Pope Jr. Greyhounds: Team News

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The Sprayberry Jr. Jackets took on the Jr. Greyhounds at Pope H.S. for a beautiful Sunday doubleheader. 

Game 1 - Official FBL league game.  Good hitting by the Hounds with a .333 team BA.  #13 Jason Avers hit for a double and brought in 3 runs.  #22 Kyle Hinton had the only stolen base of the day as well as 1 walk.  #33 Connor Lake had 2 walks, and #25 Wilson Boyette had 1.  #10 Collin Carter went 3-3 at the plate and Avers and #7 Daniel Edmondson both reached on errors.  On defense the Hounds had no errors.

Game 2 

A big Thank You to the Varsity Greyhounds for inviting the 13U & 14U Grehounds to Pope Field on Monday, March 19.  The Jr. Greyhounds stood on the field with the Varsity players and coaches during the National Anthem.  All players and coaches were announced for both teams and 14U team captain, Wilson Boyette, threw the honorary first pitch before the Varsity Greyhounds faced the Alexander Cougars.  It was a unique experience and we all had a great time.  Thanks, Coach Rowland and Mike Tamucci for making it a special night for the Jr. Greyhounds!

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The Greyhounds hosted the Cambridge Bears, a new feeder program, at Pope H.S. for the Hounds' league opener on Sunday, Feb. 26.  This proved to be a good matchup as there was only 1 run difference in each game.

Game 1 - #10 Collin Carter and #22 Kyle Hinton both batted .500, with one of Hinton's hits being a double.  Hinton also had 2 stolen bases and Carter took 1st on a HBP.  Pitching duo #11 Jake Arendsen and #7 Daniel Edmondson kept the Bears to a .143 batting average, with Edmondson maintaining a .000 ERA during his time on the mound.  The two pitchers also had an RBI each and #33 Connor Lake brought in 2 more runs and scored another himself to give the Hounds a 5-4 win over the Bears.  

Game 2 -  #19 Colton Carey led the pitching force with 6 Ks and also had 2 walks during both appearances at the plate.  #11 Jake Arendsen led the team in walks with 3, with the Greyhounds totaling 13 walks in the game which helped the team achieve a .500 OBP for the game.  #7 Daniel Edmondson recorded a sac bunt and #2 Louis Isaacson hit for a double. The Hounds totaled 6 stolen bases, and #26 Grant Edwards reached on error again as he did in Game 1.  Despite their efforts, the Hounds lost to the Bears 10-11.         

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The #4 seeded Greyhounds faced the FCA Patriots for a re-match of their pool play game.  Despite 9 walks and a team OBP of .407, the Hounds fell short and were eliminated from bracket play.  #10 Collin Carter had 2 RBIs and #19 Colton Carey and #25 Wilson Boyette both batted 1.000.

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In Game 2 of the Frosty Ball Tournament, the Greyhounds faced the Cherokee Titans.  Although the Hounds played well defensively, they were unable to find their groove in pitching and batting.  #19 Colton Carey and #25 Wilson Boyette recorded the only 2 hits of the game.  After the loss to the Titans, the Greyhounds are now 1-1 in pool play. 

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In the first game of pool play, the Greyhounds defeated the FCA Patriots in a hard-fought game by both teams.  #2 Louis Isaacson brought in 2 of the Greyhounds' 5 runs and multiple players walked to 1st.  A relay from #3 Mickey Buechner to #13 Jason Avers resulted in a great play at the plate by Avers to prevent the tying run and give the Greyhounds the win over the Patriots.  On to pool game #2 tomorrow versus the Cherokee Titans!

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A big Thank You to the South Cobb Jr. Eagles for hosting a fun inter-divisional practice game at South Cobb H.S. last night.  Both teams got extra work in for pitchers and batters in addition to practicing some defensive plays.  We had a great time and wish the Eagles a successful season in Division 1 of the FBL. 

