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ft FAYETTE COUNTY
OPORTS
Wednesday, June 21,2023 Fayette County News B1
Introducing the 2023 All-County Baseball Team
Player of the Year Chase Fralick
Special to FCN
The boys of spring have
put away their bats and
gloves, so it is time for a
wrap-up with the 2023 All-
County baseball honors.
It was a remarkable year
around the county, with all
five squads playing compet
itive ball and four teams
making the playoffs. Sandy
Creek won the first region
title in program history,
Whitewater reached the
quarterfinals, and Starr’s
Mill made the Final Four.
McIntosh had the best sea
son in school history, reach
ing the state championship
for the first time.
Chase Fralick of McIn
tosh is the County Player of
the Year. Fralick, a junior,
did it all for the Chiefs. He
played catcher, first base,
third base, and was the ace
of the pitching staff. He hit
.417 with six home runs and
42 RBI and compiled a 9-1
record with a 1.07 ERA and
76 strikeouts over 45 in
nings.
“He was tough on the
mound, at the plate, and in
the field. The complete
player,” said McIntosh coach
Tom Kelley. “He was dom
inant in every position he
played.”
Kaleb Cost of Sandy
Creek is the Hitter of the
Year. Cost, a senior, signed
to play two sports at the Uni
versity of North Carolina, hit
•545 with four home runs,
and 20 RBI. He was an abso
lute terror on the base paths,
racking up a state single-sea-
son record-84 stolen bases.
He was also named Region
Player of the Year.
Cameron Layfield of
Sandy Creek is the Fresh
man of the Year. Layfield, a
short stop, hit .404 with 22
RBI and 26 stolen bases.
Tom Kelley of McIntosh
is the Coach of the Year. Kel
ley’s Chiefs had a historic
run, winning 32 games en
route to its first appearance
in the state championship in
school history.
The All-County First
Team leads off with a dom
inant batch too talented to
slot into one position.
The two-way players are
Alex Thompson of Fayette
County, Dex Benoit of
Whitewater, Taylor Ganci
and PJ Green of Sandy
Creek, and McIntosh’s Ty
Beck, Trey King, Tate Mor
ris, and Connor Soper.
Thompson, a senior
catcher and pitcher, hit .303
with eight RBIs and posted a
3.50 ERA with 30 strikeouts
over 20 innings. Benoit, a
senior outfielder and pitcher,
hit .306 with two home runs
and nine RBI and notched a
3-1 record with a 3.00 ERA
and 36 strikeouts in 23 in
nings. Ganci, a junior third
base and pitcher, hit .553
with one home run and 27
RBI and compiled 24 strike
outs over 16 innings. Green,
a junior outfielder and
pitcher, hit .435 with six RBI
and earned his Region
Pitcher of the Year award.
Beck, a junior outfielder and
pitcher, hit .339 with 14 RBI
and tallied an 8-1 record
with a 2.56 ERA and 37
strikeouts over 43 innings.
King, a senior infielder and
pitcher, hit .500 with two
home runs and scored 37
runs. He was perfect as a
closer, notching 18 strike
outs over 14 innings. Morris,
a senior utility player and
pitcher, hit .347 with 23 RBI
and posted a 3.70 ERA and
21 strikeouts over 22 in
nings. Soper, a junior first
base and pitcher, hit .360
with two home runs and 33
RBI and posted a 3-1 record
with a 1.62 ERA and 42
strikeouts over 39 innings.
Kyle Rudolph of Starr’s
Mill takes the mound as the
pitcher. Rudolph, a sopho
more, posted a 4-0 record
with a 0.43 ERA and 17
strikeouts in 16 innings.
Joel Reid of Sandy Creek
and Ariston Veasey of Starr’s
Mill line up behind the dish
as the catchers.
Reid, a senior, hit .431
with 20 RBI. Veasey, a jun
ior, hit .344 with six home
runs and 16 RBI.
The infield is composed
of Dee King of Fayette
County, Luke Meszar of
McIntosh, Kaden Brown of
Sandy Creek, Jack Ryan of
Starr’s Mill, and Trent El
lington of Whitewater.
King, a junior who
played all over the infield, hit
.500 with two home runs
and seven RBI. Meszar, a
senior second base, hit .466
with one home run and 41
runs. Brown, a senior first
base, hit .538 with five home
runs and 28 RBI, earning his
Region Hitter of the Year
award. Ryan, a junior first
base and third base, hit .500
with one home run and 12
RBI. Ellington, a sophomore
first base and third base, hit
.417 with one home run and
15 RBI.
The outfield is made up
of Seth Wash of Fayette
County, Charlie Clem of
Starr’s Mill, and Logan Grif
fith of Whitewater.
Wash, a senior, hit .448
with one home run. Clem, a
junior, hit .455 and scored 10
runs. Griffith, a senior, hit
.429 with six runs.
The All-County Second
Team begins with Blake El-
senpeter at catcher. Elsen-
peter, a senior, hit .310 with
five RBIs.
The infield is composed
of Jack Brady of Fayette
County, Beau Sheppard of
Sandy Creek, and Starr’s
Mill’s Max Prozny, Drew
Richardson, and Austin
Sellers.
Brady, a senior second
base, hit .333 with one home
run and seven RBI. Shep
pard, a senior second base,
hit .367 with one home run
and 18 RBI. Prozny, a junior
second base, hit .419 with
two home runs and 13 RBI.
