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Tribune & Georgian
Friday, February 1,2013
Developing pitching will be key for SMMS
Tribune & Georgian file photo
Cameron Wright caught last year as a seventh-grader and should be an important contrib
utor for the Bobcats this season.
Andy Diffenderfer
sports@tribune-georgian.com
The St. Marys Middle
baseball Bobcats are hoping
potential leads to results as
the season opener looms next
week.
The 15-strong Bobcats,
with seven eighth-graders,
will open the season Feb. 6
against Camden Middle.
While head coach David Hill
believes his team can produce
offensively this season, get
ting some consistency on the
mound will be very impor
tant.
SMMS lost its best three
pitchers from last season, and
has a host of candidates to
shoulder the innings work
load.
“Two days a week, we re
ally do nothing but pitch, just
trying to find guys who can
find the strike zone,” he said.
“That’s my biggest concern.”
Among the performers the
Bobcats will lean on include
eighth-graders Cole Loden,
John Jones, Harris Sailors,
Drew Barnes and Cameron
Wright. Many of the eighth-
graders on the roster saw
time in the program last sea
son.
Hill calls Wright, who
caught last season as a sev
enth-grader, as probably the
program’s most improved
player.
“This year he’s really im
proved tremendously,” the
coach said. “He’ll be our lead
catcher and probably hit
fourth for us. We’re probably
going to rely on him to pitch
as well.”
Loden will probably play
shortstop, Hill said, and will
hit either first or third.
Loden ended up leading off
toward the end of last season.
Barnes brings a solid bat to
the lineup, and Sailors, at ei
ther third base or the out
field, might settle into the
leadoff spot.
Jones should hit sixth or
seventh in the order, and “we
hope to rely on him to be
able to pitch for us,” Hill
said. “He’s got a very good
arm, a live arm.”
Among seventh-graders,
Brooks Bryan will hit near
the top of the lineup, maybe
second, will platoon at
catcher and in the infield, and
may pitch too. Nick Dixon
will probably play some
third, and is “really one of the
few that have pitched in com
petition before,” Hill said.
Jordan Brown is a very ath
letic outfielder with a lot of
potential. Justin Mesmer and
Tommy Sabo don’t have a lot
of experience, but are very
coachable and athletic, ac
cording to Hill.
At a level where a lot of
teaching is done, instruction
centers on the nuances and
responsibilities of playing
several positions, and on situ
ational tactics, like running
the bases. The aim is get the
players prepped for high
school ball and prospering at
the varsity level there as early
as possible.
With Camden County
High stepping up in compe
tition with a new region, that
task becomes even more im
portant.
“We hope to learn, so
when they do step on the
high school field, that they’ve
been through it and they’ve
learned,” Hill said. “The
whole goal is for them to be
ready, so when they’re a
freshman or a sophomore
that they’ll able to play var
sity ball” instead of having to
wait until their junior or sen
ior years to contribute mean
ingfully.
The St. Marys schedule in
cludes several Jacksonville
private schools like Provi
dence and Trinity, a round-
robin tournament in late
February, plus Charlton and
Hilliard. Playing the private
programs, Hill said, “defi
nitely exposes the boys to a
good brand of baseball.”
“It’s really going to depend
on how we develop that
pitching,” he said. “We just
have to be able to consis
tently throw strikes. We’ve
got the arm talent and the
ability, we’ve just got to be
able to do it. We’re still
learning.”
SMMS baseball
schedule
Wednesday, Feb. 6: at
Camden, 4 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 11:
Camden, 4 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 14: at
Trinity, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 19: at
Eagle’s View, 5 p.m.
Friday and Saturday,
Feb.22-23: Round
robin (Camden, Provi
dence, Hilliard, Charlton)
Tuesday, Feb. 26:
Hilliard, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 2: at
Providence, 11 a.m.
Thursday, March 7: at
Hilliard, 5 p.m.
Saturday, March 9: at
Martha Puckett, 11 a.m.
Thursday, March 14:
Camden, 4 p.m.
Saturday, March 16:
Martha Puckett, 11 a.m.
Monday, March 18:
Charlton, 4 p.m.
Thursday, March 21:
Bolles, 5 p.m.
