Hebron Christian Academy has not won a state championship in any sport since joining the Georgia High School Association in 2004, but there is no hotter baseball team in metro Atlanta.
Hebron (16-1), a private school in Dacula, has won 14 straight games, pitched five no-hitters and beaten Buford, the No. 1-ranked team in Class AA. The team returned six starters from a team that finished 25-4, won Region 8-A and advanced one round into the state playoffs.
Hebron Christian’s marquee player is shortstop Danny Lockhart, the son of former Braves infielder Keith Lockhart. He is hitting .512 for his career as a four-year starter with 154 hits and 102 RBI. He has signed with Kennesaw State.
Left-hander Mason Felt, a transfer from Mill Creek, is one of Gwinnett County’s top pitchers. He threw a no-hitter with 16 strikeouts against Athens Academy on March 21 and a perfect game against Towns county on March 31. Jordan Hillyer and Kevin Burgee also have thrown no-hitters.
“Those guys throw in the high-80s,’’ said Mike Shaheen, coach of defending Class A champion Wesleyan. “If they get hot in May, I don’t think anybody can beat them.’’
Young Wesleyan isn’t conceding
If Wesleyan (9-5) is to win a fourth straight title in Class A, it will need some freshman to step up. Wesleyan’s No. 1 pitcher (Will Anderson) and catcher (Grant Colton) are ninth-graders. The team’s ace ultimately could be first baseman Mason Colquitt (.432, 3 HR, 13 RBI), but he’s being cautious with a sore arm. Meanwhile, with its 2010 rotation graduated, Wesleyan is still out-slugging most of its opponents with returning starters such as Gardner Heaner (.487), Alex Thykeson (.556) and Drew Widner (.468).
Another Brave son
Brandon Leibrandt, the son of former Braves pitcher Charlie Leibrandt, is 4-0 with a 0.50 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 28 innings for defending Class AAAA champion Marist. A left-hander like his father, Leibrandt leads a senior rotation that includes Blake Stevens (2-1, 3.11 ERA, 32 SO, 27 IP) and Daniel Spingola (2-1, 2.63, 24 SO, 16 IP). Spingola also is hitting .486. Marist returned four everyday starters, most notably shorstop Chesny Young (.368, 16 RBI) and second baseman Brett Dolan (.417, 21 RBI). With 15 seniors on its roster of 20, Marist is 14-2.
Triple crown threat: Tarver leads DeKalb
Jordan Tarver is perhaps best known as Stephenson’s quarterback. He’s signed to play football at Kent State. But the senior is having a triple-crown type year in baseball this spring, leading DeKalb County public schools in batting average (.581), home runs (5) and RBI (23). He’s also been the winning pitcher in all of Stephenson’s victories. He’s 3-2 with a 3.82 ERA with 29 strikeouts (albeit with 20 walks) in 22 innings on a 3-8 team. “He can really hit,’’ said his coach, Marco Jackson. “He can flat out mash it. I think long-term he prefers baseball, but he also understands in football that there’s a free opportunity on the table.’’
Experience counts
No Georgia team has more experience in the dugout than Mount Paran Christian of Kennesaw. The head coach is Harvey Cochran, who has more than 600 career victories, mostly at North Cobb (1971-2005). His pitching coach is Dave McDonald, a 500-game winner as a head coach. McDonald was forced out at Wheeler after 31 years during the Cobb County purge of part-time teachers. Mount Paran (10-7, 6-2) is second out of 10 teams in Region 6-A.
About the Author
