Baseball
Mark Clark has won 510 games and a state championship (1990) in 30 seasons as Bremen’s baseball coach, but never was he unbeaten in the regular season — until now. Bremen of Class AA will enter the state playoffs 24-0. The only other undefeated Georgia team is nationally ranked Lambert in AAAAAA.
No Bremen player has hit a home run, and the team has only one college signee, shortstop/pitcher Taylor Shumake, who is hitting .393. The top pitchers are J.D. Brown (9-0, 1.92 ERA) and Chase Trader (7-0, 0.44). The leading hitter is junior Andrew McInvale at .553 (26-for-47). He played on the JV team last year.
More baseball
No. 3 Locust Grove beat No. 5 Griffin 1-0 last week on Trey King’s walk-off hit in a game that decided the Region 4-AAAA championship. Tyler Sellers (4-0, 0.22) threw six innings and was 3-for-3 at the plate with a double in the seventh. He’s hitting .410 with 12 doubles and 24 RBIs. … Peachtree Ridge, ranked eighth in AAAAAA, has set a school record for runs scored in a season, with 194. The Lions (17-8) are hitting .342. Senior outfielder Drew Wharton, who signed with Clemson, is batting .434 with 29 RBIs and 23 runs scored. … Grady, the No. 2 seed from 6-AAAA, earned a home playoff series despite having no baseball facilities. Grady’s players bus to Crim Open Campus for games and practices. Senior Luke Leonard (.306) signed with Georgia State. The rotation has two impressive sophomores — Davis Schwartz (4-0, 1.93) and Charles Bailey (3-0, 1.31).
Soccer
Boys: One of the host sites for the state championship soccer games was changed. The GHSA announced last week that because of a scheduling conflict with the University of West Georgia, Emory will host some of the championship games May 16 and 17. Kennesaw State remains the other venue. The state playoffs begin Tuesday. … No. 1 Brookwood capped its regular season with a 4-1 victory against Parkview on Wednesday. Chris Costly, Jordan Locke, Alfredo Rivera and Brahan Gamarra scored for the Broncos, who head into the state playoffs as the top seed from 8-AAAAAA. Brookwood will host South Forsyth in the first round. … McIntosh, ranked No. 1 in the nation by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, capped its perfect regular season with a 3-1 victory against Starr's Mill. The Chiefs have won a school-record 40 consecutive matches. McIntosh will be the top seed from 4-AAAAA and will host Evans in the first round.
Girls: Top-ranked Grayson got three goals from sophomore Jennifer Westendorf and beat No. 4 Brookwood 3-0 on Monday to clinch the region championship in 8-AAAAAA. Westendorf, who transferred from Montgomery, Ala., at the start of the school year, has scored 35 goals this season. She committed to Notre Dame. Brookwood bounced back two days later with a 2-1 victory against third-ranked Parkview to clinch second place in the region. … Centennial captured its first region title since 2003 with a 2-1 victory against Chattahoochee in the 6-AAAAAA finale. The Knights got second-half goals from Alyssa Beck and Josie Watson and a strong effort in goal from Grace Broach as they rallied from an early 1-0 deficit.
Track and field
Boys: This has been the "Year of the Freshman," as several ninth-graders have had outstanding seasons leading into the state finals, which will be held over the next two weekends. Leading the way are the sprinters. Five Georgians are listed among the nation's 25 fastest 100-meter times run by freshmen, including the No. 1 spot, held by Eagle's Landing Christian's Jeffrey Uzzell at 10.50 seconds. The others are Westlake's Rashaad Pollard (No. 4, 10.58), North Cobb's Tyler Green (No. 5, 10.62), Sandy Creek's Marvin Hubbard (No. 6, 10.66) and Alpharetta's Cameron Adams (No. 16, 10.89).
Girls: Three Georgia freshmen sprinters are among the nation's 25 fastest ninth-graders in the 100 meters, including Candace Hill of Rockdale County (No. 2, 11.69), who has the top time in the state overall. Joining her in the top 25 nationally among freshmen are Caitlan Tate (No. 9, 11.83) of Brookwood and T'Aja Cameron of Eagle's Landing Christian (No. 23, 12.05).
