Issuu

Time to look great!

VOLUME 12 ISSUE 13 | Apr. 6 - Apr. 12, 2016

YOUR SOURCE FOR SPORTS IN GEORGIA

Destination Unknown | Pg. 9 How will Georgia High School Football influence the 2016 NFL Draft?

Taking Care of Business | Pg. 4 Which baseball teams are continuing their upward trend as playoffs loom.

READY OR NOT Score Atlanta debuts the first football rankings for the 2016 season. | Pg. 7

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Vol. 12 Iss. 13 | Apr. 6 - Apr. 12, 2016

STARTING LINEUP PUBLISHER/EDITOR I.J. Rosenberg

ART/CREATIVE DIRECTOR DJ Galbiati Blalock

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Rhonda Rawls

COLUMNISTS

ON THE COVER

PREP COVER

MANAGING EDITOR Craig Sager II ASST. MANAGING EDITOR Kyle Sandy

MARKETING/ Lauren Goldstein PARTNERSHIP DIRECTOR

BUSINESS MANAGER Marvin Botnick

BEAT WRITERS: Ricky Dimon (Braves) Dan Mathews (UGA) Craig Sager II (Falcons, Ken nesaw) Colin Hubbard (GA Tech) Kyle Sandy (GSU, GHSA, Hawks) STAFF WRITERS Tyler Andrews Ned Kaish

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TEAM SCOOP AND VOICES

06 11 12

COVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF CECIL COPELAND, AJC.COM AND GEORGE BENNET PHOTOGRAPHY

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IJ’S MEDIA BLOG

SCHUERHOLTZ WAS A TOUGH NUT TO CRACK BY IJ ROSENBERG | IJROSENBERG@SCOREATL.COM

hile this is supposed to be a media blog, I W thought I would start this week’s column with my relationship with then Braves general

manager John Schuerholz when I covered the team from 1991-96 for the Atlanta JournalConstitution. Schuerholz stepped away Thursday as the team’s president and will continue on in a new vice chairman role but for the most part he is retiring from day-to-day duties. At 75 and after more than 50 years in baseball, I know John wants to travel more with his wife Karen and I imagine play a little more golf. When Schuerholz arrived in the winter of 1990, I was just about to be named the paper’s beat writer, replacing Joe Strauss who just recently passed away at the age of 54

due to leukemia. I was 27 and coming off working on an investigative team after two years of being the Georgia Tech beat writer. I remember my first meeting with John in his office at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium and I realized quickly that a lot was going to change for the organization. Because I was coming in new and had not been associated with the bad baseball the club had played for almost all of the 1980’s, my feelings about the team were more optimistic than most of the beat writers around the league. I also realized how difficult it would be for this rookie baseball beat writer as I knew Schuerholz was going to be a very tough nut to crack when it came to getting information to break stories. Actually, for quite some time it

SANDY’S SPIEL

BASEBALL SEASON ENTERS PIVOTAL STRETCH

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

utside of the top two in Class AAAAAA, everybody in the Top Ten suffered a loss. Milton lost thrice and is now out of the polls at 11-7. Replacing them is former national power No. 8 Lambert, who is looking to recapture the magic from two years ago. No. 6 Parkview is still struggling to find its footing and will need to string together some wins to remain in the top ten. Grayson was the latest team to edge the Panthers, 7-6 in nine innings. Region 8 is turning into a log jam with the top three as Parkview holds onto first at 7-1 while Grayson (13-4, 6-1) and Brookwood (10-8, 6-2) are close behind. Mountain View remains No. 3 in the state. The Bears dropped to No. 5 Norcross 4-3, but rebounded with a 6-3 win over No. 4 Collins

Hill. North Cobb falls to No. 10 after a 2-1 loss to Kennesaw Mountain and an 11-1 defeat against Harrison. Class AAAAA’s No. 4 Greenbrier was tripped up by AAA No. 10 Westside-Augusta 5-0. The Patriots are new to the Top Ten in Class AAA. No. 8 Jones County losing ground, falling two spots after a loss to Houston County 4-1. The Bears are starting to make some noise as they lead the region. No. 10 Hardaway holds onto its spot after a 6-0 loss to No. 6 Columbus.

