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jenkinscountytimes.com
The Jenkins County Times
Wednesday, March 13, 2024- Page 9
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By Brad Asbury, Sports Editor
for
'I i 11 : Times
BRAD ASBURY pastorbradasbury@gmail.com
Under the
Bleachers
The pollen is falling faster than a Spencer Strider
fastball, which is fast. The temperatures are warming
up, baseball games are being played, people are crawling
out from under the bleachers after a long winter’s nap, and we can almost hear
the umpire yell, “Play Ball.” I love all sports, but there is something special about
getting outside, breathing in the fresh air, sneezing uncontrollably, and hearing
the crack of a bat!
Conference tournaments will start this week for Men’s College basketball. All
eyes will be on the SEC Conference tournament which will send several teams
to the NCAA basketball tournament. Other big conferences to watch will be the
Big to and Big 12, as those always provide great tournament action. My favorite
tournaments to watch are the small conferences. Those conferences will send
one team to the tournament, all based on that team winning their conference
tournament. Those small conferences will provide one or two teams that will upset
a big-name team.
Next Sunday, March 17th will be selection Sunday. It will be on that date
that the brackets will be released for the tournament. The NCAA Basketball
Tournament is one of the most watched sporting events. In next week’s edition,
your sports editor will give his predictions for the tournament, you can see if my
sports knowledge is that good!
The countdown is officially on for the new MLB season. I have been counting
down since last season ended, but we are about three weeks from the first game of
the regular season. Spring training has been a lot of fun to watch, but it is time for
some “real baseball.” Spring Training is filled with games that have all the starters
out by the 4th inning and play is not quite at an elite level.
With that in mind, I willbegin to make some predictions for the season to come.
This week I will focus on the National League. I predict that the Atlanta Braves
will win the National League East again and this will be seven years in a row. They
won the division from 1991-2005 and it appears they are settled in for another
long streak. The National League East will be won by my surprise team of the year,
the Chicago Cubs. They will look to get back to the playoffs and make noise with
a young team. The National League West will be won by the Los Angeles Dodgers,
who have bought a team that no one can match the payroll.
Three more teams will enter the playoffs as Wild Card teams. My prediction is
that those teams will be the Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, and the
other surprise team the Cincinnati Reds. Next week, I will give you the American
League, and the following week I will tell you who I think will play for the World
Series!
In 2005 (that has been a while) 26% of parents surveyed hoped or even planned
that their kids would play professional sports. The reality is that .04% of high
school athletes will have a professional career in athletics. The great reality is that
most of our students will never see the professional ranks. This reminds me of one
simple things: enjoy sports. Do not give your life to them, for they will not be your
life. Sports, like anything, can become your identity or your god. Keep focused on
what matters most! Enjoy the spring. Watch some basketball. Keep Christ at the
center of all you do.
GHSA Basketball State
Championship
Last week the GHSA basketball season officially came to an end with the state
championship games played in Macon. Teams locally that played in the state
championship included Region 3 rival Montgomery County in the girls’ bracket.
They were defeated in a low-scoring affair by a final score of 39-28. On the boys’
side of the bracket, the Toombs County Bulldogs lost to Westside of Augusta 64-29.
Two teams celebrated championships in both boys’ and girls’ basketball. In
Class A Division 2 Greenforest Christian and in Class 7A Grayson High School saw
both teams bring home the hardware for their team! Westside High from Augusta,
in boys’ 2A, won their second consecutive championship. In girls’ basketball, Mt
Paran has now won three championships in a row. Kell High School has taken the
5A championship for the second time. In 2022 they won Class A Private, in 2023
and 2024 they won the 2A championship. Hebron Christian was also a repeat on
the girls’ side of the bracket.
Scores (Girls)
St. Francis (74) Vs. Galloway (71) Class A Division 1
Greenforest (39) Vs. Montgomery County (28) Class A Division 2
Mt. Paran Christian (59) Vs. Josey (52) AA
Hebron Christian (62) Vs. Wesleyan (60) AAA
Baldwin (47) Vs. Hardaway (39) AAAA
Jackson (58) Vs. Midtown (44) AAAAA
Marist (67) Vs. North Forsyth (48) AAAAAA
Grayson (65) Vs. North Paulding (44) AAAAAAA
Scores (Boys)
Mt. Vernon (48) Vs. Paideia (40) Class A Division 1
Greenforest (68) Vs. Manchester (39) Class A Division 2
Westside (64) Vs. Toombs County (29) AA
Sandy Creek (74) Vs. Johnson (49) AAA
North Oconee (65) Vs. Holy Innocents (60) AAAA
Kell (62) Vs. Eagle’s Landing (51) AAAAA
Riverwood (67) Vs. Alexander (63) AAAAAA
Grayson (51) Vs. McEachern (41) AAAAAAA
Middle School Baseball
Finishes 1-1 on the Week
Jenkins County Middle
School War Eagles played
two games this past week.
