Friday's Central Georgia - and of interest to Central Georgia - news and notes, compiled from staff reports, email reports, the web, and social media.

 

Big bucks and Bulldog sports go together

          Georgia's athletics budget is about $20 million less than the Macon-Bibb proposed budget. More than $2 million goes for football recruiting.

 

Rain beats GISA championship series

          A variety of weather issues made for a long Friday, and will make for a long Saturday at Mercer's OrthoGeorgia Park for the GISA baseball championship series.

          Windsor trails defending champ Piedmont 2-1 in the third inning of the AA opener when they'll resume - er, tryyy to resume - at 11 a.m. Saturday.

          The Class AAA opener is now at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, with a "we'll go from there" plan after that.

          Rain chances are stronger in the morning than afternoon and evening.

 

College Baseball Roundup: Mercer gives SoCon tourney a break

          Georgia Tech's season came to an end with a 9-0 loss to North Carolina in ACC pool play.

          Georgia Southern is now done in Sun Belt play, and for the season. Ditto Kennsaw State (on Thursday) in the A-Sun.

          The only state D-I baseball team alive in a tournament is Mercer, dominant through two games at the Southern Conference tournament. The Bears play at noon. Tournament scoreboard is in The Latest Coverage.

 

Central Georgians lead Georgia softball

          Kylie Bass of Jones County and Mary Wilson Avant of Stratford pitched Georgia to a 4-3 win over Tennessee in the NCAA softball Super Regional opener in Athens.

 

Braves bats soft again in road loss

          Boston belted some homer and Atlanta countered with, well, none of that in the Red Sox' 6-2 win at Fenway.

 

This Week's Signings

          West Laurens boys basketball player Keonta Tyler will continue his career at Albany Tech.

          Five Houston County baseball players took part Monday in a signing ceremony.

          Logan Morris and Chandler Ring are headed to East Georgia State, a junior college in Swainsboro that had Central Georgians Case Matthews (West Laurens) and Parker Stahlman (Perry) on the 2018 roster.

          Dillon Toms signed with Lee University, a member of the Gulf South Conference

          Conner Martin will play for Wilson College, a Division III program in Chambersburg, Pa. And Jackson Jones signed with Covenant College, a Division III program in Lookout Mountain, Ga. whose 2018 roster included Stratford's John Mitchell. ...

          Perry's John Micah Law has signed to play baseball at Augusta University.

 

This Week's Honor Roll

          Georgia College is still taking in baseball honors.

          The latest list is led by Charlie Hecht, named All-Southeast pitcher of the year by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

          Peach Belt player of the year Logan Mattix was a first-team pick, while Matthew Miller and Bradly Cammack made the second team.

          Five Bobcats were named to the all-region team by the national college baseball writers and the Division II Conference Commissioners Association.

          Mattix, Hecht, and utility Nate Schmal made the first team on both lists, and Miller and outfielder Wesley Wommack the second team on both.

          Hecht was named the region's pitcher of the year by both groups, with D2CCA tabbing Mattix as the region player of the year.