Friday's Report: Playoffs/scores, Westfield, Middle Georgia State, Fort Valley State, Mercer, Georgia College; Falcons, Braves; NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL, NASCAR, tennis, golf, CFB, WNBA
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High Schools
⚾ ⚾ ⚾ Baseball ⚾ ⚾ ⚾
GHSA Playoffs
Class AAA
Mary Persons 13, Upson-Lee 2; Mary Persons 14, Upson-Lee 1
The Bulldogs (19-14) took control of the opener with 7 runs on 4 hits in the second inning, winning pitcher Cole Carr driving in two runs. Brady Christman belted a 3-run homer in the fifth. Mary Persons put up 5 in the fourth of the nightcap to take control with a 9-1 lead, adding another 5 in the top of the seventh in an 18-hit game. Nick Howard led the barrage with 3 hits and 3 RBI.
Peach County 11, Bainbridge 1; Peach County 13, Bainbridge 2
DJ Hudson went 3 for 3 in the opener, including a homer, as the 32-2 Trojans led 7-0 after 2. Jackson Peavy threw 4 innings and Jaden Jones 1 for a 5-inning no-hitter, Peavy fanning 8 but walking 6. Hudson drove in 4 runs on 3 hits in the nightcap, adding another homer. It was a fairly close game until a 7-run seventh by Peach County (32-2). Hudson went the distance, with 5 strikeouts and walk in the 5-hitter. Bainbridge finished 13-14
Class A/Division I
Bleckley County 2, Fitzgerald 1; Bleckley County 3, Fitzgerald 0
Gordon Lee 7, ACE Charter 1; Gordon Lee 7, ACE 2
ACE trailed only 3-0 after 5, but the Trojans countered the Gryphons’ run in the top of the sixth with 4 in the bottom half, Gordon Lee getting 2 more hits than ACE in the opener. James Patterson had 2 of ACE’s 5 hits. The top-seeded hosts eliminate a lot of suspense early in the night cap with a 4-1 lead after 2 and 6-1 after 4. Both teams had 4 errors. Slade Hodge and Chase Sasser each had 2 hits for ACE (18-14) in the final games of head coach Josh McLendon, now heading to Dublin as softball coach.
Washington County 7, Banks County 4; Washington County 4, Banks County 2
Ty Mobley struck out 10 in the opener for the Golden Hawks, adding a 2-hit game at the plate. WACO took control of the opener with 4 in the fifth. Washington County scored single runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to hold on in the nightcap and improve to 26-7.
GIAA Regular Season
Brookstone 8, Westfield 0
Covenant 10, John Hancock 9
Mount de Sales 7, RTCA 6
Tattnall 1, Piedmont 0
⚽ ⚽ ⚽ Soccer ⚽ ⚽ ⚽
GHSA Playoffs
Girls
Class A/Division I
ACE 5, Fitzgerald 0 (Click here for full story)
The Gryphons took a 4-0 lead at halftime, and cruised while everybody in uniform played. Kate Thomason scored twice, ACE getting goals from Edy Powell, Lily Bivins, and Bayleigh Loosier. ACE improved to 18-3.
East Laurens 4, Armuchee 0
Lamar County 3, Jeff Davis 2
Social Circle 7, Dodge County 1
🎾 🎾 🎾Tennis 🎾 🎾 🎾
GHSA Playoffs
Boys
Class A/Division I
Quarterfinal
Bleckley County 3, Jeff Davis 0
🏫🏫🏫College🏫🏫🏫
⚾ ⚾ ⚾ Baseball ⚾ ⚾ ⚾
Tennessee Southern 7, Middle Georgia State 6, SSAC Tournament
🥎 🥎 🥎Softball 🥎 🥎 🥎
Middle Georgia State 8, ABAC 3, SSAC Tournament
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Around/About Central Georgia
WBKB-Fort Valley dips into SIAC foe for newest women’s basketball coach
LAX-Mercer hosts Wofford Friday in Big South Tournament semifinals
BSB-Wilson (West Laurens) headlines six Bobcats named to All-Peach Belt teams
SB- Caldwell, Johnson headline four Bobcats on All-Peach Belt teams
Alumni Update/Honor Roll
GCAA softball: POTY, COTY, all-conference
Bleckley County grad Riley Haley of Gordon State is the player of the year.