The first was on Monday
night as they traveled to
Portal. In the previous week,
Portal came to Jenkins
County Portal won 9-4.
Portal took the early 1-0
lead in the bottom of the
first, but Jenkins County
quickly jumped ahead with
6 runs in the second on
good hitting. In the second
inning, Portal scored 4 and
the game would be a dose
6-5 game. For two innings,
defense prevailed, and no
one gave up a run. In the
bottom of the 5th, Portal was able to pull across three runs and the War Eagles
could not get the offense going again. Portal won 8-6.
On Thursday, the War Eagles welcomed Burke County. Ready for a win, after
a two-game losing streak, the War Eagles showed no mercy and ended the game
after 5 short innings. The War Eagles scored 10 runs on 8 hits while only allowing
Burke County to get three hits for the contest. The 10-0 was the biggest victory the
War Eagles have had all season.
A busy week is ahead for the War Eagles as the team will begin regional play.
They will play at Metter on Monday at 4:30 and they will welcome Metter on
Wednesday at 4:30. On Saturday, the “JV” Middle School War Eagles will travel to
Portal for a tournament. The JCMS War Eagles are now 3-3 for the season!
High School Baseball Update
The JCHS War Eagles had three games this past week. They began the week
at Bulloch Academy. The War Eagles got on the board first scoring the first two
runs and after two innings were leading 6-2. But in the third and fourth, Bulloch
Academy would add six runs and the lead would hold with Bulloch adding runs
down the final innings. Bulloch Academy won the game 12-8.
In the second matchup against Bulloch Academy for the week, this time at
Jenkins County, the War Eagles lost 11-0 in 6 innings. The sixth inning was
the dagger as Bulloch Academy put across 6 runs. The bats could not get going
through the game for the War Eagles.
The last game of the week was a rematch with Swainsboro on Friday night. It
was in the bottom of the fourth when the War Eagles got going. With two on,
Blake Aaron singled allowing Ian Proctor to score. Then with two on, Ty Boynton
singled on a hard-hit ball to the outfield scoring Harper Wilcox and Jeffrey Moody.
This was the end of scoring for the War Eagles for the game as Swainsboro would
add 8 more runs over two innings and bring the game to a close in 6 innings 16-3.
The War Eagles will now begin the regional portion of their schedule. The top
four teams in the region after the season will advance to play in the state playoffs.
They will start regional play against 6-4 ECI, who is also ranked 11th in the Class A
Region 1. Other teams in the region include 0-4 Portal, McIntosh County Academy
is 2-9, and Montgomery County is 2-7. The War Eagles are 0-8 entering regional
play-
Each week the teams will play a three-game series against one another. This
week, at 5:30 on Thursday, the war Eagles will travel to ECI. Then on Friday, the
War Eagles and ECI will play a doubleheader against ECI at the Jenkins County
Recreation Department. The games will begin at 4:00 PM on that day, with the
estimated time of game two at 6:00.
From left to right Harper Wilcox, Candler Berry, and Ian Proctor meet up at the
mound with the flag blowing in the background during a game this week. The War
Eagles will have over a week off as they prepare to begin regional play. They will
start on August 19th and 22nd with games against ECI. The 19th will be at ECI,
and the 22nd will be a doubleheader at home. Photo by Genie Boynton.
Gray Amerson, a War Eagle junior stands at
second base during a game this week. Photo by
Genie Boynton.
James Allen jumps from the basketball court to the
batter’s box during a recent game. Allen is a junior
for the War Eagles. Photo by Genie Boynton
Ty Boynton stands at second last
week during the loss to Swainsboro.
Ty had 2 RBIs in the loss. Photo by
Genie Boynton
Blake Aaron stands at first base (left)
with Assistant Coach Rusty Kea
(Right). Against Swainsboro, Blake
had 1 hit and 1 RBI. Photo by Genie
Boynton.
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