RED ELEPHANTS…

Gainesville holds onto the No. 1 ranking in AAAAA after splitting with No. 4 Loganville last week. No. 4 Allatoona has been mighty im-

was almost impossible to get John to give me anything of consequence. But that was the way Schuerholz worked, close to the vest with a very small inner circle. I remember two specific examples of being very frustrated with him and another where I just made a poor choice of judgment. The first came right after the 1992 season when the Braves had fallen to Toronto in the World Series. It was evident something was missing for the team after two straight Series losses and Schuerholz wanted to put a big bat in the middle of his lineup. He had money to make one big move and it was for Barry Bonds. Schuerholz would go on to write the details about the deal in book “Built to Win’’ but I must have called John 10 times about the rumor and he wouldn’t say anything. I never could get confirmation on the fact that a trade for Bonds had been done but Pirates manager Jim Leyland refused to let Bonds go and that is why the Braves turned and signed Greg Maddux. My editors lit me up for not getting the story. Maddux is the second example of my biggest mistakes while on the beat. Schuerholz always used to tell me be very careful of what agents say. Schuerholz said he may not give me the info but would never lie to me while agents made a habit of it. At the winter meetings in

1992, I knew the Braves were close to signing Maddux but I didn’t know the contract number. The Yankees were battling the Braves for the right-hander and I went up the Braves suite at the Louisville hotel and tried to pin John and Stan Kasten down on the number. Right before I walked in their room, Scott Boras, who represented Maddux, called me and gave me a number the Braves had just offered. I tried to confirm it with John and Stan and both said the number was ridiculous. I went with it anyway and when Maddux signed, my number was $2 million more than the actual contract. Another closed-door meeting with editors. Then there was the one and only time that I really struggled with Schuerholz when I was on the beat and it came when they traded Deion Sanders in 1994. It won’t be long before Schuerholz gets into Cooperstown and joins Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Bobby Cox. It would be fitting to put him in the same year (2018) Chipper Jones is eligible to go into the Hall of Fame. And I surely will be there down in front writing about it. Photo courtesy of the AJC

pressive this year and went 3-1 at the National High School Invitational. Kyle Jacobsen has 22 RBIs through 16 games while Skylar McPhee has driven in 17 runs. No. 8 Starr’s Mill debuts in the poll for the first time this year. The Fayette County powerhouse has outscored opponents 132-20 this year. No. 9 Thomson and No. 10 Spalding debut in the AAAA rankings after Whitewater and Troup exit. Last week, No. 3 Marist swept No. 5 St. Pius in Class AAAA, 7-0 and 5-1. The Golden Lions bounced back in a big way by no-hitting Cross Keys in a 20-0 rout. John Alvarez got the win in the 3-inning shortened game. No. 4 Thomas County Central drilled Americus-Sumter 12-0. Both Kaleb Carter and Brandon Slocumb drove in two runs. Stone Stephenson hurled five innings of one-hit ball while striking out seven. The most dominant team in the state right now is AAA No. 1 Blessed Trinity. The Titans are a perfect 16-0 and have allowed only eight runs all year. No. 2 Franklin County is 19-0, but it doesn’t look like Blessed Trinity will be challenged for their top spot any time soon. Region 6-AA is the epicenter of good athletics. This time, its baseball on display. No. 1

Wesleyan can thank No. 2 GAC for regaining the top spot after the Spartans took two of three from No. 3 Holy Innocents’. GAC handled the Golden Bears 2-1 and 6-2 with an 8-4 loss sandwiched in between. Bryan County and Fitzgerald both lose their place in the rankings while No. 9 Union County and No. 10 Bleckley County look to see how long they can stay on the bull. Last week, Region 6-AA saw No. 2 Wesleyan take two of three from No. 4 GAC. The Wolves won 5-3 and 2-0 while sandwiching a 17-0 loss in between. No. 3 Bowdon is undefeated at 13-0 and is no longer flying under the radar. Darlington falls out of the poll and is now 8-6 overall. No. 10 Fitzgerald enters with a 10-5 mark. Class A saw No. 4 Tattnall Square Academy drop a spot after two losses to Florida programs Mosley High School and Bay High School. Baconton Charter didn’t last long in the spotlight. They lost 12-1 to No. 3 Schley and were shutout at Irwin County 11-0. No. 10 George Walton Academy makes its debut. Despite the loss, Taber Raley has been the ace of the staff for Baconton Charter, overpowering hitters with 55 strikeouts in 32 innings pitched. Photo courtesy of George Bennett

Vol. 12 Iss. 13 | Apr. 6 - Apr. 12, 2016

This comeback athlete had a long road back. Today it’s 8.5 miles. Know a young athlete who overcame a serious injury or illness? Nominate them for Comeback Athlete of the Month at choa.org/comeback.

Villanova

MLB

Blessed Trinity

From perennial choke artists to national champs, the Wildcats stunned North Carolina on a Kris Jenkins three at the buzzer to capture the title 77-74. Coach Jay Wright had his team peak at exactly the right time as they ran roughshod through the competition with some surprising wins along the way.

Opening Day officially kicked off the 2016 MLB Season. America’s pastime is back, even though the weather tried to hinder the start of some teams’ seasons. It will be another long and treacherous season for players, coaches and fans alike. Hopefully you’re in it for the long haul.

At 17-0, AAA’s No. 1 ranked Titans have been dominant in baseball. The best pitching staff in the state has allowed just 14 runs this season while the offense his pounded out 192 runs. Blessed Trinity is far and away the favorite to win the state championship with no legitimate contenders yet to emerge.

