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The Commerce News
Sports
CONTACT US: Brandon Reed / brandon@mainstreetnews.com / (706) 367-5233 or (706) 335-2927
CHS Baseball
IB
THE COMMERCE (GA.) NEWS
WEDNESDAY,
MARCH 26, 2008
Commerce Grabs First Win Of The Season
Commerce senior Reuben Haynes watches went 1-1 in Tuesday’s victory over Tallulah Falls,
the action closely during a recent game. Haynes Photo by Chris Bridges
Tigers To Face Athens Christian Thurs.
By Brandon Reed
Last week had its ups and
downs for the Commerce Tigers.
The good news was that the team
finally picked up its first win in a
blowout over Tallulah Falls.
The down came in the next
game against Social Circle,
when the Tigers were handed
their fourth loss of the young
season.
Commerce will be looking
to get back on the beam on
Thursday as they’ll travel to
Athens Christian for a 5:30 p.m.
game.
Tallulah Falls
To say Commerce got off
on the right foot last Tuesday
against Tallulah Falls would be
an understatement.
The Tigers put 10 runs across
the plate in the bottom of the
first inning, then picked up two
more runs in the third while
holding the Indians scoreless
into the fourth, when Tallulah
Falls finally scored two runs.
The game ended halfway through
the fifth inning, with Commerce
wrapping up the 12-2 win.
Cohen Cooke went l-for-2,
scoring two runs against the
Indians. Reuben Haynes went
1-for-l, T. Green 2-for-3, Ward
Hunter 1-for-l, Carl Allen l-for-2,
Chase Barnett l-for-2, and Ethan
Thomas went l-for-3.
Cohen Cooke picked up the
win on the mound, giving up just
one hit and striking out three.
Social Circle
The Tigers had hoped their
good fortune would carry over
to their next game, as they
played host to Social Circle on
Thursday.
Early on, itt seemed like it might
work out that way, as Commerce
went up 5-1 in the first inning. But
Social Circle came thundering
back with a six-run third inning,
while Commerce only answered
with one run. A three-run fourth
inning by each team kept things
close, but Social Circle moved
further ahead with two runs in
_ . the fifth. The
Coming up
*■ @ Athens
Christian, March
27,5:30 p.m.
*■ @ Hebron,
March 28,4 p.m.
► vs. Lakeview,
April 1,5:30 p.m.
Tigers were
able to put
one more run
on the board
in the sixth
inning, but
could close
no further, as
Social Circle
went on to
win 12-10.
Jake Flint and Green both
went 2-for-4 in the game, while
Josh Streetman went 2-for-3.
Cooke, Haynes, Ward Hunter,
Carl Allen and Chase Barnett
all hit safely.
Haynes recorded the loss,
giving up seven runs in three
innings, while striking out five.
The loss leaves Commerce
with a 1-4 record, 1-1 in region
play
Getting Serious
“Our effort and execution
couldn’t have been more con
trasting than they were during
the two games last week,’’ said
coach Walt Massey. “Against
Tallulah Falls, we showed a great
deal of alertness, focusing on the
task at hand, and put them away
before they could mount a seri
ous challenge. Against, Social
Circle, we got ahead early, but
lost all semblance of a competi
tive edge and lost a 12-10 game
that we could have won. We
played with no passion and had
mental breakdowns that cost us
the game.’’
Massey says his team is young,
but won’t get much mileage out
of that excuse.
“No other team is going to take
it easy on us because we are
inexperienced, and if we con
tinue to feel sorry for ourselves
and use that excuse, we could
find ourselves in a very hum
bling position,’’ he said. “We’ve
got to grow up really quickly
and decide to compete hard the
entire time.
“We need better leadership
from our older guys, and we
need our younger guys to real
ize that in this fight they are
expected to punch back.’’
Massey says his team can still
win its share of games this sea
son.
“I still like our chances of win
ning a lot of baseball games, but
we’ve got to get serious about
doing that in a hurry,’’ he said.
Coming Up
The Tigers were scheduled
to travel to Athens Academy
Tuesday evening for a 6 p.m. ball
game. Results of that game were
unavailable at press time.