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The Hounds faced the Jackets at Sprayberry H.S. on Sunday, Feb. 5 for the first game of spring.  #22 Kyle Hinton and #26 Grant Edwards batted .500 or better, including a double by Hinton.  #2 Louis Isaacson also hit for a double and brought in 3 runs during the game.  #25 Wilson Boyette had 2 RBIs including a sac bunt.  Sacrifices were also recorded by #3 Mickey Buechner and #5 Daniel Dukes.  #13 Jason Avers, #7 Daniel Edmondson and #33 Connor Lake all showed discipline at the plate with 2 walks each, and Avers stole 4 bases on the Jackets, while #22 Hinton stole 2.  The Greyhounds had a team OBP of .467 for the day. On defense, Avers caught a Yellow Jacket stealing, and Edwards and Dukes turned a double play.  Great teamwork led the Greyhounds to a 9-4 win over the Jackets.  Great start Hounds!

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Thank you to all who ordered coffee from the Jr. Greyhounds in support of the Pope Baseball "Grounds for Hounds" fundraiser. Customers who purchased from our table at the Kroger at Shallowford Falls can pickup on Wednesday, December 14 @ 6:30 pm at the same Kroger location. All customers who purchased at Kroger were called and this information was relayed to the person who answered or the info was left on voicemail. If you miss coffee pickup day, please call Cathy at 678-340-3353 or email jr.greyhounds@gmail.com to arrange an alternate pickup time.

Happy Holidays!

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Pope Jr. Greyhounds Baseball is excited to announce its new 13U team under Head Coach Wesley Brock. Like the 14U team, the new 13U team will be led by a coaching staff of parent volunteers and paid non-parent coaches, including current and former Pope Baseball players. The team will play a regular season schedule in the North Georgia Feeder Baseball League and also play in open tournaments during the spring and summer. Player development will focus on baseball fundamentals as well as speed, agility and conditioning.

The 13U team will begin practice in December and start playing games in Spring 2012. To be eligible for the team, players may be in 6th-8th grade but must be age 13 or younger on April 30, 2012. Players should reside in the Pope district, however a select few non-district players will be considered. Tryouts will be held on Saturday, December 3rd, at 1-3pm at Sewell Mill Field - 2550 Sewell Mill Rd. To register for tryouts, please click the link below:

13U Tryouts Registration

Please note: A new window will open and you will need to enter an email address. A link to your personal registration page will be sent to that email. Registration ends Friday, December 2. If you have any problems with your registration, please contact Cathy NeSmith at Jr.Greyhounds@gmail.com or 678-340-3353.

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Please Help Us "Light the Night" to Beat Leukemia & Lymphoma! 

Mike Buechner (pictured far left), one of our team fathers with the Jr. Greyhounds, is in recovery after a bone marrow transplant which will hopefully end his AML - Acute Myeloid Leukemia.  On Sat. Nov. 5 the Buechner Family will be participating in the Light the Night Walk to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).  Since Mike will not be able to participate in the walk because of his health status, the Jr. Greyhounds will help walk in his place.  Pope Jr. Greyhounds Baseball has joined as a member of "Team Beek" with a goal of raising $200 as a team total. We are hoping we can CRUSH this goal for Mike and all our other friends, colleagues and family who are affected by blood cancers. 
 
Please click the following link, read our story and PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE donate even $1 to help our cause.  We also ask that you email this link, share on facebook, LinkedIn, etc. with at least 20 people and ask each recipient to visit the page and donate $1 or more.  Every little bit helps and any amount is greatly appreciated!  Simply go to "Make a Donation" on the right side of the page, enter the amount of your gift and click "Donate Now" - it's that easy...

     Click Here: Pope Jr. Greyhounds "Light the Night" Donation Page 
      
 
If your are in the metro Atlanta area and would like to participate in the actual Walk, it is the evening of Nov. 5.  Festivities start at 4pm in Centennial Park, and the walk itself is done at a leisurely pace.  For more info, visit http://www.lightthenight.org/ and click "What is Light the Night."  If you have any questions, please call Cathy NeSmith at 678-340-3353.  Thanks in advance for your support!