SCORE LIST By Craig Sager II SUPER NOVA

What an ending to the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament! Late Monday night, the Wildcats sent the sports world into a celebration of emotion as Kris Jenkins drilled the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer 77-74. Confetti poured onto the court as finish for the ages capped off a wild 2016 season. It had been 31 years since Villanova’s last national title, in 1985.

FALLING FLAT

The Atlanta Braves were one out away from winning their final opening day game at Turner Field, but instead fumbled away the game for a 4-3 loss to the visiting Nationals. the Nationals scored the tying run in the ninth when catcher A.J. Pierznski dropped a throw to the plate on Michael Taylor’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly to shallow center field, preventing a would-be game-ending double play.

PRACTICE PERFECTION

The NBA playoffs are in less than three weeks and the Atlanta Hawks are surging in the right direction. This current trend projects a top 3 seed. The NBA finals are a lengthy nine-plus weeks away, so let us hope for a long and steady climb from the home team as they look to conquer the Eastern Conference.

CALLING ALL DAWGS

The Bulldogs are planning to step up their game for the annual spring football intrasquad scrimmage ever since new head coach Kirby Smart grabbed the microphone at halftime of the Texas A&M basketball game. Smart’s challenge is to pack Sanford Stadium with 93,000 fans. Three factors could bring enough buzz. It’s Smart’s debut, it’s top prospect Jacob Eason’s debut and there is no conflict with the Masters this year.

MASTERS SEASON

Speaking of the Masters, Jordan Spieth will begin his title defense with a 9:48 a.m. tee time on Thursday. Spieth is set to play alongside Bryson DeChabeau and Paul Casey. The 80th Masters begins with honorary starters Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player hitting ceremonial tee shots at 8:05 a.m. Top-ranked Jason Day will be matched with Matt Kuchar and Ernie Els at 1:06 p.m.

MARK THE CALENDAR

The Falcons 2016 OTA dates have been set for May 23-24, May 26, May 31, June 1, June 3, June 6-9. Teams may conduct a total of 10 days of organized team practice activity, or “OTAs”. No live contact will be permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permitted. Mandatory minicamp gets underway June 14-16. Also, each club may hold a rookie football development program for a period of seven weeks, which in 2016 may begin on May 9.

WHO’S NOT

By Kyle Sandy

WHO’S HOT

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

Cheaters

Umpires

Hawks

Syracuse and North Carolina got what was coming. The Orange fell to the Tar Heels and then North Carolina had its heartbroken by Villanova. Jim Boeheim and Roy Williams both run crooked programs with academics coming dead last in the line of priorities. Good to see both men come home with nothing to show for their seasons.

It’s great that the MLB season is back, but that means horrid umpiring is back as well. A full on “Ump Show” was on display on Sunday Night Baseball. The big stage overwhelmed home plate Gerry Davis who had no clue what was a ball and a strike all night, causing pitchers and hitters to question each at-bat.

To be the best, you have to beat the best. That is something Atlanta didn’t do as they lost to the Eastern Conference’s top two teams, Cleveland and Toronto. After a great stretch of ball, Atlanta now holds just a half game lead over Miami and Charlotte. If they slip behind both, home court advantage will vanish as the sixth-seed.

NUMBERS

OUR TWO CENTS

By Kyle Sandy

Our email newsletter is something we take a lot of pride in at Score. If you aren’t familiar with it, it is a high school sportsheavy publication that we produce each day to fill in our readers on the latest happenings in Georgia prep sports. We send it out Monday through Friday throughout the year and Monday through Saturday during the fall. Not only do we cover popular sports like football, basketball and baseball, we also cover every other varsity sport the GHSA fields. If you like Georgia high school sports at all, sign up for our email newsletter by visiting www.tinyurl.com/scorenewsletter and enter your email address(es) that you’d like added to the distribution list.

TRIVIA QUESTION

“

SANITY AT LAST

“We’re focusing our efforts

HOW MANY OF THE 256 2015 NFL DRAFT PICKS PLAYED HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL IN GEORGIA?

on 100,000 showing up [to

ANSWER ON PAGE 14

- UGA Athletics Director Greg McGarity

G-Day]….We don’t have tickets, so it presents a challenge that we’ve never had to tackle before.”

Phil Booth scored in the National Championship after averaging seven points

Threes UNC hit in the National Championship

Errors that helped cost the Braves their season opening game

Homers hit between Freddie Freeman and Adonis Garcia

Hit for the Texas Rangers in their 3-2 win over the Mariners

0.5

Game lead the Hawks have over both Charlotte and Miami in the Southeast division

444

Career wins for Agnus Berenato, Kennesaw State’s new women’s coach

Paul Millsap points against Cleveland.

