Score Atlanta Vol. 11 Issue 19

Time to look great!

VOLUME 11 ISSUE 19 | MAY 22-28, 2015

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YOUR SOURCE FOR SPORTS IN GEORGIA

The Good Life | Pg. 4 Falcons fifth round pick Grady Jarrett inks his first NFL contract

CLOSING TIME Re-laxing | Pg. 8 Roswell, Milton and Kell lacrosse cruise in title defenses.

Spring season comes to a close with baseball state championships. | Pg. 5

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Vol. 11 Iss. 19 | May 22-28, 2015

STARTING LINEUP PUBLISHER/EDITOR I.J. Rosenberg

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COLUMNISTS

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ON THE COVER

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PREP COVER

ART/CREATIVE DIRECTOR DJ Galbiati Blalock

MANAGING EDITOR Craig Sager II

ASST. MANAGING EDITOR Kyle Sandy MARKETING/ Lauren Goldstein PARTNERSHIP DIRECTOR

BUSINESS MANAGER Marvin Botnick

BEAT WRITERS Ricky Dimon (Braves) Brian Jones (KSU) Dan Mathews (UGA) Craig Sager II (Falcons)

Kyle Sandy (Hawks, GSU,

G-Braves) Colin Hubbard (Tech)

STAFF WRITERS Jalisa Smith Matthew Cason

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Copyright 2015 Score Atlanta Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Score Atlanta is published in print every other week on Fridays and a digital version is posted to ScoreAtl.com in-between print issues. Views expressed in Score Atlanta are not necessarily the opinion of Score Atlanta, its staff or advertisers. Score Atlanta does not knowingly accept false or misleading editorial content or advertising nor is Score Atlanta responsible for the content or claims of any advertising or editorial in this publication. No content (articles, photographs, graphics) in Score Atlanta may be used for reproduction without written permission from the publisher.

TEAM SCOOP AND VOICES

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SCORE LIST | NUMBERS GEORGIA STATE | KENNESAW STATE GEORGIA | GEORGIA TECH BRAVES | FALCONS HAWKS | GWINNETT BRAVES

COVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF AP IMAGES AND CECIL COPELAND.

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SANDY’S SPIEL

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF WITH GHSA PRODUCING MORE MLB TALENT

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

ajor League Baseball players Jason HeyM ward, Jeff Francoeur and Hall of Famer Frank Thomas all have one thing in common:

they were Georgia state champions in high school. The GHSA has grown some of the best talent in baseball over the years and with this season’s batch some of the game’s future stars may still be in the hunt for a high school title of their own.

Frank Thomas has been the most decorated player to come out of the GHSA with a ring.

The Big Hurt was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2014 after slugging 521 homeruns and batting .301 with three different teams over his 19-year career. Thomas was a standout at Columbus High School and batted cleanup for the 1984 state championship team. At 6-foot-5, Thomas was not only a star on the diamond where he hit

.440 as a senior, but he was also an All-State selection as a tight end in football and played on the basketball team.

Jeff Francoeur had similar success at the high school level in multiple sports. Frenchy cemented himself as a legend at Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia. He was an All-State defensive back, but his passion lied with baseball. Francoeur anchored the Panthers on their way to state championships in 2001 and 2002.

As a junior he hit .500 with 20 homeruns, but it was his senior year when he truly became a folk hero with his heroics in the 5A championship.

Francoeur crushed two homeruns in his final two games, both which broke late-innings ties before he would come on to close each game on the mound. In his last prep game, Francoeur blasted two homers, including a grand slam,

SANDY’S SPIEL 2

GRADY JARRETT: NOT YOUR AVERAGE FIFTH ROUNDER

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

efensive tackle Grady Jarrett inked his D first NFL last week, officially making him a part of the Atlanta Falcons franchise. The $2.5 million dollar deal signifies Jarrett is ready to begin his career and hit the ground running on the defensive side of the ball. It has been a whirlwind of emotions for the former Clemson defensive lineman. The week before Jarrett’s deal came, his family house in Conyers, Ga. caught fire. This was also the day before he was selected by the Falcons. With the recent ups and downs, Jarrett was relieved that the deal is done when he went to work during rookie minicamp.

“It’s really comforting to have that done,” said Jarrett. “But at this moment I’m just focused on trying to become a better football player.”

A successful collegiate career alongside Vic Beasley Jr. saw the 6-foot wrecking ball record 207 tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and 37 quarterback pressures. The AllACC selection had the resume to be selected higher in the draft, but his height detracted from his stock. Jarrett subsequently fell to the fifth round and was the 137th overall pick, making him arguably the steal of the draft according to most.

ProFootballFocus.com revealed its list of the biggest draft steals, and by no surprise, Jarrett topped that list. PFF’s statistical breakdown showed that Jarrett was in the Top 5 in both Run Stop Percentage and Pass Rushing Productivity when lined against Power 5 opponents; the only player to rank that highly in

to blow the game open and secure Parkview’s second-straight title.

The most recent prospect to have won a state championship and now star in the majors is Jason Heyward. In the 2005 Class 5A state finals, Heyward and his Henry County team met future NL MVP and three-time World Series champion Buster Posey. Henry County would defeat Lee County. Though Heyward may have won the championship, Posey was a star of his own at both the plate and on the mound during his senior year, batting .462 with a school record 14 homers while going a perfect 12-0 with a 1.06 ERA and 108 strikeouts.

NEW CROP...

There is no shortage of talent remaining in this year’s field. Class 6A features two highly touted prospects out of Kennesaw Mountain: Reggie Pruitt and Tyler Stephenson. Pruitt is an outfielder heading to Vanderbilt while Stephenson catches and is signed with Georgia Tech.

Stephenson is currently ranked as the secondbest catcher available in this year’s draft and is a strong candidate to be drafted early. His raw power and athleticism make him and intriguing prospect. Stephenson’s ability at the plate ended up costing Walton in Game 2 of the semifinals as Kennesaw Mountain staged a four-run seventh inning rally to win 4-3. Walton intenboth categories.

