Post Grady Baseball News 2001 here. Click here to see the Baseball schedule.

-- Terry Kearns (gradyproject@aol.com), February 17, 2001

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Decatur Defeats Grady Knights 9 to 2 in Last Regular Season Game

In the last game of the regular season, the Grady Varsity Baseball team met Decatur at Price field on April 26th. Grady started the game off well with the first two Decatur batters striking out on 6 pitches. But Decatur soon found their bats and proceeded to get 9 hits and 9 runs. Grady struggled in the hitting area and only had 3 hits and two runs during the game.

In the first inning, Decatur had a double to center right field. The runner scored on a single by Decatur’s catcher. For Grady, catcher Todd Fuller reached base on balls and was able to score on a single up the center by shortstop Anthony Devingo. Devingo scored on a single by first baseman Patrick Johnson and so at the end of the first inning Grady led Decatur 2 to 1. This was the only lead that Grady would have.

In the second inning, Decatur’s left fielder came to bat and had a single up the third base line. Three wild pitches resulted in him scoring. The next batter reached base on balls and after stealing two bases scored on a Grady error. This resulted in Decatur moving ahead of Grady 3 to 2. Grady’s next three batters went down one, two, three and so at the bottom of the second inning, Decatur was on top 3 to 2. They maintained the lead the rest of the game.

The third inning was tough for Grady with the first Decatur batter striking out but then two batters reached base on balls, one batter reached base being hit by a pitch and then there were two single hits. Decatur scored 2 runs in the inning but Grady pulled together to earn the third out with the bases loaded to prevent any further runs from being scored. Third baseman Anthony London fielded the hit and threw to Patrick Johnson on first base for the third out. For Grady in the third and fourth inning the Knights were not able to produce any hits and so at the end of the fourth inning the score was Decatur 5 and Grady 2.

Decatur added another run to their score in the fifth inning resulting from errors on Grady’s part. During this inning Matt Scofield came in as a relief pitcher for West Chambless who had been pitching for Grady. For Grady, Matt Scofield reached base on an error and made it to third base but Grady was unable to bring him home so that at the end of the fifth inning Decatur had 6 runs and Grady had 2 runs.

The sixth inning saw another error by Grady and single and triple hits by Decatur resulting in 3 more runs being added to Decatur’s score. Grady started off the bottom of the sixth inning with a single by Patrick Johnson up the center. Then right fielder Mike Walker reached base on a fielder’s choice. Center fielder West Chambless had a line drive up the center that was caught by the second baseman who was also able to get Mike Walker out. Grady was unable to add any runs to their score.

In the seventh and final inning, the Decatur batters were three up and three down as were the Grady batters so that the game ended with Decatur defeating Grady 9 to 2. The Grady Knights have had a great season. They made it to the AIT Finals playing Mays in a great game and coming in second in the tournament. In the regular season games, Grady had 11 wins and 6 losses. In region play, Grady won 7 of these games and lost 5 games. The Grady Knights now move into post season play, playing Pike County High School on Monday, April 30th in a doubleheader. The first game starts at 3:30pm at Pike County. The second game will start 30 minutes after the first game ends.

-- Edith C. Waller (wallerec@aol.com), April 27, 2001.

Pace Knights Beat Grady Knights 3 to 0 on April 25, 2001

The Grady Varsity Baseball team was originally scheduled to play Pace Academy on April 24th but due to weather conditions, the game was cancelled and rescheduled for April 25th at the Price Field. Teams were there on time along with the officials and so the game started at 5pm with two strong pitchers on the mound. Grady was held to two hits and was unable to manufacture a run. Pace was held to four hits and along with a three base error on Grady’s part the results were three runs for them.

Pace started the game off in the first inning with the first two players striking out behind the pitching of Patrick Johnson. The third batter was hit by a pitch but was thrown out at second as he attempted to steal the base. Grady had one of its two hits during the first inning when second baseman Matt Monroe had a single and then made it to second on a wild pitch. But the next two Grady batters struck out and so he was left on base at the end of the inning.

In the second inning, Pace had its first hit – a single between second and third. The next two batters struck out but then the next batter hit a high fly to center field which Grady was not able to catch. This resulted in Pace scoring its first run and this batter reaching third base on the error. The next two Pace batters were walked so that the bases were loaded but Patrick delivered another strike out to retire the side and prevent Pace from scoring any more runs that inning. Grady’s batters were three up, three down in the second inning as were Pace batters in the third inning. For Grady, in the third inning, the first two batters reached base on balls but Grady was not able to take advantage of this opportunity and two men were left on base at the end of the inning.

For the fourth inning, Pace’s first batter struck out followed by a single by their left fielder. This was followed by two groundouts to end the top of the fourth. Grady was not able to produce anything during the fourth inning with its batters going down one, two, three. This pattern continued for Grady in the fifth and sixth inning with only three batters coming to the plate each inning.

Pace’s batters were three up, three down in the fifth inning but then in the sixth inning, their shortstop started off the inning with a triple and subsequently scored on a fielder’s choice. At the bottom of the sixth inning, it was Grady 0 and Pace 2.

In the seventh inning, Pace’s center fielder had a single. He then stole second and advanced to third on a wild throw. Pace then executed very well a sacrificed bunt and the runner on third scored for Pace’s third run of the game. Grady had its second hit of the game during the seventh inning with a single up the third base line by right fielder Mike Walker but nothing materialized and the game concluded with Grady not scoring any runs.

The final score of the game was Grady 0 and Pace 3. Grady has one final game of the regular season scheduled for Thursday, April 26th at 4:30pm at Price field against Decatur. Grady will be playing in the playoffs on Monday, April 30th. It will be an away game. The results of the Thursday game will determine where the game will be played on Monday, April 30th.

-- Edith C. Waller (wallerec@aol.com), April 26, 2001.

Grady Varsity Baseball Smashed Therrell 15 to 6 on April 21, 2001

Another great day for a ball game and the Grady Knights were at the field ready to play. Grady pulled ahead of Therrell 6 to 0 in the third inning and by the sixth inning it was Grady ahead 12 to 3. The game finished with the score 15 to 6. Many players were able to play and it was a great opportunity to gain some varsity experience for some of the younger players.

Grady started off the game with their batters going down one, two three in the first inning. This was also the fate for Therrell’s batters with all three of their first batters striking out behind the pitching of West Chambless.

In the second inning, first baseman Patrick Johnson had a double to left centerfield that just barely missed being a homerun. West Chambless hit a double to left field to bring Johnson in for the first run of the game. For Therrell, their first batter of the second inning had a single followed by a player reaching base on balls. Two batters were struck out and the next batter was walked. With the bases loaded with two outs and a full count on the batter, Chambless threw a curve ball to strike the batter out and retire the side. Grady was leading 1 to 0 at the bottom of the second.

The entire lineup for Grady came to bat during the third inning. Second baseman Matt Scofield led off with a single. Centerfielder Todd Fuller followed with a single. Catcher Matt Monroe was hit by a pitch and then Patrick Johnson drew a walk resulting in Scofield walking home. Right fielder Mike Walker doubled to left field driving home Fuller and Monroe. Chambless reached base on balls and then a sacrifice fly to center field by third baseman Anthony London resulted in Johnson scoring. Left fielder Ronnie Millen reached base on an error by the shortstop which also scored Walker. A miss of third base on the way home by Grady resulted in the third out of the inning. Grady was up 6 to 0. Therrell came to bat and the first batter reached base on balls but was thrown out by a great throw from Monroe to Scofield as the batter was trying to steal second. A strike out and an out at first retired the batters one, two, three.

