SPORTS
Bill Murphy Sports Editor | 770-718-3415 | sports@gainesvilletimes.com
Unties
gainesvilletimes.com
Saturday, February 22, 2020
MLB
JOHN BAZEMORE I The Associated Press
Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Darren O’Day
(56) talks to catcher William Contreras
during spring training baseball camp Feb.
13 in North Port, Fla.
Bullpen is
in place for
big success
Atlanta Journal Constitution
If the Braves capture their third con
secutive National League East title, if they
finally reach that elusive NLCS (or fur
ther), it means a well-compensated bullpen
lived up to its billing.
This spring differs from recent years for
reasons beyond Orlando versus North Port.
The Braves came to camp with a bullpen
mostly set, rather than rolling the dice and
crossing their fingers that the unknown
proves enough.
“It’s going to be (deep), we knew that
coming in,” manager Brian Snitker said.
“A lot of our offseason acquisitions were
designed on strengthening the bullpen, and
we did that. If we keep everybody healthy,
we should be in good shape.”
Will Smith, Shane Greene, Mark Mel-
ancon and Darren O’Day are former All-
Stars. Chris Martin is a command savant
who avoids those pesky walks that’ve
plagued the Braves in the past. Those five
immediately provide resumes and cred
ibility the Braves haven’t
had during the first two
seasons of their rebirth.
Strikeout-laden Luke
Jackson can settle into
his better-suited middle-
relief role. Long-relief
man Josh Tomlin was re
signed when pitchers and
catchers reported to Flor
ida last week. Both were
unheralded heroes of last
season, when the Braves won 97 games.
“It makes it a heck of a lot easier,” Mar
tin said of the depth. “It takes pressure off
guys. You can just go out there and focus
on your inning wherever that’s going to
be. Hopefully we feed off each other down
there. That’s how a good bullpen works.”
If each of the aforementioned players
make the roster, as expected, that’s seven
relievers locked in. That leaves one spot
up for grabs, perhaps for the promising
Jacob Webb or, if the team prefers another
lefty, Grant Dayton, A.J. Minter or Philip
Pfeifer.
The Braves haven’t been a bullpen-
enriched franchise since the Kimbrel-Ven-
ters-O’Flaherty days. Even in those days,
the group wasn’t so set in stone. Bullpens
usually draw complaints from the fans.
The Braves hope theirs will warrant more
praise.
“On paper, we can compete with any
body,” Greene said. “But we still have to go
out there and get guys out.”
Speaking of what’s on paper, the Braves’
active winter resulted in spending over
■ Please see BRAVES 2B
Jackson
Hernandez set to start
spring training opener
Felix Hernandez’s comeback bid will
be the first story of the Braves’ exhibition
season. Hernandez will start the team’s
Grapefruit League opener Saturday, when
the Braves host the Orioles. It will be Her
nandez’s first shot at proving he has more
left in the tank as he vies
for a spot in the Braves’
rotation.
“He’s commanding
the ball everywhere,”
catcher Tyler Flowers
said. “Up, down and out,
multiple pitches.... That’d
be real big (if he could
recapture some level of
his past success). You
look at the last couple
years, how we’ve been able to get some
guys in similar situations, specifically like
an Anibal (Sanchez). He was a tremendous
asset for us.
“I think this is that same kind of situa
tion. I know Felix feels healthy. He feels
strong. I caught one of his bullpens and
he seemed healthy and strong. Very good
command, a little better off-speed than I
even thought he had”.
Hernandez, who turns 34 in April, is a
former Cy Young winner possessing a pedi
gree few can match. But he’s dwindled in
the past few seasons, limited to 16 starts in
2017 and posting a 5.82 ERA over his past
44 outings (two seasons).
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Hernandez
HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING
Championship mentality
Photos by NATALAE LA DOUCEUR I For The Times
North Hall’s Jacob Pedraza wrestles during the traditional state championship meet Feb. 14 in Macon.
North Hall’s Jacob Pedraza wrestles during the state duals on Jan. 16 in Macon.
N. Halls Pedraza
reflects on road to
back-to-back titles
BY NATHAN BERG
nberg@gainesvilletimes.com
Even in the biggest moments, the
nerves never really get to North Hall
wrestler Jacob Pedraza.
As he eyed Jefferson’s Tyson Thur
mond ahead of the 120-pound champion
ship bout of the Class 3A traditional meet
last Saturday in Macon, Pedraza found a
personal moment of zen that he is used to
seeking out before important matches.
“Really, when it’s down to those
moments, I really just want to stay calm,
to myself as much as possible,” he said. “I
know I’ve practiced a lot, so I just try to
stay calm, and hopefully the rest will work
out.”
Usually when he hits the mat, it does.
And against Thurmond, Pedraza’s calm
ness was nearly as valuable as the years
of hard work and training leading up to
the state title match.
After being taken down early in the
bout, Pedraza recovered for a first-period
pin on Thurmond that put a neat bow on
a season of dominance from the North
Hall wrestler. It was his second consecu
tive individual state championship, as he
took home first last year wrestling at 113
pounds. He finished second at the state
meet as a freshman.
