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THE COMMERCE (GA.) NEWS
WEDNESDAY,
APRIL 8,2009
East Jackson Tennis
Commerce Baseball
Jaclyn Klerk comes forward to return the ball during a
recent match.
East Jackson Defeats Commerce
By Brandon Reed
The East Jackson Eagles
tennis teams picked up a
pair of wins last week, as
they defeated Commerce
in an April 1 match-up.
The boys won 4-1, with
Jackson Fisher winning at
number one singles, John
Kesler at number two sin
gles and Tony Johnson at
number three singles. The
number two doubles team
of Tommy Ramsey and
Tsim Nuy Ly was also vic
torious.
It was a clean sweep for
the girls, as they won 5-0.
Brittany Meeler won at
number one singles, as did
Jaclyn Klerk at number two
and Katrice Gatlin at num
ber three singles.
Ashley Guest and Ansley
Brooks won at number one
doubles and Emily Ortagus
and Rebekah Poponi won
Continued on page 2B
East Jackson Baseball
Caleb Hardy sends in a pitch during a recent game.
Photo by Brandon Reed
Eagles Face North Oconee Fri.
By Brandon Reed
Between the rain and the competition, it was a rough
week for the Diamond Eagles of East Jackson as they
lost to Jefferson, then saw a region home stand against
Banks County rained out.
East Jackson hopes to put together a strong regular
season finish with a pairing against North Oconee at
5:55 on Thursday. That’s a lofty goal as North Oconee is
5-1 in the region, and won 20-0 in its last game.
Jefferson Wins
It was almost a repeat of the March 19 meeting between
the Eagles and the Jefferson Dragons, which ended in an
11-1 Jefferson win in six innings.
The difference was the Dragons threw a shutout this
go-round.
In fact, Jefferson held the Eagles to only three hits all
night as they cruised to an 11-0 victory.
Hunter Beck, Cody Gibbs and Nick Keyros recorded
the only hits for East Jackson.
Beck recorded the loss from the mound, giving up six
hits and five runs in four innings while striking out four
batters.
“Errors killed us," said coach Josh Gandy. The Eagles
committed three errors on the night.
East Jackson was slated to face Banks County on
Friday, but that game was called due to rain.
The Eagles were scheduled to host Oglethorpe County
on Tuesday. Results of that game were unavailable at
press time.
Diamond Tigers Play Jefferson Friday
Paul Ford keeps his eye on the ball as he begins his swing. Photo by Justin Poole
By Justin Poole
While the rest of the
school is enjoying spring
break, the diamond Tigers
are playing a three-game
schedule.
Yesterday, (Tuesday) the
Tigers met region oppo
nent Athens Academy on
the road. Results from
Tuesday were not avail
able at press time.
Coming up on Thursday,
Commerce hosts Prince
Avenue at 5:30 p.m.
Commerce’s Friday
game against Hebron was
rescheduled to April 27,
due to the Good Friday
holiday.
On Saturday, Commerce
plays a 1:30 game in
Jefferson, where they hope
to avenge a 12-7 loss to the
Dragons earlier this year.
Jefferson is 10-2 overall.
Leading up to this week,
Commerce dropped a 9-4
decision game to Lakeview
Academy last Tuesday,
then came back with a 1-0
win over Athens Christian
on Friday.
Lakeview
“They jumped on us
early and we just could
not get the bats going until
late in the game,’’ coach
Steve Cotrell said. “We are
a very young team that is
getting better every day
and hopefully by the end
of the season we will be
right where we need to be
in the region.’’
Suffering his first loss
of the season, Carl Allen
allowed five runs in five
innings while striking out
six.
“Although he took the
loss, he did not pitch
poorly,’’ noted Cotrell.
Freshman pitcher Josh
Swisstak relieved Allen
on the mound.
“I had been wanting
to get Josh into a region
game and even though
he struggled against
Lakeview I plan on put
ting him right back out
there on the mound again
in a region game,’’ Cotrell
said. “Josh is going to be
a good one and I look for
great things from him in
the future.’’
Hunter Ward’s two-run
double in the seventh
inning was the highlight of
the Commerce offense.
Athens Christian
In a nail-biter, Commerce
took a 1-0 win.
T. Green got the win with
five and a third innings
of shutout pitching and
Allen recorded the save.
“We still did not swing
the bat,’’ said Cotrell, “but
we did some good things
late in the game to find
a way to get a win on
the road against a good
team.’’
Paul Ford went 2-for-3
at the plate with a dou
ble. Allen, Ward, Chase
Barnett and Brandon
Romans had hits.
Commerce Golf
CHS Golfers Take Week Off For Spring Break
Return To Host Prince Avenue Tuesday, April 14
By Justin Poole
The Commerce golf team is
taking it easy this week and
enjoying spring break.
Before the teams were able to
pack it up, Commerce played
Banks County and Buford last
week.
Last Tuesday, the Tigers’ host
ed Banks County at Double
Oaks. In an impressive round,
the Lady Tigers won 100-123
over the Lady Leopards.
“This was one of our best
scores,’’ said coach David
Stephenson. “Our goal is to
break 100. I think we will soon.’’
Low scorer for the Lady
Tigers was Chelsey Cain at 48.
CJ Wilkes shot a 52 followed
by Callie Adams with a 54 and
Haley Chestnut with a 55. Anna
Marie Hooper carded a 65.
The boys also defeated Banks
County, 169-193.
Colton Dean was low med
alist at 39 followed by Casey
Drinkard with a 40. Austin
Patterson shot a 42, Sam Purcell
a 48, Brandon Coots a 49 and
Andrew Minish a 56.
“Colton played really well and
Casey was solid as usual,’’ said
Stephenson.
Up next was Buford at Chateau
Elan.
Buford defeated the Tigers
169-189.
Drinkard and Dean tied for
Commerce’s low score at 46.
Patterson shot a 48 followed by
Purcell at 49, Coots at 53 and
Minish at 62.
Buford also defeated the Lady
Tigers, 96-120.
Wilkes shot a 59, followed by
Adams with a 61 and Cain and
Hooper tying at 62.
“We, as a team, played bad,
boys and girls alike,’’ Stephenson
Continued on page 2B
Austin Patterson lines up a shot on the
green. Photo by Carol Streetman
Commerce Track
Tiger Track Prepares For Jefferson Relays Saturday
By Justin Poole
Commerce’s track and field
team has this week to get in final
practices before the Jefferson
Relays Saturday at 10:00 a.m.
After the relays, Commerce
will have two meets left in the
season before the region com
petition.
Last week, the Tigers’ track
team finished second in a tri
meet with Habersham Central
and Tallulah Falls last Tuesday.
The Raiders placed first.
Torrance Wilcher won three
first place finishes including the
long jump with a distance of
18’8”, the triple jump at 39’3.5”,
and the 400-meter dash with a
time of 57.4.
Jovan Womack finished with
two first-place finishes in the
100-meter dash at 11.16 and the
200-meter dash at 22.84.
Other placers included
Damian Wood (second,
100-meters; second, 200-meter
dash), Zach Scannell (second,
110-meter hurdles; second, 300-
meter hurdles), Jon Cash (third,
long jump; fourth, 100-meter
dash). Jonathan Leffew (third,
high jump), Thomas Sweeney
(third, 110-meter hurdles), Ty
Hill (fourth, 400-meter dash)
and Tyler Reddish (fourth, triple
jump).
The 4x400m relay team also
won first while the 4xl00-meter
team finished second.
The Commerce track team com
peted against Athens Academy on
Thursday. Results were unavailable
at press time.
WILCHER