Grady had two homeruns during the game. The first of these was during the fourth inning and Todd Fuller hit one to left center field. This was all that Grady was able to produce in this inning. The Therrell batters once again went down one, two, three – a strike out, a single which was later thrown out at second and a fielder’s choice which was called out on another great throw from Monroe to Scofield to tag the runner trying to steal second. At the end of the fourth inning, Grady had 7 runs and Therrell had 0.

The fifth inning was a quiet one for Grady. It had three batters up in the inning. There was a pitching change for Grady in the bottom of the fifth inning and freshman Stuart Collins came in for West Chambless. Stuart did a good job in managing the Therrell batters. He faced 6 batters with one hit, one walk and one strikeout. The bases were loaded and Stuart struck out the batter for the last out of the inning.

The sixth inning put 5 more runs on the board for Grady. Anthony London led off with a single to center field. Millen was hit by a pitch. Fuller reached base on a fielder’s choice. Monroe was then walked resulting in London walking home. Therrell decided to change pitchers at this point in the game. Devingo was the first batter to face the new pitcher and he proceeded to hit a grand slam homerun bringing home Millen, Fuller and Monroe. In the top of the sixth inning Grady now had 12 runs. Grady followed suit and made another pitching change with Bryan Dumas coming in for Stuart Collins. There were massive substitutions in the field also. Therrell hit a homerun earning their first run of the game. A single and a walk with errors on Grady’s part resulted in two more runs getting on board for Therrell. At the bottom of six innings, the score was Grady 12 and Therrell 3.

In the seventh inning, third baseman David Edwards reached base on balls and Scofield had a single. Fuller followed suit with a single driving home Edwards. A sacrifice fly by Monroe resulted in Scofield scoring and then a single by Devingo scored Fuller. The Grady Knights now had 15 runs. The top of the order was at bat for Therrell. The first batter made it to base being hit by a pitch. A strikeout followed for the first out. The next batter reached base on balls and the Therrell first baseman had a single resulting in a run scoring. A double by their second baseman scored two more runs. Todd Fuller then came in as relief pitcher with two outs and 2 men on base. He warmed up and then struck out the next batter to end the inning and the game with the score Grady 15 and Therrell 6.

Grady’s record – 11 wins / 4 loses. Region standing remains the same since this was not a region game. The region record is 7 wins and 3 loses.

The next game is a makeup game with Pace that was cancelled in March due to weather. It is to be played at Price Field on Tuesday, April 24th at 4:30pm.

-- Edith C. Waller (wallerec@aol.com), April 22, 2001.

Grady Varsity Baseball Falls to Holy Innocents 7 to 1 on April 19, 2001

The Grady Varsity Baseball team had their second game against Holy Innocents this season at the Holy Innocents field. It was a beautiful day for a ballgame and the field was a great field for a baseball game. The team got off to a slow start due to getting to the field late because of bus problems and they never seemed to get into their groove of play throughout the game. The first two innings Holy Innocents made all of their runs and in subsequent innings they only had one hit. In the third, fourth and fifth innings, Holy Innocents batters went down one, two, three and in the sixth inning their first batter had a double but the following three batters did not reach base and so nothing materialized for Holy Innocents from the hit.

For Grady, in the first inning, catcher Todd Fuller led off with a single between second and third. He then stole second and on a wild pitch made it to third but was unable to score. In the second inning, Grady batters went down one, two, three. In the third inning, Todd Fuller had a triple into right field and he was able to score on shortstop Anthony Devingo’s single. This proved to be the only run of the game for Grady.

For Holy Innocents, in the first inning, their lead off batter began with a double to left field. Their second player bunted and made it to first base on an error on Grady’s part. Both of these runners were scored when their pitcher game to bat and hit a homerun over left center field wall. At the end of the first inning it was Grady 0, Holy Innocents 3.

In the second inning for Holy Innocents, they had a single and three doubles which resulted in four runs scoring. At the end of the second inning it was Grady 0, Holy Innocents 7.

In the third inning, Holy Innocents batters went down one, two, three with two of these strikeouts. At the end of the third inning it was Grady 1, and Holy Innocents 7. This proved to be final score of the game.

In the fourth inning, Grady’s batters went down one, two, three. In the fifth inning, third baseman Matt Scofield had a single but was left on base at the end of the inning. In the sixth inning, pitcher Patrick Johnson had a single but was also left on base as the inning ended. To end the game, Grady went down one, two, three in the seventh inning resulting in the game ending with a score of Grady 1, Holy Innocents 7.

Grady’s record after this game in regular season play is 10 wins and 4 loses. In region games its record is 7 wins and 3 loses. Grady’s next game is a non-region game against Therrell on Saturday, April 21st at 12pm at Therrell.

-- Edith C. Waller (wallerec@aol.com), April 22, 2001.

Paideia Unable to Break Grady Home Win-Streak

Another episode of the on-going rivalry with Paideia was played-out at Price Field on a beautiful April 18th afternoon, with Grady winning 8-5. This hard fought battle saw Grady fall behind in the second inning, come back and surge ahead in the 4th, lose the lead in the top of the 6th as Paideia tied the score, before Grady surged back to establish the winning margin in the bottom of that inning.

Matt Scofield managed to fool the Paideia batters through much of the early going, scattering hits along the way. In the first inning, Paideia was unable to capitalize on two hits. Grady also left two men on in the bottom of the first on a hit by Todd Fuller and a walk to Patrick Johnson. Paideia manufactured a run in the bottom of the first as the lead-off hitter was walked, took second on a stole base, advanced to third on a fielder’s choice and scored on a Grady error. Grady answered in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Anthony London was hit by a pitch, Ronnie Millen reached first on a grounder to the third baseman who elected to take out the lead runner, London at second. Matt Scofield then doubled to bring Millen home and was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.

In the third inning, after giving up a lead-off walk, Matt Scofield shut down the next three batters, stranding the runner on second. To this point, Matt had garnered one strike-out in each of the first and second innings and two in the third. For its part, Grady went quietly in the third, three-up, three-down. Matt struck out two more Paideia batters in the fourth before coaxing a grounder to shortstop Anthony Devingo to end the inning. This strong top of the inning set the stage for Grady to break out in their half of the inning. Mike Walker led off with a single and stole second. Anthony London’s single brought Mike home. A single by Ronnie Millen and a hard hit grounder by Matt Scofield then scored London. The inning ended but not before Grady had built a 2 to 1 lead..

Paideia answered in the top of the fifth with a single to left field that took a bad hop off the Grady left fielder’s leg and was not run down before the runner had rounded the bases. Nonplused by this situation, Matt Scofield proceeded to retire the rest of the side. On-coming to bat in the bottom of the fifth, Grady struck back. Matt Monore was hit by the first pitch and then stole second during the next batter. A sacrifice bunt by Anthony Devingo moved Matt to third. Matt then scored on a sacrifice fly to Patrick Johnson. With two outs and a run in, Grady was not through. Mike Walker was walked. A single by West Chambless advanced Mike to third . Mike then scored as Paideia tried to catch West stealing second. The Paideia shortstop cut in front of the throw down to second and fired home to get Mike, but was too late. West then advanced to third on the play. Here he was stranded, but not before Grady put two more runs on the board for a 5 to 2 lead.