Vol. 12 Iss. 13 | Apr. 6 - Apr. 12, 2016 ton takes over No. 2 after dropping down from Class AA last year. Aquinas comes in at No. 3 and Wesleyan takes No. 4 after a 9-3 finish in Class AA last year. Defending Class A-Public champion Clinch County remains No. 1, while Macon County and Manchester strengthen the top 10 after earning playoff berths in Class AA last year.

ON THE COVER

GHSA FOOTBALL

2016 PRELIMINARY FOOTBALL RANKINGS

he newly-reclassified high school landscape has brought a new hierarchy across each classification. Here is our first attempt to sort out the top 10 in each class and preview what is sure to be a wild season across the state. In Class AAAAAAA, Colquitt County and its 30-straight victories earn the Packers the top spot, with Mill Creek settling in at No. 2. Grayson and new head coach Jeff Herron crack the top 3 and defending state runner-up Roswell returns enough talent to land a spot at No. 4. Quarterback Tobias Oliver and the deeply-talented Northside-Warner Robins Eagles lead a packed Class AAAAAA filled with state title contenders and reigning Class AAAAA champion Allatoona, which sits at No. 6. Buford leads Class AAAAA with Ware County at No. 2 and Bainbridge earns a spot at No. 3 after a breakout 13-1 season a year

2016 FOOTBALL RANKINGS CLASS AAAAAAA

CLASS AAA

CLASS AAAAAA

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

ago. Cartersville solidifies No. 1 in Class AAAA after clinching its title last year and will pace the field with standout quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Woodward Academy’s Ryan Glover quarterbacks a War Eagle team with enough returning talent to debut at No. 2. Jefferson and touchdown-machine Colby Wood round out the top 3. Defending Class AA state champion Pace Academy claims the top spot in Class AAA and ultra-talented Cedar Grove opens at No. 2. Greater Atlanta Christian, Calhoun and reigning champion Westminster round out the top 5. Fitzgerald leads Class AA with Benedictine at No. 2. Rabun County rides the momentum from last year’s 11-2 finish to open at No. 3 in the poll and perennial power Brooks County takes No. 4. Defending champion Eagle’s Landing Christian leads Class A-Private and Darling-

CLASS AAAA

1. Cartersville 2. Woodward Academy 3. Jefferson 4. Sandy Creek 5. St. Pius 6. Marist 7. Mary Persons 8. Spalding 9. Blessed Trinity 10. Cairo

1. Colquitt County 2. Mill Creek 3. Grayson 4. Roswell 5. McEachern 6. Westlake 7. Collins Hill 8. Archer 9. Camden County 10. Peachtree Ridge

1. Northside-Warner Robins 2. Houston County 3. Glynn Academy 4. Coffee 5. Stephenson 6. Allatoona 7. Hughes 8. Creekside 9. Mays 10. Tucker

CLASS AAAAA 1. Buford 2. Ware County 3. Bainbridge 4. Thomas County Central 5. Jones County 6. Kell 7. East Paulding 8. Carrollton 9. Starr’s Mill 10. Loganville

1. Pace Academy 2. Cedar Grove 3. Greater Atlanta Christian 4. Calhoun 5. Westminster 6. Lovett 7. Peach County 8. Westside-Macon 9. Cook 10. Monroe

CLASS AA

1. Fitzgerald 2. Benedictine 3. Rabun County 4. Brooks County 5. Callaway 6. Heard County 7. Screven County 8. Jefferson County 9. Model 10. Vidalia

CLASS A-PRIVATE

1. Eagle’s Landing Christian 2. Darlington 3. Aquinas 4. Wesleyan 5. Mt. Paran 6. Prince Avenue Christian 7. Stratford Academy 8. Landmark Christian 9. Calvary Day 10. Christian Heritage Photos courtesy of Cecil Copeland and Fred Assaf

From the morning announcements to volleyball and football and everything else in between, the NFHS Network brings you LIVE high school sports and events so you never have to miss a moment. No matter where you are, High School Happens Here.

Visit NFHSnetwork.com to join for FREE.

ert Nkemdiche (Grayson) and Vonn Bell (Ridgeland). The NFL Draft begins April 28 at 8 PM and scoreatl.com will have a full breakdown of where each pick played their high school ball after each of the rounds. Stay tuned to see which states influence this year’s crop of NFL draftees. Photo courtesy of AJC.com

WHERE THE 2015 NFL DRAFT PLAYED HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

