The Red Devil baseball team lost to Montgomery County in the region playoffs in two tight games -- with the first one going to extra innings.  Coach McDuffie's Diamond Devils showed good improvement throughout the year and return a solid nucleus of players.  Off season conditioning and weight training are beginning to pay dividends.  Here is predicting a very good year for the Devils in the 2009 campaign.  A few notable statistics from the season as provided by Coach McDuffie are below:

                             Hits     AB     HR       BA            IP        K's        BB        H        R        ER        ERA

Patrick Mayo      41      72      4       .569       70 2/3     109       23       62       44       35        3.47
 

Dylan Folds         35       67      3      .522

James Hall           27       72      3      .375 

Patrick's batting average of 0.569 is the highest in the recorded history of Red Devil baseball -- just edging out Joey Owsley's 0.567 in 1996.  Freshman Dylan Folds' 0.522 average is the 4th highest of all times in Red Devil history.  Mayo's 109K's from the mound rank him in the top 5 all time for a season and "Big" Andrew Whiggum's career record of 351Ks is in sight.

Trey Dunmon has decided to transfer from Georgia Tech to Georgia Southern to complete his college football career.  The change in offensive philosophy with the hiring of Paul Johnson and his emphasis on the option offense reportedly weighed heavily in Dunmon's decision.  All Red Devils wish Trey the very best at Southern where I am sure he will see playing time in Coach Hatcher's wide open passing attack.

he Diamond Devils won their last home game of the regular 2008 season on Friday April 18th against Turner County Rebels. This 10-5 victory was extra sweet for several reasons. One that the Devils had not defeated the Rebels since they had joined region 2A in 2006-2007 and the other was this was Senior night for the Devils.

Six seniors were recognized prior to the start of the game. Batgirls were Danielle Barnett, Laney Eckles, and Logan Wright. Players were Jason Lunsford, Tony Mullis, and Dustin Noles. The players were escorted onto the field by their parents.
 

The Diamond Devils’ bats were just too hot for the Rebels to get a handle on Friday night. Every one in the batting order got at least one hit during the game. The Devils tallied a total of 14 safeties.
 

After holding the Rebels scoreless in the first inning, the Devils started with a lead off double to right center by Patrick Mayo, a line-drive to left center from James Hall and a bullet right pass their second baseman by Dylan Folds to score Mayo bringing the score to 1-0.
 

No other runs were scored by either team until the bottom of the 3rd when Hall reached first with a walk and Noles pounded a double to right field to score Hall. Mart McLeod drew a walk. Both Noles and McLeod reached home on throwing errors while the Rebels were attempting to pick off the runners. Lunsford and Mullis got on with a single each but were unable to reach home. The score after 3 was 4-0.

The Rebels scored 2 in the 4th as did the Devils. Mayo drew a walk and Folds hit a long one to left field. McLeod scored both runners with a hard hit to the right field corner to bring the score 6-2 Devils.
 

In the 5th inning the Rebels scored 3 with a little help from the Devils but the Devils did not give up. The Devils loaded the bases with a walk for Mullis and bunts from Daryl Singletary and Pitts. Mayo hit a single up the middle which was enough to score 2 runs and Hall singled and scored another run. Folds hit a sacrifice fly to left field and scored Mayo to bring the score after 5 innings to 10-5.
 

Neither team managed to reach home plate in the 6th. The Rebels did try to score again in the top of the 7th with 2 men on and only 1 out but Mayo was able to strike the next 2 batters out preventing any runs. Being credited with the pitching win was Patrick Mayo. He faced 36 batters for 7 hits, 5 runs, 2 walks, 1 hit by pitch and 10 KO’s.
 

Leading hitters were Patrick Mayo 2 for 3 (double and single), James Hall 2 for 3 (2 singles), and Tony Mullis 2 for 3 (2 singles). Dustin Noles was 2 for 4 (double and single) as was Regis Pitts (2 singles). Other players with singles were Dylan Folds (2RBI’s), Mart McLeod (2RBIs), Jason Lunsford, and Daryl Singletary.

The Late Coach Gentry To Be Inducted Into Athens HOF

Basketball Banquet

Gentry To Be Inducted 

The late Coach Bobby Gentry will be inducted into the Athens Athletic Hall of Fame (AAHOF) on Monday, May 19, 2008.  The banquet will commence at 6pm at the Classic Center in downtown Athens.  Tickets may be purchased thru the Classic Center box office at 706-357-4444.  Tickets are $35.00 each.  This is another great honor bestowed upon our former coaching great.

