2008 Game Summaries
6 Wildcats make All-Region
Valdosta’s Earl Daniels named Player of the Year, Shuman top coach

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: July 26, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — Valdosta High’s baseball team dominated Region 1-AAAAA in 2008. So it should come as no surprise that the Wildcats are well represented on the All-Region team.

Six Valdosta players were named to the first team, including Region 1-AAAAA Player of the Year Earl Daniels.

Daniels, who has signed a scholarship to Georgia, was a two-way star for the Wildcats. On the mound, he was dominant most of the season, going 12-1 with a 1.75 ERA. He easily led the region with 117 strikeouts in 82.1 innings pitched. He struck out 18 batters against Warner Robins and had a 17-strikeout performance against Cook. He did not allow a single earned run until the final game of the regular season.

“I felt Earl was the most dominant pitcher in the region, hands down,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said. “He was also a team leader. He’s always been very coachable, he’s got a great work ethic, and he’s been a joy to coach.”

When he wasn’t pitching, Daniels played a brilliant defensive shortstop, with sure hands and a wide range. At the plate, he batted .295 with 20 RBIs, 24 runs scored and 13 stolen bases.

“He’s as good a defensive shortstop as I’ve had the privilege to coach,” said Shuman, who has seen three of his former shortstops drafted by major league teams.

Valdosta also had another dominant ace, and he joined Daniels on the first team. If Daniels wasn’t on the mound shutting down opponents for the Wildcats, teammate Kyle Rowe usually was. Rowe went 13-1 with a 2.73 ERA and 95 strikeouts. He went 4-0 in the state playoffs, outdueled highly-touted Kell pitcher Zeke Spruill in the quarterfinals, then kept Valdosta’s season alive with a gutsy 4-3 complete game nine-inning win in the semifinals. He also batted .325 for the Wildcats with three home runs, 20 RBIs and 24 runs, playing third base when he wasn’t pitching. Rowe and Daniels combined for a 25-2 record this year.

Valdosta catcher Galen Smith was another easy first-team selection. Smith batted .295 with two home runs and 32 RBIs from the cleanup spot for the Wildcats, and had a .460 on-base percentage. But it was his defense behind the plate that really made him stand out. He stopped countless pitches in the dirt and called an excellent game for his pitchers.

Valdosta second baseman Cameron Cain was also well deserving of his spot on the first team. The switch-hitting Cain batted a team-best .424 with two home runs and 30 RBIs, hitting primarily in the third spot for the Wildcats. Cain also had 13 doubles and a .546 on-base percentage.

Valdosta’s other two first-team players live in the same house. Taylor Prain, a senior, played shortstop, third base, pitcher and center field for Valdosta last year, and batted .339 from the leadoff spot. He led the Wildcats with 40 hits. His brother Chad, a sophomore, was second on the Wildcats with a .416 batting average, hit two homers and drove in 29 runs. He struck out only three times in 77 at-bats.

The Region 1-AAAAA Coach of the Year also wore Wildcat black and gold. Shuman was an easy choice for the award after leading Valdosta to a 28-7 record and its first region title in 11 years. In region play, Valdosta went 10-2 and swept crosstown rival Lowndes for the first time in a decade. The Wildcats then won their first six state playoff games and made it all the way to the AAAAA semifinals.

“It was fantastic,” Shuman said about the season. “Everything came together for us. We had a great year.”

On the other side of town, Lowndes outfielder Sam Hoff was the lone Viking to make the first team. Hoff batted .370 with two home runs and 14 RBIs and was the Vikings’ best hitter.

Coffee, which shared second place with Warner Robins, had four players selected to the first team. The best of the group was center fielder Michael Swinson, who batted .434 with six home runs and 28 RBIs, while stealing 12 bases. Swinson was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 12th round, and is already playing minor league baseball.

Coffee also had the region’s home run and RBI king. First baseman Corey Davis batted .364 with 12 home runs and 38 RBIs. Meanwhile, second baseman Stuart Drew won the region batting title with a .459 average and stole a region-best 19 bases. The fourth Trojan on the team was outfielder Jake Gower, who batted .393 and tied Swinson for second in the region with 28 RBIs.

Warner Robins placed three players on the first team. Pitcher Jesse Scott went 7-2 and struck out 67 batters. Outfielder Aaron Dobbs batted .364 with four home runs and 21 RBIs, while stealing 10 bases. Catcher Zack Watson batted .400 with four homers and 22 RBIs.

Tift County placed two hitters on the first team. Shortstop Chance Veazey batted .453 with three home runs, 24 RBIs and batted .520 with runners in scoring position. Outfielder Tyce Moore hit .337 with four homers and 28 RBIs.

Colquitt County’s Jebb Cato rounds out the first team. Cato led the Packers with a .420 average and drove in 18 runs.

Four local players were received honorable mention recognition. Valdosta first baseman Jamie Turner batted .269 with three home runs for the Wildcats, while outfielder Thomas Lovett batted .311 and drove in 18 runs. Lowndes infielder Parker Pridgen hit .314 with two home runs and 19 RBIs. LHS teammate Matt McCall led the Vikings in nearly every pitching category, including wins and ERA.

The other honorable mention selections were Ben Watson, Jacob Stinson and Matthew Brunty of Tift County, Justin Burke and Chess Malone of Warner Robins, Ryan Mayo and Brandon Farabow of Coffee, Kyle Davis, Damian Phillips, Phillip Knauer and Chris Thompson of Houston County and John Michael Harrison of Colquitt County.

A great year for Wildcats
Valdosta went 28-7, made it to AAAAA state semifinals

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: May 29, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — One day after his team’s season ended, Valdosta High baseball coach Bart Shuman couldn’t help but express how proud he was of his baseball team for the year they'd had.

Valdosta finished the season 28-7, its best record this decade, and one of the best seasons in school history.

The Wildcats’ pursuit of their ultimate goal — the school’s first state championship since 1978 — fell three wins short, as they lost 10-4 to Walton in the third game of the AAAAA state semifinals.

But that loss doesn’t take away from a good season.

“I can’t say enough about our seniors and our entire team,” Shuman said. “To get this far, with a great group of young men, I’m extremely proud of them. They truly are a group of winners. They battled every single pitch this year.”

“We had a great year, 28-7,” he continued. “We went toe-to-toe with the defending state champions for three games. I’m proud of them. They beat Luella, beat Kell, and then went three games with (Walton). That’s awesome.”

Pitching was the backbone of Valdosta’s deep playoff run. Kyle Rowe (13-1) and Earl Daniels (12-1) gave the Wildcats their best 1-2 punch on the mound in a long time. The duo went a combined 25-2 this season, including 7-1 in the playoffs.

“When you’ve got two guys like Earl and Kyle, you’ve got to feel like you’ve got a chance against anybody,” Shuman said. “Kyle won 13 games and Earl won 12. They both had great years.”

Rowe is now 4-0 lifetime against metro Atlanta teams, after wins over Kell in the quarterfinals and Walton in the semifinals.

At the plate, Valdosta had no true superstars this season, but had a lineup that was able to consistently get on base and get the clutch hits to drive in runs. Chad Prain and Cameron Cain each hit over .400 this year, and the Wildcats had seven .300 hitters in the lineup. The lowest average in their lineup was .288.

“Our guys put the bat on the ball,” Shuman said. “They did a good job of hitting with two strikes.

They put the ball in play. They had a lot of clutch hits, and were able to score runs against some pretty good teams.”

Valdosta will now head into summer ball with a few holes to fill, with six seniors graduating.

“We’ve got to fill some big shoes,” Shuman said. “We got tremendous leadership from our seniors this year, on and off the field. We’re going to miss them.”

Pitching will be a big priority. Daniels’ 12 wins and 131 strikeouts will be almost impossible to replace. But the Wildcats hope to develop another solid starter to pitch behind Rowe. They will also try to develop a deeper pitching staff (the lack of a strong No. 3 pitcher proved costly against Walton).

Valdosta will also have to find a shortstop, a catcher, a leadoff hitter and a left fielder. Defensively, Smith was arguably one of the best catchers in the state, and Daniels’ glove is one of the main reasons he is going to Georgia next year. Taylor Prain’s versatility (he played four positions in the Walton series alone) and ability to get on base will also be missed.

Cain and Chad Prain, the team’s two leading hitters this season, will be back. So will Rowe (.357), right fielder Stuart Brooks (.288) and center fielder Harrison West (.318). Shuman also says some younger players showed promise for the junior varsity this season, and they will get a chance to earn some playing time.

The Wildcats are now hosting the Valdosta Summer Shootout, which started Wednesday and runs through Saturday.

Valdosta was not originally scheduled to play in its own tournament, because the schedule had to be set while the Wildcats were still in the state playoffs. But now they will face Charlton County at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Bazemore Field.

Valdosta will compete in four more tournaments in June. The Wildcats will play in the Berrien tournament June 5-7, the Thomas County Central Wooden Bat Tournament June 11-14 and the Chiles tournament June 19-22, before wrapping up the summer at the Lowndes Diamond Brawl June 26-28.

Valdosta will also play several non-tournament games throughout the month.


Chad Prain batted over .400 for Valdosta as a sophomore this season.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times


Earl Daniels (5) went 12-1 and struck out 131 batters this season, while also batting .295 and playing stellar defense at shortstop. Daniels helped lead Valdosta to the state semifinals. He is one of six seniors that Valdosta will have to replace next year.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times

Valdosta falls to Walton in semis
Wildcats lose 10-4 Tuesday after the Raiders built a 7-0 lead at VHS

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: May 28, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — The clock struck midnight on Valdosta’s Cinderella season Tuesday.

Walton ended Valdosta’s season with a 10-4 victory in game 3 of the AAAAA state semifinals at Bazemore Field.

The Wildcats finish the year 28-7, and will likely be ranked No. 3 in the state’s final poll.

“I can’t say enough about our seniors and our entire team,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said. “To get this far, with a great group of young men, I’m extremely proud of them. They truly are a group of winners. They battled every single pitch this year.

“We had a great year, 28-7. We went toe-to-toe with the defending state champions for three games. I’m proud of them. They beat Luella, beat Kell, and then went three games with these guys. That’s awesome.”

The difference in Tuesday’s deciding game was the pitching. Walton sent a Division I prospect, Kyle Putkonen, to the mound. Valdosta, without a true No. 3 starter, sent Taylor Prain, normally an infielder, to the mound. Putkonen (8-1) took a shutout into the sixth, and helped pitch the Raiders into the finals.

“They had a few more arms than we did. That was the bottom line,” Shuman said. “(Putkonen) was a quality pitcher for a third game. He did a good job.

“I thought Taylor did good for three innings; we were only down 2-0. He put us in a position to win, but it wasn’t to be. We gave up too many walks (10) and hit two batters. We gave out 12 free passes this afternoon.”

For two innings, Prain shut out the defending state champions. But in the third, he ran into trouble.

Prain walked Michael Savransky, Cory Reed reached on an error and Billy Burns also drew a walk, loading the bases. Then, on a full count, the umpire called ball four on a borderline pitch to Alex Sherrod, forcing in a run. Spencer Kieboom followed with a single up the middle, scoring Reed, making it 2-0. Burns tried to score, but was gunned down at the plate by Valdosta center fielder Harrison West.

The Raiders began pulling away with three runs in the fourth. Ryan Mitzel walked and was sacrificed to second, then Reed was hit by a pitch. At that point, Shuman pulled Prain and went to ace Earl Daniels. But Daniels had pitched a complete game on Monday, and was clearly fatigued. He walked Burns, then gave up a two-run double to Sherrod, making it 4-0. Kieboom’s sacrifice fly scored another run.

Walton extended its lead with two more runs in the fifth. Daniels walked Daniel Ficarrotta, hit Mitzel with a pitch and walked Savransky to load the bases, before being pulled in favor of Chad Prain. Prain retired the first batter he faced, but Burns’ two-run single made it 7-0.

At the same time that Walton was building a big lead, Valdosta couldn’t get any breaks at key times. In the top of the fourth, Chad Prain hit a ground ball up the middle that deflected off Putkonen, but fell right in front of the pitcher, and he threw to first in time. After Cameron Cain doubled, Daniels ripped a line drive towards the fence in left field. But Burns ran the ball down, and caught it to end the inning.

In the fifth, a Kyle Rowe double and a single by Jamie Turner put runners on the corner with no outs. But Stuart Brooks lined out to second, and Putkonen struck out both West and Taylor Prain to end the inning.

“There were a lot of little ifs that, if they’d gone our way, might have given us a chance,” Shuman said. “But Walton pitched well, they hit the ball in the fifth and sixth innings, and put the game out of reach.”

