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About Jackson herald. (Jefferson, Jackson County, Ga.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2023)
PAGE 2B THE JACKSON HERALD WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2023 Panthers gear up for postseason The Jackson County baseball team will contin ue its season on into the playoffs, and coach Matt Bolt said that’s a moment worth celebrating. The Panthers have clinched a Class AAAAAA state playoff berth as ei ther a No. 3 or No. 4 seed and will face Blessed Trin ity or Pope — both pow erhouses — in the open ing round of 32 Saturday (April 22) on the road. “We’re in the sec ond-highest classification, and our kids found a way to make a playoff appear ance in their first year be ing in 6A,” Bolt said. “So, I couldn’t be more proud of these kids. They’ve faced more adversity than any team I’ve ever been a part of. You’ll never be able to take that away from them. They’re going to fight.” This marks the sec ond-straight state tourna ment trip for the Panthers, who reached the first round of the playoffs as members of Class AAAAA last year. “It’s a blessing to make the playoffs,” Bolt said. “We’re one of 32 teams left in 6A, so we’re going to go out and give it our all and see what happens.” Bolt noted that his Pan thers have dealt with a mix of injuries and young play ers being pressed into key playing time. “Just the usual that comes with being a high school baseball program, but we’ve had a lot of kids step up, we’ve had a lot of young kids get some valu able reps,” Bolt said. Jackson County (13-16, 10-7 Region 8-AAAAAA) missed out on a No. 2 seed out of the region and hosting a playoff series with a 16-7 home loss to Apalachee Monday (April 17). The Wildcats beat Jackson County on the strength of a seven-run third inning, which includ ed a three-run home run with two outs from Judah Powell to put Apalachee ahead 10-2. The Panthers scratched out four runs over the next two innings to cut the lead to 10-6 but never pulled any closer. “They hit the ball way ball way better than us tonight,” Bolt said. “They had, I think, 17 hits, and we had seven. So, they’re a good baseball team, and I would imagine that they’re going to make a pretty good run. You have to give all respect to them and their coaching staff.” Jackson County clinched its state playoff berth in the previous game by beating Habersham Central 5-1 on Friday (April 14). Starting pitcher Jack Venable allowed just one run and five hits over six innings, striking out five batters to earn the victory. Venable posted scoreless innings over his final three frames before giving way to Luke Pruitt, who re corded a scoreless seventh inning. The Panther offense pounded out 10 hits against Habersham Cen tral’s Hunter Tatum, greet ing the Raider starter with three runs in the first in ning and another in the fourth. Karson Wheeler went 2-for-3 with a double, and Spencer Muffuletto went 2-for-4 with a triple. Sam Rountree (l-for-3, double) drove home a pair of runs. Nick Austin (l-for-3, dou ble) and Drew Mathews (l-for-3) also drove in runs. Jackson County clos es the regular season to day (Wednesday, April 19) against North Forsyth and will turn its attention to a first-round matchup against either Pope, last year’s Class AAAAAA champion with five state titles in program history, or Blessed Trinity, which has three state champion ships to its credit. “Either way, we’re going to go out and compete, do our best and see what hap pens,” Bolt said. “It’s the playoffs. Crazy things can happen. You get hot at the right time ... we’ll try to make a run.” Jackson County catcher Karson Wheeler applies a tag to Apalachee’s Bowen J ac kson County head coach Matt Bolt talks strategy with Sam Roundtree Woodall Monday (April 17) during the Panthers’ 16-7 loss to the Wildcats. during a break in the action Monday (April 17). PHOTOS: Tiger Baseball The Commerce Tigers’ regular season is coming to a close. As of today (Apr. 19) the Tigers are 11-16 overall on the sea son and 8-7 in Region 8 1A-D1. The Tigers are on the road Thursday to take on the Dragons. First pitch is scheduled for 5:55 p.m. Commerce will close out the regular season at home Friday (Apr. 21) in a doubleheader against Washington-Wilkes. First pitch is slated for 5:00 P.M. PHOTOS: East Jackson Baseball The East Jackson Eagles The Eagles wrap up tian Academy in a double are currently 11-15 overall their regular season of header, on the season and 2-11 in baseball today at home First pitch is slated for region play. against Providence Chris- 5:55 p.m. Aidan Holley at bat for the Eagles. Photos by Taylor Hearn. Photos by Taylor Hearn. Garret Waugh on the mound for the Eagles. Hudson Thomason seen showing the bunt sign for the Tigers. Athlete of the Week! Hampton Hutto and Beau Neisler meet on the mound with Jaxon Foster to discuss the game plan. Commerce High School Diaz is a senior at Commerce High School were she serves as a prominent leader on the Lady Tigers soccer team. Diaz scored a crucial goal in Monday’s contest to push the Tigers to a win to advance to the elite eight. Diaz will continue her soccer career at the University of North Georgia. 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