Jarrett understands that even though many expect him to make a big impact, he still has work to do to prove that he can contribute quickly.

“I’m just happy to be here in Atlanta. The draft is just a thing of the past,” Jarrett explained. “You can only control what you control. What I control is what I do out here and I’m just trying to be a better player and help this team win.”

Day 2 of rookie mini-camp went well with the tempo of the practice being upbeat according to Jarrett, “We want to play fast here in Atlanta, so that’s how we are going to practice.

Everybody is getting in shape at the same time.”

GEORGIA GROWN...

Grady is no stranger to practicing in the Georgia heat as both he and Clemson teammate Vic Beasley Jr. both played their high school ball in Georgia. Jarrett is eager to continue his journey with his long time teammate.

“It’s definitely good having Vic here with me.

Me and him both are really excited to be a part of this organization, both being from Georgia.”

The familiarity between defensive line coach Bryan Cox and Jarrett has also made the transition from college to the pros that much easier in the opening days. “I love coach Cox. I had an opportunity to work with him a little bit

tionally walked Stephenson to load the bases and speedy junior Terence Norman came up to the plate. Norman singled down the left side to drive in Kennesaw Mountain’s first run and the next at bat resulted in a Patrick Morgan two-run single to right field that tied it 3-3. The single advanced Norman to third and Walton then sent a wild pitch into the backstop that took a hop towards first base and gave Norman enough time to cross the plate for the winning score. Pruitt is a quick outfielder with the ability to spray line drives and cover both alleys.

Jahmai Jones highlights Class 2A’s Wesleyan Wolves. The UNC-signee has played second base and also in the outfield and displays quick hands to turn on balls. He is already a plus-fielder with a bat that should advance him through the minors quickly. Wesleyan seeks its fourth-ever title as they play Darlington this weekend.

King’s Ridge Christian in Class A-Private is loaded with talent clinched back-to-back state championships on Tuesday. Left-handed pitcher Austin Higginbotham has signed with Austin Peay, but it’s slugging first baseman Brandt Stallings that may hear his name called in early June. The Georgia Tech-signee can hit to all fields and has massive power potential.

Photo courtesy of Brian Morgan/Brianography. before the draft in my local workout and then to come here and to actually have him coach me every day is good. He demands the best and he gets it out of us every day.”

Coach Quinn’s thoughts on the defense during Day 2 reiterated the idea that coach Cox and the rest of the defensive coaches are already pushing their players to get the most out of them.

Quinn stated, “Defensively, I thought the effort was better. The speed to the ball, we were really emphasizing that this morning in our meetings; how quickly we can go and break and I thought that really came through on the field today.”

Jarrett felt that today went better than Friday’s opening practice, but Quinn thought the defensive tackle did well both days.

“Ironically, I thought he was one of the guys that showed up even yesterday, so for him, no surprise he put two back-to-back days together.”

Just two days into his Falcons career, Jarrett has already turned heads with his positive play and hunger to get better every day. With a strong work ethic, it should come to no surprise if he ends up being a steal just like his father Jessie Tuggle was for Atlanta two decades ago. We will see Jarrett line up with the veterans this Tuesday and it will be the latest test for the hard-nosed, gritty run-stopper.

Photo courtesy of AP Images.

Vol. 11 Iss. 19 | May 22-28, 2015

ON THE COVER

BASEBALL FINALS

BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS TO WRAP UP 2014-15 SCHOOL YEAR

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

he Class AAAAAA championship field will T be set after Walton and Kennesaw Mountain settle their deciding Game 3. Awaiting the

Mustangs or Raiders is Parkview. The Panthers took Game 1 3-2 over Pope Monday night, and swept its way to the Class AAAAAA championship in convincing fashion with a 12-3 win on Tuesday. The Panthers went into the top of the 4th tied 2-2 but drove in 10 runs in the final three innings, while finishing the game with 13 combined hits and drawing six walks.

Trevor Brown went 4-4 at the plate and also walked and was driven home all five times he reached base. Brandon Hill accounted for four RBI, including a 2-run homer in the top of the 4th that sparked a chain of Parkview offense.

Hill came back up in the top of the 6th inning and connected on a two-run double to make it a 7-2 lead. Will Etheridge pictched five and one-third innings and allowed one earned run before Jake Robinson and Garrett Fowler came in as relief and closed the series.

BATTLE-TESTED… It took 11 innings, but Greenbrier (273) erased Allatoona in Game 2 of the Class AAAAA semifinals 8-6, to give the Wolfpack a

shot at their sixth state championship and first since 2007 in the Class 5A finals. Gainesville (28-6) also brings a championship pedigree to the table with a whopping seven titles, but it has been 13 years since the Red Elephants last won in 2002. Greenbrier’s playoff run got off to an inauspicious start with a 3-2 loss to Hardaway, but the Pack quickly righted the ship and have won eight straight playoff games since. Gainesville faced elimination in Game 3 of the quarterfinals against four-seed Cinderella South Effingham, but an 8-6 win was enough to push the Elephants through to the semis where they faced Greenbrier’s Region 2 foe, Jones County. Gainesville defeated the Greyhounds in two one-run games to advance to the finals.

Nick Sandlin has come up big for the Wolfpack and will be asked to do so again against Gainesville. The Southern Miss-signee struck out 11 batters in a one-hitter in Game 1 against Allatoona before following it up with three innings of relief in Game 2. First baseman Adam Sasser has inked to play at Georgia and will be a big factor in the championship series.

Gainesville relies on second baseman and Mississippi-signee Luke Maddox to spark the

offense. Lefty Jonathan Gettys has produced big-time performances on the mound and his headed to LSU. Outfielder Brandon Sewell is entertaining multiple offers from SEC and ACC schools.

The Class 4A state championship is set between top seeds Buford (32-2) and Whitewater (29-5). Both teams came close to winning it all last year, but faltered late in the tournament. Buford was defeated by Cartersville in the 3A semifinals while the Wildcats lost in heartbreaking fashion to Houston County in three games in the 5A finals. The Wolves have torn through the field and have five shutout wins this postseason in search of their third ever state title and first since 2011. Whitewater has never won a ring, but Coach Rusty Bennett has built a premier program that has started to become recognized nationally. Aside from a three-game scare in the second round against Pike County, the Wildcats have cruised in the playoffs.

