Last year, an injury forced Madelyn Vickery to the sidelines during Bulloch Academy’s state playoff run. This time around, she plans on being right in the middle of things.
    Vickery was virtually untouchable on the mound in Region 4-AAA competition and was just as good during the rest of the year as the Lady Gators won their first region title at the Class-AAA level and went 18-2 in the regular season.
    “I’m excited to go out there each time,” said Vickery. “We’ve got a really good team that’s returning from last year, so I think that this year could be special.”
    She’ll get a chance to make it special as she toes the rubber for the first game of Bulloch’s second round playoff series against Stratford today at 11 a.m. While the Gators bowed out in this round last season, they are confident that they can go farther this time around the playoffs.
    “We beat Stratford twice this season, so we’re pretty confident in ourselves,” said Vickery. “They’re a good team, but we’ve got two good pitchers and great defense. We believe in each other.”