The Wildcats finally broke through in the top of the sixth, pushing four runs across the plate. Leading off, Chad Prain lined a double down the left field line. Cain and Smith both reached on errors, loading the bases. Then Daniels drew a walk, bringing home Valdosta’s first run. Rowe followed with a line drive double to deep left center, and Cain and courtesy runner Wesley Welch scored to cut the Wildcats’ deficit to 7-3.

That was all for Putkonen, who was relieved by Josh Dew. Dew got Turner to fly out to right, but Daniels tagged up and scored Valdosta’s fourth run. Rowe went to third on the play.

“We had a chance in the sixth,” Shuman said. “We cut the deficit to 7-4 and had a runner on third.”

But that was all the Wildcats could get. Dews’ 2-2 pitch to Stuart Brooks looked well off the plate, but strike three was called. A ground out ended the inning, as well as Valdosta’s last good chance to get back in the game.

Walton tacked on three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth to put the game away. The Raiders loaded the bases, then Mitzel lined a single past a drawn-in infield to score two runs. Reed later singled in Mark Pope with the final run of the game.

For Walton, Kieboom (2-for-3) was the only player with more than one hit. Sherrod had three RBIs. Putkonen gave up four runs and six hits, striking out six.

For Valdosta, Rowe had two doubles and two RBIs. Chad Prain also had a pair of hits.

This was the final game for Valdosta seniors Daniels, Smith, Taylor Prain, Thomas Lovett, Herb Reinhard and Kyle Edmondson.

Now Valdosta will transition into its summer season. The team hosts the Valdosta Summer Shootout, which begins today. The Wildcats aren’t scheduled to play in their own tournament, because their spring season didn’t end until Tuesday. Games will be held at Lowndes High, Berrien High and possibly Valdosta High.


Valdosta High's catcher, Galen Smith, takes a hit from a Walton base runner but manages to get the out.
Paul Leavy/The Valdosta Daily Times


Valdosta's Earl Daniels makes it to second base during game action Tuesday afternoon.
Paul Leavy/The Valdosta Daily Times
Raiders pitch way to victory

Author: Chris Walsh
Publication Date: May 28, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA – Tuesday evening’s semifinals all came down to who was on the mound, when Valdosta fell 10-4 to Walton in the deciding game 3.

But the Raiders were ready for a third game, at least on the mound. Walton had saved their second best pitcher on the team for a third game and it worked.

Kyle Putkonen, a Division I prospect, started on the mound and went five shutout innings before finally being pulled in the sixth.

Valdosta had one of the best runs into the postseason for a team from south Georgia in recent years.

But their Achilles heel was their lack of a true third starter, and on Monday, that one weakness finally came back to bite them.

Valdosta was forced to start Taylor Prain after their two aces, Earl Daniels and Kyle Rowe, pitched complete games on Monday.

Prain went two good innings and escaped a two-run third, before being pulled in the fourth. There to replace him was Daniels, less than 24 hours after pitching a full seven-inning game.

Daniels’ arm was predictably tired, and he gave up three runs in one inning of work, before being replaced by sophomore Chad Prain.

The three Valdosta pitchers struggled with their control, walking 10 batters and hitting two more.

In the meantime, the Raiders were riding the back of Putkonen and shutting out the Wildcats through five innings, racking up a 7-0 lead.

The Raiders finally made a change on the mound in the sixth, after the ’Cats had loaded the bases with no outs, but the lead was already established.

Walton made a bold move by holding Putkonen until the third game, but it paid off. Valdosta didn’t have the luxury of holding out their second ace, Rowe, because they needed him to win game 2. He did, but afterwards, Valdosta found itself asking who would take the hill on Tuesday.

The Daniels and Rowe combo had worked through three rounds of playoffs. They had gone a combined 7-1 in the playoffs.

But Daniels’ performance was just slightly outdone by Walton’s game 1 pitcher, Mark Pope. It was a matchup of Georgia recruit (Daniels) versus Georgia Tech recruit (Pope), and Pope was just a little bit better in a 3-0 win. Rowe had to go a full nine innings before the Wildcats pulled off the game 2 win, 4-3.

So Valdosta was left having to choose between a couple of pitchers who hadn’t started a game in nearly a month. Meanwhile, the Raiders were sending their other ace on the mound Tuesday. Walton also had some extra arms in the bullpen.

In the end, that extra pitching depth made all the difference for the Raiders.

Valdosta lost Tuesday, but walked away with nothing to hang its heads about. They went the distance with the best they had, and end the season the No. 3 team in the state.

Valdosta splits with Walton
Wildcats and Raiders to face off in third game today

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: May 27, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — Valdosta and Walton still have one game left today, with a spot in the finals on the line.

Valdosta and Walton split the first two games of their Class AAAAA state semifinal series Monday at Bazemore Field, setting game 3 today at 5 p.m.

The Raiders took the first game 3-0, then the Wildcats stayed alive with a 4-3 nine-inning win in game 2.

Kyle Rowe’s gutsy complete game performance helped Valdosta pull out game 2. Rowe (13-1) went the distance, allowing eight hits, only four of which left the infield, and one earned run. With the tying run on second with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Rowe slammed the door, retiring the last two hitters. He also drove in the winning run in the top of the ninth.

Valdosta took the lead in the top of the ninth. Chad Prain and Cameron Cain drew walks from left- hander Chris Knauff to start the ninth. Walton coach Shane Amos went to the bullpen at that point, and brought in Josh Dew. Dew walked Galen Smith, loading the bases with one out. Earl Daniels hit a chopper in front of the plate that Dew chased down and shoveled to catcher Spencer Kieboom for a force out at home.

Then Rowe hit a chopper to third. Walton third baseman Daniel Ficarrotta charged the ball, but couldn’t field it cleanly, and Cain scored to give the Wildcats the lead.

Valdosta had a chance for more, but Jamie Turner’s line drive was caught, then a runner was doubled off the base for the third out.

Walton wouldn’t go quietly in the bottom of the ninth. Pinch hitter Cory Leff beat out an infield single to start the inning, and was sacrificed to second. But Rowe struck out Billy Burns, then Valdosta right fielder Stuart Brooks hauled in Alex Sherrod’s fly ball to end the game.

Valdosta had taken an early 3-0 lead with three runs in the top of the first. The game began with Taylor Prain singling, Chad Prain drawing a walk and Cain getting hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Galen Smith hit the ball over the second baseman’s head, scoring Taylor Prain, but Cain was forced out at second. Earl Daniels followed with a single up the middle, scoring Chad Prain. Turner’s double to left scored courtesy runner Wesley Welch, making it 3-0.

After that, the game became a pitcher’s duel between Rowe and Walton starter T.J. Kerins, and neither team could score again until the fifth.

Then in the fifth, a controversial call helped Walton score two runs. With Burns on first and one out, Sherrod flew out to left. But the home plate umpire called catcher’s interference — which seemed to surprise Smith, the catcher, and sent Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman into a rage — and Sherrod was awarded first base. Kieboom followed with a double to right center, and both runners scored to make it 3-2.

Then in the bottom of the seventh, with Valdosta one out away from victory, a gutsy call by Walton tied the score. Burns raced for the plate, trying to steal home, and beat the tag, making it 3-3 and sending the game into extra innings.

But the Wildcats pulled it out in the ninth, and lived to play another day.

The Prain brothers combined for five hits in game 2. The rest of the Wildcats only had two.

Kerins allowed three runs and struck out 10 batters in five innings of work. No Walton player had more than one hit.

Game 1: Walton 3, Valdosta 0

Walton pitcher Mark Pope has already signed a scholarship to Georgia Tech. Yellow Jackets head coach Danny Hall will be very happy to have him.

Pope dominated a lineup in game 1 that hadn’t been dominated all year. The senior right-hander pitched a two-out shutout, struck out 10 batters, and held Valdosta scoreless for the first time all season.

Daniels, Valdosta’s starter, pitched well enough to win most games, but got no run support on Monday. Daniels (12-1) went the distance, limiting the Raiders to just two hits and one earned run, striking out two.

Walton took the lead right away, scoring a run in the top of the first. With one out, Sherrod drew a walk, then two batters later, Kyle Putkonen also walked. Ficarrotta singled home Sherrod, giving the Raiders a 1-0 lead.

In the second, Valdosta gave Walton two extra outs, and the Raiders capitalized. Ryan Mitzel led off with a single, then Michael Savransky laid down a bunt. Daniels tried to throw to second, but his throw was late, and both runners were safe. One out later, Burns hit a routine grounder to short, but the ball was booted, loading the bases. Sherrod then drew a walk, forcing in a run. Kieboom’s sacrifice fly brought home another run, making it 3-0.

The two teams’ aces traded zeroes on the scoreboard the rest of the way.

Valdosta got a runner to second base in both the fourth and fifth innings, but each time, Pope slammed the door on the potential rally.


Valdosta first baseman Jamie Turner tags out Walton's Ryan Mitzel during the first game.
Paul Leavy/The Valdosta Daily Times


Valdosta’s Cameron Cain dives safely back into first during a pick off play during the first game. Walton’s Josh Hamby applies the tag.
Paul Leavy/The Valdosta Daily Times


Valdosta High’s Earl Daniels delivers a pitch during the first game Monday evening at Bazemore Field.
Paul Leavy/The Valdosta Daily Times


Valdosta first baseman Jamie Turner stops a line drive to get an out late in the first game Monday.
Paul Leavy/The Valdosta Daily Times

Seniors lead Wildcats into state semifinals
Valdosta hosts Walton today in AAAAA final four

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: May 26, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — All year long, Valdosta has relied heavily on its seniors, and all year long, they have come through for the Wildcats.

Today, Valdosta will rely on its seniors once again. And Earl Daniels, Galen Smith, Taylor Prain, Thomas Lovett, Herb Reinhard and Kyle Edmondson are ready to give their team all they’ve got.

“They’ve been as good a senior class as we’ve had here in a while,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said. “They’ve provided great leadership, mostly by example. They’re a lot of fun.”

Valdosta hosts defending state champion Walton today in the Class AAAAA state semifinals. Game 1 will begin at 5 p.m., with game 2 to follow afterwards. Game 3, if necessary, is scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The games will be radio broadcast on 92.1 FM.

This has been a special season for Valdosta. The Wildcats (27-5) have returned to the state semifinals for the first time since 1999. They won the school’s first region championship since 1997. They are 6-0 in the playoffs, the only AAAAA team that has not lost a playoff game so far.

Last week, they swept Kell, the No. 3 team in the state, in the quarterfinals.

And now they are focused on their next opponent, Walton, as they chase their ultimate dream: the school’s first state championship since 1978.

“Our goal coming into the season was to win state, and now we still have a chance to do that,” Smith said.

“It’s been an amazing season,” Daniels said. “(Today) we need to play like we have all year. Our pitchers need to keep throwing strikes. We can’t make errors, we have to get good, timely hits, and we need to keep our energy up all seven innings.”

Valdosta has gotten big contributions out of its seniors, particularly the four starters, who occupy four of the top five spots in the team’s lineup.

Prain has been a three-year starter and a man of many positions for Valdosta. He has started at shortstop, third base, center field and pitcher, and can play any position if needed. He has been Valdosta’s leadoff hitter all season. He is batting .347, and has one of the highest on-base percentages on the team.

“He’s a steady player,” Shuman said. “He’s played several positions. He’s led off the last two years. He never gets rattled, and he’s real consistent. You get the same thing from Taylor every day.”

“As the leadoff hitter, I’ve tried to get on base and set the tone,” Prain said. “It’s been a great year. I thought we could win the region, and I expected us to go further than we did last year (when the team lost in the second round), but I’m excited to be in the semifinals.”

Smith has been rock solid behind the plate. He was a first-team All-Region catcher last year, and has been even better this year. He is batting .321 with 29 runs batted in and a .495 on-base percentage as Valdosta’s cleanup hitter. Defensively, he has been even better. He has stopped pretty much every pitch in the dirt, and gunned down a number of base runners this season. He has already signed with Georgia College and State.

“Galen’s had a great year,” Shuman said. “You don’t realize what Galen does until you see opponents have passed balls or errors, and then you try to remember the last time Galen had a passed ball, or when he made a bad throw. It hasn’t happened a lot. He is in control of the game, and the game goes through him every pitch. He’s our coach on the field. He is a pleasure to watch, coach and be around.”

“I’ve been pleased with my defense and catching the pitchers,” Smith said. “That’s my main responsibility. I’ve tried to do my job.”

Daniels has gotten the most attention, thanks to a big year for the Wildcats and the scholarship he signed with the University of Georgia last fall. He has been a three-year starter and the Wildcats’ starting shortstop the past two years. This season, he is batting .295 with 17 RBIs from the fifth spot in the lineup.