SPRING SPORTS

GEORGIA’S DRAFT DAY INFLUENCE BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

he 256 players taken in last year’s NFL Draft came as far away as Germany and American Samoa, but the state that impressed most in terms of producing NFL talent was our own, Georgia. Florida, double the population of Georgia, led with 39 former high school players and Georgia finished second with an incredible 30 draftees. Georgia produced more draft picks than football hotbeds Texas (27) and California (26). In the first round, DE Vic Beasley, OC Cameron Erving, DE Bud Dupree and WR Breshad Perrimen were taken. Beasley (Adairsville) went to the Falcons with the No. 8 overall pick and Erving (Colquitt County) went to Cleveland at No. 19. Three picks later, Dupree (Wilkinson County) was selected by Pittsburgh, and NFC North ri-

val Baltimore picked up Perriman (Arabia Mountain) at No. 26. Georgia added Stephenson alum Preston Smith in the second round and then the final five rounds each averaged five Peach State products. This year, however, could see a different trend as projections leave Georgia shorthanded in the early round. According to the latest 2016 NFL Mock Draft Central, Georgia has a ceiling a four first round picks. Between the four experts that have released a first round mock draft for NFL.com, there are 41 total players represented in their four separate 32-pick mock first rounds. Out of those 41 projected first rounders, eight come from Texas and seven hail from Florida. Georgia’s four players to make the list were Leonard Floyd (Dodge County), Sheldon Rankins (Eastside), Rob-

HIGH SCHOOL STATE Florida Georgia Texas California Alabama Ohio North Carolina Pennsylvania Maryland New Jersey Illinois Louisiana Michigan Mississippi Kansas Arizona Iowa Missouri South Carolina Tennessee Washington Hawaii Kentucky Oregon Virginia Wisconsin Arkansas Colorado Connecticut D.C. Delaware Indiana Minnesota Nebraska Nevada New York Oklahoma Utah *Other Totals

RD. 1 7 4 2 3 1

RD. 2 1 1 3 3 3 3

RD. 3 8 4 4 2 1 1

3 2 1 1 1

1 1 1

RD. 4 6 5 2 5 4 3 2 2 1 1

1 1 2 3 1

1 1

1 1 1

1 2 1

1 1 1

1 1

RD. 5 2 5 5 3 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1

RD. 6 8 5 7 5 3 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 2

RD. 7 7 6 4 5 1 1 1 1 1 1 3

1 1 1 2 1 1

2 1 1 1 2

2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 32

Other = American Samoa, Germany and Canada

1 41

2 39

TOTAL 39 30 27 26 14 10 9 8 8 7 6 6 6 6 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 256

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

Vol. 12 Iss. 13 | Apr. 6 - Apr. 12, 2016 UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

ing the third down, “red area” and two-minute situational drills.

GEORGIA TECH

the last five games.

DAWGS PREP FOR ANNUAL G-DAY CELEBRATION

DEFENSIVE STANDOUTS

BASEBALL LOOKS TO CONTINUE INSTATE DOMINANCE

INSTATE TALENT

BY DAN MATHEWS | DMATHEWS@SCOREATL.COM

he Georgia football team scrimmaged for two hours on Saturday afternoon in Sanford Stadium under cloudless skies and with temperatures in the mid 60s. This marked the team’s first scrimmage of the spring. During the Bulldogs’ ninth session of the spring, the team suited up in full pads as the offense battled the defense in a variety of different situations and the special teams got some work. “We are a long way away from where we need to be but it was good to see the guys have their first opportunity to tackle and really get after it,” said Bulldog head coach Kirby Smart. “We asked for three things today, efficiency, toughness and competitiveness. I thought the guys put out a good effort overall.” Smart mentioned the first team offense squared off against the second team defense and vice versa during the scrimmage. He also said the first team offense and defense had the opportunity to line up against each other dur-

GEORGIA STATE

SERIES FINALES DON’T GO PANTHERS’ WAY BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

n what was a high scoring three-game series, Georgia State (14-14, 3-6) pulled out an 8-7 win over UT Arlington (16-13, 4-5) on Sunday in the series finale at the GSU Baseball Complex. The Panthers had dropped a doubleheader the day before, 9-5 and 18-16 in a wild 10-inning affair. It looked like a sweep of the Panthers was in store as Arlington jumped on starter Bryan White for four runs in the first inning but White would settle in and the Panther offense slowly began to chip away at the lead with single runs coming in the second and third inning. White finished his day going six innings allowing three hits and seven walks; not giving up a hit over his final five innings. Georgia State hung four runs of their own in the sixth inning to move ahead 6-4 after Jaylen Woullard cranked a three-run shot off Mavericks starter Brad Vassar. UT Arlington quickly plated two runs in the top of the seventh to bring the game back deadlocked. The

Defensively, Smart singled out two Bulldogs following the scrimmage. “Natrez Patrick and Reggie Carter did well today, and I was excited to see them out there,” Smart said. “We always tell the guys you can run hard to the ball and that’s the one thing that doesn’t take any talent. And those guys were running hard.” On offense, Smart said quarterbacks Brice Ramsey and Greyson Lambert shared snaps with the first team while early enrollee Jacob Eason took snaps with the second and third team offenses. “We are working with Brice to manage the huddle better and I think he is working on it,” Smart said. “Greyson did a good job executing, but has to be more mobile. As Jacob progressed, I thought he calmed down. We have got to improve our quarterback situation and I thought we made progress today.” The Bulldogs’ 15 practices will culminate with the annual G-Day intrasquad game on Saturday, April 16 at 4 p.m. The stadium will open at 1 p.m. for G-Day and the Football Alumni Flag Football game will begin at 1:15. The Dawg Walk will be at 2:45 p.m. and the team will begin warmups at 3 p.m. G-Day is free for the public and Smart has stated that he is hoping to see a crowd of 93,000 in attendance for his coaching debut.

