Lee County slugger, UGA signee Nichols wins 1-AAAA’s top honor
Lee County leading hitting Daniel Nichols earns the same honor Monday that his brother Thomas did five years ago when he's named the Region 1-AAAA Player of the Year.
Panthers survive testy Hammers on road
Albany pulls away from Alabama late, but a brawl between the teams in the final seconds mars an otherwise impressive win Saturday. (UPDATES: with comments from Hammers coach)
GISA CLASS A FINAL FOUR: Westwood crushes DEA in Game 1 of playoff series, 11-1
Westwood blasts David Emanuel Academy on its homefield Friday to take a 1-0 series lead in the Class A Final Four.
After rough final day, Darton golf finishes 5th at nationals
The Cavs’ golf team, which had hopes of bringing the program's first NJCAA championship back to Albany since 2007, may have made its 11th straight trip to nationals this year, but it was one to forget after Darton finishes a disappointing fifth.
LOCAL COLLEGE/PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP: Darton's season ends in region tourney; Terrell Academy swept in GISA AA Elite 8; Crisp Academy gets back to Final Four in Class A
The Darton College baseball team can’t extend its record-setting season Saturday when it falls to Georgia Perimeter, then South Georgia, ending its year in the region tourney. (ADDS: roundup items on Terrell Academy, Crisp Academy, Westwood baseball)
COLLEGE ROUNDUP: Darton No. 1 golfer Sakulpolphaisan officially commits to Mississippi State; Cavs baseball rolls in region tourney opener
Darton's Joe Sakulpolphaisan, who is the No. 1-ranked golfer in the entire NJCAA Division I, signed his national letter-of-intent to play next season for Division I Mississippi State. (ADDS: roundup item on Darton baseball team winning to advances to semifinals of region tournament).
GHSA/GISA STATE BASEBALL STATE PLAYOFF ROUNDUP: Seminole sees amazing season come to heartbreaking end in Game 3 vs. Schley; TAE falls in Game 1 of Elite 8 series; Crisp rolls; RSS swept
Seminole County's amazing season comes to a heartbreaking end Friday in Game 3 of its GHSA Class A Sweet 16 series in a 14-9 loss to Schley County. (ADDS: roundup items on Randolph Southern, Terrell Academy and Crisp Academy)
GISA CLASS A/AA STATE BASEBALL PREVIEW: Westwood, Crisp, TAE, Randolph Southern set for GISA Elite 8 round today
In addition to Deerfield, four other area Southwest Georgia teams remain alive in the GISA state baseball playoffs, which continue today. (ADDS: preview items on Randolph Southern and Crisp Academy in Class A and Terrell Academy in Class AA)
GHSA STATE BASEBALL ROUNDUP: Crisp stunned by Allatoona; Calvary Day takes Game 1 against Miller; Seminole ppd.
Rain postpones the Seminole County-Schley County series Wednesday, while Miller County and Calvary Day only get one game in, but Crisp County and Allatoona play both as the Cougars are swept. (EDITS: corrects that Crisp's Robert Tyler is a junior)
Speedy Whitaker runs to play baseball for Brewton-Parker
SGA's Kam Whitaker, a four-sport star, signs a baseball scholarship with Brewton-Parker College late last week in Damascus.
Worth star LB Newton heads north to Maryville College in Tenn.
Worth County linebacker Austin Newton signs a football scholarship Tuesday to attend Maryville College in Tennessee.
Americus boys’ great season ends
Americus-Sumter's tennis season ends Monday in the Elite 8 round of the GHSA Class AAA playoffs as the boys fall to West Laurens.
Westover region champ Hubbard heads to state golf tourney hoping for another trophy
Jerrell Hubbard wins Westover’s first region golf title in nearly 20 years and he and his teammates will join a host of other area schools at today’s GHSA State Tournament in Augusta.
SATURDAY'S GISA/GHSA STATE BASEBALL ROUNDUP: Deerfield, Miller, Randolph Southen all advance in state tourneys
DWS wins Game 2 vs. Arlington Christian, and both Miller County and Randolph Southern take do-or-die Game 3s on Saturday to move on.
TAE girls soccer tames Frederica, gets back to Final 4
After losing to Frederica in the state finals and Final Four the last two years, the TAE girls soccer team exacts revenge Wednesday in the Elite 8 in Dawson.
DWS boys soccer wins thriller in Elite 8 round of state, girls fall
The Knights advance to the Final Four in state after Jonathan Jones’ game-winning goal in overtime, while the No. 1-seeded DWS girls are stunned by Westminster, 2-1.