Paideia would not let up their pursuit. In the top of the sixth, with the lead-off batter put out on an unassisted play by Patrick Johnson and the second batter reaching first on a walk, Paidiea put together a single and a triple to put two runs on the board. After the next batter walked, the third run scored on a double steal with Grady’s throw down to second base coming late. Matt Scofield took this in stride and retired the final two batters, but not before Paideia tied the score 5 to 5. Grady’s took time to adjust in their half of the inning. With two outs, Todd Fuller hit one that never stopped rolling and sped around the bases for a home run. This hit ignited Grady. Matt Monroe and Anthony Devingo hit back to back singles. Patrick walked and Todd and Anthony scored on single by Mike Walker. Here the inning ended, but not before Grady rebuilt a three run lead.

The top of the seventh, Matt set down the first two Paideia batters on strikeouts. After a base on balls to the next batter, Coach Millen elected to bring in Patrick Johnson to face the last batter, Paideia’s clean-up hitter. Patrick threw two ball before the batter grounded to Matt Monroe who threw over to first for the final out.

Grady maintained its winning ways at Price Field, and added an important region game to the win column.

-- David B. Pinson (dbpinson@aol.com), April 22, 2001.

Grady Varsity Continues Its Winning Strike Beating Crim 12 to 2 on April 16, 2001

Due to field problems the Grady Varsity baseball game scheduled to be played at Crim was played at the Price Field on April 16th. Grady started off slowly with the first three players getting out for a quick top of the first. But the subsequent innings produced more success for Grady. For Crim their strongest inning was the first inning scoring their only two runs during that inning. In the second through fifth innings, behind the pitching of Todd Fuller, the Crim batters went down one, two, three with half of these outs being strike outs.

In the first inning, Grady went down one, two, three. Crim came to bat and started the bottom of the first inning with a triple up the third base line. This batter subsequently scored. No more hits were made by Crim but a wild pitch scored their second run of the inning and last run of the game.

In the second inning for Grady, first baseman Patrick Johnson reached base on balls and then right fielder Mike Walker hit a double to center field scoring Johnson. Center fielder West Chambless reach base on an error by the first baseman. Left fielder Ronnie Millen reached base on an error by the shortstop which resulted in Walker and Chambless scoring. Catcher Matt Scofield reached base on a walk. Second baseman Matt Monroe reach base on a fielder’s choice and then short stop Anthony Devingo was walked resulting in Millen scoring. Johnson then came to bat for the seond time of the inning and singled up the center scoring Scofield and Monroe. At the top of the second inning Grady was on top 6 to 2. For Crim two strike outs and an out at first retired the side.

An error by the second baseman allowed third baseman Anthony London to reach base in the third inning. Catcher Matt Scofield had a single between first and second scoring London. Fuller followed suit with a single and then he scored on a single by short stop Anthony Devingo. The inning ended with Grady 8 and Crim 2.

Walks, balks and wild throws by Crim produced the two runs that Grady obtained during the fourth inning. In the fifth inning, Bryan Dumas batting for Mike Walker reached base on an error by the third baseman. Stuart Collins, batting for Anthony London, singled. David Edwards, hitting for Ronnie Millen, reached base on a fielder’s choice and also scored Dumas and Collins. With Crim once again going down one, two, three, Grady won the game 12 to 2 after five innings.

Grady currently has a record of 4 wins and 1 lose to Mays in tournament games. In the regular season games, Grady has won 9 games and lost 3 games. The losses are Decatur, Dunwoody, Pace. The region record is 6 wins and 2 loses. Other than the tournament games all games are region games except Therrell, Dunwoody and Avondale according to Coach Millen.

-- Edith C. Waller (wallerec@aol.com), April 19, 2001.

Grady Skunks Avondale 15 to 0 in the Second Game of a Doubleheader on April 14, 2001

The second game of the doubleheader with Avondale High School began around 2pm and was over after four innings due to the ‘mercy’ rule. Grady obtained 2 runs in the first, 6 runs in the second, 2 runs in the third and 5 runs in the fourth. Under the very able pitching of Patrick Johnson, Avondale was shut down having only two hits and no runs during the game.

For Grady, during the first inning, second baseman Matt Monroe hit a single which was followed by a single by shortstop Anthony Devingo. A sacrifice fly to right field by Patrick Johnson scored Monroe and a subsequent sacrifice fly to left fielder Mike Walker scored Devingo putting Grady up by 2 runs. Avondale produced a double to left field but this runner was left on base as three other batters struck out to retire the side.

In the second inning, first baseman Anthony London and third baseman Matt Scofield reached base on a walk. They were both able to score when Monroe hit a single through first and second base. Monroe subsequently scored when Devingo hit a single to center field. Johnson followed with a single up the center and then right fielder Mike Walker scored Devingo on a single. Center fielder West Chambless hit a triple to right center field scoring Johnson and Walker. Grady ended the top of second ahead by 8 runs having obtained 6 runs during the second inning. Avondale’s batters in the second inning went down one, two, three resulting in the score at the bottom of the second being Grady 8 and Avondale 0.

Four walks resulted in Grady getting its first run of the third inning and then a single by Johnson produced the second run of the inning for Grady. Avondale’s team once again went down one, two, three. In each of the first three innings, Johnson produced two of the inning’s outs by strikeouts.

In the fourth and final inning of the game, walks and errors on Avondale’s part resulted in three runs occurring. Matt Pritchett who was hitting for Mike Walker had a single to right center field scoring two additional runners. The Avondale team went down quickly in the fourth. The first batter had a single but was subsequently thrown out stealing second. The next batter struck out and the last batter was thrown out a first.

Grady dominated the second game winning with a score of 15 to 0. Avondale only had 13 players to bat during the second game and of those 13, eight struck out.

-- Edith C. Waller (wallerec@aol.com), April 19, 2001.

Grady Varsity Knights Defeat Avondale 13 to 4 in the First Game of a Doubleheader on April 14, 2001

It was a beautiful day for a game of baseball and the Grady Varsity Baseball team had a doubleheader against Avondale at Avondale’s field. With West Chambless pitching, Avondale got off to a lead in the first inning with 3 runs compared to Grady’s 1. But by the third inning, Grady took charge and held the lead until the end of the game.

In the first inning, Grady was able to score its first run. Matt Monroe had reached base on balls and was able to score when first baseman Patrick Johnson hit a double. The second inning for Grady went by uneventfully but in the third inning the Grady Knights began to show their stuff. Shortstop Anthony Devingo had a triple and then scored on Johnson’s second double. Right fielder Mike Walker followed with a double scoring Johnson. West Chambless reached base on a single and then left fielder Ronnie Millen singled scoring Walker and Chambless. In the top of the third inning, Grady took the lead 5 to 3.

For Avondale, the first inning was their highlight. They were able to score three runners, one due to an error committed by Grady and two on the only hit of the inning which was a single between first and second. In the second inning, Avondale’s batters went down one, two, three. During the third inning, Avondale obtained its last run of the game when a player that had reached base on a single, the only hit of the inning, advanced around the bases and then stole home. At the bottom of the third inning, it was 5 to 4 with Grady in the lead.

