Lyons Midgets lose 2nd close game

The Lyons Midget Boys lost a second close game in the Lyons Youth Tournament. Burke County scored two runs in the top of the fifth to pull out a 4-2 win in a losers bracket game at Little Fenway. Watch game action You Tube Brock Harrison (2-for-3) stroked his first of two doubles and drove in Cole Graham (1-for-2) to give Lyons a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Burke tied the game up in the top of the second and then in the bottom of that inning Bryce Braddy (2-for-2 with a walk) doubled down the right field line and scored on Martin Santana's RBI grounder to first base. Burke once again immediately tied the game with a run in the third and then nobody scored until the fifth when Burke took the lead for good with two runs. Luke Hattaway pitched the first five innings and allowed five hits with four strikeouts. Graham threw the sixth and allowed a hit and stranded runners at second and third by recording all three outs with strikeouts.

Camp Eason grows in 2nd year

Nick Eason addresses the young campers at his youth skill camp

The second annual Nick Eason Youth Football Skills Camp was much larger than the first. Over 300 youngsters participated- 243 kindergarten age to sixth grade in the morning session and around 70 in the afternoon segment for middle school and high school athletes. "I am really glad I had the camp again this year and it was free so more kids showed up," said Eason. "It gave a lot of kids who maybe aren't fortunate enough to be able to pay to get in the camp and this might be the only camp they may be able to do this summer. They get some great coaching, from a great group of guys, that they can use on the field as well as learn a couple of things, from myself, about life off the field.” Watch some camp action and listen to Nick You Tube Eason retires as a player, coaching is next Nick's 10-year career as a NFL player has come to an end. Eason, in an April Y-101 Radio appearance, said that coaching would be the next phase of his professional career and now it is official. “I have decided that I am going to start coaching and where ever that leads me I don't know,” said Nick. “I had the opportunity to enter in to the minority coaching program with the Cleveland Browns and then I will be an assistant after that. So, I am excited. My goal is to coach at the pro level and be a head coach and I really feel that God will bless me to allow me to make that happen." Nick was drafted in 2003 in the fourth round, out of Clemson, by the Denver Broncos. He moved on to the Browns, the Pittsburgh Steelers and finished his career with the Arizona Cardinals. Nick started 17 games and played a variety of positions, as a back up, on the defensive line. In 117 games he had 128 tackles and seven sacks. NFL quarterbacks who were sacked by the 300 pounder were Christian Ponder (Vikings, last sack in 2012), Alex Smith (49er's), Josh Freeman (Bucaneers), Ryan Fitzpatrick (1/2 sack Bills), Matt Schaub (1/2 sack Texans), Jason Campell (Redskins), Kerry Collins (Raiders) and Ben Rothlisberger (Steelers, first sack in 2005). Eason played in two Super Bowls and won one ring in 2008 in one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever. Pittsburgh edge Arizona 27-23 on an amazing catch by Santonio Holmes, with 42 seconds to play. Look back at Eason's NFL Career

Harrison mows down S'Boro in loss

Brock Harrison struck out 11 batters, including seven in a row, in the Lyons Midget Boys 4-3 loss to Swainsboro, at Little Fenway, in the opening round of the Lyons Youth Tournament. Harrison took the mound in the third and struck out the first seven batters that he faced. He struck out an additional batter in the fifth and three more in the sixth. The only out which was not a swing and a miss or a strike three called was on a swinging bunt in which catcher Cole Graham collected the ball to the left of the plate and recorded the out with a toss to Trey Cloud at first base. Watch some game action You Tube Harrison (2-for-3) put Lyons up 2-0 in the first with a two-out base hit. Swainsboro countered in the top of the second with a three-run homer over the centerfield fence by Nathan Copeland. Swainsboro scored an unearned run in that inning to take a 4-0 lead. Kaile Harkin (1-for-1 with two walks) walked to lead off the bottom of the fifth and then Harrison doubled him in to make it a one-run game. Lyons stroked five hits of a lefty starter and a righty reliever and left seven runners on base including five in scoring position. Cloud (1-for-2 with a walk) and Ricardo Santana (1-for-2 with a walk) each had a single.

JD and Appling knock out Lyons

Jeff Davis beat Lyons 8-0 in the winners bracket of the Junior Boys Division of the Lyons Youth Tournament and then Appling defeated Lyons 10-2 in the losers bracket to knock the local boys out of the double-elimination tourney. Lyons finishes third in the seven-team tourney. Watch some action from both games You Tube

Conley's walkoff single nips Appling 1-0

Christian Conley singled up the middle on a 3-2 fastball, with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, to score D.R. Meadows lifting Lyons to a 1-0 win over Appling County in the winners bracket of the Junior Boys Division of the Lyons Youth Tournament at Partin Park. Hogan White was the winning pitcher and thew a complete game four-hitter with 11 strikeouts. Watch game action You Tube   Lyons had three scoring opportunities against righty Landon Carter, who struck out nine batters and allowed four hits. Lane Adams (1-for-2) and White (1-for-2) each singled in the first inning. However, Lyons stranded runners on second and third base. In the fifth Lyons loaded the bases on a Cody Spinn (1-for-2) single and two hit batsmen- Conley and Jalen Mobley. In the sixth Meadows reached on the home team's first walk. Adams sacrificed him to second with a bunt and then Meadows ripped off third base. Appling was tossing the ball around after a strikeout and nobody was covering third allowing D.R. to advance. Appling intentionally walked White and Donnie Barrow setting up the match up for the left hand hitting Conley. "It was a full count and bases loaded and I think we were all nervous," said Conley. "It was a fastball up the middle. It was a little high, but I made contact with it. It was very exciting. I was very proud of myself."    White, a lefty, did not allow an Appling County batter or runner to reach third and he started accumulating strikeouts at a furious pace in the middle and late innings. He struck out two batters in the third, fifth and sixth innings and three in the fourth. "I just had to throw strikes and let them put the ball in play and it was fun striking out all those people," said White. Three Lyons pitchers (White, Meadows and Brandon Helton) have not allowed a single run in 10 innings of the Lyons Youth Tourney. Last year, while winning the tourney, Lyons pitchers allowed seven hits and three earned runs in 17 innings.

Lyons Jr. Boys shutout S'Boro

The Lyons Junior Boys, the defending Lyons Youth Tournament champions, opened up the 2013 tourney with a 10-0, four inning win over Swainsboro at Partin Park. Lyons took control of the game in the first when Hogan White (1-for-2) hit a grand slam and Brandon Helton (2-for-2) singled in two runs with two outs. Watch some game action You Tube   Lyons loaded up the bases on three walks in the first and took a 4-0 lead on the White slam and then Donnie Barrow (1-for-2) and Christian Conley (2-for-2) singled and both scored on Helton's single. Lyons scored three more runs in the third. Tanner Hattaway (1-for-2), Helton and Hall Graham (2-for-2) each singled and they scored on a D.R. Meadows grounder, a Lane Adams grounder and a wild pitch. Lyons ended the game in four innings with a tenth run- scored on a double to left by Jalen Mobley (1-for-1). Lyons pitching only allowed one hit. Meadows threw the first two innings and struck out four including three in the second inning. He allowed a two-out double and stranded runners on second and third in the first. Helton pitched the final two innings. The first batter he faced reached on an error and then he retired six in a row with a strikeout. In other first day action- Vidalia beat Metter 6-4 and Appling run-ruled Wayne County 16-0. On Tuesday- Jeff Davis defeated Vidalia 4-1.