Bulloch Academy has held its own in its first season of competition at the Triple-A level of the Georgia Independent School Association and kept up the good work Tuesday, beating Trinity Christian in a 15-3 rout to clinch a No. 3 seed in the state tournament.
    Key to the Gators’ win was a five-run second inning which was punctuated with a three-run home run off the bat of Loy Waters.
    The blast marked the first long ball of Waters’ varsity career and gave Bulloch a commanding lead in an important game.
    “I just tried to stay relaxed,” said Waters. “I just took everything pitch by pitch. When I hit it, I knew it was gone. That was a great feeling.”
    The clutch hit was especially big for a Gators squad that has been stressing good hitting in clutch, run-scoring situations.
    “We’ve struggled a little with runners in scoring position this year,” said Waters. “But I wasn’t thinking about that. I just wanted to have a good at bat and help out my team.”
    Waters and company will have to keep up the timely hitting as the Gators begin state playoff competition Friday at Deerfield-Windsor in Albany.