Statesboro baseball players Crawford Simmons and Zack Taylor are on the same team — for now.

            Simmons, a crafty left-handed pitcher, has made the choice to pitch for Georgia Tech in college. Taylor, a lefty at the plate with a strong arm from the outfield, plans on going to the University of Georgia.

            The two made their verbal commitments public on Tuesday.

            “It would really be nice for (Simmons) to play on the same team as me,” said Taylor. “We’ve been playing together for so many years. It’s going to be weird (playing against each other) — we’re just going to have to wait and see.”

    Taylor hit .444 with 25 RBIs and four home runs last season. He struck out just 17 times in 90 at bats and slugged a cool .589.

            “I had a lot of offers from a lot of big schools,” he said. “I visited all the campuses, talked to the coaches and Georgia was just the right fit for me.”

            Georgia Southern, Clemson, South Carolina and Simmons’ choice of Tech were all in pursuit of Taylor.

            “Well, (Georgia) did go to the College World Series finals,” said Taylor with a grin. “Athens is just a good college spot — it’s just a good school.”

     Simmons was the staff ace for SHS, going 8-2 with a 0.70 ERA last season. He struck out 108 in 69 1/3 innings and allowed just one home run.

            “It definitely wasn’t an easy decision,” said Simmons on his choice to pitch in Atlanta. “After doing a lot of thinking with the family I felt it was just the right fit.”

            Simmons said he narrowed his choices down to three schools — including the hometown Georgia Southern squad.

            “I just kinda wanted to get away from home,” said Simmons after a deep breath. “(Georgia Tech has) a great tradition there with the baseball program and from the academic standpoint they’re a very prestigious school.”

            The two smiled and down played the rivalry that exists between the two baseball powers.

            “I’m not going to say anything just yet — we’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” said Taylor.

            Added Simmons: “That’s his choice (to go to Georgia). He does have bragging rights right now because Georgia just got back from Omaha — but we’ll see.”

            Both Taylor and Simmons said the prospects of going pro after their senior seasons does loom in the back of their minds. Right now, however, they said they’re both just concentrating on having a good final year as Blue Devils.