The fourth inning was another big inning for Grady. Second baseman Todd Fuller started the inning off with a triple to right field. Devingo singled between first and second scoring Fuller. Johnson reached base on balls and then Chambless tripled scoring Devingo and Johnson. Subsequently Millen singled scoring Chambless and the Knights ended the top of the inning with 9 runs. The fifth and sixth inning were quiet for Grady other than a single by Devingo and so at the top of the sixth inning Grady remained with 9 runs.

For Avondale, in the fourth and fifth inning their batters went down one, two, three. In the sixth inning, four batters game to the plate with one hitting a double to right field but nothing materialized and so at the bottom of the sixth inning the score was Grady 9 and Avondale 4.

In the last inning of the game, nine Grady players came to bat. Andrew Tate went in for center fielder Bobby McClain and singled between first and second. Fuller reached second base on an error by the right fielder and scored Tate. Shane Phillips batted for Anthony Devingo and singled scoring Fuller. Johnson doubled for the third time in the game scoring Phillips. David Edwards batted for Mike Walker and reached base on a error by the second baseman which also scored Johnson. Matt Pritchett batted for West Chambless and doubled to center field. Grady ended the top of the seventh inning with 13 runs. Avondale was not able to pick up any more runs during the bottom of the last inning having no hits and so finished the game with only 4 runs.

After seven innings of play, the Grady Knights took the win of the first game of the double header 13 to 4. A wonderful lunch was provided by Patrick Johnson’s family and it provided much needed energy for the team to tackle the second game of the day.

-- Edith C. Waller (wallerec@aol.com), April 19, 2001.

Grady Knights Soundly Defeat Carver 12 to 0 on April 12th at Carver

The Grady Varsity Baseball team traveled to Carver to play a game of baseball. Anthony London pitched and led the Grady Knights to a resounding victory over Carver with the game being called after three innings at the request of the Carver coach due to the lopsided score..

For Carver, only four players batted each inning and of these twelve players, London struck out four of them. Carver was held to only two hits and was unsuccessful in getting any player across home plate for a run.

As for Grady, the line up was changed a bit today with Matt Monroe as catcher, Patrick Johnson on first base, Matt Scofield on second and David Edwards on third base. Todd Fuller was shortstop. The outfield had its regular lineup of Ronnie Millen in left field, West Chambless in center field and Mike Walker in right field.

In the first inning, Todd Fuller reached base on balls and proceeded to steal second and third base. With a fielder’s choice created by Matt Monroe, Todd Fuller scored providing Grady with their first run. Patrick Johnson had a double to center field and scored when West Chambless followed him with another double to center field. West subsequently scored when Anthony London hit an infield fly which the pitcher dropped. The Knights finished the inning ahead 3 to 0.

In the second inning, the entire team came to bat. Three players were walked and then Patrick hit a grand slam home run which put the Knights ahead 7 to 0. A single later in the inning by Anthony London scored Ronnie Millen who had reached base on balls and had stolen second and third base. The inning ended with the Knights on top 8 to 0.

In the third inning, once again the entire team came to bat. Todd Fuller started it off and made it to base being hit by a pitch for the second time during the game. Two other batters were walked and then Chambless had a hit to the shortstop who lost the ball in his glove allowing Chambless to reach first base and Fuller to score. Three subsequent walks resulted in three more runs walked in. At the end of the third inning the score was 12 to 0.

At the end of the third inning, with Grady ahead of Carver by 12 runs, the game was called. Grady now has 10 wins and 4 loses. In the region, Grady is 6 and 2. The Knights next game is on Saturday, April 14th at Avondale. This is a double header with one game at 11am and the second game at 1pm.

-- Edith C. Waller (wallerec@aol.com), April 13, 2001.

Grady Knights Squeak Past Therrell 9 to 8 on April 10th at Price

The Grady Knights were ready to play baseball on a beautiful spring day at the Price field. The game against Pace the previous day had been a difficult game and Grady was looking forward to this game. Seven innings were played with the varsity Knights going into the bottom of the seventh inning down 8 to 3. A weary Therrell pitcher, who had been pitching the entire game, and errors made by their third baseman contributed to Grady pulling this game out of the ditch and winning 8 to 9.

Matt Scofield was the pitcher for the game. In the first two innings, Scofield walked the first batter followed by a single by the second batter and then he retired the next six batters with five of them striking out.

In the first inning for Grady, the batters went down one, two, three. In the second inning, right fielder Mike Walker got on base with balls and then by a wild pitch and a fielder’s choice he made it to third base. Centerfielder West Chambless had the first hit of the game, a single, which resulted in Walker scoring and Grady had the lead at the end of the second inning 1 to 0.

In the third inning, Therrell produced its first hits of the game, two singles and then a home run resulted in Therrell pulling ahead of Grady at the top of the third 1 to 3. For Grady the top of the order came to bat in the third and catcher Todd Fuller led off with a single to right field but he was subsequently thrown out trying to steal second. Second baseman Matt Monroe reached base on balls and through wild pitches was able to make it to third base. He was in position to score when first baseman Patrick Johnson hit a single. At the end of the third inning Grady was still behind 2 to 3.

In the fourth inning, Therrell’s first two batters struck out. A single followed and then the fourth batter reached base due to an error on Grady’s part which also resulted in a run scoring for Therrell. An unusual out was called on Therrell during this inning. The player that had reached base on Grady’s error had made it all the way to third base. He apparently took off his batting helmet before the play was considered over and this resulted in the third out for Therrell. For Grady even though two batters made it on base, one on an error and one being hit by a pitch, a run was not created and so at the end of the fourth, Grady was still trailing 2 to 4.

For Therrell the fifth inning was short with only three batters coming to the plate. One batter hit a triple but then was thrown out at the base during the game. For Grady, Patrick Johnson hit a single and subsequently scored on a single to left field by Chambless resulting in the score at the end of the fifth being 3 to 4.

Therrell began the sixth inning with a double followed by a sacrifice bunt and then a single resulting in another run added to Therrell’s total. Two subsequent strikeouts retired the side. For Grady other than a single to center field by shortstop Anthony Devingo, Grady was unable to develop anything during the inning. The score at the end of six innings was Grady 3 and Therrell 5.

The last inning began with Matt Scofield continuing to pitch. The second batter reach base being hit by a pitch and the third batter reached base on a fielder’s choice. Then the next Therrell batter brought these two players home with a triple to right field. A single followed bring the triple hitter home. West Chambless came in as relief pitcher for the last batter of the inning. Grady went into the bottom of the seventh inning behind by 5 runs. Therrell’s pitcher had been pitching the entire game and was definitely beginning to lose steam. Mike Walker led off reaching base being hit by a pitch. Left fielder Ronnie Millen followed suit reaching base on balls. West Chambless then reached base following an error by the third baseman. The bases were loaded and then third baseman Anthony London drew a walk resulting in a run being walked in for Grady. Matt Scofield reached base on an error by the third baseman resulting in Millen making it home. Todd Fuller reached base on a fielder’s choice and Chambless made it home. Grady had now accumulated three runs so far in the inning. Matt Monroe hit a double scoring two more runs and then Anthony Devingo had a fielder’s choice resulting in Monroe scoring for the winning run. Grady had been able to manufacture 6 runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Therrell 9 to 8.