Panthers knocked in a run in the bottom of the inning before Arlington scored again in the eighth to tie it at 7. Joey Roach hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Justin Jones for the go-ahead run. Bryce Conley shut the door in his second inning of work and picked up the win to move to 5-2 on the season.

SENIORS LEAD STATE OVER CHARLOTTE

No. 47 Georgia State women’s tennis improved to 10-5 and has now won three straight matches and five of their last six following a 6-1 win against Charlotte. In the final home stand of the year, Linn Timmermann and Niri Rasolomalala picked up wins in their last matches in Atlanta. Youth was also served as Chiara Volejnicek and Daniela Ramirez picked up wins as a pair of talented freshmen.

ALABAMA BLUES

The softball team saw its record drop to 19-18 overall and 4-5 in Sun Belt play as the Panthers lost to South Alabama 5-0 on Sunday in the series finale. The Panthers had a hard time picking up timely hits as they stranded five runners on base. Georgia State collected just four hits on the day with Ivie Drake claiming two of them. Morgan Brown was able to extend her on-base streak to six games. The Panthers visit Georgia Tech on Wednesday at 6 PM. GSU won its first meeting 3-2 in 12 innings.

BY COLIN HUBBARD | INFO@SCOREATL.COM

eorgia Tech entered this week riding a nine-game road winning streak in the state of Georgia. Tech has already defeated Georgia Southern and Kennesaw State in 2016. Wade Bailey and Connor Justus have led a brilliant defensive effort and have combined to turn 25 of Georgia Tech’s 42 double plays. Even more impressive, either Bailey or Connor has been involved in 39 of Tech’s 42 double plays. Georgia Tech sits at a comfortable 20-7 and is 18-0 when allowing 5 or fewer runs this season. Offensively, the Jackets are 15-2 when scoring five or more runs in a game. Junior catcher Arden Pabst has thrown out 42 base runners in three seasons behind the plate, throwing out runners 43 percent of the time. Justus leads the Yellow Jackets with a .404 batting average and has recorded a teamleading 15 multi-hit games. Sophomore right fielder Kel Johnson is currently on a careerbest 22-game hitting streak. Johnson has extended his hit streak with a home run in four of

KENNESAW STATE

ERWIN PROVES TWO-WAY VALUE AS LEFTY ACE BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

ennesaw State pitcher Chris Erwin continues to prove his two-way player value for head coach Mike Sansing. Erwin was named Atlantic Sun Co-Pitcher of the Week, the first A-Sun Pitcher of the Week award of his career. Erwin threw a career-high 8.1 innings in a 2-1 win in the conference opener against North Florida and worked four 1-2-3 frames while allowing just four total hits. His one unearned run to the Ospreys lowered his season ERA to 5.36, while upping his strikeout total to 34. The lefty ace has made a difference at the plate offensively as well, ranking 13th in the ASUN and third on the roster with a .326 batting average. Erwin also ranks third on the team with 29 hits in 22 games. Finally, Erwin recently became the first Owl to hit two home runs in a single game since Andy Chriscaden on March 28, 2012. KSU ranks second in the league in batting average, .286, behind North Florida’s .305. Kennesaw State is third in the league in runs

Head coach Danny Hall has made a habit of building a wall around the Peach State and keeping the best prep talent close to home. There are 32 of this year’s 35-member opening weekend roster (91%) that hail from the state of Georgia, which is home to some of the best high school baseball talent in the nation. Every freshman in this year’s class hails from Georgia and due to this dominance, since 1999, the Yellow Jackets own a 150-53 record against their in-state foes. In 23 years under Hall, Tech is 194-70 against teams from Georgia, including 12-2 in its last 14 games against in-state rivals.

THE LINKS

Vincent Whaley shot a 71 Sunday to close out his second career collegiate victory, while Georgia Tech finished in a tie for second place at the Clemson Invitational, which was contested at The Cliffs at Keowee Falls. Whaley, a junior from McKinney, Texas, who began the day with a two-shot advantage, maintained the lead throughout, opening with birdies on two of his first three holes and playing the back nine in 1-under-par. Sophomore James Clark (Columbus, Ga.) went 4-under-par on the back nine and also shot 71 for the Jackets to earn the second top-10 finish of his career (T7).

scored (173), second in the league in total hits (289), second in home runs (24) behind North Florida’s 26, third in triples (6) and seventh in doubles (42).

