At the conclusion of the regular season, the LCHS Red Devils are ranked second in Region 7-A. The first round of the state playoffs will begin Friday, May 12, at the Curry Colvin Recreation Complex. Pictured running down Patrick Norman of Aquinas are Red Devils Kiece Crite (c) and Brandon Barden. With an overall record of 12-12 and a 6-4 record in region play, the LCHS Red Devil diamondmen have concluded their season with a second-place finish in Region 7-A.

The second-place ranking gives the Devils the home field advantage in the first round of the state playoffs which are set to begin May 12 at the Curry Colvin Recreation Complex with a doubleheader against the number three team from Region 8-A. The third game, if necessary, will be played on Saturday.

According to Coach Billy Beale, "Region 8 is the region around Athens - the four playoff teams appear to be Prince Avenue Christian School, which will probably win the Region 8-A title; Jefferson; Athens Academy; and Social Circle. All four teams are within one game of each other with two games left to play."

Concerning regular season play, on Tuesday, April 18, the Devils fell behind Glascock County early in the game and could not make up the difference, giving the team a 7-5 region loss.

The Panthers scored three unearned runs in the first and added three more in the third to take a 6-1 lead.

The Devils picked up a run in the second on Trey Bailey's double and Alex Bradford's run-scoring single.

Tyler Beale singled to lead off the third inning, scoring on Brandon Barden's sixth home run of the season.

Bradford doubled in the fourth and stole third. He was then driven in by Crafton Reed to cut the deficit to 6-4.

In the sixth, Bradford singled, stole second and third, and scored on Reed's grounder to short to cut the Panther's lead to one run.

Lincoln County got a runner on in the seventh but could not finish the rally.

Leading hitters for the Devils were Beale (3-4), Bailey (2-4), and Bradford (3-3).

Following the loss to Glascock County, LCHS enjoyed a sweet victory over rival Washington-Wilkes on the road Friday, April 21.

Barden pitched a seven-hitter and hit his seventh home run of the season to lead the Devils to a 9-2 win.

In the first inning, the Tigers jumped out to a 1-0 lead, but the Devils answered with a run of their own in the second. Bailey singled, advanced to second when Kiece Crite was hit by a pitch, and scored on a single by Bradford.

Washington took a 2-1 lead into the fifth before the Devils' bats came alive. Beale singled and stole second. Austin Goldman walked, followed by a threerun blast by Barden, to give Lincoln County the lead.

In the sixth, the team added a five-run rally to the score. Bradford walked and stole second. With two outs, Beale singled in Bradford. Goldman drew another base on balls, and Barden followed with a single which propelled Beale across home plate. Bailey then walked to load the bases, and Crite punched out a double to put two more runs on the board. Casey Norman hit a double of his own to score Bailey, giving the Devils a 9-2 victory.

Barden struck out five Tiger batters and scattered seven hits to record his first pitching win of the season.

Leading hitters were Beale (2-5) and Barden (2-3).

On Tuesday, April 25, the Red Devils celebrated a 15-2 region win over Hancock Central.

LCHS drew first blood when Beale led off the game with a single, stole second, moved to third on a ground ball to first by Goldman, and scored on a single by Barden.

Hancock Central answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 2-1 lead that held up until the top of the fourth. Crite led off the inning with a single and Norman followed with a base on balls. Josh Hollimon singled in Crite, and Reed doubled to drive in the third run, putting the Devils ahead to stay. Reed then scored on Beale's double.

In the fifth inning, Barden singled and stole second. Crite walked and both runners advanced on a fly ball by Norman. Barden scored on a ground ball error by Bradford, and Bradford scored on Hollimon's second hit.

In the sixth, a single by Goldman was followed with an RBI double by Barden, who moved around the bases and scored on two passed balls.

Lincoln County finished off the game in the top of the seventh. Bradford singled and traveled to second on an error. He was singled in by pinch-hitter Daniel Morris. Beale followed with a single, and Goldman singled in Morris. Barden walked, and Steven Rayner singled in another run. Aiken Davis reached first on a base on balls, followed by a two-run single by Dalton Tankersley. At this point, Hancock called the game to give LCHS a 15-2 win.

Austin Reed pitched the entire game to pick up his fourth win of the season.

Leading hitters were Barden (3-3), Beale (3-5), Goldman (3-5), and Crite (2-3).

On Friday, April 28, Aquinas clinched the Region 7-A championship with a 5-3 victory over LCHS.

Aquinas scored a run in the first on two walks and an infield error. The Devils came back in the bottom of the inning to tie the game with Barden's eighth home run of the season.

In the second inning, the Irish took a 4-1 lead, adding another run in the fifth to bring the score to 5-1.

The Devils tried to mount a comeback but came up short. Goldman walked to lead off the sixth, making his way to second on a wild pitch. He then scored on a single by Barden.

Morris hit his first varsity home run in the bottom of the seventh to cut Aquinas' lead to 5-3. However, it soon became apparent that Lincoln County come not come up with any more runs.

Barden and Morris, both 2-3, were the leading hitters for the Devils.

"We played a pretty good game, but we just couldn't get past Aquinas," stated Coach Beale. "Two of our starters were out with injuries, and we couldn't mount enough offense."

On Saturday, April 29, the Red Devils lost to Prince Avenue 11-1 in a game that was much closer than it appeared to be, judging by the final score.

Lincoln County scored first in the top of the fifth to take a 1-0 lead. Goldman singled and advanced to second on a single by Bailey. He scored on a throwing error on an attempt to steal third.

Tankersley took the 1-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning before Prince Avenue could tie the score.

The LCHS freshman tired in the sixth. Tankersley, Bailey, and Rayner could do nothing to slow down Prince Avenue as the team scored 10 runs to end the game.

Bailey (3-3) led the Red Devil hitters.

"I was very proud of our effort against Prince Avenue through the first five and a half innings of the game," said Coach Beale. "Due to injuries, we only used three starters. The younger guys really came through - our freshmen had five hits between them. Dalton did a very good job on the mound by keeping Prince Avenue off balance, and both freshmen catchers did a great job behind the plate in their first experience playing in a close varsity ball game.

"Also, Rayner did a very good job in centerfield today and yesterday, playing in place of Alex Bradford, and Crafton Reed and Tristan Wynn played very good games at second and third base," the coach continued, adding, "Trey Bailey and Austin Goldman picked up the offense for us."

Further details on the first round of the state playoffs will appear in next week's edition of The Lincoln Journal.