Devils open region play with win over Glascock
by David Lee

The LCHS Devils baseball team has had to play around several rain outs so far this season, including two for the month of March. The Devils have not been able to play the two games they have been looking forward to the most- the rematches with Washington Wilkes and Social Circle. However, they have been able to notch their first two region victories as they enter the region portion of the schedule.

For the first week of March, the Devils were rained out twice. But they were able to fit in a game with Calhoun Falls that week, which turned into a home run display. Josh Hollimon and Aiken Davis hit back to back homers in what became a sevenrun first inning. The power show wasn't finished, though. Austin Goldman got in on the action with a solo homer in the second inning, which was followed with another home run from Hollimon and Davis. The game was over by the third inning, with the Devils on top, 15-0.

Lincoln County picked up the next week with a game against Athens Christian. Several errors were made and the offense was kept off balance by the Eagles pitching. Crafton Reed and Jeremy Mason picked up and RBI each, but the Devils fell, 19-2.

The Devils were set to play Hancock Central the following day, but the team never showed and LCHS was given the win. A good start to region play. The next game, at home against Glascock County, determined whether the Devils were the true contenders in the region. They came out firing, scoring two in the first on a Hollimon RBI single and an error that brought him home. They scored two more in the second on Glascock errors.

The score remained 4-2 until the fourth, when the Devils broke it open. Reed started the scoring with an RBI single, followed by an RBI on a fielder's choice from Hollimon. Davis added an RBI on a single, and David Lee followed with a two-run single to cap a five-run inning. They added two more in the fifth on a sac fly RBI by Reed and an error that drove in the eleventh run for LCHS.

Dalton Tankersley started on the mound for the Devils, going six innings and allowing four runs, only one of them earned. He struck out five. Reed closed out the game with a scoreless seventh.

The Devils played a Saturday afternoon game at Aquinas against Jenkins County. Lee took the mound for Lincoln County and struggled, allowing Jenkins County to jump to a six-run lead after two innings. The Devils crawled their way back slowly, scoring three in the third on RBI's by Reed and Tyler Banks, and an error that drove in another. They added one more on an error in the sixth, but the lead was too large to overcome. Lincoln County dropped the game, 14- 4.

The Devils face a huge week ahead, with one of the biggest games of the year Tuesday against Aquinas and a doubleheader at home Friday against Twiggs County- both region foes.