBI and one run scored. Noah Mincey was one for three with a run scored. Andrew Lowery was one for two with a walk and two runs scored. Parker Hardin was one for two with a walk.
O’Connor pitched three innings allowing three unearned runs on three hits. He hit one batter and struck out four. Macky Rowland pitched two innings allowing one unearned run on one hit and no walks. Rowland struck out five.
Dodge traveled to Macon on April 18th for its regular season finale with Northeast and barely escaped with a 4-2 victory over the Raiders. Garrett Durden started on the mound for Dodge and pitched four innings allowing two runs on nine hits. Durden walked one and struck out four. Landin Crummey relieved Durden and pitched three scoreless innings allowing two hits and no walks. Crummey struck out three.
Dodge took an early lead. O’Connor led off with a walk and advanced to third on a single by Brodie Woodard. Kaden Burse drove in O’Connor with a sacrifice fly to give Dodge a 1-0 lead in the first.
Northeast managed four base hits in the fourth inning to tie the game at 1-1.
Dodge took the lead in the fifth. Timmy Johnson led off with a single. O’Connor singled, and a throwing error on the play allowed Johnson to take third and O’Connor to take second. Durden had a sacrifice fly to score Johnson. Woodard reached on an error, which allowed O’Connor to score and give Dodge a 3-1 lead.
Northeast came right back in the bottom of the fifth. Durden gave up two base hits before being relieved by Crummey who retired the next three batters in order. However, one run scored and was charged to Durden cutting the lead to 3-2.
Dodge added a final run in the sixth as Andrew Lowery doubled and scored when Crummey reached on an error. Northeast managed to get two hits in the seventh and had the winning run at the plate, but Crummey struck out two and Durden, now playing second base, caught a line drive moving to his right to help preserve the victory.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Brendan O’Connor was one for three with a walk and two runs scored. Garrett Durden was one for three with a double and one RBI. Brodie Woodard was one for four. Noah Mincey was one for three. Andrew Lowery was one for two with a double, a hit batsman and one run scored. Parker Hardin was one for three. Timmy Johnson was one for two with one run scored.
The doubleheader with Jeff Davis was cancelled by mutual agreement as both teams ready for postseason play. Dodge finished the regular season with an overall record of 17-7 and a region record of 9-3. Dodge finished tied for second in Region 3AA with Washington County. However, Washington County held the tie breaker over Dodge, so the Golden Hawks get the second seed in the playoffs while Dodge gets the third seed. Dodge travels to Alma to face the Bacon County Red Raiders (21-8) in the first round of the state playoffs on Wednesday April 24th at 4:30 pm. The teams will play two games on Wednesday. A third game will be held on Thursday if necessary to determine the series winner. The winner of this series will face the winner of the Thomasville/Laney series on May 2nd.
By Joey Marchant
Dodge was fortunate to overcome a ton of mistakes against Telfair back on March 25th. This time Dodge was not that lucky as Telfair squeaked out an 11-10 come from behind victory on April 15th.
Parker Gay started on the mound for Dodge and pitched well. Dodge appeared to have a strategy of allowing its pitchers to throw around forty pitches. Dodge was in the midst of seven games scheduled over a nine-day period, so managing pitch counts was important.
Dodge came out swinging in the first. Brendan O’Connor led off with a walk and stole second base. Brodie Woodard drove in O’Connor with a base hit. The ball was mishandled by the centerfielder allowing Woodard to take second. Kaden Burse hit a grounder up the middle that struck second base and caromed into the outfield driving in Woodard to give Dodge a 2-0 lead.
Telfair took advantage of two Dodge errors to score one run in the bottom of the first in what proved a foreshadowing of things to come. Dodge came right back in the second. Parker Hardin led off with a walk, and Timmy Johnson came in as a courtesy runner for Hardin. Johnson moved to second on a wild pitch. Cole Cranford hit a ground ball, and Johnson got caught between second and third. However, Johnson was able to elude the Telfair defenders. DJ Bursch hit a long sacrifice fly to score Johnson. O’Connor walked. Garrett Durden singled to score Cranford. The right fielder elected to throw behind O’Connor who was rounding second. The throw scooted through the infield and into leftfield allowing O’Connor to score and Durden to reach second. Woodard reached on catcher’s interference. Noah Mincey singled driving in Durden and Woodard, but Mincey was thrown out trying to make second base. Dodge led 7-1.
Telfair went quietly in the second, and Dodge added to its lead in the third. Hardin singled, and Johnson entered as a courtesy runner for Hardin. Cranford drove Hardin in with a double, but Cranford was thrown out trying to go to third. Dodge led 8-1.
Dodge’s offense then stalled for several innings as Telfair mounted a comeback. Andrew Lowery relieved Gay with two on base and one out in the third. He struck out the next batter. Then he induced a ground ball on which Woodard made a nice play ranging to his left for the third out. Telfair scored three runs in the fourth on a bases loaded double by Ramsey Hancock cutting the Dodge lead to 8-5. A two-run double by Cameo Blankenship and an RBI single by Hancock tied it 8-8 with no outs in the bottom of the sixth. Landin Crummey entered in relief of Lowery and retired the next three batters in order.
Dodge rallied in the seventh without recording a hit. Woodard reached on an error. Burse walked. The runners moved to second and third on a wild pitch. Mincey had a sacrifice fly to score Woodard. Crummey walked. Hardin had a sacrifice fly to score Burse giving Dodge a 10-8 lead. Telfair took advantage of a couple of Dodge errors in the bottom of the seventh. Crummey struck out Landin Connell on a breaking ball in the dirt. Because the pitch was in the dirt, the runner was allowed to attempt to reach first base safely. Dodge threw the ball into right field allowing Connell to trot into second rather than back to the dugout. Jacob Mullis and Jude King reached on infield hits loading the bases. Telfair brought in their slugger Tre Bess as a pinch hitter. Bess had been running the 200 meters at the Region track meet earlier in the afternoon and did not start. It was soon apparent that Bess was swinging for the fences. Crummey managed to throw a fastball by him for the first out. Cameo Blankenship drew a bases loaded walk to score a run. Hancock had a bloop single to center for his fifth RBI of the day tying the game. King was out at third as he had to hold up to make sure the ball fell for a hit. With two outs, Dodge dropped a routine fly ball off the bat of Tre Blankenship allowing Cameo Blankenship to score for the 11-10 Telfair victory. This ended Dodge’s eight game winning streak.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Garrett Durden was one for four with one run batted in (RBI) and one run scored. Brodie Woodard was two for four with one RBI and three runs scored. Kaden Burse was two for three with a walk, one RBI and one run scored. Noah Mincey was one for three with three RBI. Parker Hardin was one for two with a walk and one RBI. Cole Cranford was two for four with a double and one run scored.
Parker Gay pitched two and one-third innings allowing one unearned run on two hits and one walk. Gay struck out two. Andrew Lowery pitched two and two-thirds innings allowing seven runs (five earned) on six hits and one walk. Lowery struck out two. Landin Crummey pitched two innings allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits and one walk. Crummey struck out three.
Dodge returned home to face the Northeast Raiders on April 16th where they won 14-4. Dodge recognized its three seniors prior to this final home game of the season. They are Kaden Burse, DeJa “DJ” Bursch and Parker Gay.
Brendan O’Connor started on the mound for Dodge. Northeast put three runs on the board in the first on the strength of three hits and a Dodge error giving Northeast a 3-0 lead.
Coach Herring penciled his three seniors into the first three spots on his lineup card. They did not disappoint. DJ Bursch led off with a homerun over the leftfield fence, his team leading fourth homerun of the season. Parker Gay and Kaden Burse followed with base hits moving to second and third on a wild pitch. Brendan O’Connor hit a sacrifice fly scoring Gay. Garrett Durden was hit by a pitch. Brodie Woodard singled. Noah Mincey reached on an error, which allowed Burse, Durden and Woodard to score. Andrew Lowery walked. Bursch singled scoring Mincey. Bursch took second on the throw home. A wild pitch allowed Lowery to score and Bursch to go to third. Bursch later scored on a wild pitch giving Dodge an 8-3 lead. Dodge added to the lead in the second. O’Connor was hit by a pitch, and Noah Cummings entered as a courtesy runner for O’Connor. Durden tripled driving in Cummings. Woodard drove in Durden with an infield hit giving Dodge a 10-4 lead.
