At the midpoint of the baseball season, Loganville has a very un-Loganville-like rank and record.
With 15 regular-season games remaining, the Red Devils are 9-6 and No. 5 in Class AAAAA.
Of course, in the grand scheme, none of that matters. The defending state champs are still considered contenders among a small handful of teams.
What’s more, Red Devils history has taught us never to cast judgment based on early returns. The 2017 team started the season 7-8 but went on to roll through the playoffs and win a state title.
“I think this team is very similar to that one,” said Loganville manager Bran Mills. “We’d lost a lot of guys in 2016 to graduation and had some talented but inexperienced guys have to step up.”
For the 2023 squad, filling gaping holes in the pitching staff has been the biggest challenge. Gone are co-aces Dawson Coe and Trenton Burnett along with Walton County Player of the Year Matt Heard.
The trio were inning eaters who combined for multiple no-hitters. This year’s staff has been more of a committee.
“We usually throw three of four guys a game by design,” Mills said. “We just ask them to give us two or three good innings and then hand it off to the next guy.”
But if anybody could claim the tag of ace it would be senior Jordan Davis, who’s recorded three wins so far,
including a five-inning effort in a 5-3 victory over Archer on Saturday. He went six innings with three strikeouts and a walk.
Junior Layne Ayers got the save with an inning of work.
Others who are contributing on the mound include Tucker Segars, J.P. Myers, and Sherman Johnson.
“One of the strengths of our staff is their flexible,” Mills said. “They can either start or close or anything in between.”
Returning catcher Joe Johnson and shortstop Jaylen Jones have paced the offense, trading the mantel as the team’s leading hitter by the game. Heading into the week, Johnson was at .419 and Jones at .412.
In Saturday’s win, the Red Devils were trailing 3-0 through three innings before a solo-shot by Sherman Johnson got them on the board.
In the fifth, consecutive singles by Ayers, Joe Johnson, and James Beaver followed by a sacrifice fly by Jordan Johnson and a single by Segars helped turned the game around.
Region 8-AAAAA action begins in earnest next week, with 10 of the 15 remaining games inside the league. The Red Devils swept Eastside last week, 10-1 and 11-1, to open region action.
They face a huge series against Flowery Branch starting on the road Friday and back home Monday. The matchup could go a long way in deciding the top seed out of the league.
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