Jake Higginbotham is Buford’s strikepounding lefty who is signed with Clemson.

Brothers Nick and Austin Wilhite are juniors but are already both pledged to play at Georgia Tech; catcher Joey Bart is already a Techsignee. Hard throwing righty Connor Bennett is another ace to pair up with Higginbotham and is a West Virginia-signee. Whitewater counters with some horses of its own. 6-foot6, 240 pound Ethan Gillis is a top notch lefty committed to Kennesaw State. Jabari Richards, a Furman-signee, plays outfield and is another left handed pitcher. Brandon Bell and Tyler Burdette are both run producers. Buford defeated Whitewater 1-0 on March 4 with both teams combining for nine hits.

In Class AAA, Defending Class AAA champion Blessed Trinity swept the WestsideAugusta to return to the finals and awaits either Westminster or Jefferson. John Castro drove in all three Titans’ runs Game 1. Castro hit a two-out double in the top of the 1st inning but the 2-0 lead was brief as Westside’s Jonathan Jahn belted a 2-run homer in the bottom of the inning to tie it 2-2. Castro scored the game-winning run in the top of the 5th on a solo home run. In Game 2, Blessed Trinity once again took a 2-0 lead, but this time, the Patriots would find no answers. Adding insurance was Blessed Trinity’s Conor Davis, who hit a 3-run homer to push the lead to 5-0.

Jefferson held off Westminster’s seventh inning rally Game 1 and held on for a 5-4 victory. In Game 2, the Wildcats jumped to a 3-0 lead and the successful hitting with runners in scoring position that Jefferson showcased Game 1 never got going. Jefferson stranded a runner on second in the 1st inning and left two on base in the bottom of the 4th. Westminster took a 5-0 lead into the 5th inning and Jeffer-

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son appeared to have something going before the Wildcats ended the inning with a 6-4-3 double play.

CLASS AA ...

The Darlington Tigers swept the visiting Rabun County Tigers and will play for the school’s first state title since 1984 against Wesleyan on Saturday. Jay Shadday gave up one earned run off four hits in Game 1’s seven-inning victory in the semis and crossed the plate for two of the five runs after batting 2-of-3 with a walk. Burton Dulaney drove in four runs in the bottom of the fifth to give Darlington a 5-1 lead. Dulaney took the mound for Game 2 and gave up two earned runs in five innings pitched as Darlington made quick work of Rabun County with a 10-run victory. Wesleyan’s swept Fitzgerald in the semis and included a 10-0 Game 1 shutout. The Wolves are searching for the program’s first state title since their three-peat from 2008-10.

Photos courtesy of Ceceil Copeland and Sonny Kenendy.

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Atlanta Hawks

Shelby Miller

American Pharoah

The birds are flying high again and have broken a 45-year drought of not reaching the conference finals. A thrilling 4-2 series victory over the Washington Wizards sets up the ultimate test of a superstarless team playing a juggernaut on paper. Can the Hawks ride their team-first mentality to the NBA Finals or will LeBron James be too much?

That Jason Heyward trade isn’t looking too bad now, huh? The 24-year-old dazzled in Sunday’s near no-hitter against the flopping fish. Miller allowed Miami’s first hit with just one out remaining. In the end, Miller gave up two ninth inning hits with two outs and only threw 94 pitches. He is now 5-1 with a MLB-leading 1.33 ERA.

The thoroughbred easily ran away with the Preakness Stakes after winning the Kentucky Derby and now has a date with destiny on June 6 if he can win the Belmont Stakes.

American Pharoah chases the elusive Triple Crown, a feat which has not been accomplished since 1978 when Affirmed sealed the deal.

SCORE LIST

By Brian Jones

WHO’S NOT

By Kyle Sandy

WHO’S HOT

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

Mike Minor

Kyle Korver

Pero Antic

It was expected, but the lefty will officially miss the entire 2015 season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder last Wednesday. Minor was counted on to help anchor a shaky staff but his body broke down. He is expected to be ready to go for the 2016 season, which will be an important year in his career.

The three-point marksman was off to the best shooting start in NBA history, but has slowly tapered off coming down the stretch. In the playoffs, he has all but lost his stroke shooting a humanly 35 percent after 49 percent in the regular season. Korver was 12-42 (28%) against Washington and will need to find his touch against Cleveland.

It might be time for Bud to change his rotation. The big Macedonian has only shot 33 percent this postseason and has not won over many fans.

Second-year forward Mike Muscala has slowly started to take over a bigger role and has done so with success.

The former Bucknell Bison is shooting 60 percent in the playoffs.

NUMBERS

OUR TWO CENTS

By Kyle Sandy

ON TO THE NEXT ONE

Our email newsletter is something we take a lot of pride in at Score. If you aren’t familiar with it, it is a high school sportsheavy publication that we produce each day to fill in our readers on the latest happenings in Georgia prep sports. We send it out Monday through Friday throughout the year and Monday through Saturday during the fall.

FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER

Not only do we cover popular sports like football, basketball and baseball, we also cover every other varsity sport the GHSA fields. If you like Georgia high school sports at all, sign up for our email newsletter by visiting www.tinyurl.com/scorenewsletter and enter your email address(es) that you’d like added to the distribution list.

The Hawks made history last Friday as they defeated the Washington Wizzards and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in their history. It has not been an easy road for the Hawks, but they have gotten the job done and are getting a lot of praise from the media for their work in the playoffs.

Philips Arena will be a very popular place on Friday because that is when the Hawks face the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Hawks have beaten the Cavs twice at home, and they have only lost one playoff home game so far this season. I can only imagine how much tickets will cost for the game.

ALMOST A NO-NO

Shelby Miller flirted with history as he was one out away from pitching a no-hitter on Sunday against the Miami Marlins. Had Miller gotten that final out, he would have been the first Braves pitcher in 23 years to throw a nohitter. Regardless, Miller is having a great season, and he’s clearly the ace on the team.