Dodge added a run in the third. Burse and O’Connor reached on errors. Durden drove in Burse with a single for an 11-3 Dodge lead.
Macky Rowland relieved O’Connor to start the fourth, and he struck out the side. Dodge scored three runs in the fourth. Lowery and Parker Hardin led off with base hits and moved to third on a wild pitch. Bursch walked. Gay hit into a fielder’s choice scoring Lowery. Bursch scored on a bad throw back to the pitcher. O’Connor had a base hit scoring Gay for a 14-3 lead. Northeast would add a run in the top of the fifth ending the game in a 14-4 Dodge victory.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: DJ Bursch was two for three with a walk, a homerun, one RBI and three runs scored. Parker Gay was one for three with a hit batsman and two runs scored. Kaden Burse was one for four with one run scored. Brendan O’Connor was one for two with a hit batsman, two RBI and one run scored. Garrett Durden was two for three with a triple, a hit batsman, one RBI and two runs scored. Brodie Woodard was two for three with one RBI and one run scored. Noah Mincey was one for three with a run scored. Andrew Lowery was one for two with a walk and two runs scored. Parker Hardin was one for two with a walk.
O’Connor pitched three innings allowing three unearned runs on three hits. He hit one batter and struck out four. Macky Rowland pitched two innings allowing one unearned run on one hit and no walks. Rowland struck out five.
Dodge traveled to Macon on April 18th for its regular season finale with Northeast and barely escaped with a 4-2 victory over the Raiders. Garrett Durden started on the mound for Dodge and pitched four innings allowing two runs on nine hits. Durden walked one and struck out four. Landin Crummey relieved Durden and pitched three scoreless innings allowing two hits and no walks. Crummey struck out three.
Dodge took an early lead. O’Connor led off with a walk and advanced to third on a single by Brodie Woodard. Kaden Burse drove in O’Connor with a sacrifice fly to give Dodge a 1-0 lead in the first.
Northeast managed four base hits in the fourth inning to tie the game at 1-1.
Dodge took the lead in the fifth. Timmy Johnson led off with a single. O’Connor singled, and a throwing error on the play allowed Johnson to take third and O’Connor to take second. Durden had a sacrifice fly to score Johnson. Woodard reached on an error, which allowed O’Connor to score and give Dodge a 3-1 lead.
Northeast came right back in the bottom of the fifth. Durden gave up two base hits before being relieved by Crummey who retired the next three batters in order. However, one run scored and was charged to Durden cutting the lead to 3-2.
Dodge added a final run in the sixth as Andrew Lowery doubled and scored when Crummey reached on an error. Northeast managed to get two hits in the seventh and had the winning run at the plate, but Crummey struck out two and Durden, now playing second base, caught a line drive moving to his right to help preserve the victory.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Brendan O’Connor was one for three with a walk and two runs scored. Garrett Durden was one for three with a double and one RBI. Brodie Woodard was one for four. Noah Mincey was one for three. Andrew Lowery was one for two with a double, a hit batsman and one run scored. Parker Hardin was one for three. Timmy Johnson was one for two with one run scored.
The doubleheader with Jeff Davis was cancelled by mutual agreement as both teams ready for postseason play. Dodge finished the regular season with an overall record of 17-7 and a region record of 9-3. Dodge finished tied for second in Region 3AA with Washington County. However, Washington County held the tie breaker over Dodge, so the Golden Hawks get the second seed in the playoffs while Dodge gets the third seed. Dodge travels to Alma to face the Bacon County Red Raiders (21-8) in the first round of the state playoffs on Wednesday April 24th at 4:30 pm. The teams will play two games on Wednesday. A third game will be held on Thursday if necessary to determine the series winner. The winner of this series will face the winner of the Thomasville/Laney series on May 2nd.
Russ's Sports Review
This is a huge week for the Falcons. The annual NFL draft starts this Thursday. The birds hold the 14th in the first round and the big question is what are they going to do. There is little question that the Falcons want defensive tackle Ed Oliver from Houston. There is only one small problem.
There is little to no way that he will be there at 14. So what happens? Well, everyone has their own opinion. Some say trade up to possible number seven and deal with Jacksonville.
It will probably take moving the second and third round picks to go there and that’s a steep price. Some people have Oliver moving in the top five and if that happens, it is time for plan B and that would be to trade down. I don’t really like anybody at 14. I think that it’s a reach for any of the Clemson defensive linemen and I am not crazy about a defensive back in that spot. I say they can get a decent back at 23 or so like Baker from Georgia or maybe even offensive lineman Cody Ford from Oklahoma.
The trade down would probably include a second run pick and then they can get a quality defensive guy. It should be rather interesting Thursday night as you have a somewhat desperate general manager and head coach. I say they will not pick number 14. It won’t be a boring draft this year.
Like most people, I thought the National League East was going to be mighty strong. We have just passed Easter and so far that has not happened. The Phillies are just 12-9 and actually hold a one game lead over the Braves and Mets.
Now do I think the Phillies and Nationals will get this going? Absolutely. They have way too much talent to be average. It looks like the Mets have survived a huge scare as last year’s Cy Young Award Winner Jacob deGrom is going to be okay after a short stint on the injured list.
Now for the Braves. Never a dull moment for this team. A completely rebuilding Arizona team sweeps them at home. Then the wild Cleveland series.
I think it’s the first series since the fateful 1995 World Series. The Braves looked doomed for a double-header loss as they trailed game two, seven to three going into the 9th. Five walks and three hits later, the Braves stole an eight to seven win after a two out bases loaded hit from Acuna.
Then came Sunday night baseball for the second week in a row. The game belonged to Josh Donaldson. He hit homers in the first and second innings in the 11-5 win. Left-hander Max Fried pitches great again and got the win. So far this year, he has been great as long as he can throw strikes. One of the big problems remains the bullpen. They got two of the four losses including blowing a late three run lead against Arizona.
The news didn’t get any better as Vizcaino was lost for the year with shoulder surgery. Venters also has been put on the disabled list. If you think Kimbrel is closer to being a Braves. Don’t. The second round compensation pick makes him a non-starter for them. Here is a little hope.
On June 3rd, the draft pick will come off the board. I think the Braves will make an offer then, but not a day before. I still think this year is an uphill climb for the Braves bullpen.
There is little to no way that he will be there at 14. So what happens? Well, everyone has their own opinion. Some say trade up to possible number seven and deal with Jacksonville.
It will probably take moving the second and third round picks to go there and that’s a steep price. Some people have Oliver moving in the top five and if that happens, it is time for plan B and that would be to trade down. I don’t really like anybody at 14. I think that it’s a reach for any of the Clemson defensive linemen and I am not crazy about a defensive back in that spot. I say they can get a decent back at 23 or so like Baker from Georgia or maybe even offensive lineman Cody Ford from Oklahoma.
The trade down would probably include a second run pick and then they can get a quality defensive guy. It should be rather interesting Thursday night as you have a somewhat desperate general manager and head coach. I say they will not pick number 14. It won’t be a boring draft this year.
Like most people, I thought the National League East was going to be mighty strong. We have just passed Easter and so far that has not happened. The Phillies are just 12-9 and actually hold a one game lead over the Braves and Mets.
Now do I think the Phillies and Nationals will get this going? Absolutely. They have way too much talent to be average. It looks like the Mets have survived a huge scare as last year’s Cy Young Award Winner Jacob deGrom is going to be okay after a short stint on the injured list.
