Dawgs rally falls one-run short

Hogan White takes a 2-0 fastball over the rightfield fence

and then celebrates his first Jacky Jones homer

Over the years the Toombs County Bulldogs have been known for their comebacks. In a summer league game at Jacky Jones Field, the Bulldogs trailed Metter 12-5 going to the bottom of the ninth of a nine inning game. The Dawgs once again rallied and scored six runs, half on one swing by Hogan White, who hit a three-run home run over the right field fence. Unfortunately, the rally ended with the bases loaded and Metter a 12-11 winner. Watch Highlights You Tube    Austin Williams pitched the first four inninngs and Nick Taylor the final five- his longest stint as a Bulldog. Toombs made three errors in the seventh allowing Metter to push a 7-4 lead to 12-4. Toombs scored a run in the eighth. Alan Beverly walked and Stephen Garrett singled to put runners on first and third. The Dawgs sent the runner at first and Beverly scored when the Tigers catcher threw the ball to second. In the ninth Brandon Helton walked and Martin Stephens was hit by a pitch. Lane Adams, who had two hits in the game, singled to load the bases. Williams drove in a run with a grounder to third, D.R. Meadows hit a liner to right that dropped in for a single and another run and Logan McGowan, who also had two hits, singled in a run.

 Lyons Mites play some good D

Saturday- The Lyons Mite baseball team made some fine plays on defense in their two game run in the Lyons Youth Tournament. However, a lack of timely hitting plaqued them in back-to-back losses on Field 2 at Partin Park. Jenkins County outhit Lyons 17-11 in an 11-2 victory. Bryce Davis, Jake Lively and Bryson Jones each had two hits for Lyons. On defense third baseman Darian Harris and shortstop Clayton Meadows each fielded their position well. Meadows turned a grounder into a double play by running to the second base bag and then throwing to Davis at first to end the fourth inning. Watch game action You Tube    Friday- Four 4 1/2 innings the Lyons Mite Boys baseball team had a real good shot at opening up play in the LYT with a victory. However, Twin City scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth to pull out a 10-3 victory. Watch Highlights You Tube Twin City built up a 3-0 lead by scoring a run in each of the first three innings. Lyons rallied in the top of the fourth by scoring three runs to tie the game at 3-all. Harris (1-for-3) provided a RBI single and Bryon Jones drove in a run with a grounder to second. Cody Cortez went 2-for-3 and Davis, Jason Dukes, Bryson Stanley, Benny Jernigan and Tyler Heath all had base hits.

7-on-7 in the Pit

Jamar Smith snags a pass near the south end zone

The Toombs County Bulldogs staged their first 7-on-7 Tuesday at the Pit and joining them were East Laurens, Claxton and Bulloch Academy. In each match up of schools the offense had the ball for 10 minutes and then the defense would take the field. Junior quarterback Jordan Usher threw some nice deep balls, against East Laurens, to Jamar Smith and Cole Dowd. Jamar also made a spectacular leaping interception. Watch Highlights You Tube

Bulldogs go 7-on-7 in Auburn

Ryan Coursey makes an indoor catch in Auburn

The Toombs County Bulldogs traveled over to Auburn to compete in a 7-on-7 Tourney against some big school competition from around the south. The Dawgs took on Byrnes High School from South Carolina. The back-to-back South Carolina state champs have won 11 total state titles and feature Marcus Lattimore (former South Carolina running back) as an alumnus. The school is nearly three times bigger than TCHS with an enrollment of nearly 2,300. Toombs also took on Callaway (Georgia), Mays (Atlanta), Niece (Tim Tebo's alma later) and Valley (7A from Alabama). The Bulldogs didn't win a game, however, they were competitive. Ric Sanders intercepted a couple of passes and Nathaniel Baker, Jamar Smith and Ryan Coursey were effective receiving targets for quarterback Jordan Usher. Watch a slideshow

