Baseball
Jefferson moved to the No. 1 ranking in Class AA with strong pitching.
The ace is Max Ford, a senior who signed with Georgia as a shortstop. He’s hitting .357 with two home runs, and he’s 6-1 with an 0.52 ERA. Junior Micah Carpenter is 6-1 with a 1.91 ERA.
The most consistent hitter is junior shortstop/third baseman Jake Franklin, who is batting .429 with three home runs and 21 RBIs. Franklin committed to Kennesaw State.
Jefferson is 19-3 overall, 11-0 in Region 8-AA. The program has made the semifinals three times under coach Tommy Knight, but never the finals.
More baseball
Lambert, which won the USA Baseball Classic in Memphis, Tenn., last weekend, is the new No. 1-ranked team in USA Today’s national rankings. Lambert is 21-0. Seth Beer is batting .638, and J.D. Dutka, the Memphis tournament MVP, is 7-0 with a 1.37 ERA. … Kennesaw Mountain coach George Hansen got his 300th victory Wednesday, 5-2 against Harrison, whose coach, Mark Elkins, got his 300th victory earlier this season. … Etowah defeated North Cobb 6-4 last week in a game that went 15 innings and lasted five hours. Bryce O’Brien and H.D. Dillard drove in key runs in the 15th. … Coffee is leading Region 1-AAAAAA with an 8-0 record, 12-7 overall. Keegan McGovern, a shortstop who signed with Georgia, has seven of his team’s nine home runs and is batting .426 (23-of-54) with 22 RBIs. As a pitcher, he is 4-1 with a 1.37 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 35 innings.
Soccer
Boys: No. 1 McIntosh's winning streak reached a school-record 38 matches. Coach Bunky Colvin noted the emergence of Adam Sheikali in the midfield. In the past seven games, Sheikali has 10 goals and 11 assists. "He's really taken us to another level," Colvin said. … The Central Lions clinched their first region championship in program history with a 5-0 victory at Rockmart on Tuesday. The Lions will be the top seed from Region 4-AAA in the state tournament. … The GHSA state soccer championships will be held May 16-17 at West Georgia and Kennesaw State. … Greater Atlanta Christian, AA's No. 1 team, has victories against three top-ranked teams. The Spartans have beaten St. Pius, No. 1 in AAA, and Atlanta International, No. 1 in Class A, and Vestavia Hills, the No. 1 team in Alabama's 6A classification.
Girls: Calhoun, ranked No. 4 in AA, is 13-0 behind a defense that has allowed one goal all season (which came on a deflected corner kick) and is giving up an average of one shot on goal per match. Senior goalkeeper Halley Cronon gets much of the credit, but Yellow Jackets coach Randy Rice also praised the efforts of Heather Robinson, Carter Baggett, Alexis Young, Haleigh Smith, Caitlyn Carroll and Brittany Jensen for the stifling effort on defense. On offense, the Yellow Jackets are led by senior striker Allie Caldwell, who has averaged three goals per match. … Hebron Christian goalkeeper Lexi Kent had a 19-save effort in a 1-0 victory against Wesleyan on March 26. The victory was part of a six-match winning streak (after a 2-5 start against higher-classification competition) that propelled Hebron Christian to the No. 2 spot in the Class A rankings. Kent has made 203 saves this season and has a 91-percent save ratio. Senior Sarah Boyd leads the team in scoring with 16 goals and 12 assists.
Track and field
Boys: Stephenson won the DeKalb County Championships, with sophomore Denzel Harper winning the 110-meter hurdles in 14.91 seconds. He placed second in the 300-meter hurdles (40.26) behind teammate Cameron Glenn (38.95). … Mt. Zion-Jonesboro won the Clayton County Championships, with senior Marquette Simmons winning the 100 and 200 meters in 10.86 and 21.79, respectively. Andrew Nsuk (49.75) and Joshua Simmons (50.21) finished first and second, respectively, in the 400 meters. Joshua Simmons won the 300-meter hurdles (40.65) and Jonathan Ross, who finished second to Simmons in the 300-meter hurdles (40.71), won the 110-meter hurdles in 14.96. … Junior Preston Williams, considered by many to be the state's top football recruit as a wide receiver, won the long jump (24 feet, 2 1/2 inches) and the triple jump (48-1), to lead Lovejoy to a second-place finish.