Now for the Braves. Never a dull moment for this team. A completely rebuilding Arizona team sweeps them at home. Then the wild Cleveland series.
I think it’s the first series since the fateful 1995 World Series. The Braves looked doomed for a double-header loss as they trailed game two, seven to three going into the 9th. Five walks and three hits later, the Braves stole an eight to seven win after a two out bases loaded hit from Acuna.
Then came Sunday night baseball for the second week in a row. The game belonged to Josh Donaldson. He hit homers in the first and second innings in the 11-5 win. Left-hander Max Fried pitches great again and got the win. So far this year, he has been great as long as he can throw strikes. One of the big problems remains the bullpen. They got two of the four losses including blowing a late three run lead against Arizona.
The news didn’t get any better as Vizcaino was lost for the year with shoulder surgery. Venters also has been put on the disabled list. If you think Kimbrel is closer to being a Braves. Don’t. The second round compensation pick makes him a non-starter for them. Here is a little hope.
On June 3rd, the draft pick will come off the board. I think the Braves will make an offer then, but not a day before. I still think this year is an uphill climb for the Braves bullpen.
Russ's Sports Review
Well, I knew he was due. As we all know by now, Tiger Woods won his fifth Masters and 15th major overall on Sunday. He entered the final round two shots behind defending British Open Champion Francesco Molinari. I give Tiger credit. He played well but he had some help in winning. Molinari, Koepka and Finau all hit the ball in the water on the par 3, 12th hole. Woods seemed to be fortunate every time he missed the fairway as he did get more than his share of breaks. I give Tiger credit as he got the breaks he needed and took full advantage of them. My pick didn’t really get started until Sunday as Rory shot 68 on Sunday to finish tied for 21st.
It looks like it was a very good week for the Braves on and off the field. It looks like it will be a 4-2 week if they don’t blot a big late lead against the Mets. The highlight of the week was Touki Toussaint. The top pitching prospect was called up Saturday and was brilliant out of the bullpen as he pitched six innings allowing only four hits, an unearned run and striking out seven. He was called up when Kyle Wright was sent to AAA. While we are on the subject of roster moves, the Braves sent Sean Newcomb to AAA. He is still struggling to throw strikes. I would think and hope that Touki will get his spot.
The offense did break out quite a bit over the weekend against the strong Mets staff. Donaldson finally broke out with his first two homers of the year. The young dynamic combo of Albies and Acuna have both started to get hot so the offense should be good. In case you missed it, Albies signed a very long term and very team friendly deal last week. He signed a nine-year deal worth 45 million. Many experts call it the worst contract ever agreed to by a player. To say the least, it was a wonderful deal for the Braves.
The pitching side concerns me. Closer Vizcaino has been put on the disabled list. It looks like A.J. Minter will take over for the time being. Reports are that Kimbrel’s contract demands have started to come down but the draft pic compensation that goes with him seems to be the sticking point. The Braves’ second round pick would go to Boston if a deal happens. The Braves have called up right-handed pitchers Jacob Webb and Dan Winkler from Gwinnett. Webb will be making his first trip to the majors. Winkler was in the majors most of last year and was decent at times. The team had to put veteran left hander Jonny Venters on the injured list. Nobody has been called up yet. It was scheduled that Folty was supposed to make his final rehab start on Monday night in Gwinnett. He will probably make his 2019 debut with the big team this weekend in Cleveland.
It looks like it was a very good week for the Braves on and off the field. It looks like it will be a 4-2 week if they don’t blot a big late lead against the Mets. The highlight of the week was Touki Toussaint. The top pitching prospect was called up Saturday and was brilliant out of the bullpen as he pitched six innings allowing only four hits, an unearned run and striking out seven. He was called up when Kyle Wright was sent to AAA. While we are on the subject of roster moves, the Braves sent Sean Newcomb to AAA. He is still struggling to throw strikes. I would think and hope that Touki will get his spot.
The offense did break out quite a bit over the weekend against the strong Mets staff. Donaldson finally broke out with his first two homers of the year. The young dynamic combo of Albies and Acuna have both started to get hot so the offense should be good. In case you missed it, Albies signed a very long term and very team friendly deal last week. He signed a nine-year deal worth 45 million. Many experts call it the worst contract ever agreed to by a player. To say the least, it was a wonderful deal for the Braves.
The pitching side concerns me. Closer Vizcaino has been put on the disabled list. It looks like A.J. Minter will take over for the time being. Reports are that Kimbrel’s contract demands have started to come down but the draft pic compensation that goes with him seems to be the sticking point. The Braves’ second round pick would go to Boston if a deal happens. The Braves have called up right-handed pitchers Jacob Webb and Dan Winkler from Gwinnett. Webb will be making his first trip to the majors. Winkler was in the majors most of last year and was decent at times. The team had to put veteran left hander Jonny Venters on the injured list. Nobody has been called up yet. It was scheduled that Folty was supposed to make his final rehab start on Monday night in Gwinnett. He will probably make his 2019 debut with the big team this weekend in Cleveland.
Sports
Indian baseball team wins eight in a row
By Joey Marchant
Dodge won three games last week improving their overall record to 15 wins and 6 losses. They are currently on an eight-game winning streak. Dodge traveled to Ashburn on April 10th to take on the Turner County Rebels. To look at the final score of 22-3, one would assume that Dodge cruised to victory running up the score on an outmanned band of Rebels. Nothing could be farther from the truth as Dodge had to scratch and claw their way to a 3-2 lead through five innings before the floodgates finally opened.
Landin Crummey started on the mound for Dodge and went six and one-third innings giving up three runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks. He struck out nine. Dodge took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Crummey led off with a single to centerfield. Andrew Lowery was hit by a pitch and DJ Bursch was walked to load the bases. Brendan O’Connor hit a sacrifice fly to score Timmy Johnson from third who was running for Crummey.
Turner tied it at 1-1 in the third, and Dodge took a 3-1 lead in the fourth. After two quick outs in the inning, DJ Bursch doubled. O’Connor reached on an error allowing Bursch to score. Garrett Durden singled home O’Connor.
Turner cut the Dodge lead to 3-2 in the fifth with the help of two Dodge errors. Up to this point, it felt like Dodge would eventually start swinging the bats consistently and put the Rebels away. However, there are games when an underdog is allowed to hang around and gain confidence until the momentum finally shifts allowing the underdog to pull out a win. Turner was on the cusp of that. However, Dodge slammed the door in the final two innings.
Dodge scored two in the sixth. Parker Hardin reached on an error. Noah Cummings entered as a courtesy runner for Hardin. Bursch walked. O’Connor doubled to score Cummings. Durden hit a sacrifice fly to score Bursch giving Dodge a 5-2 lead.
Dodge finally broke it open in the seventh. Kaden Burse led off the inning with a strikeout, but he reached first when the pitch went all the way to the backstop. Timmy Johnson entered as a pinch runner for Burse. Noah Mincey ripped a double down the third baseline moving Johnson to third. Lowery walked, and Johnson scored on a wild pitch. Mincey and Lowery would also score from third on wild pitches. Hardin and Bursch each walked. Cummings entered as a courtesy runner for Hardin. It was at this point that Coach Herring began to empty his bench with two outs and an 8-2 lead. Roper Weathersbee singled to load the bases. Seth Cossett singled driving in Cummings and Bursch. Cole Cranford walked to load the bases. Cummings singled up the middle to score Weathersbee. Parker Gay walked scoring Cossett. Lowery singled scoring Cranford. Lowery advanced to second and Cummings scored on an errant throw from the outfield. Macky Rowland had an infield single to score Gay. A throwing error on the play allowed Lowery to score and Rowland to advance to second. Bursch singled scoring Rowland. O’Connor walked. Weathersbee singled to load the bases for Cranford who connected on a grand slam over the left field fence. When the dust cleared, Dodge scored seventeen runs in the inning to take a 22-2 lead.