Lyons Mite Girls finish 3rd in LYT

Wednesday- Sixteen teams started the Mite Division on Friday and on Wednesday only three were left. A young group of Lyons Girls, many playing their first season in the nine and 10 year old division, was one of them and they finished third. Dodge scored four runs in the fifth to overcome a one-run deficit and defeat Lyons 14-9. Watch Highlights You Tube   Lyons scored a run in both the first and second innings. Ellie Graham (1-or-3) singled and scored on a base hit by Alli Taufman (2-for-3) and Tori Wright (1-for-3) reached on an infield hit and scored on a single by Janna Hyers (3-for-3). Trailing 6-2, Lyons scored five times in the bottom of the fourth to take a 7-6 lead. Ziahya Griffin (2-for-3), Emma Salter (2-for-3) and McKinna Salem (1-for-3) each singled and KaKa Mobley (2-for-3) drove in a pair of runs with a single.  Tuesday- Lyons lost to Bacon County 16-1 in the winners bracket undefeated game. Monday- Lyons defeated rival Jeff Davis 5-1 in a winners bracket semifinal match up. Lyons allowed an unearned run in the fifth and turned two doubles plays which were started by Riley Robinson at third base and Mobley in left center field. Both players threw to second base for the second out after making a catch. Watch Highlights You Tube Lyons scored at least a run in every inning except the fifth. Aspen Johnson (2-for-2) singled in two runs in the first and one in the third. Salem (1-for-2) singled in a run in the second and Hyers (2-for-2) doubled in a run in the fourth. Taufman and Bailey went 2-for-2 and Robinson and Lilly Mosley were 1-for-2.  Saturday- Lyons made only five errors in 12 innings of softball as they won their first two games of the Lyons Youth Tournament- 14-0 over Evans County and 15-9 versus Dublin. Lyons successfully fielded 22 grounders and caught five balls in the air. At the plate the girls scored at least a run in eight of their 12 innings. Watch Highlights Evans County Game  Dublin Game In the Evans County victory- Mobley was 3-for-4 with two RBI, Graham 2-for-4 one RBI, Robinson 1-for-3 one RBI, Hyers 2-for-3 one RBI, Salter 2-for-3 one RBI, Holland 1-for-3 two RBI and Salem 1-for-3 one RBI. Against Dublin- Mobley 2-for-4 with a inside the park homer and three RBI, Grahm 3-for-4, Aspen Johnson 1-for-4, Alli Taufmann 1-for-3, Griffin 3-for-3 with two triples, three runs scored and a RBI, Wright 2-for-3 one RBI, Robinson 1-for-3, Hyers 1-for-3 one RBI, Salter 1-for-3, Holland one RBI and Salem 2-for-3.

Lyons Midgets lose to Long

The Lyons Midget Boys baseball team opened up in the Lyons Youth Tournament with a 9-1 loss to Long County at Little Fenway at Partin Park. Justin Thomas and Luke Wells (3-for-4) each doubled in a pair of runs in the second inning for Long. Wells hit another double in the fourth and ended the game in the fifth with another RBI two-bagger. Luke Hattaway (2-for-3) stroked both of Lyons's hits. He doubled in the third and singled in the fifth. Lyons lefthanded pitcher Trey Cloud struck out three batters and stranded bases runners on second and third in the first and the bases loaded in the third. Watch Highlights You Tube

Bulldogs swing wood

A Treutlen batter swings and misses and strikes out against D.R. Meadows

Swinging the wooden bat is a yearly tradition for the Toombs County Bulldogs. Once again the Bulldogs are playing host to their Wooden Bat Tourney. On the first day the Dawgs lost two one-run games- 3-2 to Statesboro and 4-3 to Treutlen. Austin Williams pitched four innings against Statesboro and Nick Taylor threw the final three. Against Treutlen D.R. Meadows pitched five innings of shutout ball with a least six strikeouts. Meadows pitched into the sixth when the Vikings staged a comeback and scored four runs for the victory. Lyons took a 3-0 in the fifth inning. Logan McGowan and Lane Adams each had RBI singles and another run scored on a wild pitch. Watch Highlights You Tube     Their are games scheduled for Friday and on Saturday the Bulldogs will play the Vidalia Devils at 10 a.m. and Glynn Academy at 5:30 p.m.

Lyons Junior Boys are out on Day 3

Wednesday- The Lyons Junior Boys were knocked out of the 52nd Annual Lyons Youth Tournament by Vidalia 7-1. Vidalia scored three runs in the second, one in the third and three in the fourth. Noah Anderson smashed a double for Lyons, his third extra base hit of the tourney. Bryce DeLoach pitched a complete game for Lyons. Watch Highlights You Tube Tuesday- Lyons stayed alive with an exciting 6-5 seven inning, extra inning win over Metter on the Big Field at Partin Park. Lyons scored four runs in the first and then scored the game-winner in the top of the seventh. Jarrett Jackson singled in a run and then pitched the the bottom of the seventh and stranded a runner at third on a grounder which he handled near the mound. Jackson, fearing a bad throw, ran the ball all the way to first to end the game. Anderson had a triple and Willie Campbell had a big base hit. Brock Harrison pitched the first four innings. Listen to Y-101 stories on both games SoundCloud Monday- Swainsboro scored three runs in the second, five in the third and four in the fifth in a 12-4, five inning win over Lyons. Watch Highlights You Tube Lyons took a 1-0 lead in the first when Tristen Lynn reached on a walk, stole second base and scored on a single to right by Harrison. Lyons had only two hits off lefty Donald Williford in the first four innings while striking out seven times. In the fifth Lyons stoked four hits and scored three runs. Lynn (1-for-2) tripled, Harrison (2-for-3) singled and both scored on a double by Anderson (1-for-3). Dylan Womack (1-for-3) singled in the final run. Jackson (1-for-3) also had a single. Second baseman Bryce DeLoach made a diving catch in right field.

