Veterans splits with Loganville in series

Loganville responded quite well to losing the opener of its GHSA Class 5A quarterfinal series by evening it with a 9-1 win Wednesday over Veterans in the nightcap.

Ben Gibbs went the distance for Veterans in 4-3 opening win.

The Red Devils exploded for five runs in the second inning of the second game to take control, coming up with a big offensive game against ace Leyton Pinckney.

Both teams scored two runs in the first inning of the first game, and the Warhawks took a 4-2 lead when Gabe Holt belted a two-run homer with no outs in the top of the third.

The Warhawks let chances to extend the lead slip away, and the Red Devils made things very tight in the seventh with a run and then had runners on the corners. But Gibbs got a game-ending line out to Derek Wylie.

The finale is at 6 p.m. on Thursday in Loganville.

Bacon County 7-14, Bleckley County 3-4

The Raiders and Royals went into extra innings tied at 2, but Bacon County scored five in the top of the ninth for the Class 2A road win in the first game. But the visitors had much less trouble in ending Bleckley County’s season with a 10-run win in the nightcap.

Bacon County scored five in third and five in the fourth of the nightcap. The Royals, who wentere undefeated in region play, finish the season 25-10.

Savannah Christian 2-9, Mount de Sales 0-4

After winning a close first game, Savannah Christian’s bats awakened for a sweep of Mount de Sales in Class 1A private baseball.

Savannah Christian got its runs in the opener in the second inning on two singles and a double.

The Cavs got two hits from Zack Tong, and a five-strikeout, no-walk performance from Jack Lipson on the mound.

Savannah Christian got off to a good start in the nightcap, but it was tied at 2 after two and the Cavs took a 3-2 lead in the third.

The Raiders took control with five runs in the fourth.

Schley County 5-8, Taylor County 0-3

Taylor County couldn’t convert hits into runs and lost its Class 1A public school series opener to top seed Schley County, which got control early in the clinching second game.

The Vikings were outhit only 7-6 and both teams committed two errors, and the visitors stranded only one more runner.

Schley County did its damage in the first three innings, during which Taylor County got runners on but stranded them. Schley County did the same in the second game, getting an early cushion.

Zane Kendrick had two hits for the Vikings in the first game, while Gunnar Watson and Carter Albritton each had two hits in the second.

Softball

After one season and one state championship, Kristy Alvarez is stepping aside from the FPD softball program.

In a release from FPD, the school said Alvarez is leaving coaching in order to spend more time with her family. She does so having led the Vikings to the 2016 GHSA Class 1A private school softball title.

“We appreciate Kristy’s work,” FPD athletics director Greg Moore said in the release. “She stepped into high expectations, and last year’s team achieved at the highest level at the right time. We wish her much success at home as she steps away from her coaching duties.”

Replacing Alvarez on an interim basis will be baseball head coach Denny Bryant.

A Windsor product, Bryant played one season of baseball at Mercer before finishing his collegiate career at Valdosta State. He just finished his third season as FPD’s baseball head coach, joining the FPD program after 10 years as an assistant at Jones County.

Bryant replaced longtime FPD baseball head coach Jim Turner, the same coach Alvarez replaced last summer.

“The goal is to continue to grow the program and keep the consistency that coach Jim Turner and Kristy Alvarez laid,” Bryant said. “We have a good group of young ladies who are returning, and they know what it takes to make it in our league.”

FPD made another coaching move Wednesday, naming tennis head coach Derek Lashley its cross country head coach, replacing Walker Middlebrooks.

Lashley, a 1989 Central graduate, was a three-sport athlete for the Chargers. He also played tennis and basketball at Macon State.