2013 Baseball Team Banquet
May 21, 2013
7:00PM
Baseball Field
Casual Dress
Dessert Only 

Posted: Apr 30, 2013  Reporter: Will Hammock

GCPS honors outstanding senior athletes

DULUTH — Monday night's celebration was a chance for Gwinnett's teachers and coaches to brag about their student-athletes.

The fourth annual Gwinnett County Public Schools' Outstanding Senior Athlete Banquet at the Gwinnett Place Marriott honored the most well-rounded athletes in the county, putting them in the spotlight for an evening that featured former Brookwood, Georgia and current professional football player Rennie Curran as the guest speaker. Being a star athlete wasn't a requirement to earn one of the prestigious awards, which place equal emphasis on success in academics, community service and life.

Each student was showered by praise by a chosen teacher or coach, while Mike Emery watched proudly from the side of the stage. He is thrilled with the event's growth — 220 people packed a ballroom Monday night — but more excited about the caliber of student-athletes honored there each spring.

"Every year surpasses the other," said Emery, the director of athletics, activities and community schools for GCPS. "For everything negative that's portrayed about the youth today and about education, sit through this banquet and you're not going to come out with something negative. The positive things that go on in our schools every day, not just athletically, but in the classroom and the communities where these kids are involved. This just showcases what our kids do every day that doesn't get the publicity it deserves."

Each GCPS school honored one boy and one girl as its top student-athlete, with a new twist added this year. The honorees entered a competition for a pair of $500 scholarships thanks to Titan Team Sports and Scholastic Images/Balfour, the latter of which named its grant in honor of longtime Gwinnett coach and educator Mike Strickland.

The inaugural two winners were Shiloh's Jacqueline Harris and Meadowcreek's Elias Castro. Harris, who has a 3.929 GPA and ranks fourth in her senior class, will attend Alabama, while Castro, with a 3.89 GPA and a No. 13 class ranking, will attend Oglethorpe.

"I think the addition of scholarships was a nice touch," Emery said. "It's hard to select two from this group. This doesn't just pick the best on the athletic field, it's the best all the way around. It takes into account their other activities in school, their community service, their academic success. Out of this select group of 36 kids, for one female of 18 and one male of 18 it's a pretty select group of top-notch kids to get a scholarship."

South Gwinnett: Mason Hart (football, baseball)

AAAAAA BRACKET

Posted: Apr 28, 2013  Reporter: Staff

South blanks Brookwood in baseball finale

South Gwinnett 2, Brookwood 0

SNELLVILLE -- South finished the season with a 20-6 overall record and 13-3 Region 8-AAAAAA record with a 2-0 win over Brookwood on Friday.

Ryan Patterson (7-1) picked up the win, going seven innings with five strikeouts.

Montrell Marshall and Mason Hart had RBIs for the Comets, while Adrian Martinez, Morgan Miller and Zack Bogardts each had a hit.

South will travel to Walton for the first round of the state playoffs, while Brookwood will travel to Milton.

Posted: Apr 24, 2013  Reporter: David Friedlander

South's Patterson hitting his stride in senior season

Finding a player whose career suddenly takes off in his senior season is hardly unusual in high school baseball.

However, it's not every day that one comes across a late bloomer who has made a jump as large as Ryan Patterson has this season at South Gwinnett.

The 6-foot, 210-pound senior has made an impact on the South program ever since joining the varsity team as a freshman three years ago. But this season, he's really been a force with his bat, arm and legs beyond anything he's accomplished before.

"He's definitely made progress in every phase of the game," South coach Steve Teschner said of Patterson. "We've always had high expectations for him, but ... he's really come a long way. We've known it was in there. He's been a four-year varsity player for us, and he's been really close to everything clicking. But this year, it's finally all come together for him, and it's been a lot of fun to watch."

The Comets were already having fun watching Patterson hit last season, when he posted a .347 average, a home run, six RBIs and 10 stolen bases as a junior.

But opposing pitchers are having considerably less fun pitching to him this season, as his bat has come alive to lead South in pretty much every offensive category with a .472 average, seven homers, 35 RBIs and 15 steals.

Those numbers also place him among the leaders in all of Gwinnett County in those categories.

But if Patterson's hitting has improved significantly over the past season, it's nothing compared to the jump he has made on the mound this season.

After only making scattered appearances a year ago, he has become the ace of South's left-handed dominated staff by winning his first six decisions before a rough outing in a loss to Grayson on March 13.

Still, his 6-1 record, 1.36 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 36 innings have made him one of the county's top pitchers this season, as well.

While there are players with a much higher profile in the county -- such as Grayson's Austin Meadows and Taylor Allum, Parkview's Josh Hart, and Peachtree Ridge's Tyler Haswell, among others -- Patterson's overall numbers definitely put him in the conversation for the county's Player of the Year honors.

As sudden as the light switch seems to have flipped for Patterson, he says the beginning of his improvement isn't quite that rapid, and actually dates back to last summer's offseason.

"I definitely worked harder than I ever worked before," Patterson said. "I did a lot of work with Brandon Phillips' dad (James) at his performance center in Stone Mountain, and I guess it was over the summer that things really started to click.

"I really focused on my flexibility, and (South) pitching coach (Zach Shelnutt) has done an awesome job with me on my mechanics. My change-up has definitely come around. It's been my best pitch this year. And throwing a lot more (innings) has definitely helped me to get better this year."

And as Patterson has gotten better, so have the Comets.