Crummey struck out one batter in the bottom of the seventh before being lifted for Brodie Woodard. Turner added one unearned run charged to Crummey to make the final score 22-3.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Brendan O’Connor was one for four with a double, two walks, two runs batted in (RBI) and two runs scored. Garrett Durden was two for three with two RBI. Brodie Woodard was one for four. Noah Mincey was one for four with a double and one run scored. Andrew Lowery was one for three with a walk, a hit batsman, one RBI and two runs scored. DJ Bursch was two for two with a double, three walks and four runs scored. Roper Weathersbee was two for two with two runs scored. Seth Cossett was two for two with three RBI and two runs scored. Cole Cranford was one for one with a grand slam, a walk, four RBI and two runs scored. Noah Cummings was one for two with one RBI and three runs scored. Macky Rowland was one for one with one RBI and one run scored.
On April 12th, Dodge hosted Southwest Macon in a doubleheader. Dodge won the first game 16-1. Parker Gay started on the mound for Dodge and pitched all three innings giving up one unearned run on one hit and three walks. Gay struck out five.
Dodge started sloppily as the leadoff man for Southwest dribbled one up the first baseline for an infield hit. A stolen base and two errors allowed the runner to score and Southwest to take a 1-0 lead. Dodge came back in the bottom of the first. After two quick outs separated by a 30-minute lightning delay, Brodie Woodard reached on an error and stole second. Kaden Burse singled to drive in Woodard. Noah Mincey tripled driving in Burse. Landin Crummey doubled scoring Burse. Dodge led 3-1.
Dodge continued to score in the second. Brendan O’Connor had a blooper which he turned into a double by hustling. He went to third on an errant throw in from the outfield. Garrett Durden reached on an error. Woodard walked to load the bases. Burse had a bases clearing triple. Noah Mincey had a sacrifice fly to score Burse. Dodge led 7-1.
Dodge would end this one in the third. Parker Hardin led off with a base hit, and Timmy Johnson entered as a courtesy runner for him. DJ Bursch hit a two-run homer over the left field fence for his team leading third homerun of the season. O’Connor singled, moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on a passed ball. Durden walked. Woodard had a base hit scoring O’Connor. Woodard was erased when Burse hit into a fielder’s choice. Mincey walked to load the bases. Crummey walked plating Durden. Lowery walked plating Burse. Hardin was hit by a pitch plating Mincey. Bursch walked plating Crummey. Lowery scored on a wild pitch. O’Connor walked loading the bases. Woodard singled scoring Hardin to end the game 16-1.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Brendan O’Connor was two for three with a double, a walk and two runs scored. Brodie Woodard was one for two with a walk, one RBI and one run scored. Kaden Burse was two for three with a triple, four RBI and three runs scored. Noah Mincey was one for one with a triple, a walk, two RBI and two runs scored. Landin Crummey was one for one with a double, two walks, two RBI and one run scored. Parker Hardin was one for two with a hit batsman, one RBI and one run scored. DJ Bursch was one for two with a homerun, two RBI and two runs scored.
Dodge shut out Southwest 10-0 in the second game. Andrew Lowery started on the mound for Dodge and pitched three scoreless in nings giving up two hits and one walk. Lowery struck out five. Brenan O’Connor worked the final two scoreless innings giving up one hit and one walk while striking out four.
Timmy Johnson led off the first inning for Dodge reaching on an error and stealing second. Garrett Durden singled scoring Johnson. Noah Mincey singled scoring Durden. Dodge led 2-0.
Dodge added three more runs in the third. Durden doubled to left. Woodard had a bunt for a hit. Mincey reached on an error allowing Durden to score. Cole Cranford had a double scoring Woodard. Seth Cossett hit a sacrifice fly to score Mincey. Dodge led 5-0.
Dodge added three more runs in the fourth. Roper Weathersbee and Johnson each reached on errors. Durden got down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third. Woodard singled driving in Weathersbee. O’Connor grounded out third scoring Johnson. Mincey walked. Cranford singled scoring Woodard. Dodge led 8-0.
Dodge closed it out in the fifth. Noah Cummings reached on an error and stole second. Johnson had an infield hit. Parker Gay doubled scoring Cummings. Macky Rowland hit a fly ball to right field, which was misplayed by the right fielder allowing Johnson to score the final run for the 10-0 Dodge win.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Timmy Johnson was one for four with three runs scored. Garrett Durden was two for two with a double, one RBI and two runs. Brodie Woodard was two for three, one RBI and two runs scored. Noah Mincey was one for two with a walk, one RBI and one run scored. Cole Cranford was two for three with a double and two RBI.
Dodge was scheduled to travel to McRae to face Telfair County (12-9) on April 15th and host Northeast Macon (5-12) on April 16th. Results of those games were unavailable at press time. Dodge will finish the regular season by visiting Northeast Macon on April 19th and traveling to Hazlehurst for a doubleheader with Jeff Davis (21-2) on April 20th. The Yellow Jackets are ranked #2 in the state in AA. Dodge will see the best pitching staff that it will face in the regular season.
This should be a good measuring stick series for Dodge and show them what they can expect to see should they make a deep playoff run. In other action this week, Washington County split its season series with Bleckley County, which means Dodge’s playoff seeding will come down to the final week of the regular season.
Depending on this week’s results, it appears Dodge will finish either second or third in Region 3AA. A second-place finish would have the Indians at home in the first round of the playoffs while a third-place finish would result in the Indians hitting the road. Most likely opponents in the first round of the playoffs from Region 2AA are Bacon County (19-7) or Vidalia (15-9). S
By Joey Marchant
Dodge won three games last week improving their overall record to 15 wins and 6 losses. They are currently on an eight-game winning streak. Dodge traveled to Ashburn on April 10th to take on the Turner County Rebels. To look at the final score of 22-3, one would assume that Dodge cruised to victory running up the score on an outmanned band of Rebels. Nothing could be farther from the truth as Dodge had to scratch and claw their way to a 3-2 lead through five innings before the floodgates finally opened.
Landin Crummey started on the mound for Dodge and went six and one-third innings giving up three runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks. He struck out nine. Dodge took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Crummey led off with a single to centerfield. Andrew Lowery was hit by a pitch and DJ Bursch was walked to load the bases. Brendan O’Connor hit a sacrifice fly to score Timmy Johnson from third who was running for Crummey.
Turner tied it at 1-1 in the third, and Dodge took a 3-1 lead in the fourth. After two quick outs in the inning, DJ Bursch doubled. O’Connor reached on an error allowing Bursch to score. Garrett Durden singled home O’Connor.
Turner cut the Dodge lead to 3-2 in the fifth with the help of two Dodge errors. Up to this point, it felt like Dodge would eventually start swinging the bats consistently and put the Rebels away. However, there are games when an underdog is allowed to hang around and gain confidence until the momentum finally shifts allowing the underdog to pull out a win. Turner was on the cusp of that. However, Dodge slammed the door in the final two innings.
Dodge scored two in the sixth. Parker Hardin reached on an error. Noah Cummings entered as a courtesy runner for Hardin. Bursch walked. O’Connor doubled to score Cummings. Durden hit a sacrifice fly to score Bursch giving Dodge a 5-2 lead.
Dodge finally broke it open in the seventh. Kaden Burse led off the inning with a strikeout, but he reached first when the pitch went all the way to the backstop. Timmy Johnson entered as a pinch runner for Burse. Noah Mincey ripped a double down the third baseline moving Johnson to third. Lowery walked, and Johnson scored on a wild pitch. Mincey and Lowery would also score from third on wild pitches. Hardin and Bursch each walked. Cummings entered as a courtesy runner for Hardin. It was at this point that Coach Herring began to empty his bench with two outs and an 8-2 lead. Roper Weathersbee singled to load the bases. Seth Cossett singled driving in Cummings and Bursch. Cole Cranford walked to load the bases. Cummings singled up the middle to score Weathersbee. Parker Gay walked scoring Cossett. Lowery singled scoring Cranford. Lowery advanced to second and Cummings scored on an errant throw from the outfield. Macky Rowland had an infield single to score Gay. A throwing error on the play allowed Lowery to score and Rowland to advance to second. Bursch singled scoring Rowland. O’Connor walked. Weathersbee singled to load the bases for Cranford who connected on a grand slam over the left field fence. When the dust cleared, Dodge scored seventeen runs in the inning to take a 22-2 lead.