SUPER BOWL IN ATLANTA

It’s very possible the Super Bowl could be making its way back to Atlanta in the very near future. It was reported on Tuesday that Atlanta is one of the four final cities up to host the Super Bowl in 2019 and 2020. It makes sense because by that time the new Falcons stadium will be up and running.

BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

The state baseball championships start on Saturday, which is not a bad way to start the Memorial Day Weekend. Can Parkview keep up the momentum and win the Class AAAAAA and possibly a national title?

Can Gainesville take down powerhouse Greenbrier in Class AAAAA? Make sure you log on to scoreatl.com all weekend for the latest updates.

?

TRIVIA QUESTION

“

SANITY AT LAST

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME LEBRON JAMES DID NOT REACH THE NBA FINALS?

“DeMarre has a big heart.

He’s got a lot of dog in him. He’s going to do everything he can to try to make it tough on him.”

ANSWER ON PAGE 14

- Kent Bazemore on DeMarre Carroll guarding Lebron James this series

8

Consecutive Game 1’s that LeBron James has lost on the road before this year’s Conference Finals

10

State titles by Milton’s girls lacrosse team in 11 seasons

32-0

Scoring advantage by Dalton boys soccer in this year’s playoffs

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Goals by Roswell’s Preston Tippett in the boys Class 6A lacrosse state championship

1

Times that the Hawks have reached the East Conference Finals

12/1

Atlanta’s odds to win the NBA title

13

Weeks until the Corky Kell Classic

15

Weeks until the Falcons season opener with the Eagles

Vol. 11 Iss. 19 | May 22-28, 2015

SEMIFINALS

Wednesday, July 22 Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA

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SPRING SPORTS

ROSWELL BOYS LACROSSE CAPTURES SECOND STRAIGHT 6A TITLE BY: KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

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oswell took a 9-3 halftime lead before answering Pope’s third quarter rally and clinching back-to-back Class AAAAAA state titles with a 12-9 victory. No. 1 seed Roswell jumped to a 5-0 lead before visiting Pope found the net with two late first quarter goals to make it 5-2.

“We just worked on placing our shots because we knew they [Pope] had a fantastic goalie,” explained Roswell head coach Alex Chrzanowski. “Not letting our passes fall early and not allowing their goalie to get hot early really helped us.”

Roswell senior Preston Tippett netted a hat-trick in the first half and scored two of Pope’s three second half goals to finish with a team-high five goals. Pope tightened up its defense in the third quarter and Parker LaVelle began to spark the offense and provide the

Greyhounds with much-needed goals. LaVelle finished with three goals in the third quarter and after scores by Tyler Borko and Josh Wells, the Greyhounds cut the deficit to 10-8 and outscored Roswell 5-1 in the period.

In the fourth quarter, the teams went scoreless for the first 8:27 before Roswell’s Tanner Schneider found the net to make it an 11-8 Hornets’ lead. Tippett added his fifth goal just 27 seconds later before Pope got on the board a final time with a Wells goal.

“This is a great community for lacrosse and we have a dynasty going,” said Chrzanowski as the fans stormed the field, “And we are looking to keep growing from these backto-back titles.”

In the Class AAAAAA girls game, Host Milton held off visiting Walton 9-6 in the Class AAAAAA title game for the second straight

year and captured the program’s 10th state title in 11 seasons. The teams were tied 2-2 early before Milton took control and closed out the half with a 6-2 lead. Lexie Morton, Grace Peterson and Maddie Langley led Milton with two goals apiece. Walton cut the deficit to 6-4 in the second half with goals from juniors Carly White and Kylie Holthaus but Milton answered with Morton’s second score and a goal by Hannah Davis to push the lead back to 8-4 with 12:21 left in the game. White led Walton with a game-high three goals.

CLASS A-AAAAA …

Westminster’s all-state defense held Lovett to just two goals in the first three quarters as the host Wildcats built their comfortable 7-2 lead and then clinched the state crown with a 7-4 victory. Jack Patton sparked the offense with two first half goals and completed the hat-trick in the third quarter as he gave Westminster a 5-1 lead. Westminster’s Cole Haverty netted two goals and teammates Blake Davis and Chip Wray each finished with one.

Westminster outscored its four opponents this postseason 51-6. This is the program’s fourth state title.

In the Class A-AAAAA girls game, Kell defeated visiting Westminster 16-14. Leslie Ferguson scored five of her six goals in the sec-

ond half to lead Kell to the Class A-AAAAA title for the second straight year over the visiting Wildcats. Kell scored four goals in the final 3:19 of the first half to overcome a 3-1 deficit and take a 6-4 lead. The Longhorns’ lead grew to as much as 10-4 in the second half. Kell’s Izzy Palermo and Haley Swift each netted hat-tricks and sophomore Talen Francis finished with two goals and an assist.

BASEBALL NEWS …

No. 4-seeded Schley County captured its first state championship in baseball after defeating No. 7 seed Emanuel County Institute 4-0 and 7-5 in the Class A-Public finals doubleheader. Blake Howell set the tone for the series in Game 1 with a complete-game shutout for the Wildcats. Howell scattered seven hits and three walks while striking out seven batters. In Game 2, Emanuel County Institute held an early 4-1 lead thanks to Zach Cowart, who finished 2-for3 with a homer, two runs and two RBIs. Schley County battled back to tie the game at four in the top of the fourth on a Knox Theus two-run single. In the sixth inning, Leeder cracked a tworun single to break the tie. Leeder finished 3-for4. Brett Usry went 6.2 innings and allowed 11 hits and five runs in the win.

Photos courtesy of Cecil Copeland and Deanna Fiveish.

Vol. 11 Iss. 19 | May 22-28, 2015

A young athlete’s brain is still developing, so don’t take chances with a head injury. Bring him to Children’s, where doctors have the expertise to diagnose and treat concussions. And with ImPACT testing, we can compare a patient’s progress to a normal baseline score to help determine when he’s ready to play again. To schedule a baseline ImPACT test for your athlete or team, visit choa.org/baselinetesting.

