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Annual
Braves Quiz
By Jim Fowler
It’s time for our annual Atlanta
Braves quiz. Some are easy, some not so
much. Let’s see how you do!
1. Who hit the first home run at Truist
Park?
A. Freddie Freeman
B. Nick Markakis
C. Brian McCann
D. Ender Inciarte
2. What position did Brain Snitker play
as an active player?
A. first base
B. catcher
C. outfield
D. third base
3. What major league team did Braves’
bench coach Walt Weiss once manage?
A. San Diego Padres
B. Colorado Rockies
C. Oakland As
D. Kansas City Royals
4. What country is Ronald Acuna, Jr.
from?
A. Venezuela
B. Curacao
C. Dominican Republic
D. Puerto Rico
5. From what team did the Braves ac
quire Max Fried in 2014?
A. San Francisco Giants
B. Seattle Mariners
C. San Diego Padres
D. Houston Astros
6. What present Brave was drafted by
Atlanta in 2002, went on to play for four
other major league teams, and has now
returned to the Braves?
A. Charlie Morton
B. Pablo Sandoval
C. Josh Tomlin
D. Drew Smyly
7. Which of the following present
Braves was NOT a first-round draft
choice in the MLB
amateur draft?
A. Mike Soroka
B. Freddie Freeman
C. Austin Riley
D. Ian Anderson
8. Which of the following players, now
playing for another team, was NOT an
Atlanta first-round draft choice?
A. Mike Minor
B. Andrelton Simmons
C. Adam Wainwright
D. Jason Heyward
9. What Braves’ player, with 26, has the
most hits in Atlanta World Series his
tory?
A. David Justice
B. Javy Lopez
C. Chipper Jones
D. Mark Lemke
10. Which of the following has NOT had
his uniform number retired by the
Braves?
A. Javy Lopez
B. John Smoltz
C. Dale Murphy
D. Phil Niekro
11. Which of the following teams has the
Braves NOT played in a World Series?
A. Toronto Blue Jays
B. Minnesota Twins
C. Boston Red Sox
D. New York Yankees
12. Which Brave has a brother presently
playing in the major leagues?
A. Will Smith
B. William Contreras
C. Chris Martin
D. Bryce Wilson
13. The Braves set a modern-era Na
tional League record by scoring 29 runs
in a game in 2020. Who was the oppo
nent?
A. Pittsburgh Pirates
B. Cincinnati Reds
C. Colorado Rockies
D. Miami Marlins
14. What of the following present major
league managers had a father who once
played for
the Braves?
A. Joe Girardi
B. Alex Cora
C. Terry Francona
D. Bob Melvin
15. Which of the following maj or league
managers did NOT play for the Braves at
one time?
A. Tony LaRussa
B. Dave Martinez
C. David Ross
D. Aaron Boone
ANSWERS: 1. (D); 2. (B); 3. (B);
4. (A); 5. (C); 6. (A); 7. (B); 8. (B); 9. (D);
10. (A); 11. (C); 12 (B); 13. (D); 14. (C);
15- (D).
Hope you did well. For more Braves
information, the entire Braves’ 2021
media guide can be found online. Enjoy!
Oglesbee Takes Victory at American Blind Golf Memorial Match
By Jacob Stewart
sports@upsonbeacon.com
Brian Oglesbee competed in
the American Blind Golf Memo
rial Match last week and won in
a sudden-death playoff with his
teammate Tim Jackson from
Columbus, Ohio.
The match, smaller than re
cent years, was held in a team
format. Oglesbee and Jackson
won four out of five matches,
which forced the sudden-death
playoff. They emerged victori
ous after only two holes of sud
den death.
The match was an alternate
shot format and the two golfers
worked well together. “He put
tee shots in play and I put a lot
of shots on the green or just off
the green,” said Oglesbee.
Oglesbee was
caddied/coached by Jason
Hogan and Jackson was cad
died/coached by Roger Cline.
The two coaches did an amaz
ing job lining the golfers up for
their shots.
Oglesbee has won this event
twice before as an individual.
His first victory was in 2014 and
he repeated in 2015. Following
his victory in 2015, he was
named Player of the Year.
The event is held to raise
money for the Wounded War
rior Project and scholarships for
the visually impaired.
