Sunday's Central Georgia Daily News 'n Notes: Mercer is NCAA-bound, UGA & Tech to host regionals; rough day at NCAA golf; Westside BKB alums transferring, to Clemson & TBA; good Braves Report
Sunday's Central Georgia - and of interest to Central Georgia - news and notes, compiled from staff reports, email reports, the web, and social media.
Mercer finishes off a wild weekend with the SoCon championship
The Bears got the offense and the clutch pitching yet again, knocking off Wofford twice on Sunday to win the Southern Conference Tournament and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
In The Latest coverage.
The NCAA selection show is at noon Monday on ESPNU, and there will be a watch party at Wild Wing Café at the Shoppes at River Crossing, starting at 11:30 a.m.
At home for the regionals: UGA and Tech (and a home away from home for Mercer?)
As expected, Georgia and Georgia Tech were among the top 16 teams to get a host invite for the NCAA baseball regionals Sunday night.
It’s the first time both have hosted a regional at the same time. Georgia has played at Tech and vice versa.
The NCAA selection show is at noon Monday on ESPNU, and that’s when Georgia will find out it’s a top-8 national seed and when Georgia Tech hopes to hear the same status.
Baseball America projected Sunday night that Georgia will host Indiana, Coastal Carolina, and Florida A&M, with Tech welcoming Nebraska, Florida, and Mercer.
D1baseball.com has Florida A&M, Coastal, and Illinois in Athens and Florida Atlantic, Arizona State, and Mercer in Atlanta.
Clemson makes Khavon Moore move official
Westside grad Khavon Moore’s commitment to Clemson became a signing early in the week.
The move became official upon Clemson’s press release.
“We’re excited that Khavon is joining our basketball family,” head coach Brad Brownell said in a release. “Khavon is a multi-dimensional wing player that can play three positions and will contribute on a high level in a multitude of ways. He’s also a terrific open court player who excels at making plays, both for himself and for others.”
Moore was reportedly down to Clemson, and a few other upper-level programs in the Southeast, although Clemson was allegedly the immediate frontrunner when Moore announced in mid-April that he was transferring from Texas Tech, where he was that program’s highest rated recruit when he signed in the spring of 2018.
That signing came a few months after he suffered a season-ending knee injury late in his senior year at Westside, one that ostensibly kept him off the court at Texas Tech, except for two minutes.
Moore noted in the Tweet announcing his departure that a prime reason was the need to “undertake family obligations that require my immediate attention.” Among those obligations is being near his infant child.
The Tigers finished 20-14 last year, struggling to an 8-6 finish down the stretch after a 10-3 start.
What year Moore will be classified as in 2019-20 remains unknown. A medical redshirt would make him a true freshman and give him four years of eligibility. Between the family situation and that he played only two minutes before what ended up as the halfway point of the season for the national runner-up, it would be a surprise if the hardship was denied.
The Tigers will be young, with a graduate senior and three juniors.
And speaking of Westside alums transferring …
When Moore went down late in his senior season at Westside, Greg Holloway became the Seminoles’ go-to player. He ended up picking Mississippi Valley State, an HBCU in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
After a year and a coaching change, Holloway appears to be on the move, appearing on a transfer list compiled by Jeff Goodman of The Stadium website.
Holloway played in 15 games last season with one start, averaging 4.3 minutes. He had 18 points and 16 rebounds.
MVSU went 6-26 last season, 4-4 in conference play.
Former NBA standout Lindsey Hunter was hired in late April.
Braves Report
Clutch ninth- and 1oth-inning hitting combined with a quality bullpen effort to give Atlanta a 4-3 win over St. Louis before an overflow crowd at Busch Stadium. Atlanta forced the Cards to use three pitchers in a three-run ninth, and Luke Jackson got out of the 10th on 15 pitches.
Next: ; vs. Washington, Tuesday, 7:20 p.m., FSSE; Wednesday, vs. Washington, 7:20 p.m., FSSE; vs. Detroit, Friday, 7:20 p.m., FSSO; vs. Detroit, Saturday, 4:10 p.m., FSSO ; vs. Detroit, Sunday, 1:20 p.m., FSSO
Soroka sharp; Braves? Not so much
College roundup
Rough day at NCAA golf championship for state teams
Georgia and Georgia Tech started Sunday under the cut line at the NCAA golf championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
They fell. Hard.
The two were tied at 13th entering Sunday’s play, and Georgia suffered the biggest drop of the field, 11 to 24th, shooting a 47-over 911. Tech barely missed the cut of the top 15, three strokes behind 15th-place Southern Cal.
Georgia Southern started Sunday in a tie for 22nd, and lost four spots with a third-round 306 to place 22nd.
The Eagles did have some good news. Steven Fisk is third among individuals, three strokes behind Oklahoma State’s Matthew Wolff. Georgia’s Trent Phillips is in a Monday morning playoff for the final slot for individuals not advancing with a team.
Tech, Georgia Southern fall in tourney finals
In the conference roundup, in The Latest Coverage. Georgia Southern’s loss, after leading 6-0 and 7-4, was particularly painful.
Around/about Georgia