But it’s on the mound where Daniels has been a star. He is now 12-0 this season with a 1.23 ERA. In 74 innings, he has struck out 129 batters and given up just 41 hits.

“He’s had a great career here, and a phenomenal senior year,” Shuman said. “He’s a winner, no question.”

“I’ve been real pleased with my pitching and defense,” Daniels said. “My hitting hasn’t been as good as I wanted, but this is a team game. If I’m not hitting well, Galen, Taylor or other players have stepped up. It’s been a team effort all year.”

Before the season, Daniels, Smith and Prain, the team’s three most experienced players, were appointed team captains. It was the first time in years the Wildcats had chosen captains.

“It’s an honor to be a captain, and a big responsibility,” Daniels said. “We want to be leaders for this team.”

Lovett is a two-year starter. He has batted second for the Wildcats and played left field all season long. He is currently hitting .337. He is the only left-handed hitter in Valdosta’s lineup.

“Thomas is another one that’s been with us a while,” Shuman said. “He’s had a great year. He’s been an impact player for us. He’s had some key hits for us, and played a steady left field. He’s also an honor student.”

“This year has been great,” Lovett said. “The majority of the season, I haven’t felt pressure. I’ve just kept playing ball and tried to help the team win.”

Shuman also praises the team’s other two seniors for the parts they’ve played. Reinhard and Edmondson don’t start, but their coach says both have contributed in other ways.

“Those guys haven’t played a lot, but they’ve been great leaders in practice, and in the dugout during the game,” Shuman said. “They know their roles. And who knows, tomorrow may be the day they get a big opportunity. I feel they’re both ready.”

Reinhard has been one of the team’s main pinch runners. He is often used as a defensive replacement in late innings. He can play any spot in the infield or outfield.

“It’s been fun to be a part of (a semifinal team), something not a lot of players get to do,” Reinhard said. “Our team chemistry is real good. We’re friends on and off the field.”

Edmondson, a pitcher and first baseman, transferred to Valdosta from Lowndes last summer. Lowndes won the region title every year from 2005-07, and Valdosta won it this year, so Edmondson was a member of the region champions’ program every year he was in high school.

“It’s been great to be a part of these programs. (Lowndes) won three region titles while I was there, then I came over here and won one,” Edmondson said. “But I still want to win a state title.”


Valdosta High seniors Taylor Prain, Earl Daniels, Galen Smith, Thomas Lovett and Kyle Edmondson have played big roles helping the Wildcats reach the state semifinals.
PhotoCR.com


Herb Reinhard
PhotoCR.com

Wildcats headed to semis

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: May 21, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — The Wildcats are going to the semifinals.

Valdosta High swept Kell, 7-5 and 4-0, Tuesday evening in the AAAAA state quarterfinals, and earned a berth in the semifinals.

The Wildcats last made the semifinals in 1999, head coach Bart Shuman’s first year. Now they’re going back. Valdosta will host another Marietta school, Walton, next Monday. The Raiders swept Camden County, 11-1 and 8-0, on Wednesday.

Once again, pitching carried Valdosta. In game 1, Earl Daniels shut down the Longhorns for six innings, then escaped a jam in the seventh. Then in game 2, Kyle Rowe pitched what may have been the best game of his career, tossing a three-hit shutout and leading the Wildcats to a 4-0 victory.

Game 1: Valdosta 7, Kell 5

Daniels and Kell’s Matt Smith waged a pitcher’s duel for most of game 1, before some late-inning offense made the final score 7-5.

Daniels and Smith each yielded two runs in the first, then shut down the batters for the next five innings.

Then Valdosta’s bats came alive in the bottom of the sixth, and the Wildcats put four runs on the board, turning a 3-2 lead into a 7-2 lead.

Galen Smith led off the sixth with a single to right. Daniels reached on an error and Chad Prain walked. Then Rowe lined a single past a drawn-in infield, scoring Wesley Welch, running for Smith, and Daniels. A wild pitch moved the runners up a base. Stuart Brooks lined a single to center, and Prain and Rowe scored for Wildcats’ sixth and seventh runs.

Valdosta would need all of those runs.

Trailing 7-2 going into the top of the seventh, Kell rallied. Leading off the inning, pinch hitter Zach Grillo drilled a Daniels fastball over the fence in left field for a solo home run. Then Daniels hit ninth hitter Mike Kauss with a pitch. Nick Hicks followed with a line drive into the gap in left center, putting runners at second and third. Jason Stoltz grounded to third, and Kauss raced for the plate. Third baseman Chad Prain threw home, and catcher Galen Smith tagged out Kauss. John Duran singled, loading the bases.

Brandon Williams followed with a single to center. Hicks and Stoltz scored, but when Duran tried to take third, center fielder Harrison West fired a strike to third base, and Chad Prain tagged out Duran on a close play for the second out. Daniels then induced a pop up to second to end the game.

Kell took an early lead with two runs in the first, on an RBI groundout by Duran and an RBI single by Williams. Valdosta tied the score in the bottom of the first on a two-run double by Smith.

For Valdosta, Taylor Prain, Galen Smith and Rowe had two hits apiece. Daniels allowed five runs and eight hits, and struck out three. Three of Kell’s runs and four of its hits came in the seventh.

For Kell, Hicks and Williams had two hits each. Matt Smith allowed seven runs and nine hits in 5.1 innings.

Game 2: Valdosta 4, Kell 0

Kell sent its ace, highly-touted right-hander Zeke Spruill to the mound for game 2. Spruill, who was ranked the 30th best high school prospect in the country by The Sporting News and has already signed with Georgia, was solid, allowing one earned run and nine hits, striking out nine.

But Rowe was better.

Rowe tossed a three-hit shutout, walked only one batter and struck out 10. He only allowed a runner to get past first once, and faced the minimum three batters in five of seven innings. Simply put, he was dominant.

Valdosta got on the board with a run in the top of the third. Leading off the inning, Stuart Brooks hit a line drive that rolled to the wall in left for a double. Brooks moved to third on Taylor Prain’s ground out. Spruill struck out Thomas Lovett for the second out, but with Cameron Cain at the plate, he uncorked a wild pitch. Brooks raced for the plate and scored, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

In the fourth, Valdosta loaded the bases with two outs on a hit by pitch, a Chad Prain single and an error. Then Valdosta caught a huge break. Brooks lifted a fly ball to shallow right for what should have been the third out. Grillo sprinted in to try to catch the ball, but the ball fell out of his glove. Welch and Prain were running on contact, and scored. Jamie Turner was waved home, and beat the throw, giving the Wildcats a 4-0 lead.

Kell tried to stage a late rally, loading the bases with two outs in the sixth on a bunt single, an error and a walk. But with the tying run at the plate, Rowe rose to the occasion, and struck out Williams to end the inning.

Then Rowe retired the side in the seventh, and the Wildcats were moving on to the semifinals.


Valdosta High catcher Galen Smith tags out Kell’s Mike Kauss (7) at home plate in the seventh inning of the first game of the AAAAA state quarterfinals Tuesday evening at Bazemore Field.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times


Valdosta High catcher Galen Smith tags out Kell’s Mike Kauss (7) at home plate in the seventh inning of the first game of the AAAAA state quarterfinals Tuesday evening at Bazemore Field.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
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Valdosta High’s Earl Daniels (5) pitches during the first game of a doubleheader with Kell High School during the state quarterfinals Tuesday afternoon at Bazemore Field. Daniels led the Wildcats to a 7-5 win.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times


Valdosta High's Thomas Lovett (9) dives back to first in time, as Kell High's Zack Jordan (21) gets the ball too late during game 1 of the AAAAA state quarterfinals Tuesday evening at Bazemore Field.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times


Sweep at Valdosta ends Kell’s year

Author: Adam Carrington
Publication Date: May 21, 2008 Marietta Daily Journal

VALDOSTA - This was not the way Kell wanted to end its 2008 season.

A costly miscue in the fourth inning of Tuesday's second game by right fielder Zach Grillo resulted in three Valdosta runs, and the Longhorns could not bail him out afterwards.

Visiting Kell (30-8) went on to lose the nightcap, 4-0, after dropping a 7-5 decision in the opener of the Class AAAAA state quarterfinals.

Valdosta will host Walton in the semifinal round Monday.

The stakes were high, but it wasn't the easiest play for Grillo to make. The Wildcats had the bases loaded with two outs when Stuart Brooks hit a shallow fly ball between Grillo and second baseman Nick Hicks.

Hicks attempted to make a play but pulled back when he knew he couldn't get there in time. Grillo, who was playing relatively deep in right field, got there in time to put a glove on it, but couldn't hold on and it was charged an error by the official scorer. The bases cleared as a result of the error.

Hicks said the lights made it hard for both players to track the ball.

"It was tough to see obviously because of the lighting," Hicks said. "I ran when the ball went up but I couldn't get to it and was hoping our right fielder could make the play, but he couldn't see it either."

Kell desperately tried to make amends afterwards and almost did so in the sixth inning. The Longhorns managed to load the bases with two outs for cleanup hitter Brandon Williams. A grand slam would have tied the game but Williams struck out going for a fastball that was low and away, and Kell couldn't do anything in the seventh.

The Grillo error didn't help, but that wasn't the only thing that went wrong for Kell in the second game. All four runs were unearned with the first one coming in on a third-inning wild pitch from Zeke Spruill.

The Longhorns only got three hits off Valdosta pitcher Kyle Rowe, who threw seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts.

"Valdosta has a great team, but we played terrible both games," Kell coach Donnie English said. "We made mistakes - too many errors. The four runs they had, I don't think they had one earned run."

The error aside, Grillo did highlight Game 1.

With the Longhorns trailing, 7-2, entering into the top of the seventh, Grillo started the inning with a solo home run that traveled over the left field wall and beyond.

Grillo's home run triggered a seventh-inning rally for Kell. Williams hit a two-run single to center to cut the Valdosta lead to two before Zach Jordan popped to second to give Valdosta the series lead.

Another high point in the opener was Kell taking a 2-0 lead in the first. John Duran drove a run in on a groundout before Williams came through with an RBI single to right.

But Valdosta tied it in the bottom of the frame and the Longhorns managed just two hits off Valdosta starter Earl Daniels before the seventh inning. The Wildcats tacked on four runs in the sixth to take a 7-2 lead on two-run singles by Rowe and Brooks.

"We had a great year, but we came down here and had to play two of our worst games," English said. "Anyway, that's baseball."

Valdosta's pair of aces
Daniels, Rowe have combined for 22-1 record for Wildcats in 2008

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: May 20, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — Today, Valdosta High’s baseball team will do the same thing it has done all season: hand the ball to its aces.

Earl Daniels and Kyle Rowe have given the Wildcats outstanding pitching all year, and are two of the main reasons the team is one of only eight AAAAA baseball teams still playing.

Valdosta (25-5) hosts Kell (25-6) in the state quarterfinals today at Bazemore Field. The first game of today’s doubleheader will start at 5 p.m. Game 3, if necessary, will be at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Daniels said. “We haven’t been in this position in a long time. It’s pretty special to me, as a senior. I’m ready for this.”

“This year has been a lot of fun,” Rowe said. “We’re glad to be (in the quarterfinals), but we want to keep playing.”

Pitching has been the backbone for Valdosta this year. Daniels and Rowe were the premier pitchers in Region 1-AAAAA this year, and are likely first-team All-Region selections.

Daniels is 11-0 this season, with a 1.07 ERA. He has struck out 126 batters in 67 innings, which easily leads the region and is one of the top marks in the state. He struck out 18 batters in a win over Warner Robins this year, and had 17 strikeouts in a win over Cook.

Rowe is 11-1 with a 2.81 ERA. He has struck out 80 batters in 83.1 innings this season, third-best in the region. He allowed more than four runs in a game only once this season, and shut down Tift County in the game that clinched the region title for the Wildcats.

“We’ve had good seasons,” Rowe said.

How valuable has the pitching of Daniels and Rowe been for Valdosta? They have combined for 22 of their team’s 25 wins. The team’s other pitchers are a combined 3-4.

“That’s unheard of,” said Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman about having two 11-game winners. “They’ve been pretty special. Both of them have really been consistent. You pretty much know what you’re going to get with them.”

“Having good pitching helps a lot,” Daniels said. “You also need good hitting, but pitching is a big part.”

Daniels throws a fastball that tops out in the low 90s, and also has three off-speed pitches. Rowe’s fastball hits the high 80s, and he also has two good off-speed pitches. Both have learned how to be effective pitchers.

“They’ve been playing the game a long time. They’re serious about pitching,” Shuman said. “They’re very coachable. Everything we’ve tried to do with them, they’ve been able to do it. They do more than just stand up there and throw it 85-plus miles an hour.”

