Conference baseball tourneys gearing up, UGA hosting softball Super Regional; Central Georgians involved in both
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
The wakeup call will be a bad one for Mercer.
First pitch Wednesday at the Southern Conference Tournament in Greenville, S.C. is 9 a.m.
And here the Bears thought getting up early was over for awhile.
Georgia Tech gets to sleep in a little with an 11 a.m. opener in the ACC tournament as the state's Division I programs get going in conference tournaments.
Except one. Savannah State didn't qualify for the MEAC tournament, which finishes up Sunday, before everybody else gets started. The Tigers finished 7-34, 4-20 in conference play.
Baseball Central Georgians in action: FPD's Austin Cox and Houston County's Tanner Hall and Perry's Andrew Tarrer at Mercer; FPD's Bo Fricks at Western Carolina; Tattnall's Blake Simmons at Georgia Southern; Houston County's Justin Jones and Upson-Lee's Kalen Puckett at Georgia State; Tattnall's Nick DiPonzio at Wake Forest; and Houston County's Tony Locey at Georgia.
Georgia’s softball team has relied on Central Georgians Mary Wilson Avant of Stratford, Kylie Bass of Jones County, as well as Kaylie and Karlie Harding of GMC.
Bass is 14-3 with a 2.31 ERA and two saves in 93.1 innings, and Avant is 11-3 with a 2.24 ERA and a save in 100.2 innings.
GMC’s Dixie Raley is a pitcher at South Carolina.
Arkansas, a Super Regional team, has a Central Georgia connection. Hitting coach Yolanda McCrae of Dublin is in her third year on the Razorbacks’ staff, after stints at Georgia, Georgia Tech, Virginia, and Maryland. She is a 2005 Georgia graduate, and lettered in 2003. Dublin won Class 3A slow-pitch titles in 1996-97.
The Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City starts on May 31.
Georgia baseball RPIs, through Saturday games
3. Georgia
46. Georgia Tech
68. Georgia Southern
106. Kennesaw State
128. Georgia State
137. Mercer
289. Savannah State
(out of 297 teams)
Southern Conference
at Greenville, S.C.
Tuesday
10 a.m.: No. 8 The Citadel (19-33) vs. No. 9 Western Carolina (7-45)
Wednesday
9 a.m.: No. 4 VMI (26-25) vs. No. 5 Mercer (35-20); loser plays at 9 a.m. Thursday, winner at 4 p.m. Thursday
12:30 p.m.: No. 1 UNCG (37-13) vs. Citadel/WCU winner
4 p.m.: No. 2 Samford (32-24) vs. No. 7 Furman (24-26)
7:30 p.m.: No. 3 Wofford (35-21) vs. No. 6 ETSU (27-23)
Thursday
Games at 9 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 4 p.m., 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Games at 3:30 p.m., 7 p.m.
Saturday
Games at 12 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 7 p.m.
Sunday
12 p.m.: Championship
SEC
at Hoover, Ala.
Tuesday
10:30 a.m.: No. 6 seed Vanderbilt (31-24) vs. No. 11 seed Texas A&M (36-19)
2 p.m. (est.): No. 7 seed Auburn (37-19) vs. No. 10 seed Kentucky (34-21)
5:30 p.m.: No. 8 seed LSU (33-23) vs. No. 9 seed Mississippi State (31-24)
9 p.m.: No. 5 seed South Carolina (32-22) vs. No. 12 seed Missouri (34-21)
Wednesday
10:30 a.m.: No. 3 seed Georgia (37-17) vs. Vandy/A&M winner
2 p.m.: No. 2 seed Ole Miss (42-14) vs Auburn/Kentucky winner
5:30 p.m.: No. 1 seed Florida (41-15) vs. LSU/MSU winner
9 p.m.: No. 4 seed Arkansas (37-17) vs. USC/Missouri winner
Thursday
Games at 10:30 a.m., 2 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 9 p.m.
Friday
Games at 4 p.m., 8 p.m.
Saturday
Games at 1 p.m., 5 p.m.
Sunday
Championship at 3 p.m.
ACC
at Durham, N.C.
Pool play
Tuesday
11 a.m.: No. 8 Georgia Tech (31-25) vs. No. 12 Pitt (27-25)
3 p.m.: No. 6 Florida State (39-17) vs. No. 10 Virginia (28-24)
7 p.m.: No. 7 Miami (27-25) vs. No. 10 Notre Dame (24-28)
Wednesday
11 a.m.: No. 9 Wake Forest (25-30) vs. No. 5 Louisville (40-16)
3 p.m.: No. 2 Clemson (43-13) vs. No. 11 Notre Dame
7 p.m.: No. 12 Pitt vs No. 1 North Carolina (37-17)
Thursday
11 a.m.: No. 4 Duke (39-14) vs. No. 9 Wake Forest
3 p.m.: No. 3 N.C. State (40-14) vs. No. 10 Virginia
7 p.m.: No. 7 Miami vs. No. 2 Clemson
Friday
11 a.m.: No. 5 Louisville vs. No. 4 Duke
3 p.m.: No. No. 8 Georgia Tech vs. No. 1 North Carolina
7 p.m.: No. 6 Florida State vs. No. 3 N.C. State
Saturday
Games at 1 p.m., 5 p.m.
Sunday
Championship at 12 p.m.
Sun Belt
at Lafayette, La.
Tuesday
4 p.m.: No. 10 Georgia State (26-28) vs. No. 7 Little Rock (28-25)
7:30 p.m.: No. 9 Arkansas State (20-30) vs. No. 8 Texas-Arlington (21-33)
Wednesday
10 a.m.: No. 5 Georgia Southern (29-24) vs. No. 4 South Alabama (30-23)
1:30 p.m.: low seed vs. No. 1 Coastal Carolina (38-17)
5 p.m.: No. 6 Texas State (28-26-1) vs. No. 3 Troy (38-18)
8:30 p.m.: high seed vs. No. 2 Louisiana (33-23)
Thursday
Games at 10 am., 1:30 p.m., 5 p.m., 8:30 p.m.
Friday
Games at 4 p.m., 6:30 p.m.
Saturday
Games at 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 5 p.m. (if), 8:30 p.m. (if)
Sunday
Championship at 2 p.m.
Atlantic Sun
at North Florida
Wednesday
11 a.m.: No. 1 Stetson (41-11) vs. No. 6 New Jersey Tech (22-23)
3 p.m.: No. 2 Jacksonville (37-17) vs. No. 5 Lipscomb (22-28)
7 p.m: No. 3 Kennesaw State (25-28) vs. No. 4 North Florida (25-26)
Thursday
Games at 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m.
Friday
Games at 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m.
Saturday
Games at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. (if)
Sunday
Championship
Softball Super Regionals
First games are Thursday at Eugene, Gainesville, and L.A, Friday for the rest
Tennessee at Georgia
Kentucky at Oregon
South Carolina at Arizona State
Alabama at Washington
Arkansas at Oklahoma
LSU at Florida State
Texas A&M at Florida
Arizona at UCLA