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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
PAGE 3B
High school softball previews
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BACK FOR ANOTHER SEASON
Junior centerfielder Grace Hedges, seen in action last season, is one of sev
eral Wildcats returning this year. Photo by Jessica Brown
Depth, experience give Sinclair,
Apalachee high expectations in ‘ 17
By Scott Thompson
Sports Editor
With 18 players slated
to suit up for the varsity, it
doesn’t appear depth will
be a concern this season
for the Apalachee softball
team.
But it will present some
challenges for first-year
head coach Jessica Sin
clair, albeit ones she wel
comes.
“Carrying 18 is going
to be difficult where they
will go on the field and
what combinations to use,”
said Sinclair, whose team
opened up its season Tues
day at Clarke Central. “But
there are a lot of options
we can work with and
that’s always better than
not having enough.”
Where that depth might
pay off the most, Sinclair
said, is in the pitcher’s
circle. Sophomore S’Ni-
yah Stinson and seniors
Savannah Butler and Kayla
Brown all logged innings
last year while junior Lau
ren Middlebrooks and
freshman Emily Hodnett
are expected to contribute
as well.
Hodnett “pitched for the
JV as an eighth-grader and
she’s got a drive that I
haven’t seen in a lot of
girls in a while.” Sinclair
said. “I’m really looking
forward to her pushing her
self. She’s young and has a
lot to learn but I think she’s
up to the challenge.”
Apalachee will be led
by four seniors this year
who have been around the
program since they started
high school. In addition
to Butler and Brown, Bri-
ana Bryson is back and
will likely play primarily at
second base, while Alexis
Mobley also returns.
Sophomore Madyson
Coe returns behind the
plate, junior Grace Hedg
es will once again patrol
centerfield and sophomore
Alexis Griffith is expect
ed to step in at short for
the departed Holly Janco,
last year’s GHSA Region
8-AAAAAA Player of the
Year and a Georgia Gwin
nett College signee.
Beyond that, Sinclair
said the starting lineup is
still a work in progress as
a large junior class looks
to fill in the gaps. Nicole
Trammel. Alexis Wheeler
and Cara Knight are play
ers she said could make
their way into the lineup
early.
“We’re still seeing where
everything is going to fall,”
Sinclair said. “I think the
main thing for the seniors
is going to be understand
ing their role as leaders of
our team and with the large
junior class, seeing who
can step into those varsity
roles from the JV level and
do well.”
Sinclair is in her first
year as head coach after
taking over for Matt Allen,
who left to take the head
softball and boys bas
ketball coaching jobs at
Oglethorpe County, but
she was an assistant under
Allen and head JV coach
the last two seasons for the
Wildcats.
“I already know the girls
and their parents well,
which is a plus,” Sinclair
said.
“We had a really good
summer on the field and in
the weight room and made
some important strides.”
One of the biggest
strides the Wildcats will
look to make is a region
championship and a deeper
run in the state playoffs.
They finished second
in Region 8-AAAAAA
last season before being
swept by Dalton in the first
round.
“I expect a lot out of
them and they know that.”
Sinclair said. “We want to
hold them to a higher stan
dard this year than maybe
they’ve held themselves to
in the past. I think we’re
right on the edge of taking
that next step. Everybody’s
ready.”
t
BACK IN THE CIRCLE
Winder-Barrow’s Alexis Berry is one of eight seniors this season. Photo
by Jessica Brown
Smoak bringing new culture in first
year as Winder-Barrow’s head coach
By Scott Thompson
Sports Editor
Not that the expectations for Wind
er-Barrow’s softball team coming into
2017 weren’t already high after several
seasons of being a playoff contender, but
first-year coach Lee Smoak is only seeking
to raise them as he prepares to put his own
footprint on the program.
“We have made quite a few culture
and climate changes within the program
that we are very proud of,” said Smoak,
who took over for former coach Monty
McClure who is now the head girls basket
ball coach at Jackson County.
McClure led the Bulldoggs to several
state playoff appearances — including a
trip to the Elite Eight in Columbus in 2013.
