NOTEPAD: Mercer baseball winning streak ends, ACE wins pitcher’s duel, Rampage begin season

Mercer baseball stumbled in two recent games but still started the season off hot.

The Bears are 9-3 so far after losing games against Florida A&M an High Point last weekend, ending their nine-game winning streak.

Mercer defeated FAMU in two prior games 14-7 and 9-2 before losing 5-2 in Saturday’s game. The Bears beat High Point 7-1 Friday before losing the Sunday game 6-4.

Mercer still has plenty of momentum. Multiple players have batting averages above .300, with shortstop Bradley Frye notching a .481 average while getting at least one hit in 11 of the team’s 12 games this season. Frye and preseason Player of the Year Ty Dalley, who has a .347 average, both have four home runs so far.

Pitcher Colton Cosper was awarded SoCon Pitcher of the Week for his efforts from Feb. 24 to March 2. Cosper pitched five innings and allowed only three hits in the win over High Point, tying his second-best career mark of seven strikeouts.

ACE wins pitching duel, Rutland beats Northeast in barnburner

The Gryphons defeated Dodge County 1-0 in a key region battle Tuesday night despite only recording one hit.

ACE rode a great pitching performance from William Makowski to the win. Makowksi pitched all seven innings and allowed only four hits and two walks, striking out 11 batters along the way.

The Gryphons’ lone run was unearned, as Brice Whitley swiped second base in the third inning and scored on a pair of throwing errors by the Indians. ACE got its lone hit in the sixth inning, spoiling an impressive performance by Dodge County’s Gabe Yeomans, who also got two hits at the plate.

The Gryphons improved to 7-4 on the season and remained undefeated in Area 2-A Division I play. Dodge County was undefeated prior to the loss.

Rutland defeated Northeast 7-6, fending off a comeback attempt by the Raiders after the Hurricanes were up by five runs through four innings. Micah Clyde and Kenshawn Williams both snagged two hits, with Williams driving in a pair of runs.

It was Rutland’s offense that came out on top, though, as Tate Summerday led the way with three walks and a triple. The team drew 13 total walks. Rutland moved to 5-0-1 while Northeast fell to 2-5.

FPD took its first loss of the season Saturday, falling 11-1 to the Stony Brook Bears out of New York. Stony Brook began its season with several games against Georgia schools, defeating most of them by several runs. All but one of the Bears had at least one hit in the contest.

The Vikings fell to 5-1 but will return to a typical schedule against GIAA opponents this weekend with a Saturday game against Pace Academy before facing Mary Persons Tuesday.

Tattnall went 1-1 in a Saturday doubleheader, defeating Troup County 7-2 before losing a shootout against Prince Avenue Christian 12-8.

Wyatt Still drove in a pair of runs on a hit and drew a walk in the first contest against Troup County. Still is one of the team leaders through seven games for the Trojans, batting .364 and tying for the team lead with six RBIs.

Still also leads the team in innings pitched with 17 while only allowing three earned runs and striking out 26 batters.

The Trojans play a doubleheader against Strong Rock Christian Saturday.

Macon Rampage season begins

The Macon Rampage lost their first home game at Henderson Stadium 18-12 against the Georgia Thrashers Saturday to move to 1-1 on the season.

The Rampage tallied 125 yards of offense and turned the ball over three times, though the defense scored and forced three turnovers to keep things close. Defensive back Khalil Smith had an interception and a touchdown with five total tackles.

Mayor Lester Miller performed the coin toss at the season opener, donning a red Macon Rampage T-shirt for the occasion. The Rampage go back on the road this weekend to face the Georgia Jaguars on Saturday in Snellville.

Soccer revving up in Macon

The high school soccer scene seems wide open to begin the season, as several teams have waited until the conclusion of basketball season to fully ramp things up.

The ACE girls appear strong early, going 4-2 to begin the near and notching impressive wins over Lowndes, Perry and Mary Persons. The Gryphons also added on an impressive 11-0 win against Northeast.

ACE appears poised to compete with Bleckley County atop Region 2-A Division I, as the Royals are 5-1 to start the year.

The FPD girls have only one recorded result so far, an 11-1 victory over Jones County, but look to improve upon last year’s semifinal appearance. The Vikings will host local rival Tattnall March 13 at 7:30 p.m.

The boys teams are still murky, as Dublin is the only team in Area 2-A Division with a winning record (4-2). 

The Stratford Academy boys are 4-0 to start the year after defeating Northside, Bulloch, Tallulah Falls and Piedmont. The Eagles have scored 22 goals and allowed only two. After a brief break this weekend, Stratford hosts John Milledge Tuesday before three straight rivalry games on the road against Mount de Sales, FPD and Tattnall from March 14-18.