Crummey struck out one batter in the bottom of the seventh before being lifted for Brodie Woodard. Turner added one unearned run charged to Crummey to make the final score 22-3.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Brendan O’Connor was one for four with a double, two walks, two runs batted in (RBI) and two runs scored. Garrett Durden was two for three with two RBI. Brodie Woodard was one for four. Noah Mincey was one for four with a double and one run scored. Andrew Lowery was one for three with a walk, a hit batsman, one RBI and two runs scored. DJ Bursch was two for two with a double, three walks and four runs scored. Roper Weathersbee was two for two with two runs scored. Seth Cossett was two for two with three RBI and two runs scored. Cole Cranford was one for one with a grand slam, a walk, four RBI and two runs scored. Noah Cummings was one for two with one RBI and three runs scored. Macky Rowland was one for one with one RBI and one run scored.
On April 12th, Dodge hosted Southwest Macon in a doubleheader. Dodge won the first game 16-1. Parker Gay started on the mound for Dodge and pitched all three innings giving up one unearned run on one hit and three walks. Gay struck out five.
Dodge started sloppily as the leadoff man for Southwest dribbled one up the first baseline for an infield hit. A stolen base and two errors allowed the runner to score and Southwest to take a 1-0 lead. Dodge came back in the bottom of the first. After two quick outs separated by a 30-minute lightning delay, Brodie Woodard reached on an error and stole second. Kaden Burse singled to drive in Woodard. Noah Mincey tripled driving in Burse. Landin Crummey doubled scoring Burse. Dodge led 3-1.
Dodge continued to score in the second. Brendan O’Connor had a blooper which he turned into a double by hustling. He went to third on an errant throw in from the outfield. Garrett Durden reached on an error. Woodard walked to load the bases. Burse had a bases clearing triple. Noah Mincey had a sacrifice fly to score Burse. Dodge led 7-1.
Dodge would end this one in the third. Parker Hardin led off with a base hit, and Timmy Johnson entered as a courtesy runner for him. DJ Bursch hit a two-run homer over the left field fence for his team leading third homerun of the season. O’Connor singled, moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on a passed ball. Durden walked. Woodard had a base hit scoring O’Connor. Woodard was erased when Burse hit into a fielder’s choice. Mincey walked to load the bases. Crummey walked plating Durden. Lowery walked plating Burse. Hardin was hit by a pitch plating Mincey. Bursch walked plating Crummey. Lowery scored on a wild pitch. O’Connor walked loading the bases. Woodard singled scoring Hardin to end the game 16-1.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Brendan O’Connor was two for three with a double, a walk and two runs scored. Brodie Woodard was one for two with a walk, one RBI and one run scored. Kaden Burse was two for three with a triple, four RBI and three runs scored. Noah Mincey was one for one with a triple, a walk, two RBI and two runs scored. Landin Crummey was one for one with a double, two walks, two RBI and one run scored. Parker Hardin was one for two with a hit batsman, one RBI and one run scored. DJ Bursch was one for two with a homerun, two RBI and two runs scored.
Dodge shut out Southwest 10-0 in the second game. Andrew Lowery started on the mound for Dodge and pitched three scoreless in nings giving up two hits and one walk. Lowery struck out five. Brenan O’Connor worked the final two scoreless innings giving up one hit and one walk while striking out four.
Timmy Johnson led off the first inning for Dodge reaching on an error and stealing second. Garrett Durden singled scoring Johnson. Noah Mincey singled scoring Durden. Dodge led 2-0.
Dodge added three more runs in the third. Durden doubled to left. Woodard had a bunt for a hit. Mincey reached on an error allowing Durden to score. Cole Cranford had a double scoring Woodard. Seth Cossett hit a sacrifice fly to score Mincey. Dodge led 5-0.
Dodge added three more runs in the fourth. Roper Weathersbee and Johnson each reached on errors. Durden got down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third. Woodard singled driving in Weathersbee. O’Connor grounded out third scoring Johnson. Mincey walked. Cranford singled scoring Woodard. Dodge led 8-0.
Dodge closed it out in the fifth. Noah Cummings reached on an error and stole second. Johnson had an infield hit. Parker Gay doubled scoring Cummings. Macky Rowland hit a fly ball to right field, which was misplayed by the right fielder allowing Johnson to score the final run for the 10-0 Dodge win.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Timmy Johnson was one for four with three runs scored. Garrett Durden was two for two with a double, one RBI and two runs. Brodie Woodard was two for three, one RBI and two runs scored. Noah Mincey was one for two with a walk, one RBI and one run scored. Cole Cranford was two for three with a double and two RBI.
Dodge was scheduled to travel to McRae to face Telfair County (12-9) on April 15th and host Northeast Macon (5-12) on April 16th. Results of those games were unavailable at press time. Dodge will finish the regular season by visiting Northeast Macon on April 19th and traveling to Hazlehurst for a doubleheader with Jeff Davis (21-2) on April 20th. The Yellow Jackets are ranked #2 in the state in AA. Dodge will see the best pitching staff that it will face in the regular season.
This should be a good measuring stick series for Dodge and show them what they can expect to see should they make a deep playoff run. In other action this week, Washington County split its season series with Bleckley County, which means Dodge’s playoff seeding will come down to the final week of the regular season.
Depending on this week’s results, it appears Dodge will finish either second or third in Region 3AA. A second-place finish would have the Indians at home in the first round of the playoffs while a third-place finish would result in the Indians hitting the road. Most likely opponents in the first round of the playoffs from Region 2AA are Bacon County (19-7) or Vidalia (15-9). S
Russ's Sports Review
April is my favorite sports month of the year. The men and women’s college basketball championships, the start of the MLB season and of course the Masters. I don’t watch nearly as much basketball as I used to. I have watched the NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments. This column is being written prior to the guys’ championship game between Texas Tech and Virginia. Unfortunately, the officials had a huge impact at the end of the Virginia-Auburn game on Saturday. The final three shot foul call was the right call, but of course the non-call on the double dribble was brutal. Auburn deserved better in the end but they had their chances.
The women’s championship game on Sunday night was one for the ages between Baylor and Notre Dame. The Lady Bears dominated early, as they would lead by as many as 17 points. The momentum of the game swung when Baylor’s all American forward Lauren Cox hurt her knee late in the third quarter. The Lady Irish would come alive and grabbed the lead for a brief time but Baylor would do just enough and survive 82-81. Baylor was the better team on this night and should have won by more.
Okay so we are nine games into the Braves season and they are 5-4. So far they are kind of as advertised. The East looks strong as everyone expected. The rotation looked just okay but Gausman looked good against the Marlins. The bullpen hasn’t been good, as they couldn’t even hold a lead against the poor Marlins. We are still waiting for Donaldson and Acuna to get on track at the plate. It is still early but my fourth place prediction unfortunately still looks about right.
The month of April has something for everyone including the NFL draft late in the month. My very favorite is the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta. Monday I was fortunate enough to make it to Augusta National Golf Club for the 20th year in a row. Even though I was fortunate enough to see D.J., Bubba, Rory, Tiger, Rickie and others, the course was still the star. Seeing the course in all its beauty brings a chill throughout my body like I am seeing it for the very first time.
The weather was better than expected and the people were really out to watch. Tiger was out early as he usually is and played the back nine with former champ Fred Couples and Justin Thomas. D.J. and Rory weren’t far behind. Johnson made an ultra rare double eagle on the par 5, 15th hole. It is still great to watch players skip balls on the par 3, 16th hole. Everyone that came through, that is what I saw.
