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The Braselton News
Contact the sports department:
Phone: 706-387-5408
Fax: 706-367-9355
kristireed@mindspring.com
IB
Wednesday,
April 9, 2008
HE’S SAFE
Mill Creek’s Zach Hogan slides into third during Monday night’s game against Norcross.
Hogan went 2-for-3 against the Blue Devils with three RBIs. Photo by Kristi Reed
Baseball
Hawks ranked No. 7 in state
BY KRISTI REED
Mill Creek improved to 7-0 in region
7-A A AAA play with wins last week
against North Forsyth, Norcross and
Central Forsyth.
The Hawks (12-3, 7-0) are currently
ranked No. 7 in the state, according to
the Georgia Coaches Poll. Mill Creek
head coach Doug Jones said his players
are gratified by the ranking, but know the
only ranking that matters is the one at the
end of the season.
“They were fighting for respect from
the get-go. It means something to them
that they are ranked, but where and what
not is irrelevant at this point,” he said.
Mill Creek will play its third game
in as many days on Wednesday as they
face region opponent Peachtree Ridge.
First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in
Suwanee.
On Friday, the Hawks return home for
their fourth region game of the week as
they host Duluth. Game time is set for 7
p.m. in Hoschton.
RAIDERS FALL
Mill Creek improved to 5-0 in the
region with Wednesday’s 8-2 victory over
North Forysth.
Jacob German went 2-for-3 with 4 RBIs
to lead the Hawks. Matt Tunnell, Noah
Hanley, Zach Hogan and Johnny Knight
each had an RBI.
Nick Loving went 1-for-l with a dou
ble. Hunter Pope and Greg Brody had a
hit each for Mill Creek.
Brandon Bast was the winning pitcher,
allowing six hits and two runs during six
innings. Tyler Akins pitched one inning,
striking out two and giving up no hits.
DEVILS DEFEATED
Monday night started rough for Mill
Creek pitcher Matt Grimes. Two innings
ROUNDING THE BASES
Matt Tunnell went 3-for-3 against
Norcross on Monday. Tunnell had
three runs, a double and an RBI.
into the game, the Hawks trailed 6-2.
Jones felt confident his pitcher could
handle the pressure.
“He wasn’t getting bashed around. He
made some good pitches,” Jones said.
“Sometimes you just got to find out a little
bit about your youngster on the hill - see
if he’ll battle, if he’ll persevere. I was
proud of the way he battled and held it in
the road and gave the offense a chance to
get back in the game.”
The Hawks closed the gap in the third
inning, picking up three runs.
Trailing 6-5 in the fourth. Matt Tunnell
hit a double to drive home Greg Brody for
the tying run. The go-ahead run came two
batters later as Zach Hogan hit a single to
send Tunnell home.
A single from Jacob German sent Noah
Hanley across the plate for an 8-6 lead,
and the Hawks kept the scoring run alive.
A hit by Eric Hicks loaded the bases.
Johnny Knight batted in Zach Hogan to
give the Hawks a 9-6 lead at the end of
the fourth.
After a scoreless fifth inning, Mill Creek
got on the board again in the bottom of the
sixth. Hunter Pope hit a double to send
Hicks and Knight in, giving the Hawks an
11-6 lead heading into the last inning.
Relief pitcher Brian Holmes struck out
three batters in the seventh to clinch the
win.
“We haven’t been a super offensive
team, but we’ve done well enough. Tonight
the hitters picked the pitchers up a little bit
and that’s what we needed,” Jones said.
After trailing by four runs, the Hawks
managed a total of 14 hits and 11 runs for
the come from behind victory.
“It says a lot about these kids. They
don’t quit. They show up, they do what
you ask them to and they play hard,
regardless of what the score is,” Jones
said. “Some teams are different. Some
teams panic, but this group just keeps
playing. Hopefully, we can keep it up.”
Zach Hogan went 2-for-3 for the night
with three RBIs. Jacob German, Johnny
Knight and Hunter Pope had two RBIs
each. Matt Tunnell hit 3-for-3 with a
double and an RBI. Noah Hanley, Greg
Brody, Eric Hicks and Sam Davis had
hits.
Matt Grimes was the winning pitcher,
giving up ten hits and six runs.
DOG-GONE
Mill Creek extended its region winning
streak to seven games with Tuesday’s
10-3 victory over the Forsyth Central
Bulldogs.
Noah Hanley went 2-for-2 with an RBI
to lead the Hawks. Hunter Pope had a hit
and two RBIs. Joe Ryan was the winning
pitcher, giving up two hits and two earned
runs in five innings of work.