Lacrosse
Boys: Centennial lost to No. 5 Lambert 10-8 in AAAAAA action. The No. 6-ranked Knights were led by Nathan Solomon and Brendan Spence, who each scored three goals. … Roswell picked up two victories, against AAAAA-A's No. 6-ranked Greater Atlanta Christian, and Walton to improve to 11-3 and 6-1 in 2-AAAAAA. Junior attacker Preston Tippett scored six goals and four assists and leads the team with 42 goals and 34 assists on the season. … AAAAA-A's No. 2-ranked Westminster beat Riverwood 15-2 to improve to 14-2 and 6-0 in Region 2. Senior midfielder Read Ziegler scored five goals. … Senior attacker Steven Lee scored three goals during Peachtree Ridge's victory against Collins Hill, which gave him the school record for career goals, with 143. Junior attacker Ben Briggette added three goals, and senior midfielder Matty Ledon added two. The Lions are 11-3 and 8-0 in Region 4.
Girls: Milton, ranked No. 1 in AAAAAA, earned split decisions this week against Pennsylvania schools, losing to Strath Haven and beating Radnor. Leaders for the Lady Eagles were Mackenzie Lech (four goals, four assists), Jessi Masinko (four goals) and Hannah Davis (13 draws won, two goals). … North Gwinnett outscored Parkview and Greater Atlanta Christian by a combined score of 40-3 to improve to 11-5 and 3-1 in 4-AAAAAA. Senior attacker Lauren Aycock scored seven goals, bringing her season total to 50. Senior midfielder Katie Verret added five goals and 10 ground balls. … AAAAA-A's No. 5-ranked Starr's Mill defeated Newnan 19-2, improving to 12-1 and 8-0 in Region 1.
Golf
Boys: Harrison won its 17th consecutive region title, taking the 4-AAAAAA championship at Brookstone Country Club. Chad Barfield shot 71 to lead the Hoyas, who also counted a 76 from Sam Maryland, a 77 from Nick Bell and a 78 from Luke Schneiderjans. Jonathan Keppler of Kennesaw Mountain, who won state as a freshman, was medalist with a 4-under 68. … Grayson, led by Michael Clay's 74, won the 8-AAAAAA championship at Summit Chase for the fifth consecutive year. The Rams shot a school-record 302 with Alex Quinn, Dylan Heaser and Conner Dickinson all finishing among the top 10. Dacula's Hunter Fry birdied the final hole to shoot 72 and win medalist honors by one shot over Shawn Chong of Brookwood, which finished second. … The North Atlanta boys won Region 6-AAAAA and qualified for state for the first time with a 321 to best Dunwoody. Taylor Walstrum shot 78, with Turner Hume and Winston Meshad each shooting 79. Jackson Perkins, Michael Maxey and Nathan Katica also contributed.
Girls: Lambert set a school record with a 216 in winning the 6-AAAAAA championship for the fifth consecutive year. Sophomore Kayley Marschke posted a school-record 67 and was medalist. Michaela Owen (83), Lauren Lightfritz (76) and Christine McDonnell (82) rounded out the scoring. … The North Atlanta girls won the 6-AAAAA title for the first time. They were led by Helen Fialkowski, Elizabeth Ray, Lily Vitgel and Maggie Richardson, but will have to survive a trip to sectionals to reach the state tournament.
Tennis
Boys: Defending AAAAAA champion Brookwood advanced past the second round with an easy 3-0 victory against Walton. Brandon Mills and Will George won at singles, as did the doubles team of David Brown and Will McWhirt. … Lakeside, Chamblee and Dunwoody will represent DeKalb County in the second round of the state tournament. Chamblee defeated Stephens County 4-1, with Kunal Goel and Logan Simpson winning at No. 2 and No. 3 singles. Dunwoody beat Clarke Central 4-0.
Girls: Dunwoody needed a victory from freshman Paige Borcherding at No. 3 singles for its 3-2 first-round victory against Clarke Central. Borcherding won the last two games for a 6-4 victory. The Wildcats won both doubles matches behind the teams of Allie Pruett and Claire Gordon and Megan Gordon and Audrey Benson. … Chamblee's Gabby Robinson and Hannah Rosen sparked the Bulldogs to a 4-0 victory against Madison County. The doubles teams of Claire Jirsavijinda and Sarah Magee and Emma Anderson and Kendalle Smith were simultaneous winners to clinch the match. … Defending AAAAAA champion Walton improved to 14-0 with a 3-0 victory against Norcross. Bella Kuse, Suzanne Zenoni won in singles, and Katie Riley and Jessica Cramer won in doubles for the Raiders.
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