Richardson, a senior first
base, hit .435 with one home
run and six RBI. Sellers, a
junior short stop, hit .333
with one home run and six
RBI.
The outfield is made up
of Jelani Kingston of Fayette
County, Mason Olivarez of
McIntosh, and Devin Elsen-
peter of Whitewater.
Kingston, a senior, hit
.320 with one home run and
seven RBI. Olivarez, ajunior,
hit .340 with nine RBI. El-
senpeter, a junior, hit .303
with one home run and six
RBI.
The pitchers are Andrew
Scott of Starr’s Mill and
Whitewater’s Austen Davis
and Adams Walls.
Scott, a senior, posted a
1-0 record and 3.31 ERA and
12 strikeouts over 12 innings.
Davis, a sophomore, notched
a 2-2 record with one save
and 26 strikeouts over 19 in
nings. Walls, a senior, posted
one save and a 1.00 ERA
over seven innings.
The two-way players are
Sandy Creek’s Brian Morgan
and Alex Stallworth. Mor
gan, a junior utility player,
hit .300 with 19 RBI. Stall-
worth, ajunior first base and
pitcher, hit .372 with nine
RBI.
There is still a batch of
talented players who earn
Honorable Mention. McIn
tosh’s honorees are Ford
Lambert, James Hooper,
Reece Pafford, and Gehrig
Rogers. Whitewater’s honor
ees are Jacobi Brooks and
Jake Carter.
PIC Resident Qualifies for USA
Paralympic Dragon Boat Team
Rick Muller (left) and his coach, Jessica Walker (right) of the
Peachtree City Rotary Club. Submitted
Starr’s Mill Seeks
Sponsors for Hall
of Fame launch
Leah Banks
Investigative Reporter
leah@fayette-news.net
In Peachtree City, the
Dragon Boat Festival is a sta
ple of the outdoor camaraderie
and recreation that the city has
to offer, but for participant and
local resident Rick Muller, the
opportunity to compete at the
big stage came on May 19
when he qualified for the
United States Paralympics for
the U.S. Paradragon Team.
Muller began his journey
on the local dragon boat para
dragon team, an amputee
group that came together to
compete in the Dragon Boat
Festival.
“We’re an amputee group
out of Peachtree City called
‘Limb N Aiders.’ We got of
fered an opportunity to partici
pate in the Peachtree City
Dragon Boat Races, and again,
we’re an amputee group, so
that’s how we basically got
started in dragon boat racing,”
Muller said.
After a stellar performance
during last year’s race, local or
ganizer Jessica Walker con
tacted the national coach with
hopes of finding interest in
adding members of the ‘Limb
N Aiders’ to the national
roster.
Muller was the only one
that was interested in compet
ing on a national scale, while
his local teammates had other
commitments, including one
member who was competing
at the national level in a para
biking competition.
“After our performance as
a team back in September,
which we finished fourth in a
race, the event organizer, Jes
sica Walker, contacted the na
tional team coach for the
Paradragons and said, ‘Hey,
good performance by this am
putee group in our local race,
and there may be some
members of the team that you
may be wanting to perhaps get
on your team’,” Muller said.
The email was sent toward
the end of 2022, but soon,
members of the team were
being contacted by the na
tional coaching staff about an
opportunity to try out and
qualify for the national team.
Muller answered that call.
“I was contacted along
with a couple others on the
team early this year, and I was
the only one that had interest,”
Muller said.
That interest and call led
Muller to Florida, where he
was able to try out for the na
tional team. Muller qualified
for the team May 19, and has
since been training for upcom
ing races, including this year’s
Peachtree City Dragon Boat
Festival, which takes place on
Sept. 23.
“Well, I’m in the gym at
least five times a week now. I
work out at Lab Fitness, Bran
don Hannon’s place, and then
I also work out weight training
at Fitness 54,” Muller said.
Although sites and sounds
of the water tend to a high
point for racers, Muller high
lighted that what he enjoyed
most about the races was the
overall competition. Now re
tired, Muller says he enjoys
working out and playing golf in
his free time.
The Panthers need help
launching their new hall of
fame and are raising funds
with a sponsorship drive.
The Starr’s Mill High
School Hall of Fame will be
the location to honor not
only former student-ath
letes, but also coaches,
teams, distinguished
alumni, and parent vol
unteers that made a consid
erable contribution in
making it one of the premier
high schools in Georgia.
“We hope that by cre
ating the Starr’s Mill Hall of
Fame, we will be able to
show how our community
and school have impacted
so many in a positive way,”
said athletic director Shane
Ratliff. “We are excited to
show what Starr’s Mill has
helped produce over the last
20 years.”
Starting a hall of fame
from the ground level is a
major undertaking, and of
ficials say they want to
honor the current class and
future classes by providing a
standard of excellence that
Starr’s Mill strives to ac
complish.
In order to do this, they
are asking parents, sup
porters, and businesses to
donate to the creation of the
hall of fame by becoming
founding sponsors. Found
ing sponsorship donations
will be tax-deductible. They
will be available in three do
nation levels, each with a
corresponding recognition.
The goal is to wrap up
the sponsorship push by
July 20.
For information on be
coming a sponsor, email
Shane Ratliff at
ratliff.shane@fcboe.org.
The inaugural Starr’s
Mill High School Hall of
Fame ceremony will take
place on Friday, Sept. 15, at
the Starr’s Mill versus La-
Grange football game, with
a banquet to follow on Sat
urday, Sept. 16.
Mon-Sat: 10-7 • Sun: 12-5
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