Both were tested last week in the Wildcats’ second-round sweep of Luella. In game 1, Daniels took a 6-0 lead into the sixth inning, only to have the Lions rally for five runs. But then, with the bases loaded, he induced an inning-ending double play, then retired the final three batters to close out the win. In game 2, Rowe had a perfect game with two outs in the fourth, only to yield a three-run homer to Luella’s Andrew Tumlin, which cut the VHS lead to 4-3. But he responded by shutting down the Lions the rest of the way.

“Neither one of them gets too emotional,” Shuman said. “They’ve been on an even keel all year pitching, and that helps.”

They have also done it with their bats and their gloves. Daniels is batting .295 with 17 RBIs, and is arguably the best defensive shortstop Valdosta has had in a long time. Rowe is batting .348, is tied for the team lead with three home runs, also has 17 RBIs, and plays a solid third base when he’s not on the mound.

In fact, Daniels has already signed a scholarship to Georgia — as an infielder. But Georgia is also well aware of what Daniels has done on the mound this year.

Both pitchers give some of the credit to their teammates, who have played good defense behind them most of the year, and to Galen Smith, who has been catching the pair for three years and has a good rapport with both of them.

“We know the team’s going to come through for us, no matter what happens,” Daniels said. “They play good defense. Galen is a real good catcher. We know they’re going to score runs for us.”

“We have a good team,” Rowe said. “They hit the ball and play good defense.”

Daniels, Rowe and the Wildcats will face a tough Kell team today. The Longhorns have also won 25 games, playing in always-tough Region 6-AAAAA.

Kell has four players who have signed Division I scholarships, including right-handed pitcher Zeke Sprull, who will be Daniels’ teammate at Georgia, and shortstop Jason Stoltz, who has signed with Clemson.

“They are one of the top programs in the state of Georgia, without a doubt,” Shuman said. “They’re going to bring four Division I signees. (Kell coach) Donnie English has been around a long time, and he will have as good a high school baseball team as we’ve played. It will be a big challenge.”

That means Valdosta needs to come ready to play.

“(Earl and Kyle) will have to have good games. We’ll have to play good defense,” Shuman said. “I think the longer we can keep it close, the better chance we’ve got. We can’t give up any big innings. Kell likes to run; they’ve got some players with good speed.

“We need to gut it out, with determination and playing hard-nosed baseball, and put pressure on them.”


Valdosta High pitchers Kyle Rowe, left, and Earl Daniels lead the Wildcats into today’s AAAAA state quarterfinal series against Kell at Bazemore Field. Rowe is 11-1, while Daniels is 11-0 this season.
Paul Leavy/The Valdosta Daily Times
Wildcats sweep Luella

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: May 14, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — The Wildcats are going to the quarterfinals.

Valdosta High’s baseball team earned a spot in the third round of the AAAAA state playoffs with a doubleheader sweep of Luella Wednesday at Bazemore Field. The Wildcats won the first game, 7-5, then took the nightcap 6-4.

“It’s a good feeling,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said. “I’m happy for our guys and our coaches and fans.”

The Wildcats (25-5) will play either South Forsyth or Kell next week at home. The War Eagles and Longhorns split their first two games Wednesday.

Valdosta survived a nailbiter in the first game, holding on to win 7-5 after Luella rallied from a 6-0 deficit in the top of the sixth.

“We beat a very good baseball team,” Shuman said. “They were as good as anybody in our region. It was not over until the last out in both games.”

Valdosta had a six-run third inning. Luella had a five-run sixth. Other than that, the game was a pitcher’s duel between Valdosta’s Earl Daniels and Luella’s Scott Groover.

Daniels (10-0) pitched a complete game, allowing five runs, eight hits and striking out nine. Groover also went the distance, allowing seven runs, six hits and striking out four.

Groover cruised through the first two innings, but got in trouble in the third. Jamie Turner opened the inning with a double to left. Groover struck out Kyle Rowe swinging on a pitch in the dirt, but catcher D.J. Wilson’s throw to first was off the mark, and Rowe was safe. Groover walked Stuart Brooks to load the bases, then walked Taylor Prain to force in a run. Groover struck out Thomas Lovett, but hit Cameron Cain with a pitch, bringing home another run. Galen Smith’s ground ball to short brought home Brooks, making it 3-0. Groover hit Daniels in the head, reloading the bases.

Chad Prain hit a ground ball deep into the hole. Lions shortstop Trey Malone got to the ball, but his throw to first was high. Taylor Prain scored, and Cain kept running from second and scored, making it 5-0. Turner singled past the third baseman, scoring courtesy runner Herb Reinhard.

Daniels shut out the Lions for five innings. But he ran into trouble in the sixth. He walked ninth hitter Jared Ashburgh, yielded a bloop single to Chance Masters, then walked Malone to load the bases. Up stepped Wilson, Luella’s biggest bat. Daniels got Wilson to swing and miss at two curve balls, but then got a pitch up in the strike zone. Wilson drilled it to the fence in deep right center field. Ashburgh and Masters scored, and Malone raced for the plate as the throw came in. Smith, the Valdosta catcher, reached for the ball, but was slightly blocked by Masters, who was standing by the plate, and Malone scored. Valdosta coach Bart Shuman argued that interference should be called, but the run stood.

Ryan Marsh followed with an RBI double, scoring another run to make it 6-4. Later in the inning, on an 0-2 pitch with the bases loaded, Daniels hit John Welborn, making it 6-5, with still only one out.

At that point, Daniels made the biggest pitch of the day. He got Ashburgh to hit a ground ball to Taylor Prain at short. Prain flipped it to Cain at second, then Cain fired to Turner at first for the inning-ending double play.

“The double play in the first game was big,” Shuman said. “Bases loaded, one out, 6-5. That was huge.”

Valdosta came back with an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. One out singles by Turner and Rowe put two men on. Then Taylor Prain lined a single over the second baseman’s head, plating Turner to make it 7-5. Daniels then shut the door in the seventh.

Turner went 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI for Valdosta. The Prain brothers each drove in two runs.

Valdosta 6, Luella 4

Just like it had in the first game, Valdosta jumped out to an early lead, then held on after a Luella rally.

Rowe (11-1) gave the Wildcats another strong outing. He retired the first 11 batters he faced, and allowed just six hits, striking out five.

Valdosta gave him an early lead to work with, scoring twice in the first and two more times in the third.

Taylor Prain singled to lead off the game, took second on a groundout and went to third on Cain’s single up the middle. Two batters later, Daniels beat out an infield single, scoring Prain. Chad Prain followed with an RBI single, bringing home Cain to make it 2-0.

With one out in the top of the third, Daniels walked, advanced on an errant pickoff throw, took third on a Chad Prain single and scored on a passed ball. Later, Turner singled between third and short, bringing home Prain to make it 4-0.

Rowe was perfect for the first 3.2 innings, but then ran into trouble. Wilson ended his perfect game with a single and Marsh followed with another single, putting two men on. Then Andrew Tumlin hit a fly ball the opposite way that carried over the left field fence for a three-run homer, turning a 4-0 Valdosta lead into a 4-3 game.

But Valdosta gave itself two insurance runs in the sixth. After Cain walked, Smith greeted reliever Josh Pape with double to deep left field. Cain raced around third and beat the throw home. Daniels followed with a single to right, and courtesy runner Wesley Welch scored to make it 6-3.

“Galen was great behind the plate, and had that big double in the sixth,” Shuman said. “Instead of a one-run lead, we had a three-run lead.”

Shaun Ulrich had an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh for Luella, but Rowe retired the final three batters to close out the game.

For Valdosta, Taylor Prain went 3-for-5 with a run, Daniels was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, Cain was 2-for-4 with two runs and Chad Prain went 2-for-3 with a run. Wilson went 2-for-3, the only Luella player with more than one hit.


Valdosta High's Jamie Turner (15) dives back on first before the ball gets to Luella High's first base man Wednesday during the second round of state playoffs at Bazemore Field.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times


Valdosta High head baseball coach Bart Shuman disputes a call during the first game of the second round of state playoffs with Luella High Wednesday at Bazemore Field.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times

Luella next for Wildcats
Valdosta hosts second-round doubleheader today at 4:30 p.m.

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: May 14, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — Valdosta High’s baseball team dominated its first-round playoff series last week. The Wildcats are expecting things to be considerably more difficult in this round.

Valdosta (23-5) hosts Luella in the second round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs. The Wildcats and Lions will play a doubleheader today, beginning at 4:30 p.m. An if-necessary third game would be played at 5 p.m. Thursday.

“Our guys are excited about playing,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said. “They’re ready to play.”

Luella is 18-9 this season. The Lions finished second in Region 2-AAAAA, behind region power Redan, with an 11-3 region record.

In the first round, the Lions swept their series with Hiram, winning 12-8 and 6-4.

The Lions’ biggest assets are their hitting and their defense. They have scored double-digit runs 11 times this season, including a 21-3 win over Douglass (a game that lasted only five innings) and a 19-18 win over North Gwinnett.

“Luella is a big-hitting ballclub that scores a lot of runs,” Shuman said. “They play solid defense all around. Their infield is very solid. They’re a good ballclub.”

This series will be a homecoming of sorts for Luella head coach Andy Cooper. Cooper is a Valdosta native who played baseball for Lowndes High in the early 1990s.

“They’re a well-coached team, led by a guy who played at Lowndes,” Shuman said. “He’ll have them ready to play.”

Earl Daniels (9-0) will start game 1 on the mound today, with fellow right-hander Kyle Rowe (10-1) starting game 2. Last week, Rowe started the first game and Daniels the second, but this time, Shuman decided to go with Daniels in the first game.

Valdosta began the playoffs with a dominant two-game sweep of Bradwell Institute, a team that had only eight wins all season. The Wildcats, who were the Region 1-AAAAA champions and ended the regular season as the No. 5 team in AAAAA, won the first game 10-2, then scored 14 runs in the first inning on the way to a 17-0 series-clinching rout in game 2.

Shuman knows that getting past Luella will be much harder.

“It will be a challenge, a big test for us,” said Shuman, now in his 10th year as Valdosta’s head coach. “From the second round on, usually everybody is pretty good. We’ve got to show up ready to play.

“We’re going to send Earl and Kyle out there, and see what we can do.”

Valdosta hopes playing at home will be an advantage.

“It’s real nice to be at home,” Shuman said. “We like playing at home, with our fans there, and not have to worry about traveling.”

Valdosta has made it to the second round of the playoffs each of the last two seasons, but has not made it to the quarterfinals since 2001, when the Wildcats lost to eventual state champion Parkview, which was led by current Atlanta Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur.

Wildcats rout Tigers
Valdosta sweeps Bradwell in first round of playoffs

Author: Chris Walsh
Publication Date: May 10, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Wildcats cruised through the first round of the GHSA Class AAAAA state playoffs on Friday, defeating Bradwell Institute 10-2 and 17-0.

“I thought we swung the bats exceptionally well tonight,” said Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman after the sweep. “We came out swinging the bats in both games, and put them away early.”

In the first game, the Wildcats used strong hitting and a powerful pitching duo on the mound to put away the Tigers 10-2 in seven innings.

Kyle Rowe started the game and earned the win, going four innings, allowing two runs and four hits, while striking out four. Chad Prain came in to close out the game, going three innings, allowing no earned runs and no hits.

Valdosta was firing on all cylinders at the plate as well, scoring four runs in each of the first two innings.

In the first inning, Taylor Prain was hit by a pitch to start the inning, then Thomas Lovett hit a long RBI double to score Prain and put Valdosta on the board.

Cameron Cain followed with an RBI double. Then Galen Smith connected and hit a two-run home run to make the score 4-0.

In the second inning, Cain scored on an RBI single by Galen Smith. Smith went 2-for-2 with three RBIs.

Two batters later, Chad Prain hit a three-run home run, making it 8-0.

The Tigers got a run back in the third with a Josh Rivers RBI single that scored Steven Dill, but that would be their only earned run of the afternoon. Bradwell’s other run in the game came on an error in the sixth.

The Wildcats added another two runs to put the game away in the third inning. Lovett and Cain each hit a RBI sacrifice fly to score Stuart Brooks and Taylor Prain.

The Wildcats then came out in the second game with their most ferocious inning of the season.

Valdosta, who was the away team in the second game, put up 14 runs in the first, before Bradwell even had a chance to bat.

The Wildcats put up those 14 runs on nine hits, five walks, and one error. Ten of the first 11 batters for Valdosta reached base safely.

“We had enthusiasm early, and came out swinging,” Shuman said. “The pitching wasn’t quite there, but it will be.”

Kentrell Hargrove started on the mound for Bradwell and was pulled after retiring just one batter. Hargrove was replaced by Dill after giving up nine earned runs on six hits and three walks.

