About The Eatonton messenger. (Eatonton, Ga.) 18??-current | View Entire Issue (June 12, 2025)
Sports Thursday June 12, 2025 B The Eatonton Messenger Lance McCurley Reporter Just cancel the season The Atlanta Braves suck. To be honest, the sentence above should be the entire column, but I need more words to vent. Again, the Atlanta Braves suck. Fire Brian Snitker. Fire Alex Anthopoulos. I still don’t feel better. It’s been a frustrating season, to say the least. Heck, even the 2024 season was beyond awful. After last Thursday’s debacle against the Arizona Diamondbacks, when the Braves surren dered seven runs in the top of the ninth inning, blowing a 10-4 lead and losing 11-10, I declared that I was done. However, it was Snit- ker’s postgame message after that heartbreaking loss that pulled me back in. “We’re a good team. We’re not a bad team,” Snitker said. “We’re a good team that’s playing bad right now.” I had faith that the Braves would snap out of it and at least win the series against the San Francisco Giants this past weekend, but boy, I was totally wrong. They were swept, with every game being decided by a single run. It was beyond frustrating watching them struggle like that again. Entering this week, the Braves were 9-19 overall in games decided by a run or less, which is sad. There are numerous glaring problems, and I don’t even know where to start, but I will try my best. As the week began, the Braves were one of seven teams out of 30 that hadn’t reached 30 wins. The Braves are middle- of-the-pack or worse in most offensive categories, including home runs, hits, on-base percentage, and batting average. They are also wildly inconsistent on the basepath, leaving about 3.8 runners in scoring position per game. Strikeouts are also a huge problem for them. Ozzie Albies, Michael Harris II, Austin Riley, Matt Olson, and Marcel Ozuna aren’t consistently performing well at the plate. And don’t even get me started on Sean Murphy, Nick Allen, and Eli White. The only bright spots for the offense have been Drake Baldwin and the return of Ronald Acuna Jr. Starting pitching is solid, but also hanging by a thread with the injuries to AJ Smith-Shawver and Reynaldo Lopez. It’s excel lent that Spencer Strider is back from injury, but he hasn’t been himself lately. The bullpen has also struggled, especially when a bum like closer Raisel Iglesias is called to the mound. He’s blown several saves by throwing beach balls for the other team to knock out of the park. Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, and all the people, Bryce Elder, have been keeping the team in games. However, when the offense can’t hit, and the bullpen blows leads, it leads to losses. MORE BRAVES » B2 CONTRIBUTED The Putnam County football team had six players participate in the Battle of the Rock camp over the weekend. War Eagles participate in OL/DL camp at Rock Eagle Lance McCurley lance@msgrnews.com Over the weekend, the Putnam County football team had six players attend the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association’s Battle of the Rock competition, which featured offensive and defensive linemen from across the state. The War Eagles who partic ipated didn’t have to travel far, since the event took place at Rock Eagle. The players in attendance were Johnny Bishop, Jayden Bishop, Janorie Reid, KeMarious Williams, Jabius Farley, and Joe Ward. Each showcased their skills in the trenches against other players from the Peach State. Putnam County head coach Joel Harvin thought it was a good idea for a few of his War Eagles still looking to fill spots for golf tourney Lance McCurley lance@msgrnews.com The Putnam County football team is still seeking to fill a few spots for its golf tournament at Harbor Club on Saturday. The War Eagles hope to have 10 to 12 golfers from the area compete in their biggest fund raiser of the year. “We had a successful tourna ment last year and are looking to have another one this year,” Putnam County head coach Joel Harvin said. “This is our main fundraiser, and we hope to have a great turnout again this year. There are still a few spots left to get signed up, and we welcome anybody who would like to play for a great cause.” The tournament will feature a two-person scramble with a fee of $300 per team. The event will begin at 12:30 p.m. and lunch will be provided. Cash prizes will be awarded to the first, second, and third-place teams. GHSA competitive balance proposal tabled Lance McCurley lance@msgrnews.com The Georgia High School Association has tabled its proposed competitive-balance reclassification model. The current model places private schools from Class A Division I to Class 3A into a separate playoff, which is set to continue until 2028, pending approval in the fall, according to the AJC’s Todd Holcomb. According to Holcomb, the GHSA reclas sification committee denied the new model of competitive balance, “a model that is proposed to move schools up and down in class based on their sports success instead of their enrollment numbers,” with a 13-5 vote during a meeting at the organization’s offices in Thomaston. This past school year, public schools in Class A Division I, Class 