From Staff Reports

DELAND, Fla. – Athens Post 49 continued its run to the Senior American Legion World Series by pounding out 14 hits in a 16-0 win over Georgia in the opening game of the Southeastern Regional Tournament.

“We played really good today,” Athens coach Nathan Brownlow said. “We haven’t hit the ball as well as we did today in over three weeks.”

The 49ers picked up where they left off in the state tournament last week, by pounding out five hits and seven runs in the second inning.

“Our guys came out fast,” Brownlow said. “They never missed a beat. It’s like they picked right up where they left off, and that’s what it takes.”

Athens was led at the plate by former Tanner star Jarred Harrison with three hits. Jacob Lamar and Chris Wiley added three hits for Post 49, while former West Limestone star Cole Mitchell belted out two hits.

Andrew Reeves got the start in the opening game. He pitched five shutout innings to record the win. Buddy Bosheers worked two shutout innings to finish out the game.

“Our pitching and defense never let up,” Brownlow said. “That’s been the one constant for our baseball team. Georgia booted the ball around some, and our guys played flawless defense. That’s what we are going to need from our guys to be successful down here.”

Athens will play the winner of North Carolina and Florida today at 2:30 p.m. in the second round of the tournament. The game is being broadcast live on the Internet at www.Floridacast.com.

Brownlow believes Athens’ pitching is strong enough to make it through the five-game regional tournament.

“Most of the teams down here are built around offense,” he said. “Ours is built more around pitching. I think our pitching is strong enough to keep is us in the game with anybody, and if our guys keep hitting the ball like they did today, then we are going to be hard to stop.”

Athens has played a couple of teams competing in the regional tournament, including Columbia, Tenn. – who is considered one of the favorites. The 49ers have played Columbia three times, with Athens winning all three times.

“We’re just going to keep playing our type of baseball and see what happens,” Brownlow said. “That’s all we can do.”