With all the local basketball teams out of state title contention, the local student-athletes kicked spring sports into high gear during the month of March.
On March 1, the Griffin boys track team and Spalding girls track team placed first in the 3rd annual Ross Invitational at Griffin High. Greg Worthy was the high point winner for Griffin; Antoinette “Bones” Jordan was the high point winner for the girls.
Also on March 1, Spalding girls soccer team (ranked 13th) defeated 5th-ranked Columbus 2-1 in overtime at Columbus State University. Lauren Barlow scored thegame winner for the Lady Jags.
On March 3, Spalding’s baseball team lost its home opener to Georgia Military College 7-1, due to six errors by the Jags. A Travis Lee sacrifice fly was the Jags’ only run.
On March 4, Green Bay Packers All-Pro quarterback Brett Favre told the team he was retiring after 17 seasons in the NFL while on the same day, Griffin’s riflery team lost 1138-1119 to the Stockbridge riflery team in the opening round of the Area 5 playoffs.
Also on March 4, the Spalding boys and girls tennis teams both swept Morgan County. The boys team won for the first time that season while the girls rebounded from their first loss.
On March 5, the Griffin girls soccer team sprinted to a 6-0 start by blanking Lovejoy High 6-0. The Lady Bears recorded a sixth consecutive shutout to start the season. That same day, the Spalding girls soccer team shutout Peach County 11-0 at SHS as 11 players either scored a goal or had an assist for the Lady Jags.
In baseball action, the Griffin baseball team got back on the winning track at home, defeating Northgate 4-3 to improve to 2-1 on the season while the Spalding baseball team defeated Upson-Lee 8-5 for a series sweep.
Also on March 6, the Spalding tennis teams swept Mary Persons, with the boys making a gutsy effort coming from behind to win their second straight match.
On March 7, the Spalding girls soccer team defeating defending Region 4-AAA champ Eagle’s Landing 3-1 at home, the second win against a top 10 opponent in Class AAA. ELHS was ranked ninth. The Griffin girls soccer team lost its first game of the season to Pike County 4-1, the first goals it had given up all year.
On March 8, the Spalding golf team placed ninth in the 23-team field at the second annual Pike County Invitational.
On March 9, Kyle Busch won the Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, becoming the youngest driver to win at AMS. He was 22.
On March 11, the Griffin girls soccer team rebounded from its first loss to defeat Forest Park 8-0.
On March 12, the Spalding girls soccer team won its sixth straight game, defeating Woodland-Stockbridge 13-1 at home.
On that same day, Griffin’s baseball team lost to Whitewater 5-2 despite a solo homer from Tim Beckham and four strong innings by starting pitcher Jeremy Holcomb.
In pro sports, the Atlanta Hawks became the 20th straight victim of the streaking Houston Rockets March 12, falling 83-75.
On March 13, the Griffin golf team got its first taste of victory, 202-224, against Lamar County.
On March 14, the Spalding girls soccer team kept on rolling, winning its seventh straight game, this time against Henry County, 13-0.
On March 16, the Atlanta Hawks moved into a tie for the 8th playoff spot with a 109-98 win over the New York Knicks and the Georgia Bulldogs men’s basketball team won its fourth game in three days in the Southeastern Conference Tournament (a 66-57 win over Arkansas) to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. It was the ‘Dogs first NCAA bid since 2002.
On March 18, the Griffin girls soccer team clinched its first-ever subregion title with a 7-0 win over North Clayton. Kristen Gregory scored 2 goals in the win as Griffin stayed perfect in subregion 4A-AAAA.
On March 19, Charlie Clemons, a Griffin native and former NFL player, was in town to talk about his workout club, Competitive Edge Sports, partnering with Club Fitness in Griffin. The joint venture will allow the club to train football players, but will also have areas dedicated to training athletes in other sports like baseball, basketball, soccer, etc.
On March 20, the Georgia Bulldogs basketball team’s NCAA Tournament run ended with a 73-61 loss to the Xavier Musketeers in the first round of the West Regional in Washington, D.C. Terrance Woodbury scored 16 and Sundiata Gaines chipped in 13 points and six assists for Georgia.
On March 21, the Griffin girls soccer team finished 6-0 in their subregion with a 9-0 shellacking of Mt. Zion-Jonesboro. Hannah Brown scored a career-high five goals and Katy Penley also scored two goals in the win.
On March 24, former U.S. Open champ Geoff Ogilvy ended Tiger Woods’ three-year winning streak at the CA Championship in Doral, Fla. In high school sports that day, Spalding Jags pitcher Josh Tapley struck out 13 batters to lead the Jags to a 12-3 win over Woodland-Stockbridge while the Griffin boys soccer team got its first subregion win over Mt. Zion-Jonesboro, which snapped their eight-game losing streak.
On March 26, Griffin junior Telvin Nash belted two home runs and added five runs batted in to lead the Bears in their 14-0 pasting of the Forest Park Panthers in a game called after five innings. It was the second time the Bears ended a game on the 10-run mercy rule.
On March 28, Jacolby Beckham went 3-for-3 with a three run homer to lead the Griffin Bears in their second straight blowout victory, a 16-1 trouncing of the Mt. Zion-Jonesboro Bulldogs. Griffin scored 10 runs in the first inning and the rout was on.
The month ended on a sad note as two-time Griffin City Golf champion Mickey Carver passed away on March 28.
Post a Comment