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A huge THANK YOU to all our parents, players and coaches for making the Jr. Greyhounds' inaugural season a success. We appreciate all your hard work -- we couldn't have done it without such a team effort!

Some key highlights of our season as a team:

• Runner-Up in North Georgia FBL post-season playoff tournament
• Final league record 16-7; finished regular season tied 3rd place overall
• Advanced to semifinals or farther in 5 travel tournaments
• 2nd place for most runs scored in 3 different tournaments (only 1 run shy of 1st place in 2 of them!)
• Bracket Champs in USSSA October Shootout
• Runner-Up in Battle at the Bridge
• Team season BA .335, OBP .445
• Team GPA over 3.0
• Team donation to 2 charities - Will to Live Foundation & Darin McGahey Memorial Fund (USSSA night at Turner Field)
• Community service - family cleanup days at local baseball fields

Way to go Hounds!!!!!

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Congratulations to the 14U Jr. Greyhounds for making it to the championship game and finishing as the 2011 8G/14U Tournament Runner-Up in the inaugural season of the North Georgia Feeder Baseball League. The Hounds finished the regular season tied for 3rd place. Quite an achievement for a first year feeder program! Way to go!!!

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The Jr. Greyhounds will be in the Parade of Teams on Wed June 15 with USSSA at Turner Field in honor of the late Darin McGahey, the youth coach who tragically died in Pensacola last summer trying to save his son and teammates.  If you would like to donate to the Darin McGahey Memorial Trust Fund, please contact Bubba Smith at Georgia USSSA Baseball - Tel: 678.794.8713 X102, Email: bsmith@gausssabaseball.com.

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The Jr. Greyhounds went 3-1-1 at beautiful Webb Bridge Park, losing the championship game to the Alpharetta A's.  For a tournament recap, please go to the Team News page. 

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After an exciting 6 innings of baseball, the Jr. Greyhounds defeated the #1 seeded Jr. Jackets in the Bracket Final and advance to the inaugural Championship Game of the North Georgia Feeder Baseball League.  Way to go Hounds!

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In an exciting night of baseball between the #4 Jr. Eagles and the #5 Jr. Greyhounds, the Hounds fought hard to come from behind and take the lead.  After the Eagles tied up the score at 7-7, the Hounds brought in the extra run then held the Eagles with solid defense.  Thanks to #2 Jarrod Howell for a great pitching performance.  The Jr. Greyhounds advance to play the #1 seed Sprayberry in the next round; winner moves on to the Championship Game.  Go Hounds!

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The Jr. Greyhounds defeated the Jr. Blue Devils in an exciting game that went to the 8th inning.  A walk-off RBI by #21 NeSmith-Hicks brought the victory, and the Hounds now advance to the bracket semifinal game versus Milton National.

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The Jr. Greyhounds suffered a tough loss to #1 Sprayberry  - an unfortunate end to Friday the 13th.  The Greyhounds now drop to the Elimination Bracket.  Next game will be Sunday 5/15 vs the winner of Game 15.

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In tonight's 2nd round game of playoffs, the Jr. Greyhounds brought the heat and gained a strong lead against Milton National.  But the Eagles battled back to bring the runs and close the gap to within 2.  The final two innings were nailbiters, but the #5 Hounds prevailed, beating the #4 Eagles 10-9.  The Greyhounds advance to Round 3 of the winners bracket to play the winner of Game 5 - #9 Sequoyah @ #1 Sprayberry. Go Hounds!

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Congratulations to the Jr. Greyhounds for finishing 2nd place in Division 1 and tying for 3rd place overall at the end of the inaugural season of the North Georgia Feeder Baseball League!!  Our Hounds worked very hard to get here as one of 3 first-year feeder programs in a league with twelve 8G/14U teams and we are so very proud of all our players and coaches!  Now to get ready for playoffs...  Go Hounds!

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The Jr. Greyhounds would like to thank all our moms, stepmoms and grandmoms for carpooling us, cheering for and supporting us through a great first season for our program.  And what better way to show our appreciation than to give them a 17-2 victory over the Allatoona Jr. Buccaneers?  #15 Taylor Waddilove delivered a bonus gift to his mom with a huge 2-run HR in the trees.  Great job Greyhounds!