Grady’s next game is scheduled for April 12th at 4:30pm at Carver. Grady has 9 wins and 4 loses.

-- Edith C. Waller (wallerec@aol.com), April 13, 2001.

Grady Knights Lose to Pace Knights 0 to 5 at Pace on April 9th

On the first school day following Spring Break, the Grady Varsity Knights faced the Pace Knights for a baseball game at Pace Academy. Grady struggled to settle into their game. It was obvious the Gray Knights were a bit rusty from a week off and it showed in the fact that Grady had 6 errors which proved costly. Seven innings were played and at the end the Pace Knights conquered the Grady Knights 5 to 0.

In the first three innings, Grady batters went down one, two three with six of these outs being strike outs. In the first inning, Pace had one hit but this batter was thrown out at second as he was trying to steal. Pace got their first run of the game when a player reached base on balls and then due to errors committed by Grady, made it home. In the second inning, Pace went down one, two, three with two of these being strikeouts. In the third inning, Pace gained two more runs off of a single, a double and a single. At the end of the third inning it was Pace 3 and Grady 0.

In the fourth inning, Grady got their first hits of the game with second baseman Matt Monroe hitting a single to left field. Shortstop Anthony Devingo followed him with a single to left field. But these two hits were followed by two strike outs and a fielder’s choice to retire the side leaving two Grady players on base. Errors plagued Grady again in the fourth inning with two more being committed and Pace gained another run without producing a hit.

Grady Knights went down quickly in the fifth inning with a fly out to left field and two strikeouts. One player was left on base having reached it on balls. For the sixth and seventh innings, Grady went one, two, three. One statistic of this game indicates the ability of the Pace pitcher. He faced twenty-four of our batters and fourteen of these batters struck out.

In the fifth inning, Pace had a single but no additional runs were accumulated. In the sixth inning, Pace earned one more run when a triple scored a player who had reached base on a fielder’s choice. Pitcher Patrick Johnson saved another run from scoring when he, unassisted, fielded a ground ball and caught a runner on second in a run-down as he tried to reach third.

With this lose to Pace, the Grady Knights are 8 and 4 (loses). The next game is on Tuesday, April 10th against Therrell at the Price field.

-- Edith C. Waller (wallerec@aol.com), April 13, 2001.

Grady Knights Defeat Holy Innocents Golden Bears 4 –1 on March 28, 2001 at Price Field

Patrick Johnson pitched another gem as the Grady Knights defeated the Holy Innocents Golden Bears 4 – 1. The game played the Wednesday before Spring Break in a slight drizzle was close until the Knights put a three spot on the board in the bottom of the sixth to put the Bears away for good.

The game started off slowly with Patrick striking out two batters in each of the first two innings. The third out in the first inning was made on a diving catch by Bobby McClain in centerfield.

The Knights went one, two, three in the first, second and third innings. Left fielder Ronnie Millen ripped a single through the left side of the infield but was then picked off to end the second inning.

Johnson had a part in making all three outs in the third inning, striking out one and fielding two grounders with an easy toss to first baseman Mike Walker.

The Golden Bears struck first scoring a run in the top of the fourth. The Bear’s pitcher led off the inning with a triple and later scored on a ground out to the right side.

The Knights came right back and tied the score with two singles by second baseman Matt Monroe and shortstop Anthony Devingo. Monroe scored on Devingo’s hit.

Johnson left the game in the hands of the Knights offense as he shut down Holy Innocents’ batters, striking out four of the final eleven batters and did not allow any more runs.

In the bottom of the fifth, third baseman Anthony London was stranded on base after reaching on a single to leftfield. Matt Monroe started off the bottom of the sixth with a single. Devingo advanced Matt to second on a sacrifice bunt. Todd walked on four straight pitches and on a one and 0 count, Patrick crushed a fast ball deep into right field. He pulled up at third with a bases clearing triple. Matt Pritchett came in as a courtesy runner for PJ and he scored on Mike Walker’s single to right center field. Mike reached second on a wild pitch. After the second out was made, right fielder West Chambless hit a fastball that was headed for centerfield but struck the field umpire on his thigh. Chambless made it to first with a single and Walker advanced to third but was unable to score as the ball did not leave the infield.

In the end, the Knights were victorious overcoming bad officiating and a tough Holy Innocents team to go into spring break on a two game winning streak.

The Knights travel to Pace Academy for a tough Region game on Monday, April 9, 2001 at 4:30pm.

-- Edith Waller (wallerec@aol.com), April 09, 2001.

Grady’s Varsity Baseball Team Defeats the Crim Eagles 7 to 1 on March 26, 2001 at Price Middle School

The Grady Knights met the Crim Eagles for their first match up since facing them during the Atlanta Invitational Tournament. The Grady Knights were led by pitcher Matt Scofield in a five inning rout of Crim. Scofield faced only three batters in four of the five innings that were played. He had six strikeouts with three of these coming in the top of the fifth inning to retire the side and end the game.

In the top of the first inning, with a strike out and two grounders that were easily handled by second baseman Matt Monroe to first baseman Patrick Johnson, the Crim Eagles were retired.

Matt Monroe started the bottom of the first inning by taking first base after being hit by a pitch. Shortstop Anthony Devingo followed with a triple to left field scoring Monroe and the Grady Knights were on the board. The next hit was a single by Patrick Johnson scoring Devingo. At the end of the first inning, Grady was leading 2 to 0.

In the top of the second inning, two Crim batters were walked but Grady got out of the inning with a strike out and two fly outs of which one was an infield fly rule out. Crim did succeed in scoring one runner during the inning.

The bottom of the second inning started off with a solid hit up the center by third baseman Anthony London. Two errors by Crim’s shortstop and a single past the short stop by catcher Todd Fuller resulted in Grady earning 3 more runs such that at the bottom of the second inning, Grady remained ahead with a score of 5 to 1.

The third inning for Crim was short and sweet. A strike out and a throw by the third baseman to the first base man resulted in two outs. Crim then hit a single past the short stop but was subsequently thrown out with a great throw by Fuller to Devingo to tag the base runner out as he was attempting to steal second base.

Grady was able to manufacture two runs in the bottom of the third inning by Monroe getting on base with a walk and immediately stealing second base. Devingo then followed with a single scoring Monroe. The Crim pitcher balked advancing Devingo and with a single past the shortstop being hit by Fuller, Devingo scored. The inning ended with Grady still leading with a score of 7 to 1.

Crim’s fourth inning saw three batters at the plate. They were out by a throw from the pitcher to first baseman, a called strike out and a throw from third baseman to first baseman. Grady was not able to earn any runs during their last at bat. We had runners on base by an error by the short stop and by a walk but no run materialized. The score remained 7 to 1.

The top of the fifth inning was Crim’s last at bat. Three batters came to the plate and Matt Scofield calmly and quickly retired the side with three strikeouts.

Following this win, Grady has a 2 and 1 record in the region. Their next game is on Wednesday, March 28th against Holy Innocents at Price Middle School at 4:30pm.

-- Edith Waller (wallerec@aol.com), March 27, 2001.

Grady falls to Dunwoody at Emory on March 24, 2001

In a Saturday morning game played on the Emory University field, the Grady Knights showed the effects of playing on three straight days. Before it was over, the Knights dropped their third game of the season by a convincing 14-4 score. Ironically, Grady seemed evenly matched with the Dunwoody team, but on this day, everything worked to the opponent’s advantage.