Taylor Prain led off the game with a single and Lovett followed with a single of his own. Cain followed with another single, but the shot to center field went under the Bradwell outfielder’s glove, and all three Wildcats raced around the bases to score on the error.

Five batters later, Jamie Turner hit a three-run triple that scored Wesley Welch, Earl Daniels and Kyle Rowe. Welch was running for Valdosta catcher Galen Smith, who had reached on a walk.

Turner then scored on a Taylor Prain RBI double. Lovett came up next and hit a two-run double that scored Prain and Brooks, who reached after getting hit by a pitch.

Lovett scored three batters later on an Earl Daniels RBI single.

Two more runs came from Welch and Daniels, who both scored on wild pitches to Chad Prain. Rowe followed with a deep two-run home run to right-center.

Valdosta put up run No. 15 in the second on an error. Lovett reached first and Brooks scored after Dill, the Bradwell pitcher, threw what should have been a routine putout high over the first baseman’s head.

Brooks took the mound in the second and also allowed no hits in the scoreless inning.

The Wildcats put up their final two runs, all with two outs, in the third inning. Chad Prain led off with a walk and scored three batter later on a Brooks RBI double.

Welch came in to pinch run for Brooks and scored two batters later on a Lovett single, which made the score 17-0.

Galen Smith took the mound in the third and had two strike outs to help Valdosta put the game away for good. The only Bradwell hit of the game came against Smith, on a single by Jeff Polk off the shortstop’s glove.

For Valdosta, Taylor Prain, Lovett, Daniels and Brooks combined to go 9-for-9 with six RBIs and nine runs in the blowout. Lovett and Turner each had three RBIs, and Lovett, Brooks and Welch each had three runs.

The Wildcats return to action this Wednesday, when they host the Hiram-Luella winner in the second round of the playoffs.


Valdosta High's Earl Daniels (5) gets congratulated by his teammates after scoring on Chad Prain’s three-run home run during the first round of the playoffs against Bradwell Institute Friday at Bazemore Field.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times


Valdosta High catcher Galen Smith tags out Bradwell Institute’s Trivon Williams (11) at home plate during the first round of the playoffs Friday at Bazemore Field.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times


Valdosta High's Stuart Brooks (16) drives a fly ball into center field during the first round of the state playoffs with Bradwell Institute Friday at Bazemore Field.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times


Valdosta High's Chad Prain (4) delivers a pitch during the first round of the playoffs against Bradwell Institute Friday at Bazemore Field.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times

Valdosta opens playoffs against Bradwell

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: May 9, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — Valdosta High’s baseball team opens the Class AAAAA playoffs as a heavy favorite in its first-round matchup. Valdosta is 21-5, and ranked fifth in the state. Its opponent, Bradwell Institute, has just eight wins all year.

Then again, baseball is a funny game. Two years ago, the Wildcats were a No. 4 seed when they knocked off a region champion, Redan, in the first round. They don’t want the roles to be reversed this time.

“Their record isn’t very good. But if we don't show up ready to play, they could make it interesting,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said. “They played (20-5) Camden close one game this year. We need to come ready to play, and get this done.”

The Wildcats and the Tigers open their best-of-three series today with a doubleheader at Bazemore Field. Game 1 will begin at 4 p.m. An if-necessary game is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday.

Valdosta will send its two aces to the mound today. Kyle Rowe (9-1, 2.86) will start game 1, while fellow right-hander Earl Daniels (9-0, 0.46 ERA) gets the start in game 2. Those two have combined for 18 of Valdosta’s 21 wins this season.

“I feel good about having those two guys on the mound,” Shuman said. “They've both had real good years.”

Valdosta is having its best season in over a decade. The Wildcats won 21 games in the regular season, and earned the Region 1-AAAAA championship, their first region title since 1996.

“It’s been great. We’ve had a lot of success,” Shuman said. “We’ve won 21 games, which is not easy in a region as tough as ours. We’ve got a good nucleus, and good leadership. We’ve gotten good pitching and good hitting. We’ve had a bunch of people do it this year. It hasn’t just been one or two players.”

Designated hitter Chad Prain leads the Wildcats in hitting with a .451 average. Second baseman Cameron Cain is hitting .435, Rowe is batting .375 and left fielder Thomas Lovett has a .355 average.

Teams that do the things Valdosta has done all year — getting good pitching, timely hitting and playing error-free defense — generally have the potential to go far in the playoffs.

“I’d like to think so,” Shuman said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen down the road. There are some good teams in this state, especially in Region 5, Region 6 and Region 8. Right now, we’re just focusing on this one opponent. We’ll worry about Bradwell first.”

In Bradwell’s region, 3-AAAAA, only one team, No. 4 Camden County, the region champion, had a winning record (20-5). Even second-place Jenkins went 11-14, though the Warriors were 10-2 in region play.

The Wildcats and Tigers only have one common opponent this year, Pierce County. Valdosta split its two games with Pierce, losing 7-4 and winning 9-8, while Bradwell lost 8-1 to the Bears.

Valdosta and Bradwell also met in the first round of the football state playoffs last fall, with Valdosta winning 42-0.

Valdosta falls in ninth

Author: Staff reports
Publication Date: May 3, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

DOUGLAS — Coffee scored a run in the bottom of the ninth, and defeated Valdosta 6-5 Friday night.

Jamie Turner homered for the second straight night for the Wildcats, hitting a two-run shot this time. Cameron Cain, Kyle Rowe and Chad Prain each had two hits. Taylor Prain took the loss.

Valdosta (21-5, 10-2 region), the Region 1-AAAAA champions, will open the playoffs next Friday at home against the No. 4 seed from Region 3-AAAAA.

’Cats hang on for 9-8 win

Author: By Christian Malone
Publication Date: May 2, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — Valdosta built an 8-0 lead against Pierce County Thursday evening — then nearly blew it.

Valdosta held off a late Pierce rally, and escaped with a 9-8 victory Friday at Bazemore Field, in what was a tale of two games.

“We played well for four innings. After that, we played about like a fifth- or sixth-place team,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said. “We got the 8-0 lead, and then we just shut it down. We didn’t play well at all those last three innings.”

The first half of the game was all Valdosta. The Wildcats, 21-4 and ranked No. 5 in Class AAAAA, put three runs on the board in the first, three more in the third and two in the fourth.

The bottom of the first began with Taylor Prain singling and Thomas Lovett getting hit by a pitch. Cameron Cain followed with an RBI single, bringing home Prain. Three batters later, Chad Prain ripped a two-run double, and Lovett and Cain crossed the plate to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.

Two innings later, Jamie Turner doubled Valdosta’s lead with one swing of the bat. After Chad Prain doubled and Kyle Rowe singled to start the inning, Turner ripped a pitch from Pierce’s Hugh Lee over the fence in left for a three-run homer to make it 6-0.

Valdosta added two more runs in the fourth. Galen Smith was hit with a pitch to start the inning, then Earl Daniels’ double put runners at second and third.

Chad Prain’s ground ball to short scored courtesy runner Herb Reinhard, then Rowe’s sacrifice fly scored Daniels to make it 8-0.

The Wildcats seemed to be in control of the game, with an 8-0 lead and Rowe on the mound. But things changed quickly.

Defense has been one of Valdosta’s strengths all year long. But in the top of the fifth, the gloves betrayed them.

After Lee led off with a single, Rowe got Travis Dasher to ground into a fielder’s choice. But the throw to first was off the mark, preventing a double play. Then Zach Culver grounded to short for what could have been another double play. But Daniels, whose glovework has been exceptional this year, threw the ball into right field.

Trey Thompson followed with a single to right, scoring Dasher and Culver.

Later in the fourth, a passed ball scored Thompson, and a throwing error by third baseman Taylor Prain enabled Deloach to score, cutting Valdosta’s lead to 8-4.

With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Lovett hit a long fly ball to right field. Thompson leaped at the wall, but could not reach the ball, and it rolled away.

Lovett kept running, and beat the throw home for an inside-the-park home run.

The score remained 9-4 until the top of the seventh, when the Bears nearly came back to win the game.

Culver reached on an error, stole second and later scored on a wild pitch.

A Thompson single and two walks loaded the bases with one out, then Shuman replaced a tiring Rowe with Taylor Prain. Prain walked Mikey Grant, forcing in a run, then Caleb King lined a shot past Rowe’s glove at third, scoring two more runs and making it 9-8.

But with the tying run on second and the go-ahead run on first, Prain retired the last two hitters to close out the game and earn the save.

At the plate, Lovett had two hits and scored two runs. Chad Prain and Turner each drove in three runs.

Rowe (9-1) was the winning pitcher. Although he was charged with eight runs, none of them were earned. He struck out eight batters, and only allowed five hits.

“Kyle pitched a great game today,” Shuman said. “He battled through some situations, and pitched well.”

Valdosta travels to Coffee today.

Back on top of 1-AAAAA

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: April 26, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Wildcats are now the 2008 Region 1-AAAAA baseball champions.

Valdosta wrapped up its first region championship since 1996 with a 10-2 win over Tift County Friday night at Bazemore Field.

The Wildcats pounded out 14 hits, scored 10 runs for the second game in a row, and Kyle Rowe turned in another strong performance on the mound.

“It’s great. I’m just happy for our kids and our program, and our coaches and everybody involved,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said. “It’s just a lot of hard work, and we finally broke through and did it. That’s a credit to the kids. They just constantly work every day. It’s paid off this year. Everybody on the squad contributed this season.”

“It’s good. It hasn’t been done here in a while, so it’s nice to win it,” Rowe said, after his eighth win of the season wrapped up the region title. “We work harder than anyone else we play.”

“It feels good,” catcher Galen Smith said. “We’ve worked hard, and it’s paid off. This was one of the goals we had this season, so it was good to reach it.”

Valdosta (20-3, 10-1 region), the No. 4 team in Class AAAAA, will be the top seed from Region 1 in the playoffs.

“It’s been a great season. Now we’ve got to maintain it,” Shuman said.

Valdosta entered Friday with a two-game lead with two region games left to play, so they needed just one more region win, or a Coffee loss, to wrap it up. The Wildcats took care of business Friday night in their final region home game.

Valdosta scored a run in the first. Taylor Prain led off with a single, advanced to second on a hit-and-run, and came home on Cameron Cain’s single, giving the Wildcats the early lead.

Tift came back and got two runs in the top of the third to go ahead 2-1. Back-to-back two-out singles by Tift’s Chance Veazey and Matthew Brunty, aided by a fielding error, brought home a pair of runs.

Then Valdosta turned on the offense. The Wildcats retook the lead with three runs in the third, then tacked on five more in the fourth.

“We got down 2-1 in the third, but then we just lit it up,” Shuman said. “Then we got a five-spot in the next inning.”

“We knew what was at stake, and we knew we had to turn it on and start producing, and we did,” Smith said.

Stuart Brooks led off the third with a single past a diving second baseman. Taylor Prain followed with a hit into left center, and legged out a double, putting two men in scoring position. Thomas Lovett came to the plate and lined a single to left center, scoring Brooks and Prain to put the Wildcats back in the lead. The ball went off the glove of Tift left fielder Tyce Moore, and Lovett took second. Two batters later, Smith beat out an infield single on a high chopper, and Lovett scored to make it 4-2.

The scoring continued in the fourth. With one out, Brooks walked and stole second. Prain singled up the middle, and Brooks came around to score. A Cameron Cain single put runners at the corners, then Smith doubled to left, scoring Prain. Earl Daniels stepped up to the plate and doubled into the left field corner, bringing in both Cain and Smith and making it 8-2. After a pitching change, Chad Prain lined a triple into the right field corner, easily scoring Daniels to make it 9-2.

Rowe took over from there. The junior right-hander yielded only four singles over the final four innings, and did not allow another runner past second. He pitched a complete game, yielding only one earned run, struck out six batters, and improved to 8-1 this season.

“I can’t say enough about Kyle Rowe. The last four innings, he settled down, and pitched a good ballgame,” Shuman said.

“I started off kind of shaky, but after I gave up the two runs, I settled down,” Rowe said. “It’s a lot easier to pitch when you have all that support.”

Valdosta tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Leading off the inning, Lovett ripped a pitch into the right field corner, and raced all the way around to third. Cain followed with a sacrifice fly to center, giving the Wildcats a 10-2 lead.

Taylor Prain had three hits and scored three runs. Cain, Smith and Daniels also had multiple hits. Cain, Lovett, Smith and Daniels each drove in two runs. Lovett and Brooks scored two runs each.

“It’s been a team effort every game,” Shuman said. “It’s a blue-collar bunch that gets the job done.”


