Central Georgia Sports ReportMay 20, 2023Comment

Saturday's Report: GIAA baseball, Russell Henley, Al Lucas scholarships, Austin Cox (FPD/Mercer), Washington County's Gray; Dream, Braves, Matt Ryan, UGA; NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL, colleges, golf

Central Georgia Sports ReportMay 20, 2023Comment

📰S📰C📰O📰R📰E📰B📰O📰A📰R📰D📰

High School
⚾ ⚾ ⚾Baseball ⚾ ⚾ ⚾
GIAA Championship
Class AA

Gatewood 10, SW Georgia 4
With weather disrupting the GIAA playoffs at SRP Park in North Augusta, the two teams found a way to play at the Georgia School for Innovation and the Classics, in Hephzibah. Southwest Georgia led 4-2 after one, and Gatewood started creeping back, tying it in the fifth and taking over with six in the seventh. Game 2 is Saturday at noon, back at SRP Park.

🏫 🏫 🏫College 🏫 🏫 🏫
Links have either a story (with box included) or a box

⚾ ⚾ ⚾Baseball ⚾ ⚾ ⚾

Georgia State 4, Old Dominion 0
Kennesaw State 14, FGCU 5
James Madison 4, Georgia Southern 3
LSU 8, Georgia 4
Samford 12, Mercer 11
Virginia 10, Georgia Tech 6

Pro

⚾ ⚾ ⚾ MLB ⚾ ⚾ ⚾

Atlanta 6, Seattle 2

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Around/About Central Georgia

BSB-Samford pounds 8 homers, beats Mercer for top SoCon seed

Weather forces delays and changes with GIAA baseball finals

The GIAA state baseball championship series were to start at 10 a.m. on Thursday at SRP Park in North Augusta, S.C.

The schedule imploded early.

Hopes of delaying starts Thursday were dashed, with GIAA updates inconsistent updates, the games being called a little before 3 p.m.

Mid-morning Friday, all of Friday’s games had been postponed, except the Class A second game, which was moved to Edmund Burke.

Gatewood and Southwest Georgia notified the GIAA that they had moved their Class AA opener - initially scheduled for 1 p.m. on Thursday, then to 2 p.m., and then noon Friday and then to postponed - to the Georgia School for Innovations and the Classics (GSIC), in south Augusta, about 30 miles from SRP.

Gatewood won 10-4.

Gatewood and SW Georgia will play at noon Saturday, with John Milledge and Pinewood Christian in the AAA game at 3 p.m.

John Milledge posted Friday just before 7 p.m. that the second game will be Monday at 2 at Augusta Christian, with the third game to follow at that site.

There have been no such updates from the GIAA.

Henley heads home from PGA

The weekend is over for Russell Henley, though his disappointingly high score after two rounds wasn’t far from the cut line.

If he’d only have been 5 over …

Nearly 20 players shot 5 over, and made the cut at the PGA Championship in New York.

Henley finished with his second-worst total of the season, his 147 a stroke better than the 148 he shot in his first tournament of the season, the Sanderson Farms Championship back in early November. That, though, was only 4 over.

Henley was joined by other top-50 players with a short weekend: Andrew Putnam, Matt Fitzpatrick, Brendon Todd, Nick Taylor, Matt Kuchar, Davis Riley, Tom Kim, top-10 Wyndham Clark and Jason Day, among others.

Sam Burns started the weekend 11th in the FedEd rankings, and was a whopping 14 over.

Henley managed only one birdie Friday, countered by five bogeys, three in the final four holes.

The Stratford and Georgia grad is in the field for next week’s Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth.

Seven Bibb County high schoolers get Lucas Scholarships

The latest class of Al Lucas Scholarship Fund winners were presented with their awards Friday in a ceremony at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

The program is in its 18th year. Lucas’ widow De’Shanda is a part of the yearly ceremony, along with his parents David and Elaine.

Character, grades, leadership skills, and a caring attitude are among the requirements to be considered.

The graduate of Northeast and Troy died on April 10, 2005, from a spinal cord injury suffered during an Arena game. He played for the Los Angeles Avengers.

The Buck Buchanon Award winner as I-AA’s top defensive player signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and also played with Carolina.

Each year, a male and female from his high school alma mater are given scholarships. They are $1,000. Five more go to a student from the other Bibb County public high schools.

The winners: Marrell Moffett and Jalayzha Williams, Northeast; Christopher Martin, Southwest; Kenyon Jabari, Howard; Raylan Maddox, Rutland; Andrew McClendon, Central; and Marshawn Harvey, Westside.

Alumni Update

MLB trip – his first – was short for Cox (FPD/Mercer)

It was a whirlwind few days earlier this month for former FPD and Mercer pitcher Austin Cox.

On a Wednesday morning, he got the call to fly to Kansas City and join his Major League employer.

The next day, he threw two solid shutout innings in relief in a loss to Baltimore.

And that night, he was sent back in the minors, returning to Class AAA Omaha.

In three games back, through Thursday, he has nine strikeouts and two walks in 13 innings with seven earned runs, getting one win and two no-decisions in two starts and a middle-relief stint.

Opponents are batting .240 against him, and he has 32 strikeouts and 16 walks in 35.1 innings, going 2-0. The way baseball works and with the season Kansas City is having, he’s likely to get a few more call-ups this season.

Washington County’s Gray leads Atlanta vs. former team

The first game for Allisha Gray on her home-state team is against her last team.

The former Washington County standout and the Atlanta Dream visit the Dallas Wings in the WNBA opener for both teams.

Dallas drafted Gray fourth in the 2017 draft. She was the WNBA rookie of the year that season, and played in 180 games – starting 160 – for the Wings, averaging 28.7 minutes, 11.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists, shooting 40.8 percent on 3-pointers.

The game is at 1 p.m. and will be on ABC.

Around/About Georgia

Rebuilt Dream look to contend, open at Dallas

Arcia drives in game-winner, Ozuna hot again

Does Matt Ryan belong in the Pro Football HOF?

SB-UGA opens regional with combo no-hitter

WTEN-Wallace’s UGA career ends in NCAA semis

WGLF-Georgia sets program NCAA record

NBA/WNBA/Basketball

Miami erases deficit, takes 2-0 lead home

A ‘day of joy’ for Griner as WNBA season starts

Do the Lakers have enough in the tank?