Panthers pitch shutouts against Clarke Co., Dacula
:
ANOTHER SHUTOUT
JCCHS senior, Trevor Booth pitched two shutout games for the
Panthers. Jackson County also has beaten their win record from
last year. The Panthers are currently 6-10. Photo by Justin Poole
Girls' Soccer
Lady Hawks lose to No. 8 Norcross
KEEP IT MOVING
Torie Scalera works to move the ball Thursday against Norcross.
The Lady Hawks fought hard, but were unable to beat the No. 8
Lady Blue Devils. Photo by Kristi Reed
BY JUSTIN POOLE
It has been a long time since the
Jackson County Panthers have been
on the winning side of a shutout
game.
Now, the Panthers have two under
their belts after last Wednesday’s
game against Clark Central and
Monday’s game against Dacula.
Trevor Booth, a senior, pitched
both shutout games. Against Clarke
Central, Booth only allowed six
hits, while he only allowed three
hits against Dacula. Coach Tommy
Fountain said that it was a tremen
dous job for Booth to pitch in both
games.
“We don’t throw anybody unless
they have four days rest,” said
Fountain. “We checked with him
and asked him if he could keep his
pitch count down and he said he
could. We thought he matched up to
Dacula better than anybody else.”
This year, the team has won more
games than they have in the past
three years, according to Fountain.
The 2007 record for Jackson County
Comprehensive High School was
5-20 overall, and 5-18 region. This
year, JCCHS is currently 5-9 in
region 8-AAAA, and 6-10 overall.
While the Panthers still have to
face Loganville and Habersham this
week, the rest of the season’s games
should also be exciting as the team
moves forward.
CLARKE CENTRAL
JCCHS won 2 - 0 in last
Wednesday’s match up. The pan
thers had seven hits against Clarke
Central. Senior, Matt Bolt was a top
hitter going three for three. Bolt had
two RBIs and a double. Marquice
Gillespie, and Booth were the run
ners for the Panthers.
“Bolt has been on a tear lately,”
said Fountain. “In the past week and
a half, he has had 11 straight at bats
where he got on base.”
DACULA
In Monday’s game the Panthers
once again had seven hits scoring
five. JCCHS defeated Dacula, 5-0.
The Panthers scored three runs on
four hits in the first inning. Taylor
Kennedy led with a triple; Booth hit
a double to the wall to bring him in.
SALEM
Tuesday, JCCHS fell to Salem
5-2.
Fountain said, “We played toe-
to-toe with a top ten team and I’m
proud of our guys for that.”
Looking ahead to Friday’s game
against Habersham Central, the
Panthers are just looking to have
someone on the mound.
“Whoever can lift their arm above
their head is who we are start
ing,” said Fountain. “Hopefully,
Habersham will be in the same posi
tion we are in, they also have four
games in five days. Come Friday, it
is going to be a case of whoever has
someone who can throw strikes, you
are going to have a better chance.”
The April 11 game is at home for
the Panthers and starts at 6:30 p.m.
BY KRISTI REED
Despite their best efforts, the
Lady Hawks were unable to top
ple No. 8 Norcross on Thursday.
Mill Creek fell to 2-6 in region
7-AAAAA play with the 0-1 loss.
The Lady Hawks stand at 5-10-1
overall heading into the last two
games of the season.
Mill Creek will travel to Shiloh
on Saturday, April 12 for a non
region game. Kickoff is set for
5:30 p.m.
The Lady Hawks’ last game of
the season will be Wednesday,
April 16 when Mill Creek hosts
Cedar Shoals for senior night.
Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
GOOD SPORTS
Last week, Mill Creek Athletic
Director Gary Long recognized
the Lady Hawks for their sports
manship during the April 1 game
against Collins Hill.
After the game, Long received
an email from Collins Hill coach
Jeff Tinklepaugh. In the message,
Tinklepaugh told Long that one
of their players had lost her sister
to cancer. Collins Hill decided to
start the game a player down in a
show of respect.
Tinklepaugh informed Mill
Creek head coach Brent Leitsch
of their plans, and told Leitsch to
play the game as they normally
would.
Leitsch met with his team cap
tains and they decided to start the
game down a player as well as a
show of respect to the Collins Hill
player and team.
Tinklepaugh wrote: "I can’t tell
you how much this meant to our
team! I think our young ladies
will remember this for a lifetime.
Instead of reading the GHSA
sportsmanship statement Tuesday
night, we lived it out. I would like
to express my extreme gratitude to
the Mill Creek girls’ varsity soccer
team and their coach for the way
that you honored us and the game
Tuesday night.”
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