Valdosta High's Taylor Prain (22) is congratulated by teammates after he made it home during a game with Tift County at Bazemore Field Friday evening.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
Daniels shuts out Vikings
Valdosta defeats a 10-0 in five innings to complete season sweep

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: April 23, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — The Valdosta High baseball program will remember Tuesday night’s win for a long time.

Valdosta dominated archrival Lowndes in every facet of the game Tuesday night, and walked away with a 10-0 victory at Bazemore Field.

Valdosta all but put the game away with a nine-run first inning, and star pitcher Earl Daniels took a no-hitter into the fifth inning.

“It’s a good win,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said. “We got on fire early. Earl was on tonight, and we got those early runs. It feels pretty good to win.

“Our guys had a lot of energy. They were real focused for this game.”

“It’s nice to sweep them in my senior year, and to beat them with the 10-run rule,” said Daniels, one of five Wildcat seniors facing Lowndes for the last time. “It’s great.”

The win gives Valdosta a season sweep of the Vikings, the first time the team has done it this decade. It was also the Wildcats’ third straight win over their crosstown rivals.

The win also brings the Wildcats’ magic number for clinching Region 1-AAAAA to one. Valdosta (19-3, 9-1 region) can wrap up the region championship by either winning one of its last two games, or with a Coffee loss.

“We’re in good shape right now. We’ve got a lot to be thankful for,” Shuman said.

The outcome was pretty much decided in the bottom of the first inning, when Valdosta dropped the hammer on Lowndes. The first 11 Wildcat batters reached base, and nine of them crossed home plate.

“We hit it well in the first, and we had some balls fall in for us,” Shuman said. “We were fortunate. We hit some balls where (the fielders) weren’t, and got some walks, and scored some runs.”

Taylor Prain started the inning with a ground ball towards the hole on the right side of the infield. Lowndes second baseman Matt McCall ran down the ball, but his off-balance throw was in the dirt, and Prain was safe. Lowndes pitcher James Hager (0-1) walked the next two batters, loading the bases.

Cleanup hitter Galen Smith came to the plate and lined a shot just inside the left field line. Prain and Lovett scored, giving the Wildcats a 2-0 lead. Lovett beat the throw to third, and Smith took second with a double. Daniels followed with an infield single, scoring Cain, but was later caught stealing for the first out. But Chad Prain singled to left, scoring courtesy runner Wesley Welch, making it 4-0.

Two more singles to left, by Jamie Turner and Kyle Rowe, loaded the bases. That was the end of Hager’s day. Hayden Martin replaced Hager on the mound, and walked Stuart Brooks, forcing in Prain to make it 5-0. Taylor Prain, batting for the second time in the inning, dropped a single over the third baseman’s head, and Turner scored the team’s sixth run.

With the bases still loaded, Martin’s inside pitch hit Lovett, bringing home another run. Cain lifted a fly ball to deep right field, easily scoring Brooks with the Wildcats’ eighth run. After Smith walked, Daniels lined a single to left, bringing home Taylor Prain with the final run of the inning, making it 9-0.

That was more than enough run support for Daniels. Actually, the way the senior right-hander was pitching, one run would have probably been enough.

Daniels shut out Lowndes, allowed just one hit, walked two, and struck out eight batters.

“As a pitcher, it’s great (to have a big lead). You know you can go out there and just throw strikes,” Daniels said. “I was able to relax, and like I said, just throw strikes. I went out there and concentrated, and just threw my pitches.”

“Earl was pretty dominant. He really was,” Shuman said. “The last inning, he was pretty much just pumping fastballs. Earl was around the strike zone, his breaking ball was good. He was very composed in a big game. And Galen was superb behind the plate.”

Daniels (9-0) struck out five of the first six batters he faced, and fanned eight batters in the first four innings, while holding the Vikings hitless. His teammates backed him up with flawless defense.

In the fourth, Lowndes’ Tyler Suddarth ripped a Daniels pitch to deep center field, but Harrison West hauled in the ball at the wall.

Daniels’ no-hitter continued into the fifth. But with one out, Josh Purvis jumped on a fastball, and drilled it off the fence in right center for a double. But right after that, Lovett made a shoestring catch in left to rob Kyle Williams of a hit, and halt the Vikings’ best scoring chance.

Martin settled down after the first inning, and held the Wildcats scoreless the next two innings. Tyler Stalvey replaced him in the fourth, and got out of a bases-loaded jam with a 6-4-3 double play.

Valdosta ended the game with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Lovett led off with a single to right, and took second on a wild pitch. Cain’s fly ball to right moved Lovett to third. Then, with Smith at the plate, a pitch in the dirt got away and rolled to the backstop. Lovett raced home to score, making it 10-0.

With Valdosta holding a 10-run lead, the mercy rule was automatically invoked, ending the game.

For the Wildcats, Taylor Prain, Rowe and Daniels had two hits apiece. Daniels and Smith had two RBIs each. Seven different batters drove in runs for Valdosta.

Wildcats beat Coffee, 6-4

Author: Chris Walsh
Publication Date: April 5, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

— VALDOSTA – The Valdosta Wildcats separated themselves from the Region 1-AAAAA pack Friday night, defeating the second-place Coffee Trojans 6-4 at Bazemore Field.

The Wildcats (15-2, 6-0 region), ranked third in the state, now have a two-game lead over the Trojans. The other five teams in the region each have at least three losses.

“It was a big win for our guys over a good Coffee team,” said Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman after the game.

Valdosta’s ace, Earl Daniels, got the start for the Wildcats. Daniels went four innings, giving up two runs and three hits, while striking out seven. Kyle Rowe (7-0) came on in the fifth inning and dominated the Trojans, and earned the win after Valdosta scored four times in the bottom of the fifth.

The Wildcats jumped on the scoreboard first, scoring a run in the bottom of the first inning. Taylor Prain led off with a walk, and scored three batters later when Cameron Cain hit an RBI sacrifice fly to left field.

The Trojans answered right back in the top of the second, scoring two unearned runs. Jake Gower led off with a walk and Jordan Farabow followed him up with a single. Daniels struck out the next two batters, but both Gower and Farabow scored on a throwing error to first by shortstop Taylor Prain. Valdosta got out of the inning when catcher Galen Smith picked off a runner at second base.

In the bottom of the third inning, the Wildcats tied the game back up at 2-2 on a Kyle Rowe home run to left field. Rowe connected with the first pitch and hit a deep fly ball that the wind carried right over the fence for the solo shot.

Rowe’s heroics continued in the top of the fifth inning, as he came in to relieve Daniels. Rowe came in after the first two batters reached base with no outs.

Despite walking the first batter he faced, loading the bases, Rowe got the next three outs to escape a jam and get out of the inning with no runs.

“Earl’s been our ace, but we can’t expect him to pitch like he has all year,” said Shuman. “But I can’t say enough about Rowe coming in and getting out of that jam. That was the play of the game for us. It showed a lot of character.”

Valdosta’s offense responded in the bottom of the fifth, scoring four runs on four hits. Six of the eight Wildcat batters reached base in the inning. Taylor Prain led off with a single, and two batters later, Smith was hit by a pitch. Cain, Valdosta’s cleanup hitter, came up to bat and drilled a three-run home run deep over the right field fence.

“That was a big, clutch hit by Cain,” said Shuman.

Daniels and Chad Prain then reached on singles, and after Jamie Turner got hit by a pitch, the Wildcats had the bases loaded with just one out.

With Stuart Brooks at bat, Coffee pitcher Ryan Mayo tried a pick-off throw to second. The Trojans’ defense could have won an Oscar with their acting on the play. Trojans second baseman Stuart Drew dove and missed the ball. But shortstop Josh Magow had caught the ball, and tagged out Prain at second base.

Valdosta got them back though, on the next pitch. Turner took off for second before the pitch and got caught in a rundown. But in the meantime, Daniels stole home and gave Valdosta a 6-2 lead. Turner eventually got tagged out. That ended Brooks’ at-bat, but in the next inning, the junior led off with a triple to right-center field. The Wildcat offense couldn’t bring him home, though, and going into the seventh, the Wildcats held a four-run lead.

The lead would prove to be just enough for Valdosta, because Coffee’s Corey Davis cut two runs off the board with a home run over the left field fence to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 6-4. Rowe got the next two batters out and ended the game with the win.

Rowe pitched three innings, allowing just two hits and two runs, while striking out three. For Coffee, Mayo took the loss despite going six innings, allowing six runs and five hits while striking out nine. Davis had two RBIs and one run.

For Valdosta, Cain went 1-for-3 with four RBIs and one run. Taylor Prain went 2-for-3 with two runs. Rowe had one RBI and one run.

Valdosta travels to Warner Robins next Friday.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.


Valdosta High pitcher Earl Daniels (5) delivers to a Coffee High batter Friday evening at Bazemore Field.
Pat Gallagher / The Valdosta Daily Times
Valdosta falls to Pierce County

Author: Staff Reports
Publication Date: April 3, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

BLACKSHEAR — Valdosta High’s baseball team dropped just its second game of the season Thursday night, losing 7-4 to Pierce County.

The Bears, who are 14-0 and ranked No. 1 in Class AA, scored six runs in the first inning, then held off a couple of Wildcat rallies.

Thomas Lovett had three hits for Valdosta (14-2). Taylor Prain had two hits, but took the loss on the mound.

Valdosta, which is ranked No. 3 in AAAAA, hosts No. 9 Coffee today at 7 p.m. in a key Region 1-AAAAA battle.
Wildcats pull away in sixth

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: April 2, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

— VALDOSTA — Valdosta High’s baseball team keeps on winning.

The Wildcats, ranked No. 3 in the state in Class AAAAA, improved to 14-1 this season with a 6-1 victory over Deerfield Beach (Fla.) Tuesday at Bazemore Field.

Valdosta broke the game open with four runs in the bottom of the sixth.

“It was 2-1 going into the sixth, then we were able to put some hits together, and score some runs,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said. “They’re a good team. It was good for us to play a game like that.”

The game was a pitcher’s duel between Valdosta’s Stuart Brooks and Deerfield’s Nate Santiago for five innings. Brooks held the Bucks to one run and six hits, striking out two, while Santiago allowed two runs and four hits, striking out nine.

“Stuart pitched great,” Shuman said. “He’s been working a little in the pen, throwing an inning here and there. With a four-game week, we needed him to pitch. He did a real nice job.”

Valdosta got on the board first with a first-inning run. Thomas Lovett, who had been hit by a pitch, slid home ahead of the tag of Deerfield Beach catcher Robby Alonso to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.Deerfield tied the score in the top of the second. Jon Hafer walked to lead off the inning, and was sacrificed to second. Carlos Senluis followed with a double, scoring Hafer, and it was 1-1.

Valdosta took the lead for good with a run in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Earl Daniels ripped a double off the wall in left center, then stole third. Jamie Turner drew a walk, and one out later, Kyle Edmondson also walked on a full count. Santiago got two strikes on Kyle Rowe, but on another full count, the Wildcat third baseman drew a walk, scoring Daniels.

Valdosta had a chance to break the game open in the bottom of the fifth, but blew a golden opportunity. Lovett walked, Galen Smith singled over the third baseman’s head and Cameron Cain singled to right, loading the bases. But Santiago got Daniels to pop up to the catcher, then struck out both Turner and Brooks, and Deerfield escaped further damage.

But in the sixth, the Wildcats pulled away, crossing the plate four times against two Deerfield relievers.

With one out, Rowe was hit with a pitch, Taylor Prain singled to right and Lovett walked, loading the bases. Kyle McCullough came in to relieve for Deerfield, and walked Smith, forcing in a run.

Then Cain lined a shot just inside the first base bag for a two-run double. Prain and Lovett scored, making it 5-1. Two batters later, on ball four to Turner, McCullough uncorked a wild pitch, and courtesy runner Wesley Welch raced home to make it 6-1.

Prain and Daniels closed out the win with one scoreless inning each.

Deerfield Beach, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, makes a road trip to south Georgia and north Florida every year on its Spring Break. This was the fourth consecutive year the Bucks have faced the Wildcats.

Valdosta travels to Pierce County on Thursday, then hosts No. 9 Coffee in a key Region 1-AAAAA game on Friday. Valdosta leads the region with a 5-0 record, while Coffee is second at 4-1, after losing 7-6 to Warner Robins on Tuesday.

“That will be a big region game Friday,” Shuman said. “But all of the region games are big games.”

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.


Valdosta High's Cameron Cain (11) watches his base hit to center field Tuesday evening at Bazemore Field against Deerfield Beach (Fla.). Cain had three hits in the third-ranked Wildcats’ 6-1 win.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
Daniels leads Valdosta to 4-1 win over Tift County

Author: Steve Carter
Publication Date: March 29, 2008 The Tifton Gazette

— TIFTON — Facing off against University of Georgia signee Earl Daniels and the region-leading Valdosta Wildcats Friday night, the Tift County Blue Devils baseball team battled. But in the end, it was Daniels and the Wildcats emerging with a 4-1 win.