Thursday through
Saturday, March 28-
30: Postseason
tournament (Camden,
Providence, Charlton,
Baker County, Trinity)
Thursday, April 11,
and Saturday, April
13: County
championship
Aces
from page 1B
cause that’s where we need
you in a couple of years. We
need you to be that good, we
need you to work that hard.’”
Also for CCHS, senior
Sarah Sailors has been a de
pendable doubles player her
entire high school career.
Sophomore Ani Vonk, a
solid net player, is returning
as well, and like Sailors will
contribute in doubles. Soph
omore Amanda Landry, jun
ior Ashley Dolson and junior
Emmy Schroeder could all
be factors for the girls.
“I think our girls expect to
go out and win it,” Vonk
said. “They feel like we’re
the best team in south Geor
gia and we’re ready to go out
and prove it. I think they are
confident.”
For the boys, sophomore
Ben Siclare, who played No.
2 last year for a team that
reached the second round of
state, looks to make the
move to the No. 1 spot. The
step to the top rung can be a
big one, according to his
coach, who could start as
many as four sophomores.
“Anytime we play a com
petitive school, they’re likely
to have one or two of those
hard-core USTA players that
he’s going to run up against,”
Vonk said. “Ben’s still going
to be facing the No. 1 wher
ever he goes. It’s just a whole
another level usually at 1.
There’s a little bit more pace,
a little bit heavier ball that
comes at him, a little bit
more powerful serve, little
bit better returns coming
back.”
As of Tuesday, Connor
Lockhart, a senior, is looking
pretty good, according to
coach Vonk, and is jostling
for a singles position with
sophomore Nathan Miller
and sophomore Ryan Brad-
I know I'm competing
against other coaches
who care about their
programs and that are
working to develop
players. It's going to be
very competitive.
— Dan Vonk
CCHS tennis coach
ham. One of them will play
No. 1 doubles.
“We’re going to play with
that a little bit this year too,”
Dan Vonk said. “We don’t
know where they will end up,
but those three will all be
starters definitely.”
Carlton Sweatt, a sopho
more, looks to be one of the
doubles players. Lineup pos
sibilities also include senior
Hunter Prince, senior Bren
dan Collins, sophomore
Kevin Harkins and junior
Jordan Baker.
Among the boys teams,
Dan Vonk identified Lown
des and Coffee — with prob
ably “the best boys team
they’ve had in years” — as
schools to watch, though he
believes his charges can
make some headway.
“They’re going to really
learn a lot this year,” he said.
Camden isn’t shying away
from the new league, filled
by schools with similar
mindsets of fostering young
court talent and helping that
talent thrive. Vonk is already
looking ahead to a crop of
eighth-graders that could
make a quick and definitive
impact as freshmen Wild
cats.
“This is dog-eat-dog
here,” he said of Region 1.
“I know I’m competing
against other coaches who
care about their programs
and that are working to de
velop players. It’s going to
be very competitive.”
Goals
from page 1B
the midfield; rugged defend
ers Antwaun Lewis and Mal
colm Smith, both seniors,
and Elias Frazier, a junior;
senior goal-scorer Donald
Anderson; and valuable sen
ior utility player Cedric
Barnhart.
Filling Duddleston’s large
shoes in net won’t be an easy
task, and, as of Tuesday, Cam
den had four candidates an
gling for the job: junior
Andrew Stormer, junior Josh
Witt, junior Jared Warner
and sophomore Jeremiah Dir.
Tourney funds will aid Camden House
“Help Us Help Victims of
Domestic Violence” is the
theme of the second annual
Camden House Golf Tour
nament, which is registering
players for the March 8
event at Osprey Cove.
The tournament begins
with a 9 a.m. shotgun start
and features a captain’s
choice format. A live auc
tion, raffle, putting contest
and other on-course con
tests will be part of the fun,
and a delicious lunch will be
served after play.
Prizes will be awarded in
men’s, women’s and mixed
divisions. All divisions will
have gross and net cate
gories. The registration fee
is $80 or $320 per foursome.
Tournament funds will
help defray the costs of shel
tering domestic violence
victims at Camden House.
Starting in January, Camden
House resumed sheltering
after nearly a four-year ab
sence due to a lack of fund
ing. While sheltering is a
vital and necessary step in
Camden House’s quest to
support its clients, it is also
very expensive. Victims and
their children are already
being sheltered at the house.