TM

©2014 Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc. All rights reserved.

TM

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SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

Score Atlanta Baseball Pre-Playoff Rankings Class AAAAAA

Class AAA

1...........................Parkview 2...............................Walton 3....................... Brookwood 4.............................Newnan 5............................ Lambert

1..................Blessed Trinity 2................... Pierce County 3............Westside-Augusta 4............................ Jackson 5...........................Jefferson

6.................................Milton 7......... Kennesaw Mountain 8..................... West Forsyth 9...................................Pope 10..............................Archer

Class AAAAA 1........................ Starr’s Mill 2...........................Allatoona 3........................Gainesville 4........................ Greenbrier 5...................... Union Grove

6......................Westminster 7.................Franklin County 8............................Ringgold 9..............................Decatur 10........................... Calhoun

Class AA 6..........................Loganville 7....................... Stephenson 8..................................... Ola 9....................Richmond Hill 10.................. East Paulding

1.......................... Wesleyan 2..Greater Atlanta Christian 3................................ Lovett 4....................Bacon County 5.......................Benedictine

6....................... Pike County 7......................Crisp County 8.............................Eastside 9........................... Columbia 10................. Wayne County

1......................King’s Ridge 2..................Tattnall Square 3......... Whitefield Academy 4......... Eagle’s Landing Chr 5.......................... Mt. Paran

Class AAAA 1...............................Buford 2..............................St. Pius 3....................... Whitewater 4.....................Troup County 5.....................Locust Grove

Score Atlanta Boys Lacrosse Rankings

6.....................Heard County 7..........................Darlington 8..............................Bremen 9.......................... Fitzgerald 10...................Union County

Class AAAAAA

Class AAA

1..................Chattahoochee 2............................. Roswell 3................................Duluth 4.............................Marietta 5...............Central Gwinnett

1..................... Westminster 2.............................Calhoun 3............................ Jackson 4...........................West Hall 5.............................. Islands

6........................Brookwood 7........................... Campbell 8............................ Harrison 9.............................Lambert 10..............................Tucker

Class AAAAA

Class AAAAAA

1............................ Lambert 2.........................Centennial 3......................Johns Creek 4............................. Roswell 5..................North Gwinnett

1................................Milton 2.............................Lassiter 3..................Chattahoochee 4...............................Walton 5..................North Gwinnett

6..........................Mill Creek 7............................ Harrison 8...................................Pope 9...............................Etowah 10........................Northview

6..........................Northview 7...................................Pope 8..................... West Forsyth 9..........................Mill Creek 10.......................... Harrison

Class A - AAAAA

Class A - AAAAA

1..................... Westminster 2................................ Lovett 3...........................Allatoona 4........................Cambridge 5..............................St. Pius

1........................Cambridge 2..................... Westminster 3....................................Kell 4..................Blessed Trinity 5.........................Creekview

6.. Greater Atlanta Christian 7........................... McIntosh 8...........................Wesleyan 9.................. Pace Academy 10.............................. Marist

6.............................. St. Pius 7........................ Sprayberry 8........................... McIntosh 9........................River Ridge 10..............Lakeside-Evans

6..............................Treutlen 7.......Providence Chr Acad.

8........................Brookstone 9................ Charlton County 10....First Presbyterian Day

Score Atlanta Girls Soccer Pre-Playoff Rankings 6...................Blessed Trinity 7............................ East Hall 8................. Dawson County 9.....................North Murray 10................Oconee County

Class AA 6.........................Starr’s Mill 7...........................Sequoyah 8.................Glynn Academy 9........................... McIntosh 10.........................Clarkston

Class AAAA 1..............................St. Pius 2........ Woodward Academy 3....................North Oconee 4....................... Whitewater 5........Johnson-Gainesville

Class AAAAAA

Class A

Score Atlanta Boys Soccer Pre-Playoff Rankings

1................................Dalton 2................ Houston County 3........................ Greenbrier 4........................Gainesville 5.........................Riverwood

Score Atlanta Girls Lacrosse Rankings

1..Greater Atlanta Christian 2.............Riverside Military 3...................... Thomasville 4.......................... Wesleyan 5..................Pace Academy

1.......... Savannah Christian 2.........Fellowship Christian 3........... Stratford Academy 4........... Atlanta Int’l School 5..............................Paideia

Class AAA

1............................Harrison 2.............................Lassiter 3.............................Grayson 4...............................Walton 5............................ Lambert

1..................... Westminster 2..................Blessed Trinity 3.................Dawson County 4............... Lumpkin County 5.............................Calhoun

6..............Lakeside-DeKalb 7....................South Forsyth 8........................... Parkview 9................Peachtree Ridge 10................... John’s Creek

Class AAAAA 6....................... Benedictine 7.................................Lovett 8................. Holy Innocents’ 9...................... Long County 10...................Union County

Class A 6.......... Northwest Whitfield 7...........Southeast Whitfield 8................................Buford 9..................... Locust Grove 10.......................... Spalding

Class AAAAAA

1...........................McIntosh 2........................ Starr’s Mill 3..........................Columbus 4..........................Northgate 5........................Gainesville

Class AA 6.......................... Alexander 7....................Richmond Hill 8..................... North Atlanta 9.........................Greenbrier 10............................... Rome

Class AAAA 6...........................Mt. Paran 7...............Athens Academy 8............................. Aquinas 9...........Pinecrest Academy 10.............Hebron Christian

1................................Marist 2..............................St. Pius 3........ Woodward Academy 4...............................Buford 5............................Veterans

6......................... Adairsville 7...................Savannah Arts 8..............................Decatur 9..................Oconee County 10......................... Jefferson

1..Greater Atlanta Christian 2.......................... Wesleyan 3................................ Lovett 4.....................East Laurens 5......................St. Vincent’s

6................. Holy Innocents’ 7..............................Bremen 8....................Lamar County 9.......................... Fitzgerald 10................ Pace Academy