Smoak had similar success at his previous
stop at Burke County, where he took over
a fledgling program and led the Bears to
four postseason berths, a school-record 17
wins and Sweet 16 appearance in 2016 and
the school’s first ever fast-pitch region title.
His aspirations for Winder-Barrow
aren’t any different.
“The biggest challenge so far has been
altering the mentality of the program as
a whole and getting the players used to
having higher expectations,” Smoak said.
“Our summer program (went) great.
“With the exception of two weeks, we
have practiced or played four days a week
since the end of May, and our participation
has been great.”
The 2017 Bulldoggs will be a veteran
bunch with eight seniors and five juniors,
but there will still be somewhat of a clean
slate. While the Bulldoggs return key play
ers from last year’s team, including senior
third baseman Jakayla Sullivan, senior
pitcher Alexis Berry and senior Emily
Ferguson among others, Smoak declined
to discuss his projected starting lineup,
saying that players “will earn their starting
playing time, not based on seniority but by
their performance at practice and as agreed
upon by our entire coaching staff to fit the
needs of the team as a whole.”
“We have a solid foundation of players
that are ready to contribute at a high level,”
Smoak said.
“We expect to contend for a region title
and not only make the state playoffs, but
advance.”
Smoak said he expects the two teams
that finished ahead of the Bulldoggs in
GHSA Region 8-AAAAAA last year —
Dacula and Apalachee — to provide his
squad with its most formidable competi
tion.
And, there are plenty of powerhouses on
the non-region slate, including defending
Class AAAAA champion Buford, Logan-
ville. Greenbrier and Harlem to name a
few.
“Our schedule is stacked with opponents
that are accustomed to making deep play
off runs, so that’s going to help us a lot,”
Smoak said.
The Bulldoggs open their season Thurs
day at Loganville. First pitch is set for 5:55
p.m.
Knights seemed to regress
from a similar scrim
mage the previous week
when they held their own
against defending GISA
Class AAA champion
John Milledge Academy.
“Briarwood was the AA
runner-up last year so we
told the guys it wasn’t
going to get any easier,
that we weren’t going to
be playing a cupcake,”
Fendley said.
“They came out and
showed us exactly what
they are, which is a very
good team. We didn’t
have a very good week
of practice and I think it
carried over to the scrim
mage.”
Fendley said he saw
vast improvement from
the Knights in practice
Monday and that they’ll
need a much a better effort
to beat Class AA Pied
mont, a traditional pow
erhouse with two state
championships under its
belt that suffered through
an uncharacteristic down
year in 2016, going 2-8.
“I always expect them
to be ready to play,” Fend
ley said of the Cougars,
who trounced the Knights
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Knights continued from IB
77-0 in 2014 and 28-7
in 2015 before the loss
last year. “I felt like last
year they maybe over
looked us a little bit, but
I know they’re not going
to let that happen again.
They’re going to be well-
coached and very tough
on both sides of the ball.”
The Cougars feature a
spread attack on offense
with junior quarterback
Dalton Whitley leading
the way. Whitley’s favorite
target will be junior tight
end J.T. Webb, a 6-foot-4,
220-pounder who Fendley
said made things tough on
the Knights this summer
when the teams compet
ed against each other in
7-on-l work.
“One of the big keys
for us is going to be tak
ing away the big plays,”
Fendley said. “That’s
going to be made easier
if we can shut down the
run and make them more
one-dimensional so we’re
able to hone in on those
explosive guys.”
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also part of Piedmont’s
strength and the Knights
will look to establish
some success behind first-
year starter Ethan Torbett
at quarterback and junior
running back Tanner
Schwebel who logged a
solid scrimmage against
Briarwood.
“Tanner’s a big piece
of our puzzle. He’s still
got a lot to learn, but he’s
going to be one of the
guys we’re counting on,”
Fendley said. “I think
the big thing for us, after
watching the tape from
the scrimmage, is it really
wasn’t anything schemat
ic that went wrong; it was
an effort thing.
“They all count now
so we’re focused on the
week to week. Every
week is our own little
championship and it starts
with Piedmont.”
August 2, 2017
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