I like surprises. The Statesboro Lady Blue Devils, the Bulloch Academy Gators and the Claxton Tigers have each had a whale of a season, so when they each went out and got a region championship, it was some good icing on their collective cake.
       But I wouldn't say it was a surprise.
      The BA Lady Gators on the other hand - now there's a surprise. They won the consolation game of the GISA Region 2-AA tournament and ended up with the No. 3 seed in the state playoffs.
      Then, they picked up a 43-36 win against No. 2 Heritage Christian to advance to the Elite Eight. Unfortunately, if they wanted to get to the Final Four - a place they were "supposed" to be in 2009 but an apparent pipe dream this season - they had to dispatch No.1 seed Westminster. No problem.
       A 53-28 win later, and suddenly the Lady Gators are enjoying their second-straight trip to the semis. Not too bad, when you consider they haven't had back-to-back trips to the Final Four in almost 40 years.
       That's not to take away from the boy's team, which has handed out some beat-downs in its own right and also punched a ticket to the semifinals. If both squads can put together two more wins and take home state titles, that would be surprising, but regardless of how it all plays out, it's a safe bet that all is well in Gator Alley today.
      As for everyone else? They're just getting started.
       It's home sweet home for the Statesboro Lady Blue Devils, who were practically unchallenged on their way to a Region 2-AAAA title. Claxton can say the same, except that Metter - who gave CHS all it wanted in the semifinals and ended up with a No. 3 seed and a road trip - Montgomery County and Calvary Day were pretty evenly matched as the top four teams in Region 3-A.
       The roller-coaster ride of the prep basketball playoffs is just heating up, and hopefully, there's still a surprise or two in store down the road.

Bats, racquets, clubs and feet
       There's been an explosion of activity as the spring sports season has gotten underway with prep baseball, soccer and tennis all hitting the ground running.
       Speaking of running, track's a'coming, along with golf. Air rifle has been going on for a few weeks too, so it's pretty clear, right now, there's a sport going on for just about everybody.
       Georgia Southern baseball didn't get off to the start it was hoping for in the weekend's three-game series with Tennessee Tech, dropping two. After a tough start offensively, the bats finally came around as the Eagles put together 25 runs in the last two games, but it wasn't enough in Game 3 as the pitching and defense couldn't keep up.
       The team's had its fair share of issues in the field and on the mound, but it was also apparent that youth and talent sometimes take a while to catch up to one another.
       The beauty of college baseball is that it's a long season, and you don't have long to marinate on a loss before it's time to go out there and do it again.

About that time
       Georgia Southern doesn't have much longer before it packs its bags and heads to the Southern Conference Tournament.
       The Ladies are on a roll and look to be picking up steam, while CY's boys remain as inconsistent as ever.
       All a I can say about GSU hoops is that if there were ever a time to put together a string of wins, it's right about now.