Class A 6....................... Pike County 7............................ Spalding 8....................Mary Persons 9..................................... Ola 10......................Whitewater

1.........Fellowship Christian 2........... Atlanta Int’l School 3......First Presbyterian Day 4..............................Paideia 5...............Athens Academy

6............................. Aquinas 7............Stratford Academy 8...........Savannah Christian 9...............Hebron Christian 10... Savannah Country Day

Vol. 11 Iss. 19 | May 22-28, 2015

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UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

GEORGIA LANDS FOUR-STAR CLASS OF 2016 DB

BY DAN MATHEWS | DMATHEWS@SCOREATL.COM

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eachtree Ridge defensive back Chad Clay made his commitment to the Georgia Bulldogs on Monday. The four-star cornerback stands 6-foot-1, 180 pounds and is the son Willie, who was a standout safety in the NFL for eight seasons. Clay chose the Bulldogs over Florida, Georgia Tech and Ohio State among others.

“It’s just the relationships I’ve built with all of the coaches there,” said Clay. “They are a winning program. I’m from Georgia, so they have always been showing me love.”

While his father starred at Georgia Tech, his mother is a Georgia grad

“My mom seems to talk about [Georgia defensive coordinator] Coach [Jeremy] Pruitt a little more than some of the other coaches,” Clay said with a laugh.

“It’s [Athens] where I can see myself off the field,” said Clay. “I wanted to find a place that I could succeed as a student in the classroom and just where I fit in on campus and with the football program. It feels like home

GEORGIA STATE

PANTHERS MEET EAGLES IN SUN BELT TOURNAMENT

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

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he Panthers (29-25, 15-13) will limp into the Sun Belt conference tournament after losing four consecutive series and dropping 10 of 13 games. Georgia State had an opportunity to end the regular season on a high note against rival Georgia Southern, but lost back-to-back one-run games to end the series.

On Friday, the Eagles scored four unanswered runs to overcome a four error game and win 4-3. Hunter Thomas cracked a tworun homer in the seventh to tie the game before Kody Adams would knock home the goahead run with a double in the eighth. Trae Sweeting led the offense for the Panthers from the leadoff spot with a 3-for-3 night and two runs scored. Kenny Anderson pitched an effective 6.1 innings and allowed three runs to score.

The Panthers held their Senior Day on Saturday but could not collect a win in their final regular season game as they fell 3-2 in 11 innings. The powerful Matt Rose swatted a single in the eighth inning to drive home two runs

even when it’s not football season.”

Clay’s early commitment to the Dawgs has given him a desire to help build the No. 1 class in the nation next year. With all the talent in Metro Atlanta, including his own Lions secondary, Georgia will have a good chance to land the surrounding talent.

COME OUR WAY…

Georgia has a chance to steal a recent decommit from Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks. Archer four-star receiver Kyle Davis was South Carolina’s first pledge for the Class of 2016 and is now its first decommitment.

Davis announced late Monday night that his decision to back off his longtime commitment to the Gamecocks.

“After a long talk with my family, I’m officially decommitting and opening my recruiting back up. I will not take any interviews,” he announced via Twitter.

Davis (6-3, 211) is a consensus four-star prospect and committed to the Gamecocks in July during its annual showcase camp. He was a teammate of USC Class of 2015 tight end signee Connor Redmond.

Since that pledge, he saw his recruiting stock and rankings soar. Several national recruiting writers in 247Sports’ Crystal Ball predictions have projected an eventual commitment to the Bulldogs and his current school is less than an hour from Athens. Davis caught 67 passes for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns last year.

and force extra innings. Garrett Ford pitched one of his finest games of the season going 7.2 innings while allowing two runs. Georgia Southern (30-25, 18-12) scored an unearned run in the 11th to win the game.

Both schools will meet in the first round of the conference tournament with Georgia Southern the four-seed and Georgia State the five. Play opens Wednesday at 10 A.M at Troy’s Riddle-Pace Field.

FORE! ...

Georgia State shot a final round 300 to finish at 16-over par and in 12th-place at the NCAA Lubbock Regional at The Rawls Course.

It was Georgia State’s 12th regional appearance since 1999. Senior Damon Stephenson played well in his final match and finished even par and tied for 22nd place. “It has been a pleasure to watch Damon play over the last four years. He has made great contributions to our program, helped us make a pair of NCAA Regionals and has an individual title to his name.

We wish him all the best of luck in the future,” said Head Coach Joe Inman.

DISCUS DOMINATION ...

Alysiah Whittaker set a school record in the discus at the Aggie Last Chance Meet at North Carolina A&T. The sophomore’s throw of 49.76m surpassed now graduate assistant’s Yolanda Berryhill’s record. LaPorscha Wells also continued her strong season with another win in the shot put on Sunday.

GEORGIA TECH

OLLIE SCHNIEDERJANS LEADS JACKETS TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

BY COLIN HUBBARD | CHUBBARD@SCOREATL.COM

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he Georgia Tech golf team’s place in the NCAA finals was not a sure thing as it often has been in the past. The Yellow Jackets have won or shared the NCAA regional title six times and have advanced to the NCAA finals 23 times in 25 regionals trips. But it was a tough start to the round; the Jackets were actually out of qualifying position early in the third and final round. However, Tech’s four scoring participants played the final six holes in 9-under-par to finish third at the San Diego regional at the Farms Golf Club to advance to the NCAA championship finals starting May 29 in Bradenton, Fla. The Jackets needed to finish in the top five of the 13-team field to make the finals. All-American Ollie Schniederjans led Tech at 2-under-par, good for a tie for seventh. He played his final six holes in 4-under.

Anders Albertson and Chris Petefish followed at 1-over (T14). James Clark (6-over, T29) and Vincent Whaley (9-over, T49) both contributed scores. Whaley played the final 10 holes of the third round at even par, helping stabilize

KENNESAW STATE

SIX PLAYERS NAMED TO THE ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

BY BRIAN JONES | BJONES@SCOREATL.COM

I

t was the final regular season series for the baseball team, and they wanted to finish strong so they could have a higher seed in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament which is this week.