The day started off right for Grady with a one-out base hit by Anthony Devingo followed by a walk to Todd Fuller. Patrick Johnson reached on a fielder’s choice placing runners on first and third with two outs. West Chambless then doubled to right field scoring Anthony and Patrick. West stole third, setting up the opportunity to come home on a wild pitch by the Dunwoody pitcher. The Grady half of the first inning ended with the Knights up 3-0.

In the bottom of the first, Dunwoody took advantage of a lead-off walk from Knights’ pitcher Todd Fuller followed by two hits to place their first run on the board. Todd retired the next three batters, stranding two Dunwoody runners.

The second inning saw Grady go down in order. In their half of the inning, Dunwoody erupted for five runs on three hits and one Grady error. A lead-off single to center field was followed by a hit batsman and a walk. A sacrifice fly brought a run home. Two more runs scored on a Texas league bloop hit to right center. The sixth Dunwoody batter of the inning also singled, driving in two runs. Two base on balls loaded the bases, but determined pitching by Todd Fuller retired the side. At the end of two innings, Grady trailed six to three.

This third inning saw Grady score after two outs had occurred. Todd Fuller had an infield single and advanced to second when the Dunwoody pitcher balked. First-basement Patrick Johnson’s single to right field scored Todd. There the Grady half of the inning ended with the Knights trailing by only two runs. In their half of the third, Dunwoody erupted for four more runs on three hits and one Grady error.

Grady was again retired in order in the top of the fourth inning as Dunwoody’s pitcher settled down. Dunwoody added to their lead with a three-run inning. Capitalizing on three hits and two Grady errors, Dunwoody had built their lead to 12-4. At this point, Coach Ronnie Millen brought in center fielder West Chambless to pitch. After a single to center field that scored Dunwoody’s third run, Chambless coaxed the final batter of the inning into a ground ball to Anthony Devingo who tossed to Matt Monroe for the forced third out.

In the fifth inning, Grady’s offense continued to struggle, but for a base hit by Anthony Devingo. Dunwoody met a similar fate in their half of the inning with one hit and one walk marking the only offensive production. Grady chalked-up it’s only strike out of the game to retire Dunwoody.

The sixth inning proved to be the final inning. Again, Grady was unable to generate offense following a hit by lead-off batter Todd Fuller. Two walks provided potential scoring opportunities, but solid fielding on ground balls helped retire the side for Dunwoody. Dunwoody needed only one run to end the game under the 10 run rule. This run came with the help of a lead-off walk and three Grady errors.

An obviously weary Grady team will need the rest of the weekend to rest-up before taking on Crim Monday, March 26th at 4:30 at Price Middle School. On Tuesday Grady’s schedule continues against Holy Innocents, also at Price Middle School.

-- David Pinson (dbpinson@aol.com), March 25, 2001.

Grady Knights Lose a Close One at Decatur on March 23, 2001

In a seven inning slugfest, the Grady Knights fell to the Decatur Bulldogs by a score of 12 to 9. The well matched contest involved solid hitting on both sides, marred only by instances of poor fielding. For visiting Grady, the game started off right with a three run first inning. A pair of singles from Anthony Devingo and Todd Fuller scored Matt Monroe who had reached base on an error. Patrick Johnson followed with a hit to right field aided by a difficult sun angle that kept the Decatur right fielder from picking up sight of the ball.

In Decatur’s half of the first, the Bulldogs came roaring back to score three runs on two hits and a pair of walks. The first Decatur runner scored on a fielders-choice play also resulting in the first out. The second out also came on a fielders-choice scoring the second run. Grady pitcher, Patrick Johnson was then victimized by a clutch hit that scored Decatur’s final run. The inning ended as catcher Todd Fuller nailed the Decatur runner attempting to steal second.

The second inning saw Grady start the inning with a walk to Matt Scofield, a single by Anthony London, followed by a classic sacrifice bunt from Matt Monroe. This was the only offense for the Knights who failed to score. Confusion on the bases resulted in a double play fly-out to center field with a Grady runner tagged out at second trying to tag-up and run.

In the bottom of the second, clutch pitching by Patrick in striking out the final two batters stranded a Decatur base runner. Again, Patrick was helped by catcher Todd Fuller. Todd threw out a Decatur base runner trying to steal second. This runner had just reached base on an error. Matt Monroe’s tag of the base runner following Todd’s throw took Decatur out of a potential big inning.

Grady went back on top in the top of the third inning, scoring three runs. Todd Fuller gained second on two Decatur errors and reached third on a wild pitch. Patrick brought Todd home on a single. After left fielder Ronnie Millen was hit by a pitch, West Chambless drove Partrick in with a double to center field. With Millen on third and Chambless on second, Matt Scofield put the ball in play. Scofield’s grounder to third scored Millen on the fielder’s choice. Chambless was stranded at third, but the Knights had picked up three runs.

Decatur came roaring back with three straight hits, the last of which was a double that scored two runs. A second base runner was added when hit by a Johnson pitch. Two fielder’s-choice outs produced a third run for Decatur with the fourth and final run of this half inning driven home by a triple. Patrick coaxed a grounder to strand the last Decatur runner on third.

In their half of fourth inning, Grady again tied the score. Following Matt Monroe’s lead-off walk and two fielder’s choice outs that advanced Matt to third, Patrick Johnson’s sharp hit hand-cuffed the short-stop allowing Monroe to score. A subsequent hit by Mike Walker moved Patrick to third, but Grady was unable to bring him home.

Decatur went back on top in the bottom of the fourth with a walk followed by two singles to load the bases. Following a fly-out by the first batter, the next Decatur batter drove in their eighth run. Matt Scofield came on in relief of Patrick and promptly shut down Decatur with two clutch strike-outs.

Trailing 8-7, Grady fought back in the top of the fifth. West was walked and promptly drew a wild throw over from a pitcher now mindful of Grady’s propensity to steal. This error allowed West to take to second. Matt Scofield gained first on another Decatur fielding error, moving West over to third. Anthony London’s sharp single past the shortstop scored West and advanced Matt to third. Matt Monroe then drove Scofield home with a sacrifice fly. Anthony Devingo reached first on an error and Todd Fuller then reached on a fielder’s choice, Decatur electing to take out Devingo at second. Todd stole second, but a pop-up to the shortstop ended the inning. Grady had retaken the lead 9-8.

Decatur answered with four runs in their half of the fifth. The first Decatur batter crunched a hanging curve ball over the left field fence to start the comeback. Following a strike-out, runners were placed on base with a hit-by-pitch and walk. These runners were scored on a double to center field. This third Bulldog runner then scored from second on a tough Grady error with the batter advancing to third. A sacrifice fly to left field then scored the fourth and final run of the inning.

In the Grady sixth, two strike-outs were followed by a West Chambless walk. On Matt Scofield’s base hit, West was thrown out trying to reach third. No Grady runs resulted.

Decatur was put down in order in the bottom half on strong pitching by Scofield.

