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Local Roundup: Bleckley takes title, SEB gets 2 seed
SEB

    COCHRAN — The Southeast Bulloch Lady Yellow Jackets had a chance in both games of Wednesday's Region 3-AA championship, but let both slip away in a doubleheader that left Bleckley County as the 2011 region champs.
    Bleckly won 2-1 and 4-1, scoring all six combined runs in the final inning of each game.
    Freshman SEB (18-6-2) pitcher Sierra Peebles went 2-for-3 in the first game and drove in Breanna Gates, who scored both runs on the day for the Jackets.
    Peebles also struck out seven in the first game and five more in the second, against a Bleckley squad that was averaging seven runs per game heading into the championship series.
    Effie Manahan went 2-for-3 in the second game, and Gates crossed the plate in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Ciera Clark.
    Peebles again pitched six scoreless innings, but the Lady Royals (24-4-1) scored four times in the top of the seventh for a lead that was too much for SEB to overcome.
    The Jackets earned the No. 2 seed in the GHSA Class AA state playoffs. They will host the No. 3 seed out of Region 4-AA Wednesday.
    First pitch in Brooklet is expected at 4 p.m.

Gamecocks finish with No. 4 seed
    EASTMAN — After being stunned Saturday in the semifinals of the GHSA Region 3-AA tournament by Southeast Bulloch, Dodge County responded in a big way.
    The Lady Indians swept Screven County (11-13) in a doubleheader Wednesday during the consolation round to hand the Lady Gamecocks the No. 4 seed in the Class AA state playoffs.
    Dodge had a huge, seven-run  fourth inning in the first game to put SCHS behind 8-0.
    The Gamecocks cut the score to 8-5 with four runs in the fifth inning and another in the sixth, but Screven didn't get closer in a 9-5 decision.
    Madyson Torres had a pair of Game 1 hits and drove in a run, and Reshea Edwards drove in two.
    Screven got ahead in the second game before falling 6-4.
    On the strength of a pair of hits and an RBI from Courtney Burns, Screven got ahead with a 4-0 lead, which it held until the seventh inning.
    Dodge County exploded for six runs in the top of the seventh to clinch the series and the No. 3 seed.
    Screven will face the Region 4-AA champion on the road in the first round of the state playoffs.
    Pike County (17-6) and Morgan County (17-14) played Wednesday in the 4-AA championship.

Lady Eagles continue home win streak
    The Georgia Southern volleyball team extended its home winning streak to eight games with a 3-0 match victory over North Florida (8-10) Wednesday.
    The Eagles (11-9) won 25-15, 25-19, 25-20 over the Atlantic Sun foe in the non-conference finale.
    GSU hit .330 in the match and steadily increased its hitting percentage from .219 in the first set to .424 in the third set. It was a total team effort on offense with Meredith Paskert leading the team with 9 kills. Kate Van Dyke added seven kills and a stellar .750 hitting percentage to go along with 27 assists. Moriah Bellissimo and Nicole Jeschelnik were second on the squad with eight kills each.
    It was a similar story on defense.
    The Eagles held the Ospreys to a .107 hitting percentage and got a balanced effort from the back line. North Florida hit a negative .028 in the first set and posted a match high of just .216 in the third set. Bellissimo recording a team-best 10 digs, while Van Dyke posted 9 digs to help neutralize the UNF offense.
    Georgia Southern jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first set due in part to four Osprey errors. North Florida pulled to within three points, 12-9, before the Eagles pulled away to win the first set by 10 points.
    UNF opened the second set with three-straight points and led 6-2 before GSU tied the set at 9-9. The Eagles took their first lead in the set, 10-9, thanks to a Van Dyke kill. Parker Small (Charlotte, N.C.) tallied four kills to help Georgia Southern to a 25-19 second-set win.
    The Eagles led by as many as six points in the third set, 17-11, but had to hold on for a 25-20 third-set victory. GSU got four kills from Van Dyke and four from Bellissimo in the third set.
    Three players posted seven kills for North Florida but all three were held below a .300 hitting percentage. Casey Giovanazzi tallied 25 of the team's 29 assists and added three kills of her own. Nicole Baran led the UNF defense with 16 digs, while Anna Budinska added 10 digs.

Eagles partner with United Way
    The Georgia Southern baseball and softball teams will partner with the Bulloch County chapter of the United Way of Southeast Georgia for the 14th annual Buddy Ball event on Sunday, Oct. 9, at Mill Creek.
    The event allows children and teens with disabilities to play t-ball with Georgia Southern student-athletes.
    The event starts at 2 p.m. with pictures with Georgia Southern Eagles in preparation for a 2:45 p.m. game time. All participants will receive a certificate, photo, t-shirt and lunch from Subway.
    For more information about Buddy Ball or how you can get involved, contact Mitzi at (912) 489-1904.

Hennon, Eagles hosting fall camps
    The Georgia Southern baseball team released its fall camp schedule which includes a fall hitting league on Monday nights and a pitching and catching league on Tuesday nights. More information on all Georgia Southern Baseball camps can be found at www.collegebaseballcamps.com/gsu.
    Both leagues will feature individual instruction from the Georgia Southern coaching staff and will be limited in the number of total participants. Campers are encouraged to sign up as early as possible to guarantee their spot.
    The hitting league will include five sessions starting on Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. and run each Monday through Nov. 14. Participants will be instructed in all aspects of hitting, team offense, bunting, and the mental aspects of hitting.
    The pitching and catching league will also be five sessions and runs on Tuesdays nights starting on Oct. 18 and run through Nov. 15. The camp will also start at 6:30 p.m. and ends around 8 p.m.         Pitchers attending the camp will be instructed in the proper pitching mechanics as well as defensive instruction. Catchers will learn the mechanics of receiving, blocking, throwing, and basic catching fundamentals.
    For questions call the Georgia Southern Baseball Office at (912) 478-1350 or coach Vincent Smith (912) 674-4249.