AMERICUS – It is once again time to give honor to whom honor is due. It is time to name the 2018 Americus Times-Recorder All-Area Baseball Team. These players have excelled on the field and have led their teams in a positive way both on and off the field. Without further a,do, we begin with the Americus Times-Recorder Player of the Year.

Americus Times-Recorder 2018 Player of the Year: Wade Law, catcher, Schley County

There is no doubt that Schley County Senior Catcher Wade Law is deserving of being named Player of the Year. Law led the Wildcats with a .462 batting average. He led the team in RBIs with 40. Law is tied for second in home runs with four. Three other Wildcat players had four home runs on the season. Law had 36 hits in 78 at bats. His on-base percentage was .542 and his slugging percentage was .744.

Dylan Taylor, Pitcher, Schley County

Dylan Taylor was a key contributor for Schley County both on the mound and at the plate for the Wildcats. At the plate, Taylor had the second highest batting average on the team at .433. He led the Wildcats with six home runs and was tied for third with teammate Chance Hollomon in RBIs with 24. His on-base percentage was .519 and he had the highest slugging percentage on the team at .806. On the mound, Taylor was just as dominant. In 22 innings pitched, he was 4-1 with one save and an ERA of 1.273. Taylor posted 25 strikeouts to only 10 walks during the 2018 season.

 

Harrison Bell, Pitcher, Southland Academy

Harrison Bell, both at the plate and on the mound, excelled enough to have his name on the Americus Times-Recorder All-Area Team. Bell had a batting average of .310 and led the team with 13 RBIs. He scored 18 runs, leading the team in that category. Bell also Belted four home runs, hit four doubles and drew 10 walks. On the mound, Bell posted a 2.29 ERA in 36 2/3 innings pitched. He struck out 54 batters and only walked 10 on the season.

 

Jordan Hall, Third Baseman, Schley County

Third baseman Jordan Hall was another key contributor in the Wildcats’ success this year. Hall batted .411. He had 29 hits, six of them doubles. He had one triple, one home run and he drove in 18 RBIs. Hall scored 42 runs for Schley County. His on-base percentage was .514 and his slugging percentage was .533.

 

George Wall, Catcher, Southland Academy

George Wall had a terrific season for the Raiders. He led the team in batting with a .425 batting average. Wall drove in 11 RBIs, scored 13 runs and had an on-base percentage of .683, which led the Raiders. He also drew 11 walks and was hit by a pitch 11 times, indicating the concern pitchers had about throwing pitches he could hit.

 

Cameron Belcher, First Baseman, Schley County

Cameron Belcher batted .397 for the Wildcats and was second on the team in RBIs with 28. He generated 23 hits for the Wildcats, four of them home runs.  He was tied for second place on the team with four home runs along with Ashton Goodin, Wade Law and Chance Hollomon. He had an on-base percentage of .525 and a slugging percentage of .603.

 

Hunter McCain, Shortstop, Southland Academy

Southland shortstop Hunter McCain posted a batting average of .380, which was second on the team behind George Wall. McCain doubled four times, scored 17 runs and led the Raiders in walks with 11.

 

Tyler Kennedy, Right Fielder Southland Academy

Southland right fielder Tyler Kennedy batted .362 for the Raiders, had an on-base percentage of .552, scored 14 urns and drove in nine RBIs.

 

Lorne Barineau, Pitcher, Schley County

Schley County pitcher Lorne Barineau went 5-1 with one save on the season for the Wildcats in 29.2 innings pitched. Barineau struck out 23 batters while only walking nine, and had an ERA of 0.472.

 

Ross Minick, Pitcher, Southland Academy

Southland Academy pitcher Ross Minick had a strong season on the mound for the Raiders. Minick struck out 48 batters in 41 innings pitched. That’s roughly 1.2 strikeouts per inning.

 

Camron Vanlerberghe, Second Baseman, Schley County

Schley County second baseman Camron Vanlerberghe also had a solid season for the Wildcats. Vanlerberghe batted .359 and drove in 23 RBIs. Vanlerberghe had an on-base percentage of .449 and a slugging percentage of .538.

 

Chance Hollomon, Left Fielder, Schley County

Schley County left fielder Chance Hollomon finished the season in a four-way tie for second place in home runs with Ashton Goodin, Wade Law and Cameron Belcher. Hollomon batted .329, scored 26 runs and drove in 24 RBIs.

 

Ashton Goodin, Pitcher, Schley County

Schley County pitcher Ashton Goodin went 5-1 on the season with three saves. He had an ERA of 1.102, striking out 45 batters, while only walking 18. At the plate, Goodin batted .352 with four home runs and 21 RBIs. Goodin was in a four-way tie for second place in home runs on the team along with Cameron Belcher, Chance Hollomon and Wade Law. His on-base percentage was .531 and his slugging percentage was .592.

 

Americus Times-Recorder All-Area Honorable Mention

Garrett Peavy, Pitcher, Schley County

Garrett Peavy had a strong showing for the Wildcats this year, particularly on the mound. Peavy went 3-0 as a pitcher with an ERA of 1.737 and struck out 20 batters.

 

Trent Bivins, cCnter Fielder/Pitcher, Schley County

Schley County’s Trent Bivins is named to the All-Area Honorable Mention list. Bivins batted .279 with 20 RBIs driven in. Bivins also got it done on the hill. He went 4-1 on the season for the Wildcats. Bivins had 39 strikeouts on the season, while walking 12 batters. He posted an ERA of 1.147 in 22.2 innings of work.

 

Landon Law, Left Fielder, Southland Academy

Southland’s Landon Law, like his brother Luke, had a solid season for the Raiders. Landon Law batted .317 with four doubles, a triple, one home run, drove in 12 RBIs and scored 13 runs.

 

Luke Law, Second Baseman, Southland Academy

Southland Academy second baseman Luke Law batted .313 for the Raiders, drove in 12 RBIs and had nine stolen bases.

 

Clay Owens, Center Fielder, Southland Academy

Clay Owens batted a solid .315 for the Raiders. He led the team in stolen bases with 14. He had four doubles on the season and scored 13 runs.

 

Dylan Windham, Pitcher, Schley County

Schley County relief pitcher Dylan Windham only pitched 9.1 innings during the 2018 season. However, Windham made the most of his opportunities. He struck out 14 batters and only walked four.

 

Christian Mable, Center Fielder, Americus-Sumter

Though the Panthers struggled this year, center fielder Christian Mable was one of the bright spots for the Americus-Sumter. Mable drove in two RBIs in a 6-5 win over Carver on Friday, March 9.

 

Kierston Harvey, Shortstop/Third Baseman/Pitche, Americus-Sumter

While his best sport maybe football, Kierston Harvey is a pretty solid baseball player as well. He was one of the bright spots for the Panthers during a tough 2018 campaign. In the 6-5 win over Carver on Friday, March 9, Harvey went 2-for-4 and scored a run.