Basketball Awards Banquet

          The basketball awards banquet was held on Wednesday, April 9^th, at 6:00 p.m. at the Steakhouse.  The evening began with the invocation being given by Marvin Hill.  The meals were served following the invocation.  Opening remarks were made by Greg Ellison.  Bonita Castleberry then introduced and recognized the basketball cheerleaders.

          Marvin Hill then recognized the Junior Varsity girls’ basketball players and the Varsity girls’ basketball players.  The players all received certificates.  Coach Hill presented three Lady Devils with Coaches Award trophies.  They were Kamara Bembry, Rachelle Scott, and Shakeria Wright.  The Hustle Award trophy was presented to Raquel Outlaw.  The trophy for Best Offensive Player was presented to Monshay Jackson.  The trophy for Best Defensive Player was presented to Breanna Colson.  The Most Improved trophy was presented to Ykeshia Baker.  The Most Valuable Player trophy was presented to Kierra Collier.  The coaches in Region 2A voted Breanna Colson as the Best Defensive Player in Region 2A.  Kierra Collier was voted to the All Star First Team Region.  Receiving Honorable Mention were Ykeshia Baker, Monshay Jackson, and Kamara Bembry.

          Cliff Royal recognized and awarded certificates to the Junior Varsity boys’ basketball team.  Then he and Greg Ellison recognized the Varsity boys’ basketball team.  The players all received certificates.  Coach Ellison presented two Red Devils with Coaches Award trophies.  They were Tim Lester and John Bembry.  Dramon Brown received the Hustle Award trophy.  The Best Offensive Player trophy was presented to Justin Udi.  The Best Defensive Player trophy was presented to Kameron Riley.  The Most Improved Player trophy was presented to Jordan Blackshear.  The Most Valuable Player trophy was presented to Justin Udi.  Coach Ellison said that the trophy might say Most Valuable Player, but it really was more like the Most Important to the Team award.  Michael Taylor was selected for Second Team All Region and received an Honorable Mention for All Middle Georgia Team.  Kameron Riley was selected for First Team All Region and Honorable Mention for All Middle Georgia Team.  Justin Udi was presented with Region 2A Offensive Player of the Year.  He was also selected First Team All State by the Sports Writers, Second Team All Middle Georgia, and First Team by AJC.com.

          The coaches then recognized the Concessions Crew, Mary Colson, Cassandra Singletary, and Mary Royal and presented them with either sweatshirts or tote bags.

The Diamond Devils traveled to Ocilla on Friday April 11^th to play region rivals Irwin County Indians. This 11-7 win was big for the Devils bringing their region standing to 5-5.  The Devils took a 2-1 lead in the 1^st inning with James Hall’s two-run homer. Then they dropped it in the 3^rd as the Indians brought the score to 3-2. In the 4^th the Devils tied it at 4 and took the lead in the 5^th. As the Devils pulled away in the 6^th by adding 4 runs to their total, the Indians’ made a 3 run comeback in the 6^th but it wasn’t enough. The Devils added 2 more insurance runs in the 7^th. The final score was HHS 11 and Irwin 7.

Eleven hits were totaled for the Devils. The leading hitters were each 2 for 4 with James Hall hitting a homerun and a double, Dylan Folds a double and a single, and Dustin Noles 2 singles. Adding hits were Patrick Mayo with a double; Mart McLeod, Jason Lunsford, Jacob Quick and Regis Smith with singles. Tony Mullis had 2 great sacrifice bunts to move the guys over and add to the score.  Patrick Mayo was the winning pitcher with Dylan Folds coming in the 6^th inning and finished strong for the Devils.

Earlier in the week the Devils loss at home on Tuesday to the Wilcox Co. Patriots 6-4. The Patriots were scoreless until the 4^th inning and the Devils held the lead until the 5^th inning. After several Patriots hits and a couple of Devils’ throwing errors, the Devils dropped the lead to the Patriots 4-3 in the 5th. The Patriots added 2 more in the 6^th while the Devils added only 1 in the 7^th for a final score of Patriots 6, Devils 4.  Leading hitter was Tony Mullis who was 2 for 3.  Patrick Mayo pitched against the Patriots for the loss.

On Wednesday, the Devils defeated Region 7A Georgia Military Bulldogs 10-6. Pitching against the Bulldogs and was credited with the win was Senior Jason Lunsford while Dylan Folds came in the 7^th inning for relief. The Devils’ bats seemed to wake up against the Bulldogs.

