Heritage steamrolls Southeast in three-game series
The Heritage Generals got off to a good start in region play with a home victory over Southeast Whitfield last Tuesday.
That good start became a great start on Friday as the Navy-andRed pitched two more shutouts to begin the season 9-2 overall and 3-0 in 7-AAAA.
Heritage 10, Southeast 0
The Generals scored four times in the fifth and four more times in the sixth to defeat the Raiders in their region opener last Tuesday night in Boynton.
Alex Mixon went 3 for 4 and knocked in three runs, including the game-winner on a single in the sixth. Caden Snyder had two hits and two RBIs. Cannon Stafford had two hits and one RBI. Gage Shaver and Landen
Skeen had two hits each, while Brady Chandler was 1 for 2 with two RBIs.
Zach Barrett threw all six innings for the Generals. He allowed four hits and a pair of walks with six strikeouts.
Heritage 10, Southeast 0
The Generals needed just five innings to finish off the first game of Friday night’s doubleheader in Dalton. A four-run first inning, highlighted by C.J. Robertson’s three-run homer to right, gave Heritage all the runs it would ultimately need.
Stafford had two hits and three RBIs. Snyder had two hits, including a double, and one RBI. Mixon doubled and knocked in a run, while J.T. Eaton also had one RBI for the Generals.
Cade Kiniry pitched all five innings, striking out seven batters and allowing just two walks.
Heritage 14, Southeast 0
The nightcap would also last just five innings as the Generals rapped out six doubles in the victory. Kiniry got it done at the plate in Game 2 with a 2 for 3 performance, including three RBIs.
Stafford was 3 for 4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Skeen went 2 for 4 with two runs and one RBI. Shaver knocked in one run, while Dylan Bryan torched the Raiders with a 4 for 4 performance, including two RBIs and three runs scored.
Skeen was the beneficiary of all the run support, though he barely needed any at all as he fired a five-inning no-hitter. He struck out nine batters and allowed four walks.
Results of the Generals’ Monday afternoon game at LFO were not available as of press time.
Alpharetta private school Rivers Academy repeated as team champion of the LaFayette Rambler Invitational Saturday afternoon at the LaFayette Golf Course.
Rivers Academy shot a sizzling 292 to get past Cartersville (294) and claim the winner’s trophy. Heritage placed third with a 312, four shots clear of Darlington (316), while Calhoun (324) finished fifth.
Boys’ teams representing 14 different schools in several classifications battled the course and the field to compete for team and individual honors.
“It’s a big event,” said LaFayette head coach Tom Langford. “I’d be willing to bet there’s not many high school events anywhere in the country that rival this one when you factor in the type of individuals that were out here today. You don’t get a lot of events where you have four of five Division I players in it at the high school level.”
Heritage saw three players break 80. Declan Ryan had a team-low 76, followed by Chandler Burns with a 77 and Robert Allan Lyle with a 79. Samuel Johnson shot an 80 to round out the team score. Also teeing it up for Heritage was Cain Stover (82) and James Kennedy (94). Carter Bell (84) and Mitchell Kennedy (103) played as individuals.
The Rivers Academy JV team finished with a 327 to take sixth place overall and earn the JV team championship award. The rest of the top 10 included Northwest Whitfield (330), Pickens (338), Rome (343) and Sonoraville (346), while the remainder of the field included Woodstock (353), Ringgold (354), Darlington’s JV team (356), LaFayette (358), Northwest Whitfield’s JV team (389) and Gordon Lee (409).
Ringgold got an 85 from Christian Balistreri and an 87 from Jett Bridges. Christian Griffith shot a round of 88 and Andrew McCarver carded a 94. Cohen Shattuck also played for the Tigers and finished with a 96.
LaFayette was led by Grant Langford’s 81, while Mason Thompson shot a respectable 84. Scott Smith finished with a 90, while a 103 from Junior Barber rounded out the team score. Jackson Brewster (112) and Isaac Lawrence (115) also teed it up for the Ramblers.
Braden Queen (107) and Cyrek John (121) played for the LaFayette JV team, as did Keegan Johns and R.J. Harris. However, their scores had not been posted as of press time.
Zane Blaylock had a team-best 88 for Gordon Lee, one shot lower than teammate Ayden Cordell (89), while Will Carswell and Sam Carswell each shot 116. Also playing for the Trojans was Tanner Maynor (119) and Chandler McBee (126), while Cooper Jacks, playing as an individual, shot 121.
Cartersville standout Buck Brumlow was the day’s low medalist with a very solid 4-under par 68. He finished one shot ahead of Rome’s Hogan Ingram, a Georgia Southern signee, and Rivers
Academy’s Maxwell Ford, who will be rooming with Brumlow when they both tee it up for the University of Georgia next season.
The rest of the All-Tournament Team featured Cartersville’s Blane Davis and Rivers Academy’s Chapman Barrett with 71’s and Rivers Academy’s Dalton Burts, who had a 73. Burts won the spot on a scorecard playoff against his teammate Will Morlan, a Furman signee and the 2020 LaFayette Invitational low medalist. Barrett was also the low medalist among all JV players.
Read more about this story on our website at northwestgeorgianews.com.
LaFayette boys second in threeteam match
The Ramblers had the day’s low medalist, but it was only good enough to help them to a second-place finish at the LaFayette Golf Course last Tuesday.
Langford carded a 40 for the Ramblers, who finished the day with a total of 176. They were 10 shots behind Northwest Whitfield (166), while Gordon Lee (203) finished third.
Smith had a 42 for the Ramblers, followed by Thompson with a 44 and Barber with a 50. Also playing for LaFayette was Brewster (52) and Lawrence (58).
Cordell paced the Trojans with a 45, while a 46 from Blaylock, a 55 from Will Carswell and a 57 from Sam Carswell rounded out the team score. Maynor also posted a 60 for Gordon Lee.
Ramblers drop match to Rome
The Ramblers also played on Thursday and fell to Wolves, 167-178, as Ingram shot an even-par 36 for the visitors.
Langford led the Ramblers with a 38, followed by Smith with a 44, Thompson with a 47 and Barber with a 49 to round out the team score.
Also carding scores for the Ramblers
on Thursday was Cyrek Johns (47), Lawrence (53), Keegan Johns (56), Queen (56), Brewster (58) and Harris (60).
LaFayette girls earn first win
The Lady Ramblers also played nine holes at LaFayette last Tuesday, shooting a 170 to Dalton’s 139 and Northwest Whitfield’s 144.
Senior Emma Moore shot a 55 for LaFayette, while a trio of freshmen rounded out the scoring. Maggie Green had a 57, while Hannah Kresser and Jaylee Samples both shot 58.
However, the Lady Ramblers picked up their first victory of the season two days later against Rome back on their familiar home layout.
LaFayette won the match, 169-175, behind a 53 from Moore, 58’s from Green and Kresser, and a 61 from Samples.
Lady Ramblers test their skills in Rutledge
The team closed out the week by participating in the Waterwheel Tournament at The Creek at Hard Labor Golf Course.
A unique format saw the tournament divided into two separate events, an 18hole individual tournament and a ninehole team scramble.
Playing in the 18-hole event, Moore carded a 104 to finish in a tie for 20th place overall, while Green shot a 118 and came home in 31st place out of 40 golfers. The event was won with a 76.
In the scramble portion, Kresser and Samples teamed up with another solo player from Madison County High School and finished with a 41 to tie for first place. However, the team would end up in second place after losing in a tiebreaking closest-to-the-pin chipping contest.
LaFayette’s girls will host their annual Lady Ramblers Invitational on Saturday. Eleven teams are registered for the tournament.