The Tigers travel to Athens
Christian for a 5:30 p.m. game
on Thursday. The Eagles entered
competition Tuesday with a 3-2
record, 1-1 in the region.
EJCHS Baseball
CHS Golf
John Robinson (right) stands ready as a Banks week’s pairing with Banks County.
County runner dives back to first during last Photo by Brandon Reed
Eagles Ready To Host Rabun Co.
By Brandon Reed
The East Jackson Eagles have
been trying to hone their skills
as they work through their open
ing season.
Unfortunately, that’s not
resulted in many victories in the
process, as the Eagles dropped
games to Union County, Banks
County and Fannin County over
the past week.
Up next for the Eagles is a
series of home games, start
ing with Rabun County today
(Wednesday). First pitch is
scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Union County
The Eagles had hoped to
pick up their first region win
of the year when they traveled
to Union County to face the
Panthers. East Jackson was
coming off a close game with
Rabun County, and hoped to
carry some momentum into
Blairsville.
But it didn’t happen, as Union
County handed the Eagles
another lopsided defeat, 12-3.
Taylor Boswell went l-for-3 in
the game, scoring a run. Zaine
Haley also scored a run, going
l-for-2 at the plate, and stealing
a base. A1 Howard and Brandon
Rucker each had hits.
“Union County hit the base
ball hard,’’ said coach David
Robertson. “We struggled at the
plate.’’
Banks County
It was more of the same early
on against Banks County. Back-
to-back home runs for the
Leopards in the top of the first
set the tone for the day. The
Eagles would find themselves
trailing 6-2 moving into the later
stages of the game, when Banks
County broke out again, and
drove the final score up to 13-2.
Sam Williamson went 2-for-3,
as did A.J. Howard, who also
recorded an RBI.
Nick Keyros recorded the loss
on the mound.
“We fell behind early and could
not regroup,’’ Robertson said.
“Nick Keyros went five innings.
(He had) a rocky first, where
he gave up back-to-back home
runs. I thought he settled down
and pitched very well.’’
Fannin County
Next up for the Eagles was
a road trip to Fannin County
Monday to face the 7-3 Rebels.
East Jackson was able to keep
the Rebels in sight during the
game, but came up on the short
end of a 2-0 shutout.
Zaine Haley went 2-for-3 at
the plate, while Brandon Rucker,
Hunter Beck Keyros, and Evan
Williamson all had hits.
Sam Williamson pitched six
innings, giving up three hits,
one earned run, and striking
out five. He also went l-for-3 at
the plate.
Continued on Page 2B
Tigers Defeat Lakeview Academy
Commerce To Face Cedar Shoals Thursday
By Brandon Reed
The Commerce golf teams
swept Lakeview Academy last
week, with the boys winning
158-193, and the girls coming in
101-136.
For the boys, Hamp Gary and
Taylor Gary both tied for low
rounds with 37s. Casey Drinkard
shot a 41, while Colton Dean shot
a 43.
Other scorers included Sam
Purcell, who shot a 44, Austin
Patterson with a 46, and Adam
Hanley with a 50.
“This was a good score,’’ said
coach David Stephenson. “Our
goal was to shoot in the 150s and
we made that. We can do a little
better. Overall I was very pleased.
We must continue to improve.’’
C.J. Wilkes led the Lady Tigers
by shooting a 49. Chelsey Cain
shot a 52, Callie Adams carded
a 53, Camille Blair shot a 58, and
Anna Marie Hooper recorded
a 70.
“C.J. played her best match so
far,’’ Stephenson said. “Our goal
is to break 100. Hopefully we will
do that soon.’’
Commerce was scheduled to
face Hebron at Reunion Golf
Club Thursday in Hoschton, but
that match was postponed due
to rain.
Next up for Commerce was a
match against Buford and Athens
Academy on Tuesday at Double
Oaks Country Club. Results were
unavailable by press time.
The Tigers travel to Athens
Country Club Thursday to face
Cedar Shoals.
Then Commerce’s boys team
will take part in the Madison
County tournament, which will
be held at Double Oaks Country
Club on March 29.
Commerce’s Chelsey Cain shot a 52 against Lakeview Academy
last Tuesday.