ON THE HILL…

The Owls softball team prepares for a Volunteer State showdown with Tennessee, Belmont and Tennessee State on the slate. The Owls are in the midst of a two-week break from A-Sun Conference play. They will be in Knoxville on Tuesday to take on nationallyranked Tennessee at Sherri Parker Stadium before traveling to Nashville to face Belmont on Wednesday and concluding the trip with a doubleheader at Tennessee State on Thursday. Kennesaw State enters the week 21-15 overall record and 5-3 in A-Sun Conference play. The Owls suffered their first conference series loss of the season over the weekend as they dropped two of three games to North Florida at Bailey Park. The Volunteers are 27-10 overall, 7-5 in Southeastern Conference play and ranked No. 16/17 in the most recent ESPN.Com/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA Division I polls. Tennessee is coming off a series loss at Missouri over the weekend and enters Tuesday’s contest against the Owls with a 13-0 home record. The Vols are batting .325 as a team and have eight players hitting .300 or better.

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ATLANTA HAWKS

EAST’S BEST, BEST HAWKS BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

he Hawks beat up on the Eastern Conference to build a head of steam as they drive towards the playoffs, but that momentum has been stunted as Atlanta ran into the top two teams in the conference, the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers. Toronto dispatched of the Hawks north of the boarder 105-97 and the Cavs handed Atlanta a 110-108 loss at Philips Arena. DeMar DeRozan poured in 26 points to lead the Raptors. 18 turnovers haunted the Hawks. Atlanta saw only Jeff Teague (18) score in double figures among the starting five. Tim Hardaway Jr. (15), Dennis Schroder (13) and Mike Scott (12) picked up the slack. Coach Mike Budenholzer elected to keep the minutes down for his starters with nobody playing more than 25. With the by-committee approach, Atlanta failed to score 100 points for the first time since March 12 against the Grizzlies, a span covering 10 games. The Raptors picked up their 50th win for the first time in franchise history. “For us, it’s another great accomplish-

ATLANTA BRAVES

FRANCOUER MAKES IT: BRAVES ADD HOMETOWN STAR TO ACTIVE ROSTER BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

eff Francoeur is back. The Atlanta native and former Parkview High School star will officially embark on a second stint with the Braves when the 2016 regular season begins next Monday. Francoeur was locked in battle for one of the final roster spots throughout spring training and the team confirmed on Tuesday that the 32-year-old did indeed win one of the coveted positions. So far in spring training he is 17-for-52 (.327) with one homer, four RBIs and a teamhigh 10 runs scored. That success at the plate combined with Francoeur’s ability to impact games defensively with his strong arm will make him a backup outfielder behind starters Hector Olivero in left field, Ender Inciarte in center and Nick Markakis in right. Atlanta released Nick Swisher earlier in this week and with the addition of Francoeur it will likely either trade Michael Bourn or release Emilio Bonifacio. The Braves are eating Swisher’s $15 million salary in 2016 and may

ment,” Patrick Patterson said. “It’s another thing we can take away from this season, building off of the 49 (wins) we had last season. Coming into the season with the mentality of wanting to beat that and actually doing it, having that under our belts, is a great feeling.”

KING’S RANSOM

LeBron James was too much for the Hawks on Friday night. The Cavs blew a 21-point first half lead before taking overtime to knock off Atlanta 110-108. LeBron finished with 29 points, 16 rebounds, nine assists, three steals and one block. Paul Millsap did the best he could to keep the Hawks in the game and nearly matched James’ production. Millsap went for 29 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. The Hawks trailed 84-73 with 9:22 left in regulation after James found Matthew Dellavedova for a layup. Atlanta went on a 16-4 run to take an 89-88 lead on a Kyle Korver three with 4:11 remaining. Teague hit a layup with 29 seconds left to force overtime tied at 96. In the extra period, Al Horford’s desperation three at the buzzer went amiss. Horford went 0-6 from beyond the arc. “I felt good about it,” Horford said. “It’s probably as good a shot as we’re going to get at the end of the game. It just didn’t go down.”

end up doing the same with the $1.25 million owed to Bonifacio. “For me, it’s going to be really cool on Monday running out there back at Turner Field, especially being the last year [of the ballpark],” Francoeur told the team’s website. “I have so many great memories there, not just playing, but (also) as a kid going to watch…. So running out there on Monday is going to be pretty cool.” “Frenchy earned it,” general manager John Coppolella added. “Every step of the way he came in here, he played well and did everything we’d hoped he would do this spring. It’s always a tough decision for any roster spot because of the effect it has on other players, whether that is Boni or Bourn or whoever it might be. It’s tough because while we like Francoeur, there’s also a lot to like about other players, too.”