Daniels had eight strikeouts, but Tift had a few chances against the senior pitcher.

“We did a good job. We played hard and battled, but we have got to get a hit with men on,” Tift County head coach Chuck Beale said after the game.

“Earl pitched well again,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said. “He only gave up four hits.” Stuart Brooks had a key two-run single in the fourth inning, with two strikes and two outs. “That was a big hit for us,” Shuman said. “Stuart had two strikes on him, with two outs, and drove in two runs for us.”

Tift’s first good chance to score came in the fourth, when Nick Prostko walked to lead off the frame and later when to second on a single by Brooks Martin. However, Daniels got out of the frame without either runner scoring.

The Blue Devils scored their only run in the fifth. With one out, Ryan Casey walked, then went to second on a wild pitch with Tyce Moore at the plate. Casey would then score when Moore singled. Moore was later out at second when Chance Veazey reached on a fielder’s choice. Prostko singled Veazey to third, but again Tift could not get the key hit to score another run.

Tift starter Matthew Brunty almost matched Daniels. The senior did allow four runs, but only two were earned. He also struck out five, and he only walked one batter.

“Matthew did a good job for us tonight,” said Beale.

In other Region 1-AAAAA action Friday night, Lowndes beat Warner Robins, 14-7, while Coffee beat Colquitt County, 11-1 in six innings.

Valdosta leads the way in the region with a 5-0 mark, while Coffee is second at 4-0. Tift is in third at 2-2, while Warner Robins is fourth at 2-3. Colquitt and Lowndes are each 1-3, and Houston County brings up the rear at 0-4.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.
Wildcats defeat crosstown rivals

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: March 26, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

— VALDOSTA — Valdosta High used a six-run third inning to defeat archrival Lowndes 6-1 Tuesday night at Noel George Field.

The Wildcats took advantage of three key Lowndes miscues in their big third inning, and got strong pitching from Kyle Rowe to win the game.

“Pitching and defense was the difference in the game, without a doubt,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said.

Rowe (5-0) allowed one run, seven hits and only walked one. He hit three batters, but struck out five. He also defeated Lowndes last year on the same field.

“Give Kyle Rowe credit,” Shuman said. “He was around the strike zone, and our defense played well behind him.”

The win improved Valdosta’s record to 11-1, and 4-0 in Region 1-AAAAA. The Wildcats moved up to No. 3 in the Class AAAAA poll this week.

Tuesday’s game was scoreless for the first two innings. Valdosta put runners in scoring position in each of the first two innings, but Lowndes starter Matt McCall made a big pitch to get out of the inning each time.

Then in the third inning, Lowndes’ gloves betrayed them.

McCall retired two of the first three batters, and seemed on the verge of getting out of the inning when Valdosta’s Jamie Turner hit a ground ball to third base. But LHS third baseman Brent Strickland booted the ball, and Turner reached base safely. Earl Daniels followed with a single, loading the bases.

Then Chad Prain hit a ground ball into the hole. Trying to make a difficult play, Lowndes shortstop Parker Pridgen charged the ball, but the ball went under his glove and rolled away. Wesley Welch and Turner raced across home plate to score the first two runs of the game.

Valdosta’s Stuart Brooks lined a single up the middle, scoring Daniels. Then Harrison West hit a chopper that handcuffed second baseman Kevin McDowell. When McDowell could not field the ball cleanly, Prain scored. Brooks kept running, and crossed the plate, too, to make it 5-0 Wildcats. Taylor Prain followed with a routine fly ball to right field. But right fielder Brandon Gilbert missed the ball, and it rolled to the fence, allowing West to score. When the dust settled, Valdosta had a 6-0 lead.

“We scored all six runs with two outs,” Shuman said. “They gave us a couple of extra outs, and we took advantage of them. That was the difference in the game.”

Those six unearned runs would be Valdosta’s only runs Tuesday. But thanks to Rowe’s pitching and flawless defense by the Wildcats, they would be more than enough.

“They outplayed us,” Lowndes head coach Danny Redshaw said. “They made the plays. We didn’t. That (killed us).”

Lowndes got on the board with a run in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs, Christian Glisson lined a single to right. Strickland was hit by a pitch, then Jake Harris reached on an infield single, loading the bases. Rowe got two strikes on McDowell, but came too far inside with a pitch, and hit the Vikings’ second baseman in the helmet. That forced in Glisson with a run. McDowell laid on the ground for several minutes while Lowndes trainer Phillip Pieplow examined him. But he was OK, and stayed in the game.

With the bases still loaded, the Vikings could have gotten back into the game with a big hit. But Rowe made a big pitch, and got Josh Purvis to ground out to second to end the inning. Lowndes (3-9, 0-3 region) would not get another runner into scoring position until the bottom of the seventh.

McCall and reliever Tyler Stalvey also shut out Valdosta the rest of the way. McCall allowed six hits and struck out two. None of his six runs were earned. Stalvey replaced him in the fifth, and allowed just one hit over the final three innings.

“Our pitching was good enough to win. McCall pitched like he was capable, Stalvey pitched like he was capable. Bottom line, we didn’t field it,” Redshaw said.

“Their guys threw well,” Shuman said. “Lowndes was right there going at us.”

At the plate, Daniels was 3-for-3 with a run for Valdosta. Chad Prain, who entered the game with a .643 batting average, went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Glisson was the only Viking with more than one hit, going 3-for-3.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.


Valdosta High players Stuart Brooks (16) and Chad Prain (4) are congratulated by their teammates after scoring two runs in the top of the third. The Wildcats went on to defeat Lowndes 6-1.
Paul Leavy/The Valdosta Daily Times
Valdosta pitcher Kyle Rowe limited Lowndes to one run and seven hits in Tuesday’s 6-1 victory. Rowe is now 5-0 this season for the No. 3 Wildcats.
Paul Leavy/The Valdosta Daily Times
Defensive woes doom Vikings in loss to ’Cats

Author: Bryan Fazio
Publication Date: March 26, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

— VALDOSTA — In baseball, you can’t give a team extra outs, especially the No. 3 team in the state.

Lowndes did just that in the third inning Tuesday, and Valdosta made them pay, scoring six runs in the inning. That was the difference in a 6-1 Wildcats victory.

Starting the top of the fourth inning, one-third of Lowndes High’s position players were replaced, giving a new look to a team down 6-0.

The defensive changes were made totally because of that 6-0 deficit. The Vikings’ third region game, and first matchup of the season with archival Valdosta High, was lost in the top of the third, when the Vikings gave up six unearned runs, committing three errors and hitting a batter. “By my count, they scored six unearned runs in the third inning, and we lost 6-1,” Redshaw said. “That’s your whole story.”

Redshaw quickly inserted Cole Fuller and Sam Hoff into the outfield, and Lee Rewis went in to play third base.

“We made a couple of errors at third, a bad play in left field, can’t catch a pop fly in right field,” Redshaw said. “If I had another middle infielder healthy, he would have been in the ball game.”

Lowndes’ calamities started with Wildcats catcher Galen Smith being hit by pitcher Matt McCall, then an error by third baseman Brent Strickland, another error by second baseman Kevin McDowell on a bobbled ball and a ball misjudged in the sun by right fielder Brandon Gilbert.

The Wildcats picked up three of their seven hits in that inning, but the damage was done by the Vikings’ lackluster defense.

Lowndes pitchers Matt McCall and Tyler Stalvey combined to hold the Wildcats’ bats in check most the evening, but didn’t get the defensive support needed to pull out Lowndes’ first Region 1-AAAAA win of the season, and defeat the No. 3 team in the state.

While Lowndes struggled with defense behind a solid pitching performance, the Wildcats succeeded in both areas.

Valdosta junior pitcher Kyle Rowe pitched a complete game for the victory, giving up five hits with one walk and six strikeouts.

“Kyle Rowe was around the strike zone all night,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said. “The defense played well around him.”

Rowe rarely got behind in the count, using the confidence supplied by his defense to throw more balls in the strike zone.

That confidence was given by big plays and zero errors from the Wildcats, especially the defense of shortstop Earl Daniels and third baseman Taylor Prain. Daniels and Prain both made two excellent plays in the field, which helped limit Lowndes to just one run.

“Our pitching and defense, I think, let us win the game, without a doubt,” Shuman said.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.
Valdosta High's Earl Daniels dives into third base ahead of the tag by Lowndes third baseman Brent Strickland (29) Tuesday at Noel George Field.
Paul Leavy/The Valdosta Daily Times
Wildcats meet Vikings tonight on ballfield

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: March 25, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

— VALDOSTA — The baseball teams from Valdosta and Lowndes High Schools have had very different seasons this year.

For Valdosta (10-1, 3-0 Region 1-AAAAA), it’s been a year of excitement and success. For Lowndes (3-8, 0-2 region), it has been more a season of frustration, as they’ve struggled to find consistency.

The two crosstown rivals meet for the first time today at 6 p.m. at Lowndes’ Noel George Field. On paper, Valdosta looks like the clear favorite. But don’t tell that to Wildcats head coach Bart Shuman. He expects Lowndes to play its best game of the season tonight.

“I could care less what their record is. All I know is we’re playing Lowndes. I expect to see a good baseball team tomorrow,” Shuman said Monday. “I know they have some good players and good coaches, and it’s going to be a tough game.

“We’re excited. It’s a big ballgame, against our crosstown rivals. It’s always fun.” “It’s always a game you like to play,” Lowndes head coach Danny Redshaw said. “It’s always good competition. It’s a good rivalry, it’s fun. There should be a good crowd. It should be a good game.”

Valdosta will send junior right-hander Kyle Rowe to the mound tonight. Redshaw has not decided who his starter will be.

Valdosta has started the season playing excellent baseball. The Wildcats have won 10 of their first 11 games, and are ranked fifth in the state in Class AAAAA.

“We haven’t been real flashy. We’ve just been efficient,” Shuman said. “We’ve been able to throw strikes, make good plays in the field, reduce the strikeouts. We put the ball in play. We’ve only hit one home run. But we do a good job of getting on base, getting a lot of walks.”

“They’re playing well right now,” Redshaw said. “They’ve got all that talent, all that pitching. They’re the best team around. They’re winning. They’ve been doing a lot of the things well that we haven’t been doing. It’s going to be quite a challenge for us.

“They’re loaded. There’s no doubt about it. They’ve got a college signee behind the plate (Galen Smith) and a Division I player at shortstop, when he’s not on the mound (Earl Daniels). Rowe will probably be one, too, before it’s all over. They’re solid.”

Redshaw and the Vikings find themselves in an unfamiliar position. Lowndes is generally one of south Georgia’s top programs. But this season, inconsistency and pitching problems have led to losing streaks of three and five games. The Vikings have already used 14 pitchers on varsity, as they’ve searched for someone who can consistently throw the ball over the plate and get hitters out.

“We’ve just got to go out and execute, and do the little things right,” Redshaw said. “We’ve got to throw strikes and play good defense. We’ve hit it well enough to win the majority of our ballgames. We’ve got to do those things right. If we do, we might have a chance against Valdosta.”

Shuman is impressed with Lowndes’ lineup, which has scored 41 runs the past four games. “I’ll tell you what sticks out in my mind about Lowndes: (Josh) Purvis, (Christian) Glisson, (Kyle) Williams, (Parker) Pridgen. Those four guys are as good as any (four teammates) in the state,” Shuman said. “Three of those four guys have already signed. They’ve got other good players, as well, like (Tyler) Suddarth. There’s been a Pridgen starting there for like the last 10 years, and they’ve all been good players. Parker is, too.

“Lowndes will be solid. It will be a good challenge for us to go over there and play them.” As always, the game will ultimately come down to which team plays the best. “Both teams have good players. It’s going to be which team shows up and makes the plays,” Shuman said. “Whoever gets a little luck plays a big part of it.”

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.
Valdosta routs Houston County

Author: Staff reports
Publication Date: March 22, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

— WARNER ROBINS — Valdosta High built an early 8-0 lead, en route to a 10-1 victory over Houston County Friday night.

Taylor Prain, Galen Smith and Harrison West had two hits apiece for the Wildcats. Pitchers Earl Daniels, Kyle Rowe, Prain and Stuart Brooks held the Bears to just one run.

Valdosta (10-1, 3-0 Region 1-AAAAA) travels to Lowndes on Tuesday.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.
Wildcats defeat Packers

Author: By Christian Malone
Publication Date: March 19, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

— VALDOSTA — Valdosta High’s baseball team bounced back from a Monday night loss, defeating Colquitt County 8-1 in a Region 1-AAAAA contest Tuesday night at Bazemore Field.