Standings in region 2A (Wilcox 7-3, Turner 6-3 and Irwin 6-4) are coming right down to the wire. On the B side Telfair(8-1) has the lead with Montgomery(8-2), Treutlen(4-5) and Johnson(3-6) nipping at their heels.  The Devils have 2 more scheduled games before the region playoffs begin. The last home game is Friday April 18 @ 6:00 against Turner County who has recently lost 3 region games in row. (1 to Irwin and 2 to Wilcox). The Devils travel to Vienna on Tuesday April 22 for the final game @ 5:00 against the Bobcats. Region playoffs begin on April 25th and are certain to bring some more great baseball again this year. Good luck Red Devils. Keep those bats hot.

Dequan Bembry, a redshirt freshman for the Marshall Thundering Herd, is trying to live up to high expectations.  Click on the link to read a recent article from the Huntington Herald Dispatch newspaper.

Baseball Stats - Basketball Honors

Cierra Duhart Best Freshman In JSU History?

College Spring Practice Updates

Andy Hill

The Macon Telegraph reported middle Georgia baseball statistics on Thursday and two Hawkinsville Red Devils were mentioned.  Patrick Mayo was in the top 10 in batting average with a 0.500 average for the year to date.  Freshman Dylan Folds also made the list with a 0.457 average to date.  Mayo, a junior right hander also made the leader board in pitching statistics.  He has allowed 13 earned runs in 36 innings of work for a fine 2.53 ERA.  Mayo also led the board with 66 KOs for the year of the schools reporting.

Cierra Duhart, a mainstay on two Lady Red Devil state championship teams, has been named to the Ohio Valley All Newcomer Team for the 2007-08 basketball season. Her incredible freshman performance has many saying she could be the best freshman in JSU history.  Consider she led the OVC in field goal percentage (0.578), sixth in total rebounds, recorded three "double-doubles", and was twice named OVC Freshman of the Week.  Read the article linked below -- you be the judge but my mind is made up!

Official Internet Home of the Jacksonville State University Gamecocks

Rising senior Demetrius Bozeman finished 2nd in the heavyweight class in the recent state weightlifting championships.  Hawkinsville finished 2nd as a team in Class A.

Senior forward Justin Udi, who averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds per game, has been named 2nd team All Middle Georgia.  Michael Taylor and Kamaron Riley were named Honorable Mention. Seniors Breanna Colson and Kierra Collier along with sophomore Ykeshia Baker garnered Honorable Mention All Middle Basketball Girls team honors.
 

The Assistant SID at Wofford University answered an email request for information on former Red Devil running back Jeremy Marshall.  He reported that Marshall participated in all of the recently completed spring practice sessions and should be in the mix at running back or wing back next year for the Terriers.

Irwin County Loss

Hawkinsville Red Diamond Devils dropped another region game to Irvin County Indians with a final score of 11-6 on Tuesday March 25. The Devils took the lead early on and seemed to have a good handle on the game. The Devils 4-0 lead held until the 4^th inning when the Indians sent the first runner home. In the top of 5^th inning with the score of 4-1, the Devils came unglued allowing another run to score and loading the bases with an accumulation of errors.  The next Indian batter capitalized on our situation and did what all ball players dream of, he hit one out of the park bringing the score to 6-4, Indians favor. The Devils bounced right back in the bottom of the 5^th with a single from Patrick Mayo followed by a homer from James Hall bringing to score even at 6-6. That was all she wrote for the Devils’ scoring. (Literally!)

If the Devils began unglued in the 5^th, then they completely unraveled in the 6^th inning. Again with numerous errors, the Devils allowed the Indians to take the lead and, unfortunately for the Devils, never look back. They scored 4 more runs in the 6^th and finished it off with another in the 7^th for a final score of 11-6.

The Devils had a total of 8 hits. Hall scored his first homerun this season and had 2 more singles, Mayo had a double and a single, and Folds singled.

Folds pitched 5 innings and Mayo finished the game up. Neither pitcher could compensate for all the errors or lack of scoring. This loss brings the Devils even at 3 in the region.

Hawkinsville vs. Dooly County

Last week in Red Devil Baseball the Devils were on the road for both games. On Tuesday March 18, the Diamond Devils played in Vienna against the Bobcats and improved the record in the region to 3-1.

Dylan Folds pitched 5 innings with 6 hits and 7 KOs.  As the Dooly County pitching struggled, the Devils capitalized by pounding out a total of 20 hits against 3 different Bobcat pitchers.  Sluggers included Dylan Folds (4 for 4) and Patrick Mayo (4 for 5) with 2 home runs each.   Kyle Russell had 4 doubles, Mart McLeod was 3 for 4 and James Hall was 2 for 4. Tony Mullis had a hard hit double and Jacob Quick and Regis Pitts each had a single.