Tiger was actually the only player in his group to reach the green on his skip shot. Trust me, if you don’t skip the ball across the pond, you will get booed. Tiger didn’t do it on Tuesday last year and the packed stands let him know it. It’s time for a fearless prediction. It’s time for Rory to complete the career grand slam so I will take him to win. I think D.J. will be in the game and I think Fowler will come close once more, but with good weather I think it will be a bombers paradise at Augusta National.
The women’s championship game on Sunday night was one for the ages between Baylor and Notre Dame. The Lady Bears dominated early, as they would lead by as many as 17 points. The momentum of the game swung when Baylor’s all American forward Lauren Cox hurt her knee late in the third quarter. The Lady Irish would come alive and grabbed the lead for a brief time but Baylor would do just enough and survive 82-81. Baylor was the better team on this night and should have won by more.
Okay so we are nine games into the Braves season and they are 5-4. So far they are kind of as advertised. The East looks strong as everyone expected. The rotation looked just okay but Gausman looked good against the Marlins. The bullpen hasn’t been good, as they couldn’t even hold a lead against the poor Marlins. We are still waiting for Donaldson and Acuna to get on track at the plate. It is still early but my fourth place prediction unfortunately still looks about right.
The month of April has something for everyone including the NFL draft late in the month. My very favorite is the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta. Monday I was fortunate enough to make it to Augusta National Golf Club for the 20th year in a row. Even though I was fortunate enough to see D.J., Bubba, Rory, Tiger, Rickie and others, the course was still the star. Seeing the course in all its beauty brings a chill throughout my body like I am seeing it for the very first time.
The weather was better than expected and the people were really out to watch. Tiger was out early as he usually is and played the back nine with former champ Fred Couples and Justin Thomas. D.J. and Rory weren’t far behind. Johnson made an ultra rare double eagle on the par 5, 15th hole. It is still great to watch players skip balls on the par 3, 16th hole. Everyone that came through, that is what I saw.
Tiger was actually the only player in his group to reach the green on his skip shot. Trust me, if you don’t skip the ball across the pond, you will get booed. Tiger didn’t do it on Tuesday last year and the packed stands let him know it. It’s time for a fearless prediction. It’s time for Rory to complete the career grand slam so I will take him to win. I think D.J. will be in the game and I think Fowler will come close once more, but with good weather I think it will be a bombers paradise at Augusta National.
By Joey Marchant
Dodge reeled off three consecutive wins this week, including two region wins. They got started on April 1st with an exciting home win in walk off fashion against the Rutland Hurricanes. Rutland is a high school in South Bibb County formed in 2003.
Brodie Woodard started on the mound for Dodge and retired the Canes in order in the first. The Canes took the lead in the second. Woodard gave up three hits in the inning including a two run double giving Rutland a 2-0 lead.
Dodge came right back in the bottom of the second. After two Dodge strikeouts to start the inning, Noah Mincey singled to right and moved to second on a wild pitch. Landin Crummey followed with a double scoring Mincey. Parker Hardin walked, and Timmy Johnson entered as a courtesy runner for him. Brendan O’Connor hit a fly ball to right field that it appeared would end the inning. However, the right fielder misplayed it. With two outs and Crummey and Johnson running on contact, they both scored easily. O’Connor made it all the way to third. Garrett Durden reached on an error by the third baseman allowing O’Connor to score making it 4-2 Dodge.
Rutland batted around retaking the lead in the third. Like Dodge earlier, Rutland made two quick outs before rallying to score five runs. Rutland strung together four base hits and took advantage of two Dodge errors for a 7-4 lead.
Dodge got right back to work in the bottom of the third. DJ Bursch led off with a walk and stole second. Andrew Lowery singled Bursch home. Lowery went to second on the throw to the plate. After a Dodge strikeout, Crummey grounded out to the right side moving Lowery to third. Hardin delivered a base hit scoring Lowery. Johnson entered as a courtesy runner for Hardin and moved to second on a wild pitch. O’Connor walked as Johnson stole third base on the pitch. A subsequent balk called on the Rutland pitcher scored Johnson tying the game at 7-7.
The Canes continued to take advantage of Dodge miscues in the fourth. They scored two runs without recording a hit aided by two Dodge errors and a hit batsman. Rutland led 9-7.
Dodge couldn’t score in the fourth, and Garrett Durden took the mound to relieve Woodard to begin the fifth. Yet another Dodge error allowed the leadoff man to reach first for the Canes. He would ultimately steal second as Durden fanned the next two Rutland batters. The next batter tripled driving in the runner from second. Durden stranded him by inducing a ground ball for the third out. Rutland led 10-7.
Mincey led off with a base hit in the bottom of the fifth, but was doubled off to end the nning when Hardin hit a line drive right at the second basemen. Dodge faced a three-run deficit with six outs left.
O’Connor led off the Dodge sixth with a single. Durden had an infield hit and went to third on a throwing error allowing O’Connor to score. Noah Cummings entered as a courtesy runner for Durden. Kaden Burse had a single to drive Cummings home and cut the Rutland lead to 10-9.
The Dodge defense held in the seventh, and Dodge came to bat in the bottom of the inning needing one run to tie the game. Mincey led off with a base hit. Crummey laid down a bunt for a hit sending Mincey to second. Seth Cossett entered as a pinch runner for Crummey. Parker Hardin sent a seeing eye single up the middle to score Mincey with the tying run. Cossett had to hold at second. Cummings entered as a courtesy runner for Hardin, and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. O’Connor lined out to left for the first out, but did not hit it deep enough for Cossett to tag and score from third. Durden had an infield hit, but the runners could not advance. The bases were now loaded with Indians. Coach Herring called for the suicide squeeze, and Cossett broke for home at full speed. Woodard got the bunt down in fair territory, but not out of the reach of the Rutland catcher who had the presence of mind to know that because the bases were loaded, he did not need to tag Cossett. He need only tag the plate for the force out. As Cossett slid into home, the catcher dove for the plate. The umpire called Cossett safe with the winning run, and the Rutland coach was livid. Videos captured by fans show the Rutland coach may have had a complaint, but the umpire doesn’t have the benefit of video replay in high school baseball. Dodge won 11-10 to take plenty of momentum into its Region 3AA series with East Laurens.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Brendan O’Connor was one for four with a walk and a run scored. Garrett Durden was two for five extending his hitting streak to nine games. Brodie Woodard was one for four with a walk and the game winning RBI. Kaden Burse was two for four with one run batted in (RBI). Andrew Lowery was one for four with one RBI and one run scored. Noah Mincey was three for four with two runs scored. Landin Crummey was two for four with a double and one RBI. Parker Hardin was two for four with a walk and two RBI.
Woodard got a no decision after pitching four innings and surrendering nine runs (three earned) on seven hits. Woodard walked none and hit two batters. He struck out three. Durden got the win for Dodge. He pitched three innings surrendering one run on two hits. He walked one and struck out three.
Dodge traveled to East Dublin on April 2nd to take on the East Laurens Falcons. It looked to be a pitchers’ duel early as East Laurens sent Sophomore Ryan Mimbs to the mound, one of the best pitchers in Region 3AA. The Indians countered with Junior Andrew Lowery who has pitched well for Dodge this year. Lowery would get the best of Mimbs on this day as Dodge won 5-1. Lowery pitched 6 and 2/3 innings scattering five hits and issuing only one walk. Lowery struck out nine Falcons. Lowery got good support from his defense, which has at times let the Dodge pitching staff down this year.
Mimbs made the Dodge hitters look silly the first time through the order striking out six Indians using his fastball to get ahead and his curve ball to finish most of them off. Dodge got on the scoreboard in the third. Brendan O’Connor turned around a Mimbs fastball for a single. Brodie Woodard reached on an error. The runners moved to second and third on a wild pitch. O’Connor would then score on another wild pitch making it 1-0 Dodge.