Grady’s final at bat looked promising as Anthony London drew a walk. Matt Monroe’s fly to the second baseman was dropped, but London, holding at first, was forced out at second. Matt was subsequently caught stealing second on a great throw from Decatur catcher, Matt Wilson. Anthony Devingo kept Grady hopes alive with a hit to right field. Todd Fuller then produced another hit to right center sending Anthony to third. There the inning ended

The tough loss to Decatur came in a game either team could have won. This loss marked Grady’s first Region loss of the season. Grady’s record now stands at 6 wins and 2 losses.

-- David Pinson (dbpinson@aol.com), March 25, 2001.

Grady Varsity Baseball Trounces Carver in a 16 to 0 Shutout on March 22, 2001 at Price Middle School

In a game that lasted only two and half innings, the Grady Knights dominated. Grady's pitcher was Anthony London who gave up only two hits in the three innings that were played.

In the first inning Grady offense batted around scoring on four singles by Patrick Johnson, Ronnie Millen, West Chambless, Matt Scofield and a home run by Mike Walker. Grady accumulated five runs in the first inning.

In the second inning. Carver had no hits or runs and had two batters retired by strike outs. For Grady, the lineup batted around again and then Grady began substituting allowing other players an opportunity at bat. Grady ended the inning scoring 11 runs in the inning.

In the third inning, Carver came to bat and the side was retired after four batters. The game was called after the top of the inning.

The Grady Knights will next play at Decatur on Friday, March 23rd at 4:30pm.

-- Edith C. Waller (wallerec@aol.com), March 22, 2001.

I meant to say that the Varsity was going to play Pace Academy and the junior varsity was going to play Douglas High School - but it didnt come out correctly. Sorry.

-- West Chambless (bubba82070@aol.com), March 19, 2001.

The Grady Varsity and Junior Varsity baseball games were cancelled today, Monday, March 19, 2001, against Douglas and Pace respectively. The games will be rescheduled soon. The Varsity team plays somewhere this Thursday, Friday and at Emory against Dunwoody on Saturday.

-- West Chambless (bubba82070@aol.com), March 19, 2001.

The Grady JV Baseball Team's March 15 game against Crim was cancelled because of wet conditions on the field at Price MS. On Saturday, March 17, the JV lost to Paideia 12-7. The next JV game is Monday, March 19, at Douglass at 5:00.

-- Susan Brooks (susbrooks@mindspring.com), March 19, 2001.

Grady Varsity Baseball Team Loses in the Finals of the Atlanta Invitational Tournament to Mays High School - 4 to 2 on March 17, 2001 at South Atlanta

The Grady varsity baseball team went into the finals of the Atlanta Invitational Tournament with an overall record of 5-0, 4-0 for the tournament. The Knights were coming off a complete rout of Paideia the previous day and the hope was that with Patrick Johnson being the Grady pitcher on St. Patrick's Day, luck would be with Grady.

With a flip of the coin, it was decided that Grady would be the home team. The first inning went quickly. For Mays, the first batter made it to first base after beating-out a slow grounder to shortstop Anthony Devingo. He was subsequently thrown out while trying to steal second base by a terrifc throw from catcher Todd Fuller to Devingo. The next two batters were retired, one of them a strike out.

In the bottom of the first, following a fly out to left field by second baseman Matt Monroe, Devingo was walked and then Fuller got the first hit of the inning when he took a curve ball and hit it solidly to left field. The inning ended with a grounder to the shortstop by right fielder Mike Walker producing a forced out at second.

In the second inning, Grady's defense started the inning well with Walker making a leaping catch in right field for the first out. A strike out and an easily handled grounder to the second baseman Matt Monroe who threw over to first baseman Bryon Dumas resulted in the subsequent outs for Mays. In the bottom of the inning, the Grady Knights had three players come to the plate, only to be retired. At the end of the second inning there were 0 runs for both teams and only 1 hit for Grady.

Patrick continued his strong pitching facing only four Mays players during the third inning. He struck out, walked and struck out the first three batters. The fourth batter hit an infield fly that was caught by Devingo to retire the side. For Grady, the hits remained scarce. Only three batters came to the plate and were put out by two pop flies and one strike out. Mays' pitcher used a good mix of curveballs and fastballs to keep Grady batters off balance.

As the weather got cooler and the fans huddled under blankets and sleeping bags, the fourth inning began. Mays had its first hit of the game during this inning with a solid double up the center. Two errors by Grady during the inning resulted in Mays getting its first two runs of the game. Johnson struck out the last two batters of the inning. Grady retaliated in the bottom of the inning to earn its first run of the game. The first two batters, Fuller and Johnson were walked. Bobby McClain was put in as a pinch runner for Johnson. Fuller stole second and then on a wild throw to second he advanced to third. Then Mays tried to trick play, faking a throw to second base as mcClain was stealing second. Fuller seeing what he thought was an opportunity to score from third, started for home, but discovered that the throw instead was coming home. It was too late to turn back and Fuller attempted to score with a hard slide to overpower the catcher. The catcher held on to the ball for the out. Fuller was also thrown out of the game on this play due to having his arms up as he ran into the catcher. Grady had its second hit of the game with a long single to left field by right fielder Mike Walker. With left fielder Ronnie Millen drawing a walk the bases were loaded. Then third baseman Matt Scofield took one for the team and was advanced to first when hit by the pitch. This walk advanced the runners and Grady had its first run of the game. A subsequent strikeout ended the inning.

In the fifth inning, Matt Monroe took over as catcher and Matt Pritchett was put in at second base. Anthony London was in as first baseman. The first Mays batter was walked and then stole second and on a wild pitch avanced to third base. The next batter had a hit to our shortstop, who made a good throw home, but the runner slid under the throw and was safe. Two strike-outs and a grounder to the pitcher resulting in a put out at first ended the top half of the inning. Grady began the bottom of the fifth with the top of its batting order. Matt Monroe hung in at bat and drew a walk. Following Monroe's at bat, a new pitcher was put in for Mays. Devingo was the first batter to face the new pitcher and produced a hit off of the pitcher with a short Texas leaguer fly to centerfield. Johnson drew a walk and the bases were loaded. Bobby McClain was put in for Johnson as a pinch runner. Walker hit a sacrifice fly to right field and the runners tagged up. Monroe scored for Grady's second run of the game. A strike out earlier in the inning and a grounder to the shortstop after the run who tagged the second base runner ended the inning.

Since this was an early afternoon game, all seven innings were played. Mays started the sixth inning off with a double into right field just inside the baseline. This hit was followed by a strike out and then a sacrifice fly was caught by center fielder West Chambless who immediately threw home. The runner beat the throw home making it 4 to 2 in favor of Mays. The top of the inning ended with another strike out by Johnson. The Knights started the bottom of the inning with a single up the middle by Chambless. This hit was followed by a fly-out to center field, a fielder's choice out at first and a strike out to retire the inning.

Patrick Johnson completed the game by finishing the top of the seventh inning with no hits, one error on a bad bounce at second base and no runs. He ended the Mays turn at bat with a strike out. The Grady Knights were not able to rally though in the seventh inning and went three up and three down to end the game losing to Mays 4 to 2.

The team was presented with the seond place trophy for the tournament. The closely matched game with solid pitching well represented the two best teams in the City of Atlanta. Grady will continue their season with their next game at their home field behind Price Middle School against Pace Academy on Monday, March 19th starting at 4:30pm.

-- Edith Waller (wallerec@aol.com), March 18, 2001.