Westfield’s Knowles take top freshman honor in Peach Belt
Around/About Georgia
Smith explains draft buckets, Falcons' first-round trade
Sugiura: Keeping Kirk Cousins was a choice, and Falcons have made the right one
Falcons feel rookie defenders boast 'real chance to become starters for us'
Sale, Braves playing like 'who we are' ahead of Dodgers rematch
A Worthy Read
How Sanders' NFL draft slide saga and all it entailed reflects the state of the nation
NBA
LeBron: ‘I don’t have the answer’ to questions about his future after Lakers’ exit from NBA playoffs
Celtics’ Holiday wins NBA’s sportsmanship award, becomes 5th player to win it more than once
Antetokounmpo enters this offseason with a big question awaiting him. Stay or go?
Brunson scores 40, Knicks top Pistons, advance to 2nd-round series with Celtics
Harden scores 28, and the Clippers force Game 7 with a gritty win
Baseball/MLB
Man who fell over a railing at PNC Park is in critical condition
Phillies will honor the 3 Hall of Fame outfielders who all batted .400 in 1894
Lord earns 1st MLB win as Nationals beat Phillies to prevent sweep
Rockies rally past Giants, denying Verlander his 1st win since joining San Francisco
Soto hits his first homers at Citi Field with the Mets, but D-Backs win
Cubs take Skenes deep 3 times, Suzuki homers twice in all as Chicago pulls away
Auto Racing
Kyle Busch was once kicked out of a track for being too young. Now the NASCAR champ turns 40
Two teams suing NASCAR ask a judge to dismiss stock car racing’s counterclaim
Tennis
Gauff routs Iga Swiatek to reach Madrid final against No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka
After loss in Madrid, Swiatek hopes to start ‘moving better’ to rebound from recent struggles
Golf
Scheffler returns to hometown Byron Nelson, takes 1st-round lead with 10-under 61
Ryu and Ariya Jutanugarn shake off major doldrums and have solid start on LPGA in Utah
World ranking chair Trevor Immelman says LIV has not reapplied and ‘the ball is in their court’
NFL/USFL/UFL/Football
Sullivan: How Shedeur Sanders' NFL draft slide saga reflects the state of the nation
Lynch-approved selection of RB Ashton Jeanty defies several NFL trends
College Football, a look at the spring and fall
Draft proves a college football truth: Power Two is here to stay
More than half the SEC will have new QBs in 2025, though some changes come with continuity
Alabama’s Williams, LSU’s Perkins and Texas’ Baxter top list of SEC players to watch in ’25
ACC and new North Carolina coach Bill Belichick head toward season after spring full of changes
Players to watch in the Atlantic Coast Conference next season
Ohio State and 6 other Big Ten teams will carry their quarterback competitions into the fall
Here are 18 football players to watch next season in the Big Ten Conference
Rodriguez and Frost new to Big 12 in reunions with schools they won with in different leagues
Players to watch next season in the Big 12 Conference
WNBA/Women’s Basketball
Washington rookie Georgia Amoore injures the ACL in her right knee during practice
Clark’s return to Iowa for Fever preseason game commands average paid ticket price of $440
Mercury are heading into new era without Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner
Soccer
Goalkeeper says his concussion shows soccer referees need to act faster on head injuries
Cleveland’s José Ramírez becomes first third baseman with 250 career homers and steals
Hockey
NHL players are all about pregame routine, whether it’s naps, walking the dog or eating same meal
Vegas moves on with win in series clincher, as Wild go 1-and-done yet again
Maple Leafs advance to the 2nd round of NHL playoffs by eliminating Senators
MacKinnon gets credit for fluky go-ahead goal as Avs tie series with win in Game 6
Oilers beat Kings to close out series, move to second round
Scoreboards