Baseball: Tucker Goes Against Lakeside

Week five of the DeKalb County Schools’ baseball season had teams jockeying for position in their respective regions, including six teams that went undefeated as they prepare to meet in key region matchups.

Redan led the way in Region 6-AAAA with a 4-0 showing, knocking off Woodstock (1-0) March 19, Banneker (11-0) March 20, Carver (13-3) March 21 and Lithonia (5-2) March 22 to improve to 8-3 overall. The Raiders put together a string of eight consecutive victories after a 0-3 start to the season.

The Raiders key region games coming up are Columbia (3/27/13), Chamblee (3/29/13) and Marist (4/1/13).

Coach Brian Ely’s Chamblee Bulldogs kept pace with Redan in the Region 6AAAA standings at 3-0, tallying league victories over South Atlanta (4-3) March 19, Stone Mountain (17-0) March 20 and Therrell (8-1) March 22 to move to 8-6 overall. Chamblee junior Jared McKay struck out 12 over seven innings in a 4-3 triumph over South Atlanta March 18.

The Bulldogs take on Marist (3/27/13), Redan (3/29/13) and Columbia (4/1/13) in their next three region contests.

Coach Steve Dennis and the Columbia Eagles remained alone atop the 6AAAA standings at 4-0, rolling past Stone Mountain (14-0) March 19, Therrell (16-6) March 20 and Washington (12-2) March 22 to improve to 9-1-2 overall. The Eagles lost a tough 8-7 decision to Marist on Monday and face off with Redan (3/27/13), South Atlanta (3/29/13) and Chamblee (4/1/13) in the coming week.

Coach Chan English’s Dunwoody Wildcats swept three straight Region 6AAAAA battles from North Atlanta (6-1) March 19, Miller Grove (4-2) March 20 and Stephenson (4-2) March 22 to move to 3-0 in the league and 9-1 overall. Dunwoody senior Josh Shailer carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and settled for allowing one hit while striking out nine for Dunwoody in a 4-2 victory over Miller Grove March 20.

The Wildcats picked up their first region loss on Monday as Southwest DeKalb pulled out an 8-7 victory in extra innings. Dunwoody faces Arabia Mountain on Wednesday (3/27/13) and Tucker on Friday (3/29/13) in an effort to keep pace with Lakeside (3-0) and Tucker (2-0) in region play.

Coach Bill Newsome’s Lakeside Vikings likewise enjoyed a perfect 3-0 opening week in Region 6AAAAA, registering triumphs over Miller Grove (14-8) March 19, Mays (11-1) March 20 and Southwest DeKalb (10-6) March 22. The Vikings take on Tucker on Wednesday in a battle of two undefeated teams in region play. Tucker is 6-6 overall and enters at 2-0 in region action.

Coach Eric Hoxie’s Arabia Mountain Rams, meanwhile, defeated Southwest DeKalb (8-4) March 20 to open 6AAAAA action and also edged Tri-Cities by a 7-6 count in a 2-0 week that moved their overall record to a sterling 9-1. Senior Jordan Scott struck out 12 and allowed four hits in Arabia Mountain’s 8-4 win over Southwest DeKalb March 20.

The Rams take on Tucker on Tuesday and Dunwoody on Wednesday as they try to improve on a 1-0 region record.

Southwest DeKalb junior Destin Diaz went 3-4 in an 8-4 loss to Arabia Mountain March 20 and then went 4-5 with four runs scored in a 23-1 victory over Clarkston March 21.

Mark Brock is the Information Officer/Statistician/Web Manager for DeKalb County Schools Athletics