Yes, they can pitch.

          Indeed, it'll be pretty cool tonight to watch Tanner Hall and Tony Locey hook up when Mercer faces Georgia in the NCAA Regional in Athens.

          Teammates for one championship year in high school, Hall and Locey are on the big stage, a scenario that was impossible after they picked up their diplomas in 2016 after leading the Bears to the 5A title. More on that coming.

          There are those who always proclaim great knowledge on players they haven't seen live. But who saw that collection of Bears back in 2016 - maaaan, has it been that damn long? – pretty regularly while they were en route to that championship?

          (Thumbs pointing to author)

          Yours truly watched – in person – a slew of games that year, especially in the playoffs, including a home series against Statesboro and a frisky road series at Gainesville and the memorable-because-a-head-coach-lost-his-mind championship series at home against Loganville.

          It was quite the rotation, with Tony Locey, D.L. Hall, and Tanner Hall.

          How quite?

          D.L. Hall was a two-year Bear who returned to Valdosta for his senior year, and is now on only a forward path in the Baltimore Orioles system.

          Locey was a one-year Bear, transferring from Hardaway as a senior who, in fact, signed with Georgia months before suiting up in a Houston County uniform.

          “I’ve seen him in the weight room,” then-head coach Jason Brett said that fall when Locey signed. And some summer ball, and that was about it.

          Tanner Hall grew up in the system.

          “I remember coaching Tanner at the Robert Sapp Baseball Camp, before he got to us,” Brett said of the camp run by the former Middle Georgia College – in its junior college days – and Georgia head coach. “Him and Gabe Holt came through in that camp. Watching those kids come up, you knew they were going to be special baseball players.”

          Holt, of course, is a Veterans grad who is – again - helping top-10 Texas Tech in the regional it’s hosting in Lubbock, again.

          So Brett no doubt will be amped up at Foley Field today? Nope, coach-turned-assistant-principal Brett is in Savannah for a regularly scheduled school administrative retreat.

          “It kills me not to be up there,” said Brett, who will be in front of a TV or two by first pitch. “I’ll be wearing my black and gray.”

          Rewind to 2016’s season. D.L. Hall had committed to Florida State, Locey came in with some hype, and there was Tanner Hall, telling Armstrong Atlantic State, Division II in Savannah, that he was coming there.

          Today? Hall is at Mercer, which would have loved to have had him out of high school, because Hall admirably stuck with his commitment even after having a player-of-the-year-year-in-5A season: 9-1, 0.58 ERA, 79 strikeouts in 60.2 innings, and batting .368 playing first and batting cleanup.

          In March of Hall’s freshman year, it was announced that the Pirates would end athletics at the end of that school year, the result of the state system absorbing AASU into Georgia Southern. And the Class 5A and area player of the year was suddenly without a team. That changed a few months later when he signed with Mercer, and promptly delivered a yawn-inspiring season of 9.1 innings, a 7.71 ERA and 0-1 record.

          Not a problem. Consider who was in front of him: future major leaguer Robert Broom and future major leaguer and FPD grad Austin Cox, among others. Nick Spear and Sawyer Gipson-Long were in front of him, too. It was a long pitching line.

          Now, Hall is 8-5, with a 4.67 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 23 walks in 81 innings, and opponents hitting .255.

          What folks saw last week from Hall in the Southern Conference tournament was surprising to folks who didn’t know Hall: two days after going deep in a start, he came in and threw three relief innings to shut the door on Wofford’s dreams, and deliver the Bears the title.

          That was no biggie back in high school, either the deep start when most needed or coming back for some door-closing relief work. Shoot, he was perfect in six save opportunities as a senior. And he was the game-winner in Houston County’s semifinal and championship finales, throwing a shutout in the championship.

          Locey struggled more that year, bringing just his meaty fastball the vast majority of the time and struggling with the off-speed stuff. Fortunately for opponents, the many batters he hit – and he plunked a few – were on pitches below 95 mph.

          “If you’re going to hit ‘em, hit ‘em with the fastball,” Brett joked.

          What people don’t know about the pair is that they entered college as good baseball players, particularly Hall. If he didn’t pitch, he played first. And pretty much no matter what, he batted cleanup. Really, give him a week or two in the cage, and you could put him in a lineup. But since he can pop up and pitch at any given moment …

          Locey played third when he wasn’t pitching, which moved Jake Fromm to shortstop. That was good, so they could bicker at each other.

          “One of the most fond memories I have it watching Jake and Tony take ground balls at third, and just wear each other out,” Brett said. “They just competed. Who’s going to make more errors? Who’s not going to make as many errors? Jake would wear Tony out, and then Tony would get on Jake.”

          Locey had more work to do coming out of high school, and he did it, making the transition from thrower to pitcher, as evidenced by his 10-2 record, 2.68 ERA, and only seven hit batters as his role this year became defined, and clear, and delivered upon. His rise from struggling to an ace is impressive and admirable, and there will be a debate if he has reached his collegiate ceiling and is ready for the next step.

          How much he’s grown makes that a legitimate debate.

          And that season, Tanner Hall was the one who constantly caught my eye. He just calmly and efficiently and consistently came up big. All the time. You were stunned when he didn’t. Not overly demonstrative, he was equal star and glue player. Frankly, it’s only fair that he’s getting a chance to show how really good he was – and is – by not languishing in what had digressed to become a middlin’ Division II program. He deserves this moment.

          Brett noted that his biggest challenge back then was managing egos and personalities, which combined with actual talent and not parents-telling-you-stuff talent can be combustible. It wasn’t.

          Mercer will lose a game in the regional. It’s a safe bet. But do not be a bit surprised if the Bulldogs and Bears are playing again for the right to stay alive or move on.

          And if that happens, regardless of tonight’s outcome, don’t be a bit surprised to see Locey and Hall on the hill again at some point in that game, or before, with the season on the line. Locey just threw his first relief appearance of the season last week in the SEC Tournament, and Hall has been on-call ready for years.

          Sure, they’re pitchers now, but there is still a whole lot of baseball player in them, and at times, they forget about being a pitcher and focus on winning. Wouldn’t be a bit surprised. That’s down the line, though, in an NCAA regional, and double-elimination gatherings make for high drama and plot twists, so we’ve got plenty to watch before approaching that point.

          But as somebody who saw plenty of Locey and Hall live a few years ago, I’ll enjoy tonight. And I’ll be ready for a repeat.