Update on the Home Run race:

3 - #15 Taylor Waddilove (Pope, Bell Memorial Park, Big Shanty Park)

2 - #21 Brandon NeSmith-Hicks (Mt. Paran, Shaw Park)

1 - #25 Eric Bryant (Bell Memorial Park)

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The Jr. Greyhounds swept the Jr. Falcons 17-8 and 8-7 in a doubleheader at sunny Wallace Park.  Pitching duos #22 Parker + #19 Banik and #4 Adams + #21 NeSmith delivered 15 Ks in 10 innings between the 2 games.

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On a balmy Thursday night at Northview High School, the Jr. Greyhounds defeated the Jr. Titans 14-4.  It was a great game of offense and defense for everyone.  Notably, the Hounds scored 14 runs on 18 hits and made 0 errors in the field.

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This was a gorgeous day for a doubleheader at Pope Field!  

Game 1 - Sprayberry Jr. Yellow Jackets: The Jr. Greyhounds came out strong with 4 runs in the first inning, then maintained the lead through 5 innings.  The Jackets made a comeback to tie up the game in the 6^th inning, but the Hounds prevailed with the winning run to defeat the #2 ranked Jackets. 

Game 2 – Milton Jr. Eagles American: This game against the #1 ranked Eagles was close all the way through, ending when the Hounds scored the winning run with bases loaded in the 7^th inning.

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Congratulations to #25 Eric Bryant and #15 Taylor Waddilove for each hitting 2-run homers last night against Milton National!  Way to go Greyhounds!

Current HR leaders:

2 - #15 Waddilove (Bell Memorial Park, Pope H.S.)

2 - #21 NeSmith (Shaw Park, Mt. Paran)

1 - #25 Bryant (Bell Memorial Park)

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The Hillgrove Jr. Hawks hosted this feeder tournament at beautiful Hillgrove High School.

Team Highlights:

.432 OBP overall tournament

.313 SLG overall tournament

.299 BA overall tournament

Finished 3^rd place overall

Lost semifinal 4-3 in 8^th inning to tournament runner-up South Paulding

Individual Highlights:

#22 Travis Parker (P) - retired 3 batters in 5 pitches in semifinal vs South Paulding

#3 Mickey Buechner (2B) – worked through injury to score a run vs North Paulding

#15 Taylor Waddilove (CF) – sprint reverse catch for flyout vs South Paulding

#11 Corbin Bailey (OF) – big double to far RF vs North Paulding to lead off the inning

# 2 Jarrod Howell (P) – 2.170 ERA overall tournament, only 3 ER & 2 BB in 9.2 innings

#25 Eric Bryant (1B) – 16 put outs + 1 assist in 17 chances overall tournament

#21 Brandon NeSmith-Hicks (C) – 4 stolen bases in semifinal vs South Paulding

#6 Hunter Lyons (SS) - unassisted DP vs North Paulding

#21 Brandon NeSmith-Hicks (C) - .625 BA overall tournament 

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USSSA October Shootout 14U Silver Bracket Champs!

Tournament Highlights:

·      2nd place overall 14U for total runs scored in tournament.

·      3rd place overall 14U for avg runs allowed

·      2-pitcher no hitter in Game 6 by #21 Brandon NeSmith-Hicks & #13 Logan Cooperman.

·      Near impossible flyout catch from #15 Taylor Waddilove resulting in 8-4 double play.

·      Line drive snag by #7 Reed Williams leading to 6-3 double play.

·      .457 team BA in bracket play.

·      .548 team OBP in bracket play.

Go Hounds!

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Pope Jr. Greyhounds Baseball
Team Office: 678-340-3353

Email: Jr.Greyhounds@gmail.com

Alan NeSmith
Program Director & 14U Head Coach, Pope Jr. Greyhounds Baseball
Founder & President, North Georgia Feeder Baseball League

Cathy NeSmith
Business Manager, Pope Jr. Greyhounds Baseball

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