By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Athlete of the Week: Crumley leading Warriors at plate, on the mound
Placeholder Image
Honor roll

Baseball
Hunter Anglin, Gainesville: Went 2-for-3 with two home runs, three runs scored and three RBIs in a win Wednesday and threw a complete game with five strikeouts to earn the win Friday.

Andrew Bartek, Jefferson: Went 5-for-9 with five RBIs and a run scored last week.  

Drew Carson, Jefferson: Went 4-for-8 with four runs scored, five RBIs and two home runs last week.

Ralston Cash, Lakeview Academy: Hit two home runs with five RBIs in a win Saturday.

Hayden Cummins, White County: 5-for-9 with a double, three runs scored and an RBI last week.

Jake Fields, Jefferson: Earned the win on the mound with eight strikeouts while going 5-for-6 with two home runs, two runs scored and seven RBIs at the plate last week.  

Chaiz George, Union County: Had two RBIs and a double while earning the save on the mound in a win Friday. Threw six innings with 14 strikeouts in a win Tuesday.

Adam Hooper, White County: Went 3-for-4 with a double a run scored in a win Monday. Went 5-for-6 with four RBIs in a win Wednesday.

Caleb Meek, Jefferson: Went 4-for-6 with two home runs, four runs scored and three RBIs last week.

Lucas Redd, Jefferson: Went 3-for-6 with five RBIs and two runs scored last week.

Soccer
Phillip Abrahamsen, Flowery Branch: Scored four goals last week.

Jacey Chandler, Buford: Scored two goals in a win Wednesday.

Cassidy Elrod, Flowery Branch: Scored three goals in a win Friday.

Chris Henry, Johnson: Scored two goals with an assist in a win Tuesday.

Liz Kenny, Lakeview Academy: Scored two goals with an assist last week.  

Kayla Madsen, Johnson: Scored two goals in a win Friday.

Douglass Mejia, Gainesville: Scored two goals last week.  

Moriah Mills, Buford: Scored two goals in a win Wednesday.

Juan Morfin, Johnson: Scored two goals in a win Tuesday.

Track
Taylor Bishop, North Hall: Placed first in the shot put and in the triple jump, and contributed to the 4x100-meter relay team’s win Tuesday.

Shelbee Carter, Gainesville: Won the pole vault and triple jump Tuesday.

Somer Graham, Gainesville: Won the 200 and 400-meter races Tuesday.

Paul Malquist, Gainesville: Recorded the second highest height in Georgia history for pole vaulting and won the 300-meter intermediate hurdles Tuesday.

Ty McCormack, North Hall: Won the 1600 and 3200-meter race Tuesday.

Hyung Oh, Riverside Military: Won the 110 and 300-meter hurdles Tuesday.

Ben Satterfield, North Hall: Win the 100 and 200-meter dash and contributed to the 4x100-meter relay team’s win Tuesday.
DAHLONEGA — When the White County baseball team arrived for a game with the Lumpkin County Indians on Monday, one player stood head and shoulders above the rest as the team made their way from the bus to the field: junior Luke Crumley.

Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 190 pounds, Crumley is an imposing presence, but it’s not just his size that stands out, it’s also his talent.

The right-handed pitcher struck out eight while earning the win and added a home run at the plate last Monday in a 7-4 White County win over Gilmer.

He followed that on Wednesday by going 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, four runs scored and an RBI in a 10-7 win over Flowery Branch.

For his efforts, Crumley is the The Times Athlete of the Week.  

With close to thirty innings pitched this season, Crumley is 4-2 and has surrendered only seven earned runs, giving him an earned run average of 1.65.

In addition to compiling pretty impressive pitching statistics, Crumley had put together a strong year at the plate.

With 58 at-bats going into Monday’s game, Crumley is hitting .414. Add to that his seven home runs, 26 RBIs and 24 runs scored, and its easy to see why the junior is already verbally committed to the University of Georgia.

Crumley’s slugging percentage this season is .879, but at the next level he won’t be hitting, he’ll be pitching.

When asked if giving up the chance to bat will be difficult, Crumley said, “A little bit. It’s going to be tough, but I love pitching.”

After thinking a moment, he added, “I like pitching more than batting.”

Crumley will get the chance to improve his talents on the mound this summer when he heads to the East Cobb Baseball developmental league in Atlanta. East Cobb has produced Major League players such as the Braves’ Jason Heyward and Cincinnati’s Micah Owings.

The new atmosphere and the chance to develop his skills has Crumley excited.

“I can’t wait to get down there,” he said.

Going to a place which is known to produce big-time prospects means there is a chance that Crumley could follow the same path. He’s already been contacted by a few major league teams.

“A couple of guys have sent me some questionnaire stuff,” he said, “but it should be a lot more when I get down to East Cobb.”

Crumley isn’t the only Warrior who seems to have the talent to play at the next level.

Junior David Sosebee has compiled a season record of 5-0 on the mound, even though he suffered a broken left hand in a 14-10 loss to Johnson early in the season.

In his first start after returning from surgery on that left hand, Sosebee threw six innings with 11 strikeouts to earn the win Friday against North Hall in Cleveland.

White County (15-5, 10-4 Region 7A-AAA) is currently in second place in the subregion and has a three-game lead on the third-place team, North Hall. The top two teams from each subregion will earn a spot in the state tournament.

But even with Sosebee back in the rotation and a three-game lead, coach John Brown isn’t putting his team in the state playoffs just yet.

“It’d be nice to say yeah (we will be there), but we’ve got some strong teams left in our season,” he said.  

“Lumpkin can beat you, then we gotta play Gainesville, Creekview, West Forsyth and end up with Chestatee,” he said.

“We have to win two of those five to clinch, for sure.”

The Warriors were last in the state playoffs in 2008.

After going 15-11 last season and finishing one game out of the playoffs, Brown still thought that his team had a “pretty good season.”

When asked what the difference between last year’s team and this year’s, the coach just shrugged.

“I thought we had some good kids last year,” he said. “Our kids have really stepped up (this year), but I don’t really know what it is.

“Maybe the league isn’t as strong this year as it was last year,” he said.  

“(I know) David and Luke have done pretty well for us, (but) overall, I don’t know (what the difference is).”

After giving it more thought, Brown simply said, “(The team) is starting to play together a lot better.”

First baseman Adam Hooper had what Brown deemed an “outstanding week, (and) we’ve been waiting for that to happen.”

“Our shortstop Hayden Cummins is coming around,” Brown said. “He’s pretty consistent with the glove but he hadn’t been hitting real well until lately.”

Cummins and Hooper combined to go 13-for-19 with four runs scored and six RBIs last week.

“(Cummins and Hooper are) giving us a little spark offensively,” he said.

That spark came at a good time for the Warriors, because their leading hitter, Crumley, has been walked a team-high sixteen times this season, most of them intentional. Flowery Branch and North Hall combined for five intentional walks of Crumley last week.

And there may be credence to the idea that walking Crumley is better than letting him hit.

“Gilmer didn’t walk him,” Brown said with a smile. “But he hit a home run.”

White County will take on both subregion leaders this week, playing host to Gainesville (17-1, 12-0 7B-AAA) at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, and visiting Creekview (15-5, 11-2 7A-AAA) at 5:55 p.m. Friday.
Friends to Follow social media