On Thursday, the Owls took on North Florida in the first game of the series and the Ospreys won 2-1. Despite the loss, pitcher Jordan Hillyer just allowed two runs on seven hits over eight innings of work. He also struck out six batters in the loss.

“I thought Jordan [Hillyer] threw extremely well tonight. North Florida is an excellent hitting team and Hillyer was great tonight,” head coach Mike Sansing said to ksuowls.com. “He controlled the innings and we got to back that up with scoring some runs.”

Friday was another frustrating day for the Owls as they lose to North Florida again by one run 5-4. The Ospreys scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to extend their winning streak to 14 games. Brennan Morgan led the Owls with three hits and a RBI while Jeremy

the Jackets. The Jackets made the field with a little breathing room, shooting 5-over-par for the tournament. Virginia was the last team in at 10-over, two shots ahead of sixth place.

Georgia finished a stroke back of the Jackets and will also be in Bradenton, the only two state teams to advance.

TECH ELIMINATED ...

The Virginia Cavaliers provided an ample amount of offense as they blanked 10th-seeded Georgia Tech, 11-0, in Tuesday’s opening play-in game at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

The game ended after 6 ½ innings due to the tournament’s 10-run rule. Virginia will move into Pool B round-robin play and will face second-seeded Miami on Wednesday at 3 p.m while Georgia Tech was eliminated from the Championship. Starting pitcher for the Cavaliers, Josh Sborz retired all 18 Yellow Jacket batters he faced through the first six innings, but his perfect game was broken up in the seventh by the Jackets. Yellow Jackets starting pitcher Jonathan King was tagged with the loss after just three innings of work. Sitting at a record of 32--23, the Yellow Jackets will now wait until Monday’s NCAA Selection Show to learn their postseason fate. Georgia Tech has a long track record of making it into the illustrious field and will hope to hear their school called to secure their spot in the 2015 postseason.

Howell and Kal Simmons each added two hits.

It as another one-run game for the Owls on Saturday, but this time they were one the winning end as they topped the Ospreys 2-1.

Pitcher Gabe Friese got the win for the Owls as he went the full nine innings and allowed only one run on five hits.

The Owls finish the regular season with a 28-26 mark, and they are currently taking part in the conference tournament.

ALL CONFERENCE OWLS…

The Atlantic Sun Conference announced its postseason awards for baseball and there were several Owls earned honors on Tuesday.

Pitchers Travis Bergen and Hillyer were named to the all-conference first-team while Simmons, Chris Erwin and Taylor Alum were named to the second team. Grant Williams made the all-freshman team.

“Anytime you are recognized by the conference for excelling in your sport is a great accomplishment,” head coach Sansing said. “For all the guys to be honored as one of the top players in the Atlantic Sun Conference is a great accomplishment. I am very happy for them.”

Bergen finished the season with a 6-3 mark, and he finished sixth in the conference with a 2.87 ERA. Hillyer finished tied for first with 91 strikeouts while Simmons was second in the conference with 10 home runs. Erwin led the Owls with a .333 batting average and Allum had a .320 average. Williams was perfect at second base as he did not commit one error and tallied 48 assists.

Vol. 11 Iss. 19 | May 22-28, 2015 ATLANTA HAWKS

HAWKS SOAR PAST WIZARDS FOR SHOT AT LEBRON AND CLEVELAND

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

I

t wasn’t always pretty and it wasn’t always easy, but the Atlanta Hawks slipped past the Washington Wizards, 4-2 to make it to the conference finals for the first time since the 1969-70 season when the Hawks lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Division Finals, four games to none. Atlanta now has a chance to make the NBA Finals for the first time since 1960-61 when the franchise was still in St. Louis.

Atlanta stunned the Wizards in Game 5, 82-81 last Wednesday after Paul Pierce seemingly stuck another dagger in the Hawks’ playoff hopes. Pierce hit a wide-open three with eight seconds remaining to give the Wiz an 81-80 lead, but Coach Mike Budenholzer drew up a play for the cat-quick Dennis Schroder to get to the hole. Schroder streaked to the basket but had his layup blocked by John Wall.

A scrum for the lose rebound occurred and it was Al Horford who flew in and ripped the ball away from a falling Nene Hilario to score

ATLANTA BRAVES

MILLER COMES WITHIN ONE OUT OF NO-HITTER

BY RICKY DIMON | RDIMON@SCOREATL.COM

A

flurry of offseason trades involving established stars and fan favorites confirmed that the Atlanta Braves were in rebuilding mode. An 18-20 record through 28 games seems to confirm that the process—as expected—will take at least a year or two.

But the future appears to be bright, especially if you base that assertion on the deal that sent right fielder Jason Heyward to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for starting pitcher Shelby Miller. Just when you thought Miller’s season could not get any better (he was 4-1 with a 1.60 ERA through seven starts), he tossed a complete-game shutout this past Sunday afternoon in a 6-0 road win over the Miami Marlins that finished off a series sweep.

The 24-year-old came within one out of his first career no-hitter before Marlins’ first baseman Justin Bour spoiled the party with a single in the bottom of the ninth inning.

“Obviously, things didn’t finish as we wanted,” Miller said his postgame interview.

the put-back with two seconds left. Wall’s half court heave fell short and the Hawks took a 3-2 lead in the series. “I wasn’t supposed to be involved in the play at all,” Horford said. “When I saw the ball go up, I just ran in there.”

Horford tied Bradley Beal to lead all scorers with 23 points and also added 11 rebounds and five blocks. Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague chipped in 14 points apiece while Wall scored 15 points and dished out seven assists in his first game back from a broken wrist.

GAME, SET, MATCH ...

The Hawks grinded out a 94-91 win in Washington, DC on Friday to set up a meeting with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference finals. Atlanta led by as many as 15 points in the second half, but the Wizards used a late surge to close the gap and hold an 88-87 lead with two minutes remaining. With six seconds left, Al Horford split a pair of free throws and gave the Hawks a three point lead. Paul Pierce buried a three at the buzzer to send the game to overtime, but after review the ball was still on his fingertips, disallowing the basket.

