Sunday's News 'n Notes: Braves do it again (full coverage); Mercer Tennis Classic; Macon TD Club, Russell Henley; UGA; MLB, college FB, NFL, NASCAR, WNBA Finals

October 18, 2021 Central Georgia Sports 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. Updates will be noted, so check back.

In Coverage: Updated GHSA and GISA state softball pairings

Coming Monday: GHSA volleyball pairings; This week’s Central Georgia high school football schedule; Macon Touchdown Club players of the week; Monday Morning Quarterback

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Braves 5, Dodgers 4

Rosario’s shot squirts through for aNOTHER walk-off

Atlanta rallies twice from two down

Box score

Pitching moves backfire for Roberts, Dodgers

Starters struggled, Braves pen came through

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Freeman’s weekend: NLCS and Little League

Legend of Joctober grows

Acuna on hand for support, offers update

Dodgers aspirations in deep trouble

Column: What were they thinking?

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Playoff Schedule
Monday: Astros at Red Sox, Game 3, FS1, 8 p.m.
Tuesday: Braves at Dodgers, Game 3, TBS, 5 p.m.; Astros at Red Sox, Game 4, FS1, 8 p.m.
Wednesday: Astros at Red Sox, Game 5, FS1; Braves at Dodgers, Game 4, TBS, 8 p.m.
Thursday: Braves at Dodgers, Game 5*, TBS, 8 p.m.

Alumni Update

Around/About Central Georgia

Ninth Mercer Tennis Classic gets underway

Night matches and a typically strong field await the ninth Mercer Tennis Classic starting Monday.

Qualifying begins Monday at 10 a.m. at the John Drew Smith Tennis Center.

Players must win two matches to make the 32-player singles main draw, with that action starting on Wednesday. There’s also a 16-team doubles draw.

Ann Li is the top overall seed, the 21-year-old from King of Prussia, Pa. bringing a current WTA ranking of No. 60 – one spot behind Sloan Stephens - to Macon. Second-seeded Fiona Ferro of France is ranked 98th,

while third seed Madison Brengle of Delaware is 78th..

Robin Anderson, who is from New Jersey and played at UCLA, is the top seed in the qualifying draw. She won the Honda Sports Award as the nation’s top female college tennis player in 2014 and 2015, and is currently ranked 192nd.

Night matches will be announced each day. Tuesday is Mercer night, free admission with ID. Wednesday is Macon Tennis Legends Night, while Thursday features Heroes Night to honoring National Junoir Tennis and Learning, autism awareness, and veterans.

Tickets are $5 a day or $20 for the week. Government-mandated COVID-19 restrictions will be in place.

The tournament is the oldest pro event in the state and has the second-largest purse, behind the ATP World Tour 250 event, the Truist Atlanta Open.

Information regarding stream will also be released when finalized.

For more information, including to volunteer, contact Mercer tennis coach Eric Hayes at 301-2269.

Macon TD Club welcomes former Georgia Southern AD Benko

Georgia Southern athletics director Jared Benko is Monday’s speaker at the Macon Touchdown Club.

The club meets at the Methodist Home for Children and Youth, in the Rumford Center, at 304 Pierce Ave. It starts at 6:30 p.m. with dinner and the program to begin around 7. Admission for non-members is $30.

Southwest is the featured high school. South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer is next week’s speaker, followed by Mercer’s Drew Cronic.

Benko was announced in early March of 2020 as the Eagles’ athletics director, replacing Tom Kleinlein, who resigned at the start of 2020 after taking over in 2012.

Kleinlein hired Chad Lunsford as head football coach, after a stint as interim, in November of 2017. Benko fired Lunsford as head football coach on Sept. 26. The Eagles were 1-3 at the time, and are 1-2 since then with interim head coach Kevin Whitley. Georgia Southern is in danger of its fifth losing season since Paul Johnson’s final year in 2001.

Benko is from Watkinsville, has two degrees from Georgia, and got started in athletics business at UGA, spending seven years in sports communications while also working the Falcons and Braves.

He was director of business operations at Georgia, then too the same job at Arkansas from 2012-15. After 2015-16 at Auburn, he became the deputy AD and chief financial officer at Mississippi State in 2016.

Henley stays hot, as do leaders

A 3-under for the final day and 17-under for the tournament are good, but Russell Henley had to settle for a tie for 25th in the CJ Cupp in Las Vegas.

The Maconite turned in a quality weekend, but the scores were low all over the place, and his 17-under was only eight back of winner Rory McIlroy, whose 25 under gave him a one-stroke win.

Henley had a steady tournament, and final day, with four birdies and a bogey (on 18). He finished with 24 birdies, 41 pars, and seven bogeys in 72 holes.

Around/About Georgia/Southeast

Bennett knows he won’t win everybody over, just wants to win

About Kentucky’s late timeout …

Can Jordan Davis win the Heisman?

‘How could he not …?’

Georgia Southern standout Kennedy is missing

Baseball

Rodriguez to get next start for Boston

MLB dealing with housing issue for minor-leaguers

College Football/South

Orgeron out, with $17 mil, at the end of the season

Five years, one national title, and two down seasons: No regrets for O