Recently the football banquet was held and Head Coach Cam Black has given us the award winners for each category.  They are as follows:

Offensive MVP - Aaron Black

Special Teams MVP - Gregg Vickers
Rugged Red Award - William Edwards
Defensive MVP - Deangelo Miller
Offensive Back MVP - Fabian Forrest
Receiving MVP - Kamaron Riley
Offensive Lineman MVP - Will Carr
Defensive Lineman MVP - Demetrius Bozeman
Linebacker MVP - Darryl Singletary
Defensive Back MVP - Kamaron Riley
Coaches Award - Dustin Noles
Coaches Award - Shannon Williams
Blood & Guts Award - Justin McGriff
  

Former Red Devil baseball great Pedro Powell is being honored on opening night for the Lynchburg Hillcats.  The first 1000 fans through the gates will receive an exclusive, limited edition Pedro Powell bobble head doll by Express Lane!  A special thanks to Maisie Pilkinton for forwarding this information to us.  To keep up the "Speedy" you can access the Lynchburg Hillcats

The Hawkinsville Red Diamond Devils dropped a tough region game to Turner County Rebels with a final score of 2-0 on Friday March 14.  Right off the bat the Devils got off to a shaky start in the first inning with a collection of errors allowing several Turner County players to get on base.  Fortunately only one run was allowed to score.  The score remained 1-0 til the 4^th inning when Turner added another with a one run homer to left center.

The Devils were unable to put an offensive attack together. Their 3 hits were scattered through-out the game and the team were unable to get the players around the bases and across home. Hawkinsville’s first hit was in the 3^rd inning by Daryl Singletary with a swinging bunt but was left stranded at 2^nd base.  Leading off the 3^rd inning, Dylan Folds had a hit and was also left at 2^nd.  The third and final hit was in the 6^th inning by Patrick Mayo who stopped short of scoring at 3^rd base.

In the bottom of the 7th Devils had a one last ditch effort when Jason Lunsford was walked with only one out.  A pitch runner was subbed in  and was thrown out attempting to steal 2nd to end the ballgame.

Mayo pitched another great game but will be credited with a lost. He had 12 KO’s, 3 hits, 1 earned run, no walks and 2 players hit by pitches. The opposing pitcher had 6 KO’s, 3 hits, no runs, 2 walks and 1 player hit. (Each pitcher faced 26 batters.)

As with most games, there are those exciting plays that deserve special attention. (and there are some we attempt to forget.)

On a passed ball with a man on 3^rd, Dustin Noles came up with the ball and quickly threw to Mayo for the tag at home in the 1^st inning. Third baseman Tony Mullis made a running, sliding drive on his knees for an out in the 3^rd inning and Kyle Russell made a couple of great scoops at first throughout the game.

In the words of Tommy Lasorda, "No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." Now the Devils have got to buckle down and make the difference with the ‘other third.’ 

The Devils are 2-6 overall and 2-1 in Region 2-A Division A and will play a region game with Wilcox County Patriots in Rochelle @ 7:00 on Friday. Then on Tuesday March 25^th the Devils will host region constitutes Irwin County Indians at 6:00.

{We play Region game against Dooly on Tuesday(3/18) in Vienna @ 5:00 and *Wednesday(3/19) @ home against Webster County @ 5:00.}

On Saturday the Red Devils traveled south to Ocilla to take on the Irwin County Indians.  The Indians are a perennial playoff contender and have a state championship trophy in their case.  The Devils went to their talented freshman Dylan Folds to try and bring home a victory.  Pitching like a seasoned veteran, Folds gave the Devils four good innings and gave up only three hits and one run -- that coming on an error.  Kyle Russell came on to pitch two scoreless innings.  The Devils picked up a run in the 6th inning to take a 2-1 lead as the teams moved to the decisive 7th inning.  It was then that the Devils' bats came to life and pounded out 5 runs to give the Devils a commanding 7-1 lead.  For the game the Devils pounded out 11 hits and only four Devil batters struck out.   James Hall came on in the bottom of the 7th and "got'em 1-2-3" and the Devils exited Ocilla with a 7-1 region win.  From his 3rd base defensive position, Tony Mullis had a good game with numerous assists and one unassisted double play.  Darryl Singletary turned in a very outstanding running, jumping, and turning catch in the 3rd to keep the Devils in a tie game.  Senior catcher Dustin Noles gunned out a would be base stealer in the 1st inning that gained some respect from the Tribe.  The Devils move to 2-0 in Region play and 2-3 overall.  Next up is non-region opponent Taylor County at home on Monday (3/10/08) followed by Dodge County on Tuesday, and region foe Turner County on Friday.