UP NEXT ...

Atlanta welcomes Cleveland to Philips Arena on Wednesday at 8:30 P.M. for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Hawks took three of four from the Cavs in the regular season.

“But at the same time, we got a sweep. I had a lot of fun. That’s all that matters.”

Miller has two complete-game shutouts in his last three outings. So far in May (three starts), the Houston native has given up only one run on eight hits in 25 innings while striking out 20 batters. He is now 5-1 with a miniscule 1.33 ERA for the 2015 campaign. By comparison, Heyward is batting .243 in St. Louis with just three home runs and 11 RBIs. Although the sample size is extremely small, right now the trade is advantage: Braves.

POWER OUTAGE …

First baseman Freddie Freeman is hitting a solid .305 on the season to go along with five home runs and 19 RBIs. But four of his dingers and eight of his RBIs came in the first 11 games.

Freeman’s average was .333 as recently as last Wednesday. Through Tuesday night’s action, however, the 25-year-old was 3-for-22 in his five most recent outings. He has driven in one run since May 8.

Nonetheless, Atlanta crossed the plate 18 times in a four-game stretch from last Friday through this Tuesday. The team scored 16 runs in the three-game sweep of Miami, including at least five in all three contests. Center fielder Cameron Maybin (.253, 4 HR, 15 RBI) extended his hitting streak to four games in Tuesday’s 5-3 home loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

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He spent two seasons with the Broncos, playing in 31 games with eight starts. He was released by the Broncos in 2010 and was signed as a restricted free agent by the Seattle Seahawks, where he played a total of 20 games with seven starts over two years before signing with the Washington Redskins in 2011.

During his four-year stint with the Redskins, Polumbus started 42 of the 47 games. In 2013, he started all 16 games at right tackle for Washington. He blocked for a rushing attack that tallied 2,164 yards, which was the fifth best rushing mark in the NFL that year. Polumbus is a native of Englewood, CO.

BULKING UP…

Last Thursday, The Atlanta Falcons signed tackle Tyler Polumbus. Polumbus, 6-8, 308 pounds, was originally signed by the Denver Broncos as a college free agent following the 2008 NFL Draft out of Colorado.

STADIUM PROGRESS…

Construction of the new Atlanta stadium is just over a year old and the progress was documented in a time-lasped video on AtlantaFalcons.com.

“I think we’ve made tremendous progress,” said Bill Darden, president of the Darden Company overseeing the design, “In spite of the cold and rain — I am incredibly impressed by the work ethic and attitude of our team over the past year.”

The construction team has successfully hit several major milestones since the stadium groundbreaking last year. The first pour of concrete is completed in concourses one through three, the concrete making up the base of the structure (“slab on grade”) has been poured and the first of the raker beams and stadia seating, which will eventually house the stadium seats, has been installed.

ATLANTA FALCONS

FALCONS ANNOUNCE MINICAMP SCHEDULE

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

he Atlanta Falcons minicamp built by The Home Depot will take place at the club’s Flowery Branch training facility beginning on Tuesday, June 16 and concluding on Thursday, June 18. Practices will be open to the public.

Media will be permitted to view practice in its entirety, however only the first 30 minutes of practice may be filmed. Following practice, requested players will be made available to the media on the field and Head Coach Dan Quinn will conduct a press conference at the podium.

Children 17 and under are invited to attend Kid’s Day at minicamp on Wednesday, June 17, which will include giveaways, prizes, and appearances by Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders and Freddie Falcon.

GWINNETT BRAVES

WEBER PITCHES WELL; CUNNINGHAM A HIT IN ATLANTA

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

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winnett begins a three-game road series with Toledo (14-22) and later in the week visit Columbus (22-15) for four games. Over the weekend, Louisville (17-20) managed a sweep of the Braves.

The Louisville Bats defeated Gwinnett (16-21) in a well-pitched game on Saturday, 3-1. 29-year-old Kanekoa Texeria made his first start of the season for the Braves and managed to dance in and out of trouble for four innings.

He gave up five hits and three walks, but only one run. Ian Thomas continued his scoreless streak to start the season with three innings of relief while recording six strikeouts. In Thomas’ eight appearances spanning Mississippi and Gwinnett, the lefty has gone 14.2 innings with five hits, zero walks and 18 Ks. Sean Kazmar, Cedric Hunter and Barrett Kleinknecht were the only Braves to pick up hits. Kazmar finished 3-for-4, while both Kleinknecht and Hunter added two hits apiece.

Hunter drilled a run-scoring double for Gwinnett’s lone run.

WEBER DEBUTS ...

Sunday’s game featured more offense, but the result was more of the same with the Braves losing 7-4. Ryan Weber made his first Triple-A appearance and shutdown the Bats with five scoreless innings. Gwinnett jumped in front in the sixth inning on a Hunter sac fly and a Wil Nieves single to make it 2-0. Three Louisville runs scored in the top of the seventh on hits from Yorman Rodriguez and Jermaine Curtis.

Mitchell Boggs unraveled in the ninth inning and let the game slip away. He recorded one out and allowed four runs on three hits and two walks to extend Louisville’s lead to 7-2. Drew Hayes was equally as sloppy for the Bats, but Nate Adcock collected the save after Hayes allowed two runs to score.

G-BRAVES IN THE A ...

Some more Triple-A Braves made the moves to the bigs this past week. Todd Cunningham has caught fire since hitting .286 with Gwinnett. The 26-year-old outfielder has gone 8-for-12 in his first three games with Atlanta and has scored four runs. Cunningham plated the go-ahead run in his first big league start against the Marlins on Friday in a 5-3 victory. “I don’t get fired up very often,” Cunningham said, “but I think I gave a little fist pump or hand clap or something. I was pretty excited.” With Kelly Johnson on the 15-day DL, the starting job looks like Cunningham’s for the foreseeable future.

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Vol. 11 Iss. 19 | May 22-28, 2015

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