South has been quite competitive throughout his career, with a brief playoff appearance his sophomore season and finishing just a game out of the postseason in his freshman and junior campaigns.

But this season, the Comets (18-6, 11-3) have already locked up a postseason berth heading into Wednesday's play and still have a shot at gaining at least a share of the Region 8-AAAAAA championship, though they need some help.

Patterson says that while he has made an effort to become a better leader this season, he attributes the team's improvement as much to the shared experience of South's eight other seniors.

"We didn't have a lot of seniors (last year), so I kind of fell into (a leadership) role," Patterson said. "This season, I think we were all kind of hungry for more."

And nobody could be happier for the success Patterson and his senior teammates have enjoyed this season than Teschner, who has watched the group persevere through some tough years.

"Ryan's not really a rah-rah kid. He leads by example," Teschner said. "That whole senior bunch has taken some knocks along the way. They really wanted to come out and make (the) state (playoffs) this year."

Posted: Apr 25, 2013  Reporter: Staff

South ekes out region baseball win over Dacula

South Gwinnett 6, Dacula 5

DACULA -- South moved to 19-6 on the year and 12-3 in Region 8-AAAAAA with a 6-5 win over Dacula on Wednesday.

Adrian Martinez picked up the win, going six innings. Montrell Marshall picked up the save, pitching the final of an inning.

Chad Smith went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Morgan Miller was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Drew McCarthy was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Marshall had two RBIs.

Chance Keefer took the loss for Dacula (8-17, 5-9), going five innings with six strikeouts.

Austin Collins was 2-for-3 with a double, while Nick Mollica was 1-for-2 with an RBI and Nick Heamon had two RBIs for the Falcons.

Posted: Apr 19, 2013  Reporter: Staff

South baseball tested by Berkmar

South Gwinnett 9, Berkmar 8

LILBURN -- South Gwinnett defeated Berkmar 9-8 Thursday.

Colton Nash picked up his first win of the year, pitching 4 innings. Ryan Patterson led the Comets (18-5, 11-2) at the plate with two hits and three runs scored.

Posted: Apr 18, 2013  Reporter: Staff

South's McCarthy headed to Piedmont

South Gwinnett's Drew McCarthy will continue his baseball career at Piedmont College, the school announced Wednesday.

The senior second baseman is currently hitting .306 with seven RBIs and 14 runs scored for the Comets, who are just a half-game back of Grayson for the lead in Region 8-AAAAAA.

McCarthy is also hitting .458 with a .581 on-base percentage for South in region play.

Posted: Mar 8, 2013  Reporter: Staff

South's Nash signs with Reinhardt football

South Gwinnett linebacker Colton Nash signed with Reinhardt University of Thursday, according to head coach John Small.

The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Nash made 46 tackles and one interception last season for the Comets.

Posted: Mar 6, 2013  Reporter: Staff

Strong Gwinnett influence highlights high school showcase at Coolray Field

Since it opened in 2009, Coolray Field has hosted plenty of other baseball events besides Gwinnett Braves games, including several individual games featuring some of the county's top high school programs.

But for the first time, the International League team will welcome a full showcase to its home field with the 2013 Gwinnett Braves High School Invitational this weekend.

The event will consist of five games, featuring 10 high school teams -- nine from Gwinnett -- this Friday and Saturday at the 10,000-seat facility in Lawrenceville.

"We've had singular events before, showcasing some top high school baseball teams in the area," said Gwinnett Braves General Manager North Johnson. "Through the efforts of the community and our staff we have expanded to welcome the largest high school showcase in the history of Coolray Field. We want Coolray Field to be an outlet for the entire county and surrounding areas so they can take part in this one-of-a-kind experience. Our goal is to continue to provide these life-changing memories and for this showcase to grow into an annual event."

Many of the teams involved in the event have played at Coolray Field before, including Peachtree Ridge (2-3), which will close out the weekend by taking on North Forsyth -- the only non-Gwinnett team participating -- at 7 p.m. Saturday.

But with the Lions' previous experience having been an important region game against North Gwinnett, coach Ryan Hanik believes his players will probably have more fun against a non-region foe this time around.

"It's a neat atmosphere and the kids really enjoyed playing there last year," Hanik said. "But when you're going through a tough region race and chasing North Gwinnett (in the standings) and playing a tie-breaker (in the season series), it's hard to fully have fun with it. What I like about this year is (playing a non-region opponent) will let more of the kids enjoy it. We're excited about playing there."

Of course, there are other teams that will be making their first appearance at Coolray Field, including a pair of first-timers in Mountain View (5-0 heading into Wednesday's game against Gainesville) and South Gwinnett, which open the event at 4 p.m. Friday.

It's a great opportunity for us to get on that kind of stage," Comets coach Steve Teschner said. "(The players) are excited."

All five games should also be very competitive, with six of the 10 teams involved having qualified for the playoffs last season, including defending Class A state champion Providence and Class AAAAA runner-up Brookwood.

Even some of the teams that didn't make last year's postseason are off to a strong start, like South, which was 5-1 heading into its game Wednesday's game with Walnut Grove.

And the Comets, who have gotten a boost from recent Auburn commitment Montrell Marshall and left-handed pitcher Brandon Matics, hope Friday's game continue their momentum as they head towards the beginning of Region 8-AAAAAA play.

We've played extremely well so far," Teschner said. "We've been trying to maintain that pace ever since. So far, we've been pretty consistent since the opener. We'll throw our kids out there knowing what we have to compete against (in region). Hopefully, (Friday's game) will better prepare us for region play."