OLIVERA ON FIRE …

Last year’s midseason trade of starting pitcher Alex Wood to the Los Angeles Dodgers may end up paying dividends offensively, because it brought Cuban star Hector Olivera to Atlanta. The projected everyday left fielder, Olivera has been the Braves’ best player in spring training. He went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored in Monday’s 12-9 loss to Houston and his average now stands at .414. Olivera is tied for fourth in the entire league with 24 hits in spring training and he leads the Braves with 12 RBIs.

ATLANTA FALCONS

FALCONS OFFSEASON DATES SET

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

he NFL has announced the offseason workout T program dates for the 32 clubs around the league and the Atlanta Falcons schedule for 2016

is as follows. The first day of offseason activities is April 18. OTA offseason workouts follow May 23-24, May 26, May 31, June 1, June 3, June 6-9. Mandatory Minicamp will be June 14-16. The voluntary offseason workout programs are aimed at providing training, teaching and physical conditioning for players, and according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the voluntary nine-week program will be conducted in three phases: Phase One consists of the first two weeks of the program with activities limited to strength and conditioning and physical rehabilitation only. Phase Two consists of the next three weeks of the program. On-field workouts may include individual player instruction and drills as well as team practice conducted on a “separates” basis. No live contact or team offense vs. team defense drills are permitted. Phase Three consists of the next four weeks of the program. Teams may conduct a total of 10 days of organized team practice activity, or

GHSA BASKETBALL

TOP BOYS BASKETBALL VACANCIES BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

ith the coaching carousel in full force, some GHSA boys basketball jobs standout above the rest. All across the state, coaching openings have materialized. Listed below are a couple of the best current positions that are available. From Gwinnett to Clarke, programs are looking to turn things around.

GRIFFIN (7-18)

Outlook: The Bears were stuck in the difficult R4-AAAA with the likes of Jonesboro, Walnut Grove and Eagle’s Landing. A change of scenery in Region 5-AAAAA should help Griffin be much more competitive with a blossoming big man in the middle.

ATHENS ACADEMY (8-17)

Outlook: Athens Academy will once again be in Region 8-A, a cluster that looks wide open behind Lakeview Academy. Jacob Hudson is slated to return for his senior season and gives whoever is head coach, a true go-to guy. Payton Bowles IV came on strong late in the year but

“OTAs”. No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permitted. The Collective Bargaining Agreement also gives clubs the right to hold one mandatory minicamp for veteran players, but this minicamp must occur during Phase Three of the offseason program. Each club may hold a rookie football development program for a period of seven weeks, which in 2016 may begin on May 9. During this period, no activities may be held on weekends, with the exception of one post-NFL Draft rookie minicamp, which may be conducted on either the first or second weekend following the draft.

DRAFT GEM…

During last month’s NFL Scouting Combine, Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson told AtlantaFalcons.com that he believes he would fit well in Dan Quinn’s defense. Lawson posted 12.5 sacks and 24.5 tackles for loss last year on the Tigers. While many experts project the 6-foot3, 269-pounder to be drafted before Atlanta is on the clock, there is still hope for the Falcons taking Lawson at No. 17 overall in several early projections.

CORNERSTONES…

Bleacher Report’s NFL 1000 series continued on Wednesday, as Matt Miller counted down the league’s best cornerbacks. Robert Alford earned 29 overall, while Pro Bowler Desmond Trufant earned the No. 5 spot. “Desmond Trufant’s emergence continued in 2015. He is already one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks but continues to improve at just 25 years old,” wrote Miller.

must cut down on his turnovers in year two.

SOUTH GWINNETT (5-20)

Outlook: There will never be a shortage of talent in Gwinnett County. That’s the good thing. The bad thing is that there will never be a shortage of talent trading hands. The Comets are going to be stuck in the brutal Region 8-AAAAAAA with Newton, Shiloh and Grayson. Only three seniors graduate off last year’s 5-win team. Next year’s team will be loaded with seniors and juniors.

DULUTH (16-10)

Outlook: If the pieces remain intact, the Duluth job is hands down the best on the market in terms of talent and program history. A strong potential starting five is already in line with key pieces set to return. Alex Powell altered countless shots as a freshman and if he can put on weight, he could be a force inside with his advanced skillset offensively. Adam Flagler and Jalen Hodges are two veterans that can ease the transition under a new head coach.

DAWSON COUNTY (13-13)

Outlook: Dawson County could be on the verge of something with everyone returning. Eight sophomores littered the roster headlined by big man Gabe Bryant who will be a D-I big man as he continues to grow his game. If Bryant and the rest of the core remains in place, the Tigers could have some bite in Region 7-AAA.

Vol. 12 Iss. 13 | Apr. 6 - Apr. 12, 2016

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Vol. 12 Iss. 13 | Apr. 6 - Apr. 12, 2016

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