Grady Varsity Baseball Team Crushes Paideia - 13 to 3 on March 16, 2001 at Paideia

The Grady baseball team went into its first region game on a three game winning streak. The Knights routed the Paideia team led by senior pitchers Robbie Bragnell and Billy Campbell. Matt Scofield made his second start of the season and pitched a danny. Scofield gave up only four hits and three earned runs. He struck out 6 batters including three to end the game at the bottom of the fifth inning.

Grady's offense exploded starting in the first inning. The Knights scored three runs on three hits and two walks. The first hit by catcher Todd Fuller was a one out single advancing to third base second baseman Matt Monroe who had walked and stolen second base. Subsequent single by first baseman Patrick Johnson scored Monroe and Fuller advanced to third. After a walk to rightfielder Mike Walker, leftfielder Ronnie Millen singled up the third base line driving in Fuller and Johnson. In the bottom half inning, following a walk to the initial batter, Paideia had two ground outs and a strike out, leaving the leadoff hitter stranded at third base.

The second inning saw four Grady players come to bat with Monroe singling. After stealing second, Monroe was stranded on second base. Paideia finished the inning with three up and three down including one strike out and a fly to left field being caught by Ronnie Millen.

Then in the third inning, sophomore Mike Walker hit the first homerun for the Knights this season with a solo shot over the left field fence. Walker put the Knights ahead four to nothing. In the bottom of the third, Scofield ran into some trouble and as a result gave up a three run homerun to Billy Campbell providing Paideia's only runs of the game. A rally was diverted at the start of the inning by a great catch by shortstop Anthony Devingo and a running catch on a fly by centerfielder West Chambless. A subsequent walk and single preceded Campbell's homerun. The inning ended with a hit to center field and the runner being thrown out by Chambless at second. Second baseman Matt Monroe made a great tag for the put out.

The scoring continued in the top of the fourth with Scofield leading off with a single. With the Knights having two outs, shortstop Anthony Devingo also singled. Catcher Todd Fuller was then walked and first baseman Patrick Johnson smashed a grandslam homerun over the left center field fence. The top half of the inning ended with Grady leading 8 to 3. Paideia went three up and three down with one strike out, one ground out to second and a fly out to centerfield.

The Knights scored five more runs in the top of the fifth. Millen singled through third, Chambless walked, Scofield advanced the runners with a bunt. An error by the pitcher on fielding the bunt allowed Scofield to be safe at first. For the pitcher a pinch runner was put in - Shmane Collier. Millen scored on a sacrifice fly by third baseman Anthony London. Chambless stole third and Collier stole second. Devingo reached first on an error on the first baseman and Chambless and Collier scored. Fuller walked and then Johnson's triple scored Devingo and Fuller. Johnson was thrown out at home following a wild pitch. Paideia came to bat for the final time and was able to produce only one walk and the other three batters struck out to end the inning and the game.

The victory marked a dominating performance by Grady's hitting, pitching and fielding.

-- Edith Waller (wallerec@aol.com), March 18, 2001.

Varsity News: Today the Grady Varsity played South Atlanta. This was to be a game at Grady's home field - behind Price Middle School - but due to South Atlanta bus problems, the Grady Knights played at the South Atlanta Field.

The Grady Knights won 3 to 0 behind the perfect game pitched by Patrick Johnson. In the first inning, Todd Fuller was hit by a pitch and advanced to first base. He subsequently stole second base. Patrick Johnson reached first base on an error by South Atlanta's first baseman and Todd scored for Grady's first run. Grady's outs came on 3 ground outs. (Top Half - 1 Run, 0 Hits, 1 Error, 1 Man left of base). For South Atlanta it was a quick at bat with two strike outs and a ground out to first. (Bottom Half - 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 Men left on base).

For the Second Inning, Michael Walker had a solid hit into left field and made it safely to first base. He subsequently stole second base but was not able to make it home. Grady's outs came on two strike outs and one ground out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors, 0 Left on Base). For South Atlanta, three outs came quickly - a ground out to first, a strike out and a fly to first baseman Bryan Dumas. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 Left on Base).

In the Third Inning, Matt Monroe reached first base on a wild pitch. Matt advanced to second base on a fielder's choice. He then advanced to third base on a wild pitch. Todd Fuller's single brought Matt home for Grady's second run. Todd was subsequently thrown out trying to steal second base. A ground out to the pitcher ended the inning. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 Left on Base). For South Atlanta, another three strike outs brought the third inning to a close. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 Left on Base).

For the Fourth Inning, South Atlanta sent in a new pitcher. Matt Scofield reached base having been hit by a pitch and then advanced to second base on another wild pitch. Anthony DeVingo was walked putting a man on first and second. A sacrifice bunt by West Chambless advanced the runners to second and third. South Atlanta elected to walk Michael Walker loading the bases. After a strike out, Matt Monroe was hit by a pitch to force in Grady's third run. A grounder to the third baseman who stepped on the bag ended the inning. (1 Run, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 3 Left on Base). For South Atlanta, the inning was closed out by two bloop flies to the pitcher and one strike out. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 Left on Base).

The game ended after the Fourth Inning due to darkness. Behind the strong arm of Patrick Johnson, the Grady Knights cruised to victory.

-- Edith C. Waller (wallerec@aol.com), March 14, 2001.

JV News: After dropping their opener 12-2 to Therrell, the JV Baseball team came back with a big 9-5 win over Washington Friday afternoon, March 9. Anthony London pitched all 4 innings for the Knights and Sean Corley hit a 2-run double to left field. Way to go, JV guys! CANCELLED! : The next JV game v. Carver/March 12 because Carver has not fielded a JV team this year.

-- Susan Brooks (susbrooks@mindspring.com), March 10, 2001.

Grady Junior Varsity Baseball Schedule 2001

JV at Therrell, March 6 @ 5:00 pm (Lost 12-2)

JV at Washington, March 9 @ 5:00 pm

JV at Carver, March 12 @ 5:00 pm

JV vs. Crim (at Price MS), March 15 @ 5:00 pm

JV at Paideia, March 17 @ 11:00 am

JV at Douglass, March 19 @ 5:00 pm

JV vs. Harper/Archer (at Price MS), March 23 @ 5:00 pm

JV vs. Mays (at Price MS), March 27 @ 5:00 pm

JV vs. North Atlanta (at Price MS), March 29 @ 5:00 pm

JV vs. South Atlanta (at Price MS), March 30 @ 5:00 pm

-- Susan Brooks (susbrooks@mindspring.com), March 08, 2001.

The Grady JV Baseball team plays their next game on Friday, March 9 at 5:00 at Washington. The varsity victory against North Atlanta on Wednesday, March 7 was an exciting, come-from-behind win. The whole team showed great spirit in the winning effort.

-- Susan Brooks (susbrooks@mindspring.com), March 08, 2001.

The Grady Knights played a rescheduled game against North Atlanta today at North Atlanta. Behind the fantastic pitching of Patrick Johnson, the Knights won in a last inning rally by a score of 2 to 1.

-- Edith Waller (wallerec@aol.com), March 07, 2001.

JV Team is headed to Therrell today, March 6th, to play baseball.

-- Debbie DeMoss (debdemos@mindspring.com), March 06, 2001.

The Grady Varsity Baseball schedule for 2001 is on the web.

-- Terry Kearns (pthkdym@aol.com), February 25, 2001.