David McCarthy’s dad often reminds him who’s the better pitcher in the family. The younger thinks it may be time to reevaluate.
    “He still says he’s better than me,” said the senior pitcher at Southeast Bulloch. “But I think I got him.”
    McCarthy opened the season with a no-hitter against county rival Portal. It’s a feat his dad once pulled off for the Yellow Jackets as well.
    This season, McCarthy is off to a 2-1 start with a 1.80 ERA. He’s struck out 15 in 10 innings and allowed just three earned runs.
    “He’s off to a great start,” said SEB head coach Stephen Hoyle. “He’s had three great outings. He’s our workhorse on the mound — he’s our No. 1 guy.”
    Hoyle said McCarthy won’t overpower hitters, but rather has a tough 2-seam fastball which he can locate extremely well. McCarthy’s curve comes in at 12-6 and the part-time shortstop is also developing a change-up.
    Southeast sits at 4-4 and 0-1 in Region 3-AA play. McCarthy said the Jackets have a shot at being a tough club if they can get their confidence up.
    “I think were good at everything right now except for our attitude,” he said. “We need to get in the game every time and stay in it. Sometimes when we get down it’s hard for us to get back up.”
    SEB hosts Laney Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Rochelle Schuman
    The Screven County Lady Gamecocks (4-1, 1-1 Area 3-AA/A) looked to be a heap of trouble in the offseason, with a lot of open holes on the roster.
    That is, until Rochelle Schuman and seven other underclassmen took over starting roles.
    Schuman has been a standout through five games this season, and she helped lead the Gamecocks to the program’s first win against area rival Southeast Bulloch Tuesday in Sylvania.
    “Rochelle’s a freshman,” said Screven coach Terry Markovcic. “She’s leading the team in scoring and assists right now. She’s got good speed, great attitude (and) great hustle.”
    Despite leading the Screven offense, Schuman attributes the team’s early success to the entire team. She cites each player with contributions to the Lady Gamecocks.
    “It’s a team effort,” Schuman said. “We all practice together. Even the people that don’t start practice (with the team). We all make the team better.”     
    Schuman attributes a lot of the young team’s success to the fact that the freshmen and sophomores have been playing together for a long time.
    “We’ve been playing together since sixth grade,” said the freshman.
    Screven travels to East Laurens Friday.