Girls: Miller Grove easily outdistanced Redan, 119-71, to win the DeKalb County Championships. Senior Tiffany Flynn led the Wolverines, winning the long jump (19 feet, 1 1/4 inches), the triple jump (39-11) and the 100-meter hurdles (14.29 seconds). Miller Grove took first and second place in the 400-meter relay. The A-team won the event in a time of 47.61, followed by the B-team in 48.30. … Forest Park won the Clayton County Championships with a huge performance by freshman Lauren Epps, who won the 100- and 300-meter hurdles in time of 15.03 and 45.50, respectively. Juniors Krizma Goodson (17-4) and Bria Matthews (16-8) finished first and second, respectively, in the long jump, and Matthews won the triple jump with a leap of 37-10. … New Manchester won the Douglas County Championships, led by junior Anika Carter, who won the 100 meters in 12.09 and the 200 meters in 24.74. Senior Niata Alexander won the 400 meters (56.96) and was second to Carter in the 200 meters (24.92). Sabria Wooten (2:26.71) and Ashley Goss (2:37.58) finished first and second, respectively, in the 800 meters. Yamara Robinson won the long jump (17.07) and the triple jump (37-3 1/2), and Janyi Weathersby won the high jump (5 feet).
Lacrosse
Boys: No. 2-ranked Westminster defeated then-No. 3-ranked Lovett 7-6 in a AAAAA-A showdown, then defeated AAAAAA's No. 4-ranked Walton 7-6 in overtime. Sophomore attacker Logan Devereaux had six goals on the week to lead the Wildcats (12-2, 4-0 in 2-AAAAA-A). … The Lambert Longhorns are ranked No. 5 in AAAAAA and beat two Florida teams, Jacksonville's Bolles and Gainesville's Oak Hall, to improve to 9-3 (3-0 in Region 3). The Longhorns got four goals each from Sean Carruthers and Spencer Wilson, while Hunter Shepard and Trey Arnold each had 3 goals. … Centennial, ranked No. 6-ranked in AAAAAA, picked up two victories in Orlando, Fla., defeating Lake Mary, ranked No. 3 in Florida, and Lake Brantley (forfeit/ineligible players). The Knights (10-3) were led by junior attackers Nathan Soloman (eight goals and seven assists) and Brendan Spence (eight goals, four assists). Junior goalie Austin Skorb had 48 saves. … No. 9-ranked Decatur of AAAAA-A defeated Marist 12-8, with Lang Rodgers scoring three goals and Nate Scully producing four assists. The Bulldogs are 7-3 and 6-0 in Region 4.
Girls: AAAAAA's No. 1-ranked Milton defeated Good Counsel (Md.) 6-2 and lost to St. Stephens & Agnes (Va.) 11-4 to move to 9-2 (6-0 in 2-AAAAAA). Emily Velez scored three goals, and Claire Smith had nine draws won on the week. … No. 10-ranked Lambert of AAAAAA dominated Central Forsyth 20-2, with sophomore attacker Abby Hollis (three goals, two assists) and freshman attacker Peyton Smith (two goals, two assists) leading the way. Twelve Lady Longhorns scored, and the team improved to 10-2 and 3-0 in Region 3.
Golf
Boys: Colquitt County won the Indian Invitational at Hawk's Point in Vidalia. The Packers shot a 594 to win by five shots over Hilton Head Christian. Westminster finished third with 608, with Lovett taking sixth and Athens Academy placing eighth. Colquitt County's Eli Stripling, who committed to Thomas University, was the medalist with an 8-under 136, including a final-round 66. Stripling missed only one green the last day. North Oconee's David Mackey was second with a 139, and Kyle Mueller of Athens Academy finished fourth at 141.
Girls: The Vidalia girls won the Lady Bear Invitational in Blackshear. Katie Dalton shot 35, and Layne Carter and Jesse Dalton each had 43s for the Indians. Ware County was second, and Glynn Academy placed third.
Tennis
Boys: Brookwood defeated Johns Creek 4-1 to finish the regular season with an 18-0 record. …. South Effingham improved to 12-0 with a 4-1 victory against Savannah Arts. Brent Jenkins led South Effingham at No. 1 singles. … Grayson Lowental scored a straight-set victory at No. 1 singles, and Savannah Country Day improved to 11-2 with a victory against Aquinas.
Girls: Eagle's Landing won its fourth consecutive region championship. The Golden Eagles (17-4) are led by senior Colby Rose and sophomore Jessica Storr. Earlier this year the girls finished fourth in the Peachtree City Invitational. … Roswell has lost once this season, that coming to defending state champion Walton. Among the accomplishments for the Hornets this season was a first-place finish in the Peachtree City Tournament.
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