The Wildcats, ranked No. 5 in Class AAAAA, had seven hits and crossed the plate eight times in the win. Valdosta is now 9-1 (2-0 region).

“It’s always good to get a region win,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said. “Every region game is critical. We hit the ball well and got good pitching.”

Kyle Rowe shut down Colquitt’s bats. The junior right-hander held the Packers to five hits and an unearned run, and struck out 12.

“Kyle pitched well,” Shuman said. “He was very sharp. His control was good. It was fun to watch.” Colquitt got an early run in the top of the first, when a dropped fly ball enabled the Packers to take a 1-0 lead.

Valdosta came back with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Taylor Prain and Thomas Lovett drew walks from starter Andrew McDowell to start the inning. One out later, Cameron Cain lined a double to right center, and Prain crossed home to tie the score, 1-1. Lovett was tagged out at third.

Jamie Turner followed with a line drive under the second baseman’s glove, and Cain scored to give the Wildcats a lead they would never relinquish.

The Wildcats added a run in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Stuart Brooks walked. McDowell had Brooks picked off, but the junior slid around the tag at second. Chad Prain followed with a single to right, and Brooks scored to make it 3-1.

Valdosta pulled away with four unearned runs in the fifth. Taylor Prain singled to lead off the inning, and took second when the ball was booted by left fielder Hayden Kudela. Two outs later, Cain and Turner walked, loading the bases. Earl Daniels hit what should have been an inning-ending ground ball to short, but Cato bobbled the ball, and a run scored. Then McDowell hit Brooks with a pitch, forcing in a run.

Colquitt went to the bullpen, bringing in Cole Pitts. Chad Prain greeted Pitts with a bloop single over the shortstop’s head. Turner and Daniels scored, making it 7-1.

The Wildcats tacked on an insurance run in the sixth. Leading off the inning again, Taylor Prain walked, and moved to second on a ground out. Galen Smith lined a singled to right, and Prain came around to score his third run of the game, making it 8-1.

At the plate, Chad Prain was the only Wildcat with multiple hits. The sophomore right fielder went 3-for-3 with three RBIs.

Valdosta will travel to Houston County on Friday for another region game.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.


Valdosta High’s Taylor Prain (22) watches his base hit to left center Tuesday against Colquitt County at Bazemore Field. Prain scored three runs in the Wildcats’ 8-1 victory.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times


Valdosta High’s Chad Prain knocks a double off the wall against Colquitt County High Tuesday at Bazemore Field. Prain had three hits in an 8-1 win.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times


Valdosta High’s Thomas Lovett bunts the ball against Colquitt County Tuesday at Bazemore Field.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
Daniels strikes out 19 in Valdosta’s 6-0 victory

Author: Staff reports
Publication Date: March 15, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

— VALDOSTA — Earl Daniels struck out 19 batters, leading Valdosta to a 6-0 victory over Warner Robins Friday night. The Wildcats are now 8-0.

Daniels took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, before two one-out singles ended his bid. Nevertheless, he finished with a two-hit shutout, and improved to 4-0 this season.

Jamie Turner hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning for the Wildcats. Taylor Prain had two hits.

Valdosta hosts Lake City (Fla.) Columbia on Monday and Colquitt County on Tuesday. Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.
Valdosta High pitcher Earl Daniels (5) fires a pitch during the Wildcats’ 6-0 victory over Warner Robins Friday night at Bazemore Field. Daniels struck out 19 batters in the win.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times


Valdosta High's Kyle Rowe gets hit by a pitch Friday evening at Bazemore Field.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times


Valdosta High's Taylor Prain (22) is congratulated by three teammates after scoring a run against Warner Robins Friday at Bazemore Field.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
Valdosta beats Madison

Author: Staff reports
Publication Date: March 11, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

MADISON, Fla. — Valdosta High’s baseball team improved to 6-0 this season with a 6-2 win over Madison County Tuesday night.

Earl Daniels (3-0) and Taylor Prain combined to strike out eight batters in the win. Cameron Cain, Harrison West and Thomas Lovett had two hits apiece for the Wildcats.

Valdosta travels to Tallahassee to face Leon today.
Wildcats rout Taylor County

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: March 7, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Wildcats improved to 5-0 with an 11-5 win over Taylor County (Fla.) Thursday in the Wildcat Invitational at Bazemore Field.

Valdosta’s hitters pounded out 11 hits and crossed the plate 11 times in the win. Seven of the Wildcats’ nine starters had at least one hit.

“We’re pleased to be 5-0. We’re off to a good start,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said. “We hit it well against a good Taylor County team. We had some guys put it in play, and ran the bases well. It was a well-played game.”

The Wildcats also got strong pitching from right-handers Taylor Prain, Earl Daniels and Kyle Rowe. Outside of a four-run third inning, Taylor managed just five hits and one run.

“Taylor did a good job throwing strikes, and our defense played well,” Shuman said.

Valdosta took an early lead with two runs in the bottom of the first, aided by Bulldogs pitcher Taylor Ratliff’s wildness. Prain and Thomas Lovett drew walks to start the inning. Then Ratliff hit Galen Smith and Cameron Cain, bringing home a run. Two batters later, Jamie Turner’s RBI single scored Lovett, giving the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.

Taylor grabbed the lead in the top of the third, with one swing of the bat.

The inning started with Will Hall getting hit with a pitch, Greg Flowers reaching on a bunt single and Nick Albritton drawing a one-out walk, loading the bases. Then Derek Miller connected with a Prain fastball and hit a long fly ball to left center. The ball kept carrying, and disappeared over the fence for a grand slam, giving Taylor a 4-2 lead.

But that lead would not last long. The Wildcats struck right back, scoring six runs in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead.

Smith was hit with a pitch to open the inning. Cameron Cain singled and Daniels was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Jamie Turner’s sacrifice fly brought home Smith. Stuart Brooks reached on an error, scoring Cain to tie the score, 4-4. Then Rowe ripped a double to deep left center. Daniels and Brooks came home to give the Wildcats a 6-4 lead.

Harrison West greeted reliever Charlie Johnson with a hit-and-run RBI single, scoring Rowe. Later in the inning, Lovett singled, and when the right fielder let the ball go between his legs, Prain came around to score, increasing Valdosta’s lead to 8-4.

The Wildcats added a run in the fourth. Cain singled to right with one out, and advanced on a wild pitch. Daniels grounded to short, but the ball was thrown away, and Cain came around to score, making it 9-4.

Valdosta culminated a strong offensive performance with two more runs in the fifth. Brooks singled to start the inning. Rowe lined another double into the gap, and Brooks raced all the way around from first to score. Two batters later, Prain’s sacrifice fly scored Rowe, giving the Wildcats an 11-4 lead.

Taylor scored a run in the seventh, with Flowers singling home Will Joiner.

At the plate, Rowe was 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs, and scored two runs. Lovett and Cain had also two hits. Prain, Cain and Brooks scored two runs apiece, and each had at least one hit.

Prain (2-0) was the winning pitcher, allowing four runs on five hits in five innings. Daniels pitched one shutout inning, and Rowe closed out the game.

Valdosta’s game against Lee County, scheduled for 7 p.m. today, has been postponed, and will be played at a later date.


Valdosta High's Galen Smith gets hit in the back with a pitch from Taylor County pitcher Taylor Ratliff in the first inning Thursday at Bazemore Field.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times


Valdosta High pitcher Taylor Prain delivers a pitch against Taylor County Thursday evening during the Wildcat Invitational. Prain was the winning pitcher in the 11-5 VHS victory.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times


Valdosta High first baseman Galen Smith (6) tags out Taylor County’s Nick Albritton as he attempts to return to first during Valdosta’s 11-5 victory Thursday evening in the Wildcat Invitational.
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
Wildcats improve to 4-0

Author: Bryan Fazio
Publication Date: March 4, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — Valdosta opened its own Wildcat Invitational with a convincing win against Madison Monday night.

The Wildcat started their week-long tournament by defeating Madison 8-2 at Bazemore Field.

Sophomore Kyle Rowe led the Wildcats on the mound, allowing just two runs on six hits with two strikeouts and just one walk.

“Kyle filled up the strike zone,” Valdosta coach Bart Shuman said. “He had good control, and we played pretty descent defense.”

Valdosta won its fourth straight game to open the season, and has been getting strong pitching and solid defense.

That trend continued Monday with Rowe’s performance and only one error in the field.

While Valdosta’s defense played strongly, Madison’s was sub-par.

The Cowboys committed six errors, including two in the first inning, leading to two Valdosta runs on zero hits.

After reaching base on a walk, Thomas Lovett scored on an error by Madison third baseman McDaniel during the next at bat. Earl Daniels who connected on the ball that helped to drive in Lovett, stole third and reached home after Jamie Turner walked.

The two-run inning gave Valdosta the lead for good, after Madison scored one run in the game’s opening frame.

Madison’s Jacobi McDaniel hit a single to right field, which was fielded poorly by Valdosta’s Harison West allowing Evan Schmitken to score the game’s first run.

Fielding errors plagued Madison again in the second as McDaniel committed his second error of the game to put Rowe on first. Rowe then reached home as pitcher Drew Brown overthrew first base on a grounder by West. Two batters after Taylor Prain reached on a single, Earl Daniels drove a double into center field to score Prain and West.

“We ran the bases pretty good put a little pressure on them,” Shuman said. “They couldn’t handle a couple plays and we got a way with some.”

Madison committed six errors, and the Wildcats added nine hits to propel them to the victory.

Valdosta picked up three of its hits in the third inning, also adding on two more runs.

Galen Smith led off the bottom of the third with a single, and was later brought home on a single by Rowe.

Stuart Brooks who hit the second of three consecutive singles stole second and came home on a sacrifice by West.

Jamie Turner tacked on another run in the sixth inning, after knocking a double into right and scoring on an error by the Cowboys’ shortstop.

Valdosta looks to continue its unbeaten streak as it takes on Taylor at 6 p.m. at Bazemore Field. Lowness also plays a game today in the Wildcat Invitational, playing Bainbridge at 6 p.m. at Lowndes.

“We started off good, and now we’ve got to keep working,” Shuman said.


Valdosta High's Cameron Cain (11) gets a double out at first in the second inning following an infield play after a bunt.
Paul Leavy/The Valdosta Daily Times
VHS Wildcat Invitational starts today

Author: Christian Malone
Publication Date: March 3, 2008 The Valdosta Daily Times

VALDOSTA — There will be a lot of high school baseball played in Valdosta this week.
Valdosta High hosts the Wildcat Invitational this week. There will be 11 teams competing in the tournament, which runs from Monday through Saturday on three fields.

This is the ninth annual Wildcat Invitational, which head coach Bart Shuman started early in his tenure at Valdosta.

It is an informal tournament, with no one being awarded first place and no trophies given out. Instead, Valdosta’s goal is to give teams a chance to play some baseball, against teams they don’t play very often.

“We’re trying to match up some teams that usually don’t play each other,” Shuman said. “We should see some good games this week. Each team will play between one and three games.”

The host team comes into the tournament playing well. Valdosta won the Dairy Queen Classic last week in Adel, going 3-0, with wins over Worth County (12-1), Appling County (8-4) and Cook (3-1). Earl Daniels, who will likely pitch Friday against Lee County, was dominant in his two starts, striking out 28 batters in 11 innings, including a 17-strike out performance against Cook in the final game.

“We’re playing well so far,” Shuman said. “We’re getting good pitching, our lineup is getting consistent. We’re trying to get better, and get ready for region.”

Lowndes will try to get its first win of the season Tuesday, when it hosts Bainbridge at Noel George Field. The Vikings (0-3) are playing their typical challenging schedule, and have had a rough start, losing to Thomas County Central at home, then falling to North Gwinnett and Mill Creek on a road trip this past weekend.

There will be three fields used for the tournament. Valdosta will be the primary site for the games, but there will also be three games played at Lowndes and one at Valdosta State’s Billy Grant Field.

The teams in the tournament are slightly spread out geographically. Three teams — Madison County, Taylor County and Tallahassee Lincoln — come from the Florida panhandle. Lee County is located just north of Albany. Ware County and Brantley County both lie on the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp. Bainbridge and Cairo lie in the southwestern part of the state, a little over an hour’s drive away on the Wiregrass Parkway.

Admission to the tournament will be $5 per day. Tournament passes will be sold at the game sites.

“Hopefully everything will go well, and we’ll have a good tournament,” Shuman said. “Our Dugout Club does a great job with this tournament, and it helps raise a little extra money for the Dugout Club, which directly goes to either the team or our facilities.”