“It felt good,” he said of his most recent
win. “A lot of relief knowing that a lot of
hard work has gone to a good place.”
Hard work has been Pedraza’s calling
card since he began his wrestling career
12 years ago as a 5-year-old with the
Junior Trojans.
Since the beginning, his passion for the
sport has only grown.
“It’s been a long journey,” he said.
Pedraza wrestled at the junior level for
eight years, and by the time he reached
high school, he was ready to take the next
step up. Following in the footsteps of his
older brother John, Jacob Pedraza had
expectations for success when he first
arrived at North Hall.
Even still, his skill and knowledge of the
sport made an immediate impression on
Trojans coach David Nichols.
“He’s just a student of the sport,” Nich
ols said. “He’s always really loved the
technical side of things. That’s where he’s
had a strong advantage. ”
Coaching Pedraza’s to state titles is
nothing new for Nichols — who had
already seen both Jacob and John reach
the pinnacle of high school wrestling
prior to Jacob’s most recent victory — but
that did not take anything away from the
moment for the North Hall coach.
“Even if you’ve won one before, every
one of them is special,” Nichols said. “You
know how much hard work goes into win
ning a state title. You can’t help being
super excited for anybody who reached
that goal. For me, it’s just feeling blessed
to be part of the journey with him. ”
For Pedraza, wrestling has meant so
much more than winning titles and earn
ing accolades.
Through all his individual success, it’s
the moments of cameraderie amongst
teammates that have stood out the most
to him.
“It’s a way for me to connect with my
closest friends at North Hall,” he said.
“Everybody on my team, those are my
brothers. We get to go out and compete
against the best teams in the state. That’s
what it’s about for me, being able to bond
with people and accomplish something
greater than myself.”
That said, winning is nice too.
Part of Pedraza’s pre-match calm stems
from having been there before. He’s wres
tled for individual state championships
three times now and knows what to expect
by now. But as he stood victorious on the
mat in the Macon Centreplex, the thrill of
victory was as strong as its ever been in
the last 12 years of competition.
“Honestly,” he said. “The second one
felt better.”
HIGH SCHOOL SCOREBOARD
Lanier Christian girls
to play for basketball title
and seven rebounds.
Baseball
The Lanier Christian Acad
emy girls basketball team is
headed to a state champion
ship game for the third year
running.
Faith Wasden led the Lady
Lightning with a 16-point,
11-rebound double-double, as
Lanier Christian moved past
Central Fellowship Christian
39-32 to once again earn a spot
in the GAPPS title game. The
Lady Lightning will advance
to take on Westminster Chris
tian Academy for the champi
onship at 5 p.m. today at First
Presbyterian Day School in
Macon.
Adding to Wasden’s effort,
Lexie Robertson scored 12
points and grabbed four
boards, while Reese Mont
gomery contributed 6 points
BUFORD 4, LOWNDES
COUNTY 2: Dylan Lesko
threw five innings of one-hit
ball and recorded eight strike
outs for the Wolves on Friday
in Buford. Braden Hartman
and Eli Ledford both were 1
for 3 with a double for Buford
(4-0). Up next, Buford faces
Northside-Columbus on Tues
day in Columbus.
FLOWERY BRANCH
BOYS 1, BROOKWOOD 0:
Max Garnett scored the Fal
cons (1-1) with 23 minutes
remaining in the game. Goal
keeper Sal Sengson notched
11 saves and picked up the
clean sheet. Up next, Flowery
Branch will travel to take on
Apalachee on Monday.
BUFORD GIRLS 6, LUMP
KIN COUNTY 0: The Lady
Wolves (4-0-1) got goals from
Sydney Borgelt, Ava Sherman,
Elissy Ponton, Chloe Kerr,
Angie Burgos and Teresa
Metz. Maggie Leland and Jil-
lian Starkey preserved the
shutout in goal.
Buford will go on the road
to play St. Pius on Tuesday at
6 p.m.
JOHNSON BOYS 4, CHER
OKEE BLUFF 0: Kevin Cas
tillo, Jorge Santos, Ethan
Mann and Innis Viera all
scored goals for the Knights.
Johnson will travel to play
Chestatee on Tuesday.
Compiled by Nathan Berg
ATLANTA HAWKS
Young continues to
improve on free throws
In the final seconds, with the
Hawks leading the Heat by four,
Trae Young wasn’t necessarily
nervous as he went to the line,
shooting two.
It was only after he sank the
first free throw, awarding him
a career-high
50 points as the
Hawks stunned
the likely
playoff-bound
Miami on Thurs
day night, that
Young tensed a
bit. He ended up
missing the sec
ond shot, putting
him at 18-for-19 from the line in
the Hawks’ 129-124 win, just shy of
perfect, but still tying his career-
high of 18 free throws made.
His production shooting free
throws essentially has doubled
from his rookie season -- some of
it is strategy and skill, some of it,
■ Please see HAWKS, 2B
Soccer
Young