Beasley and Ethredge are All-Stars

For the first time since 2009 the Toombs County Bulldog baseball program had two players participating in the Georgia Dugout All-Star Weekend. Back in '09 Justin Adams and Neal Rodgers both played in the games at Grayson Stadium, in Savananah, and over the weekend Jeremy Beasley and James Ethredge both pitched and and swung the bat at Golden Park in Columbus. Y-101 Story   Jeremy and James played for the Southeast team which split a pair of games and had one rained out. On Friday Southeast lost to Northwest 6-2. Beasley pitched a scoreless inning. He allowed a double and walked a batter and recorded his three outs on two grounders and a strikeout. Jeremy also go to hit once in the event and went 0-for-1. Ethredge was the starting and winning pitcher on Saturday morning when Southeast beat Northeast 5-0. James pitched the first three innings allowing one hit with two strikeouts. He also played centerfield in the Friday game and went 0-2 on a grounder to third and a strikeout.

Baseball Bulldogs celebrate 2014 season

(L to R) Jeremy Beasley, Tyler Luke, Hunter Braddy, Christian Moore, Brandon Beckum, D.R. Meadows and James Ethredge

The 2014 Toombs County Bulldogs celebrated their season, with good food and a big crowd, at their annual banquet held in the Durden Cabin at Partin Park. TCHS, which opened up with five straight losses including two in Region 2 play, rebounded and finished 15-12 winning three out of five games in the GHSA Double A State Playoffs. Head coach Brian Fitzgerald has been to the post season in 10 out of the 12 seasons he has been either an assistant or the head coach of the Bulldogs. Watch The Banquet  Varsity Highlights  Junior Varsity Highlights Coach Fitzgerald handed out four team awards. The Most Valuable Player award went to not one, but two Bulldogs. Seniors James Ethredge and Jeremy Beasley shared the honor. Ethredge went 7-4 on the mound with a 3.54 ERA. Opponents hit only .214 against the righty and he struck out 85 batters. Lifetime Ethredge finishes his career with a 19-11 record, a 2.73 ERA and 230 strikeouts in 187 innings. Offensively James hit .318 in 2014 with two triples, eight doubles and 16 RBI. Lifetime he hit .320 with four triples, 19 doubles and 43 RBI. Ethredge was selected first team All-Region 2 as an outfielder. Beasley also compiled a 7-4 record this past season. He had a career low 1.58 ERA and opponents hit .215 against him. Jeremy struck out a career-high 107 batters and walked 26. In 162 lifetime innings he struck out 194 batters and went 16-13 with a 2.38 ERA. At the plate Beasley was mighty consistent. He hit .293 in 2014 and wound up with the same batting average for his career. Jeremy hit two triples and three doubles and drove in 18 runs. As a varsity Bulldog he had 66 hits with five triples, six doubles and 38 RBI. Beasley was also named the Best Defensive Player and was voted first team All-Region 2 team as a pitcher. He was selected to play for Senior Team Georgia later this season. Both Beasley and Ethredge were selected to play in the Georgia Dugout Club's All-Star weekend in Columbus. The Best Offensive Player was Hunter Braddy. The senior moved from the leadoff postion to third and hit .309 with nine doubles, a triple and 15 RBI. Braddy also had a career-long hitting streak of 13 games. Hunter hit .307 for his career with 80 hits, two triples, 21 doubles and 36 RBI. Braddy also received a plaque for being named first team All-Region 2. The coaches award (selected by Fitzgerald, George Miller and Hunter Adams) was given to Tyler Luke. After an 0-2, with two strikeouts, against Benedictine's Chipper Wiley in a home region game, Luke was hitting .175. He was 7-for-40 at the plate. Tyler went 14-27 (.519) over his final nine games and he hit three home runs in the state playoffs. Luke wound up hittin .313 with a triple and two doubles and 15 RBI in addition to his three homers. Another Bulldog who improved his batting average by a big margin was senior Brandon Beckum. In 2013 he had five hits and batted .147. In 2014 he turned himself into a .300 hitter. Brandon went 6-for-18 (.333) to open up the season and then he went into a little slump- 1-for-11. However, Beckum finished strong. He was 4-for-8 in his final three games and even had two hits in one inning in game three of the second round of the state playoffs and he wound up hitting .322 with four doubles. Beckum was selected to the All-Region 2 team as an honorable mention. Christian Moore (All-Region 2 outfielder) did his best hitting in the most important games in the regular season- the Region 2 games. Moore went 16-for-48 in the 18 region games hitting .333. His best game was a 3-for-3 at Vidalia with two singles, one double, three RBI and a walk. He also went 2-for-3 at McIntosh County Academy, at Bacon County and at home against Long County. Christian hit 14 doubles in his Bulldog career including 10 as a junior and he drove in 24 runs.    The Bulldog B-Team finished the season with a 10-5 record. However, with D.R. Meadows on the field they were 10-2. Meadows, a freshman, at one point during the JV season had a .700 batting average. He went 5-for-6 in a game at Jeff Davis and on the mound pitched a complete game two-hitter against ECI at Jacky Jones Field. Meadows became a full time starter on the varsity at shortstop and was the leadoff hitter. D.R. hit .378 to lead the varsity with two doubles and 9 RBI. He finished the season with a six-game hitting streak and had a .610 on-base percentage. During the state playoffs his on-base percentage was .708.