FRIDAY'S PREP ROUNDUP: Lee County baseball honors seniors, then routs Colquitt; Morrell hits three HRs as Westwood wins 15th straight
Fresh off a 17-12 rout by Colquitt on Thursday, Lee County rebounds nicely Friday with an 11-1 win against Colquitt County in seniors' final home game. (ADDS: items on Westwood, Deerfield, Randolph Southern, Crisp Academy baseball; Lee County girls, Bainbridge boys soccer advancing to region title games; Sherwood boys soccer securing No. 2 seed in state tourney)
THURSDAY'S PREP ROUNDUP: Albany High girls track wins 1-AA title, boys take second; Lee County baseball loses wild one vs. Lowndes
The Albany High girls reign supreme over Region 1-AA on Thursday after capturing the girls track & field title, while the Indians finish second to Fitzgerald. (ADDS: roundup items on Miller County, Baconton, Lee County, Westwood, SGA baseball; DWS, Sherwood soccer)
Albany High cancels rest of baseball season
Injuries and low participation has forced the Indians to forfeit the rest of their baseball games in 2012. (EDITS: fixes timeline)
ASU men’s hoops set for historic signing class
Five former stars — Jerome Hamilton, Brandon Johnson, Shaquille Harris and Reggie Brown and Trey Gosier — make up the largest all-local class ASU has ever signed.
Well, now ... that’s unusual: Stonebridge golfers sink 3 hole-in-ones in same day
One after another, the aces started rolling in last Saturday at Stonebridge Golf & Country Club, leaving head pro Rob Allen in awe after saying — in 15 years at the club — he can’t even remember two in one day, much less three.
DWS hires new girls hoops coach from rival Westfield
Calhoun County native Jeff Eubanks, who coached the successful GISA power Westfield girls hoops program from 2003-11 and has more than 400 career wins, decides to come back home to Southwest Georgia to take over the vacancy at Deerfield.
Out with a bang: Lady Knights’ senior doubles duo wins state
The Deerfield No. 1 doubles team of Lucy Kelley and Hope Kitchen close out their high school tennis careers in the finest way possible Wednesday: with a GISA Class AAA state championship.
Reigning Tennis POY, Westwood senior Smith, wins fourth straight state title; Wildcats doubles duo High/Larkin end boys title drought
Westwood tennis star Sydnee Smith becomes the school’s first-ever four-time state champ Tuesday when she wins the Class A title once again.
Looking up
It’s been an up-and-down two seasons for Leesburg native Buster Posey, who went from breakout rookie star and World Series champ with the Giants in 2010 to breaking his leg and missing two-thirds of 2011. But after months of rehab and two new additions to the Posey family — twins Lee and Addison — he’s back, healthy and ready for whatever 2012 has in store.
Worth ace Odom taking talents to NAIA Point U.
Rams pitcher Corey Odom signs to play on the next level Thursday at Point University in LaGrange.
Darton softball blanks ABAC in DH, win streak now at 24 games
Despite boasting the NJCAA's longest winning streak at 24 games and a 30-1 record after Thursday's doubleheader rout of ABAC, the Darton College softball team is inexplicably dropped one spot in the latest Top 25 poll from No. 16 to No. 17.
Lopez golf event enters 26th year
LPGA Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez may no longer live in Albany, but she wouldn’t dare miss her annual golf outing that benefits the local Albany Community Hospice for anything.
COLUMN: Furman gave us one final test
Herald Sports Editor Danny Aller marvels at the career of Georgia sportswriting legend and former AJC sports editor Furman Bisher, who --- in a twist of irony --- passed away late Sunday night just before deadline for newspapers across the country, frantically sending copy desks into a tailspin to get news of his death in their Monday editions.
COLUMN: Andre Young's Farewell Tour begins
After four stellar seasons as point guard for the Clemson men’s basketball team, former Deerfield star Andre Young will soon play his final game in a Tigers uniform as the beginning of the end of Young’s career starts tonight in the first round of the ACC Tournament against Virginia Tech.
LOCAL COLLEGE/PREP ROUNDUP: Darton baseball wins conference opener, 11-0
Darton ace and former Lee County star Matt Aldrich is dominant on the mound once again Tuesday, allowing just two hits in five innings during an 11-0 region-opening win against South Georgia College. (ADDS: roundup items on GSW cross country; Deerfield and Terrell Academy baseball; Sherwood golf; and Lee County, Westover and Sherwood soccer)
Randolph-Clay boys basketball coach Jackson resigns
After 2 1/2 seasons as the head boys basketball coach for the Red Devils, Oglesby Jackson — a former assistant under legendary Randolph-Clay coach Joe Williams — decides to accept the job as the school’s assistant principal Tuesday and turn the one-time powerhouse program over to someone else.
FSU bests Clemson despite Young’s team-high 16
Former Deerfield star and Clemson senior starting point guard Andre Young scores a team-high 16 points Sunday, but it comes in a tough loss to Florida State in both teams’ regular-season finale, snapping the Tigers’ three-game winning streak.
Harlem Globetrotters ready to entertain Albany
Led by hype-man “Big Easy” Lofton and recent edition Jacob “Hops” Tucker — the 2011 College Slam Dunk Champ at just 5-foot-10 — the Harlem Globetrotters blow into town tonight for what promises to be a tremendous one-night show.