Currently, Camden
House receives no state or
federal funding to offset the
cost of sheltering. It is seek
ing to regain state certifica
tion, but until then it must
rely on grants and fundrais
ers to help with sheltering
expenses and other parts of
its annual budget of more
than $300,000.
Camden House serves a
vital function within the
county. Ken Boden, Cam
den House executive direc
tor, says that domestic
violence is a horrific prob
lem in the county. Over a
year’s period, local authori
ties received four-plus calls a
day from domestic violence
victims, and they say an
other three to four times
that number daily never
make that call. Now, these
victims have a place to go to
escape the violence.
Thanks to the efforts of
many in the community, in
cluding Lowe’s, Camden
House has already under
gone significant improve
ments over the past months.
Carpet has been replaced,
the parking lot has been up
graded, new playground
equipment and fencing have
been installed, the front en
trance has been power-
washed and painted,
handicap facilities have been
added or improved, and staff
has been added.
Those wanting to play in
the tournament can visit
www.camdenhousega.org,
click on “golf registration”
and sign up using a credit
card, or can contact Boden
at kpboden@aol.com or
(912) 729-9390.
Camden Middle boys dominant in wins
The Camden Middle boys
hoopsters allowed just 26
points total in piling on two
more wins this week.
The visiting Cougars had
five players with at least six
points in a 41-16 disman
tling Tuesday of Fernandina
Beach. C.J. Sullivan, Eric
Southers and Devone Wal
lace shared CMS scoring
honors with eight points
apiece, while B.J. Attaway
notched seven and Jeremiah
Compton six. Jordan Stra-
chan and Dionte Holzendorf
SMMS girls cagers
notch two victories
Powered by a combined
24 points from Brittney
Shelton, the St. Marys Mid
dle girls continued rolling
with recent wins over Fer
nandina Beach and Charl
ton.
On Monday, host Charl
ton fell, 37-21 as Shelton
tossed in 10 points and Skye
Green nine. Following
them on the scoring chart
were Jesse Beck with six,
Gabby Robinson and
Shenell Davis with four
each, and Amber Parson
and Ashley White with two
apiece.
Shelton netted 14 points
Thursday, Jan. 24 in a 35-
20 scuttling of visiting Fer
nandina. Robin Baker
backed her with six, Robin
son with five, Green with
four, and Davis and Beck
with three apiece.
Making the Elite Eight last
two seasons has prepared the
Wildcats well for what should
be a difficult navigation, and
a similar effort will be needed
this year, according to coach
Gabriel. Two years ago, four
of the eight Class AAAAA
quarterfinalists came from
schools in the current Region
1 lineup: Camden, Tift,
Lowndes and Coffee.
“They’re not going to drop
their heads when you score a
goal on them,” the CCHS
head coach said. “It’s going to
make them angry and they’re
going to come back fighting
even more.”
“We definitely respect them
all,” he said. “It’s going to be
quite a challenge for us.”
tallied two apiece. Holzendorf and Martinik
Behind 13 Sullivan points Wilkins, five from Milan
and 10 from Attaway, Cam- Ellerson, four from Wallace,
den waxed visiting Callahan, three from R.J. Goss, and two
51-10 on Monday. The win- each from Strachan and Keith
ners got six each from Goodwin.
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Weekly Tide Chart
This Week’s Tide
HIGH TIDE
LOW TIDE
AM
PM
AM
PM
1/30 Wed.
9:50
10:13
4:00
4:18
1/31 Thurs.
10:32
10:59
4:43
4:59
2/1 Fri.
11:20
11:53
5:30
5:45
2/2 Sat.
12:15
6:23
6:36
2/3 Sun.
12:52
1:14
7:25
7:37
2/4 Mon.
1:56
2:16
6:33
8:45
2/5 Tues.
3:02
3:21
9:43
9:54
TIDES CALCULATED FOR OUTER BAR
Cumberland Wharf, Cumberland River add 40 min.; St. Marys
entrance add 15 min. Crooked River Entrance add 1 hr. 23 min.; St.
Marys, St. Marys River add 1 hr. 21 min.; Crandall, St. Marys River
add 2 hr. 10 min.; Harrietts Bluff add 2 hr. 9 min.; Dover Bluff add 1
hr. 10 min.; Satilla Cove add 1 hr.; Christmas Creek add 25 min.;
Satilla River, Todd Creek Entrance add 43 min.
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