Photo Submitted
Brain Oglesbee is pictured with caddie/coach Jason Hogan, along
with teammate Tim Jackson and his caddie/coach Roger Cline, and
others after they clinched their victory.
Walker is Ready to Step Up This Fall
Walker points out adjustments at spring practice.
Photo by Jacob Stewart
By Jacob Stewart
sports@upsonbeacon.com
Niterrian Walker is a natu
ral leader and now that he is a
senior, he is doing everything
he can to lead his team on the
gridiron.
The Knights lost a consid
erable amount of experience
and talent from the Class of
‘21, so Walker has big shoes to
fill. The combination of a
young team in the rigorous
Region 2-AAA is intimidating
to think about, but Walker
says he is confident.
“I feel pretty confident,”
said Walker, “Peach County
did it, so I feel like we should
do a lot this year.”
Peach County went 6-0 in
the region last year with a
young roster. Instead of let
ting that intimidate Walker,
he uses it as inspiration.
With the lack of depth on
the defensive line, Walker is
transitioning into playing on
both sides of the line this year.
It is a task that he has to work
hard at, but one he realizes the
team needs him to manage.
“I’m adjusting. I’m trying
to run a lot more,” Walker
said. The decision to play both
ways is a mutual decision
among Walker and the coach
ing staff. “It’s something that I
brought up around my 10th-
grade year and now it’s some
thing the coaches brought up,
so really it’s a 50/50.”
Walker has played behind
many solid leaders as he has
come up through the system at
Upson-Lee. He has been a part
of what he calls “changing the
culture” around Upson-Lee
football and he does not want
to see that end when he grad
uates.
“For the team, I’m looking
forward to seeing all of these
young guys. I’m excited to see
what they’re going to do this
season,” said Walker. “I feel
like I have got to step up and
become a leader because you
know the young guys need to
see the culture we’re trying to
build at Upson-Lee.”
To Walker, changing the
culture means stepping closer
and closer to being a perennial
state championship threat. He
has challenged himself and
the team to not settle for a
first-round win like last sea
son, but to have their goals set
deeper into the playoffs.
Amid rebuilds and years
with a lot of turnovers, it is
leaders like Walker that can
make a difference. He will
have a much larger role than
he has ever had this season,
but he is always up to the chal
lenge. Walker believes in his
team and is making sure that
they believe in themselves as
well. After all, that is what a
leader does.
Signature Moments: Byrd’s 16-Point Rally
The moment the comeback was complete.
Photo by Jacob Stewart
By Jacob Stewart
sports@upsonbeacon.com
Last season had many signa
ture moments from various ath
letes. Throughout the summer,
the Upson Beacon is looking
back to relive these memorable
moments.
The first signature moment
is Shelby Byrd’s epic rally that
helped the Lady Knights volley
ball team erase a 10-point defi
cit and score 16 consecutive
points to defeat Peach County.
The win locked up the third
seed in the region for the Lady
Knights.
Upson-Lee won the opening
set 25-2, and Knights’ Country
was loud in Jackson for the re
gion tournament. Peach County
came out strong in the second
set and jumped out to an 11-6
lead. The Lady Trojans did not
slow down as they kept scoring
and brought the set to 24-14.
Byrd was up to serve on the po
tential set point for Peach
County, but she was not ready
to play the third set.
With her back against the
wall, Byrd did not make any
mistakes. After six consecutive
points, she aced Peach County
to bring the score to 24-21. The
ace forced a timeout from the
Lady Trojans.
At that moment, it was clear
that Byrd was doing something
special. Not often does a team
rally with their backs against
the wall, but the way that Byrd
was locating her serves allowed
her team to be in a good posi
tion for the remainder of the
points. Shannah Slaughter and
Landen Davis contributed with
kills during the run.
Byrd dropped in another ace
to make it a tie game. The gym
roared with chants of “UL.” The
rally was completed with a
block by Slaughter to win the
set 26-24 an d sweep the Lady
Trojans.
The rally led by Byrd was a
picture of the Lady Knights’
season. COVID-19 hit the Lady
Knights early and set them back
a couple of weeks from the very
beginning. The entire season
was an uphill battle as they
navigated drama on and off the
court.
However, the same way
Byrd and her team refused to
give up down 24-14, they
worked together to overcome
the obstacles and piece together
a successful season.