2A, and Class 3A played against private schools during the regular season. However, public and private schools were separated in the playoffs. The Class 3A-A private, Class A Division I, Class 2A, and Class 3A playoffs were based on rankings. The GHSA ranked teams from one to 32 based on power ratings for the postseason. The idea was implemented to prevent private schools from winning a majority of the state titles in various sports. Per Holcomb, with the current model in place in 2024-25, “the GHSA’s 44 private schools won 30 of the 183 team champi onships. Without a 3A-A private playoff division in 2023-24, private schools won 58 state titles.” Holcomb stated that eight private schools are classified above Class 3A, with seven of them in Class 4A. Of the eight GHSA post- season brackets, six classifications do not have a private school. In other news, the reclassification committee also voted to recommend using power ratings to seed the postseason in every classification. Four of the eight playoff classifications—Class 3A-A Private, Class A Division I, Class 2A, and Class SA- followed this model in 2024-25, while Class 4A, Class 5A, and Class 6A did not. During the previous school year, teams that ranked higher in the region stand ings or won a region title received a better seeding. That happened in the Class 3A-Private, Class 2A, and Class 3A state playoffs this year. Holcomb said for the next cycle, the GHSA recommended that region cham pions receive a top-16 seed, but let the “power ratings determine the rest.” In the current cycle, region champions are assured a top-eight seed. The new proposed model wouldn’t ensure a postseason berth for a top-four placer in region play. The next reclassification meeting will be held in August, with the changes imple mented during the 2027-28 academic school year. players to attend the camp. “I think they had over 300 kids from all across the state of Georgia come to Eatonton and participate in the camp, so it’s right here in our backyard,” Harvin told The Eatonton Messenger. “We were able to send six of our guys to camp there, and next year we hope to send even more. It’s a great camp. It teaches the funda mentals of both the offensive and defensive lines. The kids get a lot of work. It’s sunrise to sunset, so they’re trained by some of the best high school coaches in this area. It’s a really a good little thing for them.” Harvin and Putnam County offensive line coach Charlie Farmer were also there to help coach their kids. As for their performances, LANCE MCCURLEY/Staff The golf tournament will take place at Harbor Club in Greensboro on Saturday, June 14, and begin at 12:30 p.m. 4 Sponsorship opportunities are also available. A family sponsorship costs $100, while a hole sponsorship costs $200. Additionally, a Harvin thought his players who attended the Battle of the Rock camp competed well. They got several opportunities during the three-day camp to improve their skills and also learn a few things. “I thought they held their own. You know, it’s not really a contact camp at all,” Harvin said. “Every drill is without pads, and they have compe titions throughout the camp to figure out who is the best group there. For our first year attending this camp, I thought it went well. I thought our guys did a really good job, and I think it was kind of eye-opening for them. They learned a lot along the way, so it was a good camp.” Harvin knows that all six players who attended the camp will take what they learned team sponsorship costs $500 and allows one team to play alongside a hole sponsor. A business sponsorship is avail able for $1,000, which covers back to practice this week. He hopes the players in the trenches who didn’t have an opportunity to go will learn from those who did. Harvin thinks the team’s strength heading into next season will be its line of scrim mage, particularly the offensive line. “We expect our offensive line to be better than it was last year. We’ve got most of the guys coming back,” he said. “They’ve had a really good offseason as far as getting bigger and stronger. Attending camps like this has also helped them build their confidence. We’re going to rely heavily on these guys. We’re going to be a little bit more physical than we were last year, and we’ve got some big guys that’ll be playing up there.” two teams, a hole sponsor, and two premium tickets for the 2025 football season. The corporate sponsorship costs $2,500 and includes two teams, four premium season tickets, one game sponsorship, and a jumbotron advertisement for the 2025 season. The tournament is important because the money raised will support the team throughout the 2025 season. “We’d like to provide as much food as possible to these indi viduals for pre-game meals, post-game meals, or perhaps one meal throughout the week,” Harvin said. “And then any other necessary equipment that we may need for the season will also contribute to that. We like our kids to have the best things. We want to ensure that every penny we raise goes directly back into the football program, allowing our kids to succeed.” For information, reach out to Harvin at (229) 724-8665 or James Ignoffo at (706) 474-3621.