Dodge would add to their lead in the fourth. Landin Crummey led off with a single. DJ Bursch reached on an error. Lowery laid down a bunt, which Mimbs pounced on in time to cut Crummey down going to third. Noah Cummings entered as a courtesy runner for Lowery. After a Dodge strikeout, another wild pitch allowed the Dodge runners to advance to second and third. O’Connor drew a walk to load the bases. Garrett Durden was hit by a pitch to plate Bursch. Brodie Woodard had a base hit to score Cummings and O’Connor giving Dodge a 4-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Lowery was on cruise control. He was perfect until giving up a bloop single to Mimbs in the bottom of the fourth. The ball probably should have been caught. It appeared the sun may have played a role. Lowery got the next two batters to fly out, and Parker Hardin gunned down Mimbs as he tried to steal second for the third out.
Dodge would add a run in the fifth. Crummey and Burse had consecutive base hits. Lowery hit a rocket shot back up the middle, which Mimbs deflected allowing an infielder to field the ball and step on second to cut down Bursch. Cummings entered as a courtesy runner for Lowery and intentionally got into a rundown as East Laurens forgot all about Crummey who trotted home from third base giving Dodge a 5-0 lead.
East Laurens would add a run on a sacrifice fly in the sixth to cut the Dodge lead to 5-1. Lowery fanned the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh before giving up a base hit. He was pulled in favor of Crummey who struck out the only batter he faced to seal the victory.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Brendan O’Connor was one for three with a walk and two runs scored. Brodie Woodard was two for four with two RBI. Noah Mincey was one for four. Landin Crummey was three for three with one run scored. DJ Bursch was one for three with one run scored. Parker Hardin was one for three.
The series would continue on April 4th as Dodge hosted East Laurens. Parker Gay started on the mound for Dodge. East Laurens got on the board early with four hits and one Dodge error leading to a 3-0 East Laurens lead after one half inning of play. Dodge wasted no time regaining the lead in the bottom of the first. Brendan O’Connor led off with a walk. Garrett Durden doubled to left. Brodie Woodard walked to load the bases. Noah Mincey singled to plate O’Connor. Andrew Lowery tripled to the gap in left center driving in Durden, Woodard and Mincey and giving Dodge a 5-3 lead.
Ryan Mimbs had a solo homerun for East Laurens in the second cutting the Dodge lead to 5-4. It would remain that way until the bottom of the third when Kaden Burse led off with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Mincey sacrificed him to third. Lowery doubled plating Burse. Parker Hardin walked, and Timmy Johnson came in as a courtesy runner for him. Johnson got into an intentional rundown allowing Lowery to score from third making it 7-4 Dodge.
It would remain that way until the sixth when East Laurens cut the Dodge lead to 7-6. Gay struck out the first batter, but the next batter reached on an error. Gay hit the next batter and was then called for a balk. East Laurens had runners at second and third with one out. The next batter hit a seeing eye single to drive in two runs. Gay’s night was done as Crummey came in to relieve him. Crummey wasted no time as he got the runner at first with his great pickoff move. The runner chose to break for second where Mincey threw to Woodard for the easy out. Crummey struck out the next batter for the final out of the inning.
Dodge put East Laurens away in the bottom of the sixth. O’Connor doubled and went to third on a wild pitch. Durden walked and went to second on catcher’s indifference. Woodard walked to load the bases, and Johnson entered as a pinch runner for him. Burse doubled home O’Connor and Durden. Mincey reached on an error, which allowed Johnson and Burse to score. Mincey ended up at second. Crummey had a bunt single, and Cummings entered as a courtesy runner for him. Lowery drove in Mincey with a base hit. Parker Hardin had a bunt single, and Cummings and Lowery scored. Roper Weath ersbee entered as a courtesy runner for Hardin. DJ Bursch walked. Durden had a bloop single to load the bases. Woodard grounded out scoring Weathersbee. Bursch scored on a wild pitch to end the game with a 16-6 Dodge victory.
Parker Gay got the win for Dodge going five and one-third innings surrendering six runs (three earned) on six hits. Gay walked one and hit two batters. Gay struck out four. Landin Crummey pitched two thirds of an inning giving up no runs on no hits or walks and striking out one.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Brendan O’Connor was one for three with a double, two walks, a stolen base and two runs scored. Garrett Durden was three for four with a double, one walk and two runs scored. Kaden Burse was one for two with a double, three walks, two RBI and two runs scored. Noah Mincey was one for three with one RBI and one run scored. Landin Crummey was 1 for three with one walk, one RBI and two runs scored. Andrew Lowery was three for four with a triple, a double, five RBI and one run scored. Parker Hardin was two for three with two walks.
With the two wins over East Laurens, Dodge (12-6) moves into third place in Region 3AA trailing Bleckley County and Washington County. Those two teams play each other twice this week, so Dodge still has a chance to finish second in the region and host a first-round playoff game. Dodge was scheduled to travel to Southwest (2-13) for a region game on April 9th, but results were unavailable at press time. Dodge will travel to Turner County (3-15) on April 10th, host Southwest on April 12th and travel to Telfair County (11-9) on April 15th.
Dodge reeled off three consecutive wins this week, including two region wins. They got started on April 1st with an exciting home win in walk off fashion against the Rutland Hurricanes. Rutland is a high school in South Bibb County formed in 2003.
Brodie Woodard started on the mound for Dodge and retired the Canes in order in the first. The Canes took the lead in the second. Woodard gave up three hits in the inning including a two run double giving Rutland a 2-0 lead.
Dodge came right back in the bottom of the second. After two Dodge strikeouts to start the inning, Noah Mincey singled to right and moved to second on a wild pitch. Landin Crummey followed with a double scoring Mincey. Parker Hardin walked, and Timmy Johnson entered as a courtesy runner for him. Brendan O’Connor hit a fly ball to right field that it appeared would end the inning. However, the right fielder misplayed it. With two outs and Crummey and Johnson running on contact, they both scored easily. O’Connor made it all the way to third. Garrett Durden reached on an error by the third baseman allowing O’Connor to score making it 4-2 Dodge.
Rutland batted around retaking the lead in the third. Like Dodge earlier, Rutland made two quick outs before rallying to score five runs. Rutland strung together four base hits and took advantage of two Dodge errors for a 7-4 lead.
Dodge got right back to work in the bottom of the third. DJ Bursch led off with a walk and stole second. Andrew Lowery singled Bursch home. Lowery went to second on the throw to the plate. After a Dodge strikeout, Crummey grounded out to the right side moving Lowery to third. Hardin delivered a base hit scoring Lowery. Johnson entered as a courtesy runner for Hardin and moved to second on a wild pitch. O’Connor walked as Johnson stole third base on the pitch. A subsequent balk called on the Rutland pitcher scored Johnson tying the game at 7-7.
The Canes continued to take advantage of Dodge miscues in the fourth. They scored two runs without recording a hit aided by two Dodge errors and a hit batsman. Rutland led 9-7.
Dodge couldn’t score in the fourth, and Garrett Durden took the mound to relieve Woodard to begin the fifth. Yet another Dodge error allowed the leadoff man to reach first for the Canes. He would ultimately steal second as Durden fanned the next two Rutland batters. The next batter tripled driving in the runner from second. Durden stranded him by inducing a ground ball for the third out. Rutland led 10-7.
Mincey led off with a base hit in the bottom of the fifth, but was doubled off to end the nning when Hardin hit a line drive right at the second basemen. Dodge faced a three-run deficit with six outs left.
O’Connor led off the Dodge sixth with a single. Durden had an infield hit and went to third on a throwing error allowing O’Connor to score. Noah Cummings entered as a courtesy runner for Durden. Kaden Burse had a single to drive Cummings home and cut the Rutland lead to 10-9.