Lee whips Westover, 15-0, as Williams gets 500th win
After 23 years as the head coach of the Lee County baseball program, Rob Williams reaches a milestone Friday some only dream of when he wins his 500th career game during the Trojans’ 2012 season opener.
Darton baseball rallies, upsets No. 2 Chipola
The Cavs hand the No. 2 team in the NJCAA a stunning come-from-behind loss Tuesday as Darton rallies from a 3-0 hole in the eighth inning to beat Chipola, 4-3, for the biggest win of its young season.
Panthers to name home turf ‘Phoebe Field’
After a history making season, there’s more interest than ever from Southwest Georgia businesses to get involved with the reigning champ Albany Panthers, who agree to a deal with Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital on Tuesday to name their home turf “Phoebe Field” for the upcoming 2012 campaign, which kicks off March 17 at the Albany Civic Center.
Worried about another injury, Giants manager Bochy instructs Posey to stop blocking plate
When the Giants' pitchers and catchers reported Sunday, San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy told reporters that he has instructed Buster Posey to not block the plate, which would prevent the Leesburg native from another injury like the one that ended his sophomore season.
GISA STATE TOURNEY ROUNDUP: Sherwood, Westwood, Crisp Academy boys all fall in Elite 8
Southwest Georgia won't be represented in the GISA boys basketball Final Four tournament after Sherwood, Westwood and Crisp Academy lose on Saturday.
Holloman on Thomas: Darton getting one of the ‘hardest working kids I’ve ever coached’
Early County star catcher Hill Thomas will join the Darton baseball team, thanks to a meeting with first-year coach Scot Hemmings.
Leesburg’s Tosky sisters to continue running careers at Truett-McConnell
Sisters Lauren and Ashley Tosky both signed scholarships to run cross country next season for Truett-McConnell, a four-year NAIA program in Cleveland, Ga. Ashley is closing out her sophomore season at Darton, while Lauren is a senior at Lee County.
GISA CLASS AAA, AA & A STATE TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP: DWS girls dropped in Elite 8; Westwood, Crisp Academy, Terrell Academy girls all march on
The Deerfield girls are upended Friday night in the GISA Class AAA State Tournament Elite 8 round, while Terrell Academy rolls to an easy win in Class AA and Westwood and Crisp Academy both reach the Final Four in Class A.
Ex-Westover star OL Brown receives offer from UGA
Former Westover star lineman and Herald Dynamite Dozen selection Trenton Brown receives his second major offer when one of his dream schools, the Georgia Bulldogs, come calling this week.
GISA REGION CLASS AAA STATE TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP: Sherwood, boys reach AAA Elite 8; DWS stunned in opener
Led by Rashard Davis’ 32 points, Sherwood bounces back from its region title game loss to Deerfield with a big win against Stratford in the first round of state Thursday, while DWS is knocked out in a first-round shocker.
REGION TOURNAMENT ROUNDUPS: Chukes' putback at buzzer lifts Bainbridge boys to 1-AAAA title game
Paul Chukes lifts Bainbridge to its 17th straight win Thursday night, but more importantly vaults the Bearcats back into the Region 1-AAAA championship game. (ADDS: roundup items on Bainbridge, Lee County girls in 1-AAAA tournament; Pelham, Seminole County, Randolph-Clay, Miller County, Terrell County and Calhoun County girls in 1-A tournament)
SGT downs Darton in 1 vs. 2 duel
The Region XVII No. 1 South Georgia Tech women’s basketball team not only beats No. 2 Darton on Monday for the second time this season, but keeps alive the hope of its first perfect conference season in school history.
GISA REGION TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP: TAE girls claim AA crown; SGA boys fall short; DWS boys, girls reach 3-AAA championship games
The Terrell Academy girls basketball team routs Fullington on Friday night for its eighth region title in nine years, while the SGA fall short in its rubber match with Fullington.
Terrell Academy golf star Rogers takes talents to ABAC
Chris Rogers, a two-handicap golfer from Terrell Academy, signs a scholarship to play for nearby ABAC on Friday.
GISA REGION TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP: TAE girls win 14th straight, cruise into 3-AA title game
The Terrell Academy girls basketball team, which is on a quest for its fourth straight state title, breezes into the GISA Region 3-AA championship game Thursday night by waxing Brookwood, 59-35, for its 14th win in a row. (ADDS: items on Westwood boys, girls reaching 3-A title games against Crisp Academy boys, girls; SGA boys in 3-AA title game vs. Fullington; and updates on tonight's 3-AAA tournament semifinal schedule)
Deerfield swim teams finish strong at state under new coaching staff
The Deerfield boys and girls swim teams haven’t missed a beat since the departure this past offseason of head coach Lorraine Withers, who took the program to new heights during her tenure, then turned things over to Morgan Garcia and Lisa Bartlett, who have combined to help keep the Knights and Lady Knights one of the forces to be reckoned with in the GISA.