The Dodge defense held in the seventh, and Dodge came to bat in the bottom of the inning needing one run to tie the game. Mincey led off with a base hit. Crummey laid down a bunt for a hit sending Mincey to second. Seth Cossett entered as a pinch runner for Crummey. Parker Hardin sent a seeing eye single up the middle to score Mincey with the tying run. Cossett had to hold at second. Cummings entered as a courtesy runner for Hardin, and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. O’Connor lined out to left for the first out, but did not hit it deep enough for Cossett to tag and score from third. Durden had an infield hit, but the runners could not advance. The bases were now loaded with Indians. Coach Herring called for the suicide squeeze, and Cossett broke for home at full speed. Woodard got the bunt down in fair territory, but not out of the reach of the Rutland catcher who had the presence of mind to know that because the bases were loaded, he did not need to tag Cossett. He need only tag the plate for the force out. As Cossett slid into home, the catcher dove for the plate. The umpire called Cossett safe with the winning run, and the Rutland coach was livid. Videos captured by fans show the Rutland coach may have had a complaint, but the umpire doesn’t have the benefit of video replay in high school baseball. Dodge won 11-10 to take plenty of momentum into its Region 3AA series with East Laurens.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Brendan O’Connor was one for four with a walk and a run scored. Garrett Durden was two for five extending his hitting streak to nine games. Brodie Woodard was one for four with a walk and the game winning RBI. Kaden Burse was two for four with one run batted in (RBI). Andrew Lowery was one for four with one RBI and one run scored. Noah Mincey was three for four with two runs scored. Landin Crummey was two for four with a double and one RBI. Parker Hardin was two for four with a walk and two RBI.
Woodard got a no decision after pitching four innings and surrendering nine runs (three earned) on seven hits. Woodard walked none and hit two batters. He struck out three. Durden got the win for Dodge. He pitched three innings surrendering one run on two hits. He walked one and struck out three.
Dodge traveled to East Dublin on April 2nd to take on the East Laurens Falcons. It looked to be a pitchers’ duel early as East Laurens sent Sophomore Ryan Mimbs to the mound, one of the best pitchers in Region 3AA. The Indians countered with Junior Andrew Lowery who has pitched well for Dodge this year. Lowery would get the best of Mimbs on this day as Dodge won 5-1. Lowery pitched 6 and 2/3 innings scattering five hits and issuing only one walk. Lowery struck out nine Falcons. Lowery got good support from his defense, which has at times let the Dodge pitching staff down this year.
Mimbs made the Dodge hitters look silly the first time through the order striking out six Indians using his fastball to get ahead and his curve ball to finish most of them off. Dodge got on the scoreboard in the third. Brendan O’Connor turned around a Mimbs fastball for a single. Brodie Woodard reached on an error. The runners moved to second and third on a wild pitch. O’Connor would then score on another wild pitch making it 1-0 Dodge.
Dodge would add to their lead in the fourth. Landin Crummey led off with a single. DJ Bursch reached on an error. Lowery laid down a bunt, which Mimbs pounced on in time to cut Crummey down going to third. Noah Cummings entered as a courtesy runner for Lowery. After a Dodge strikeout, another wild pitch allowed the Dodge runners to advance to second and third. O’Connor drew a walk to load the bases. Garrett Durden was hit by a pitch to plate Bursch. Brodie Woodard had a base hit to score Cummings and O’Connor giving Dodge a 4-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Lowery was on cruise control. He was perfect until giving up a bloop single to Mimbs in the bottom of the fourth. The ball probably should have been caught. It appeared the sun may have played a role. Lowery got the next two batters to fly out, and Parker Hardin gunned down Mimbs as he tried to steal second for the third out.
Dodge would add a run in the fifth. Crummey and Burse had consecutive base hits. Lowery hit a rocket shot back up the middle, which Mimbs deflected allowing an infielder to field the ball and step on second to cut down Bursch. Cummings entered as a courtesy runner for Lowery and intentionally got into a rundown as East Laurens forgot all about Crummey who trotted home from third base giving Dodge a 5-0 lead.
East Laurens would add a run on a sacrifice fly in the sixth to cut the Dodge lead to 5-1. Lowery fanned the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh before giving up a base hit. He was pulled in favor of Crummey who struck out the only batter he faced to seal the victory.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Brendan O’Connor was one for three with a walk and two runs scored. Brodie Woodard was two for four with two RBI. Noah Mincey was one for four. Landin Crummey was three for three with one run scored. DJ Bursch was one for three with one run scored. Parker Hardin was one for three.
The series would continue on April 4th as Dodge hosted East Laurens. Parker Gay started on the mound for Dodge. East Laurens got on the board early with four hits and one Dodge error leading to a 3-0 East Laurens lead after one half inning of play. Dodge wasted no time regaining the lead in the bottom of the first. Brendan O’Connor led off with a walk. Garrett Durden doubled to left. Brodie Woodard walked to load the bases. Noah Mincey singled to plate O’Connor. Andrew Lowery tripled to the gap in left center driving in Durden, Woodard and Mincey and giving Dodge a 5-3 lead.
Ryan Mimbs had a solo homerun for East Laurens in the second cutting the Dodge lead to 5-4. It would remain that way until the bottom of the third when Kaden Burse led off with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Mincey sacrificed him to third. Lowery doubled plating Burse. Parker Hardin walked, and Timmy Johnson came in as a courtesy runner for him. Johnson got into an intentional rundown allowing Lowery to score from third making it 7-4 Dodge.
It would remain that way until the sixth when East Laurens cut the Dodge lead to 7-6. Gay struck out the first batter, but the next batter reached on an error. Gay hit the next batter and was then called for a balk. East Laurens had runners at second and third with one out. The next batter hit a seeing eye single to drive in two runs. Gay’s night was done as Crummey came in to relieve him. Crummey wasted no time as he got the runner at first with his great pickoff move. The runner chose to break for second where Mincey threw to Woodard for the easy out. Crummey struck out the next batter for the final out of the inning.
Dodge put East Laurens away in the bottom of the sixth. O’Connor doubled and went to third on a wild pitch. Durden walked and went to second on catcher’s indifference. Woodard walked to load the bases, and Johnson entered as a pinch runner for him. Burse doubled home O’Connor and Durden. Mincey reached on an error, which allowed Johnson and Burse to score. Mincey ended up at second. Crummey had a bunt single, and Cummings entered as a courtesy runner for him. Lowery drove in Mincey with a base hit. Parker Hardin had a bunt single, and Cummings and Lowery scored. Roper Weath ersbee entered as a courtesy runner for Hardin. DJ Bursch walked. Durden had a bloop single to load the bases. Woodard grounded out scoring Weathersbee. Bursch scored on a wild pitch to end the game with a 16-6 Dodge victory.
Parker Gay got the win for Dodge going five and one-third innings surrendering six runs (three earned) on six hits. Gay walked one and hit two batters. Gay struck out four. Landin Crummey pitched two thirds of an inning giving up no runs on no hits or walks and striking out one.
Leading hitters for Dodge were as follows: Brendan O’Connor was one for three with a double, two walks, a stolen base and two runs scored. Garrett Durden was three for four with a double, one walk and two runs scored. Kaden Burse was one for two with a double, three walks, two RBI and two runs scored. Noah Mincey was one for three with one RBI and one run scored. Landin Crummey was 1 for three with one walk, one RBI and two runs scored. Andrew Lowery was three for four with a triple, a double, five RBI and one run scored. Parker Hardin was two for three with two walks.
With the two wins over East Laurens, Dodge (12-6) moves into third place in Region 3AA trailing Bleckley County and Washington County. Those two teams play each other twice this week, so Dodge still has a chance to finish second in the region and host a first-round playoff game. Dodge was scheduled to travel to Southwest (2-13) for a region game on April 9th, but results were unavailable at press time. Dodge will travel to Turner County (3-15) on April 10th, host Southwest on April 12th and travel to Telfair County (11-9) on April 15th.
Comments