Gwinnett Beat: April 16-22

Although school was out in Gwinnett for spring break, many teams were still in action in far away places.
Several soccer teams headed north to Myrtle Beach and Mill Creek’s squads dispatched the two teams from Waccamaw, SC. The boys received goals from Austin Butler and Mason York in a 2-1 win over Waccamaw. The girls won by the same score as Lindsay Kempf and Amanda Troy both netted goals. Both teams would also defeat Myrtle Beach as well, with the girls getting a 4-1 win and the boys edging Myrtle Beach 2-1. For the Lady Hawks, Tori Scalera, Lauren Tanner, Aimee Herron and Courtney Emmert each pocketed a goal. Jessica Rose assisted on two of the goals for Mill Creek. The boys meanwhile benefited from Taylor Scalera’s two goals in the 2-1 win. Scalera netted the game-winner with about two minutes to play to give the Hawks the win.
Also in Myrtle Beach, the North Gwinnett Lady Bulldog soccer team squeaked out a 1-0 victory thanks to Lauren Harriman and Anna Nunez. Harriman had the game’s lone goal while Nunez pitched the shutout as keeper.
In other soccer news, Dacula received three goals from Ado Junuzovic in a 5-1 win over Pope. Michael Kanu and Luis Huertas each popped in a goal in the victory. And the Parkview Lady Panthers were led to a 4-3 win largely on the leg of Kim Spence. Spence netted two goals while Molly Snipes and Stephanie Gutierrez each tallied one in the win.
ON THE DIAMOND …
On the baseball diamond, the biggest news was the perfect game tossed by Wesleyan’s Strother White. The Wolves beat Brookstone 10-0 in six innings. White recorded 10 strikeouts in the perfecto, while three Wolves blasted home runs. Kevin O’Leary parked a bomb as one of his three hits, while Drew Widner and Mason Colquitt each added a homer in the victory. Alex Thykeson had three hits to help out the cause.
Collins Hill was on fire last week as first the Eagles edged Mill Creek 6-4, then took out North Forsyth 11-1. Against the Hawks, Collins Hill tallied eight hits, five going for extra bases. Spencer Horridge had an RBI double as part of a 2-4 day in the win. Junior catcher Jerad Curry slammed a three-run home run in the losing effort for Mill Creek. Against North Forsyth, Grant Earls and AJ Farris each homered and Earls finished 2-3 with three RBI. Farris was 2-2 on the day. Mill Creek rebounded from its loss to the Eagles with a 7-3 win over Norcross. Matthew Grimes improved to 5-0 on the season with a complete game effort that saw him strike out 11 Blue Devils. Curry belted another home run in the win.
Parkview was the only fly in Brookwood’s ointment all week long. The Panthers crushed the Broncos 14-4 in a game that was stopped after five innings. Leftfielder Austin Wheeler, first baseman Matt Olson and third baseman Zack Reinstein all homered to lead Parkview to the win. Olson was 3-3 in the game with four RBI. Brookwood rebounded to beat Grayson and then take out Marist 16-7. Lucas Sims contributed with two home runs and seven total RBI. Chad Ikerd was 4-4 on the day with three RBI and Clint Carr, Jacob Beauchamp, Tremayne Toorie and Mike Gouge each posted two hits apiece.
Other top performers included Taylor Fields of Central Gwinnett (six Ks in six IP) as the Black Knights beat Dacula 6-5. Casey Shaddix and Anthony Fields each posted two-run homers in the game for Central Gwinnett. Mack Adams was 4-4 in South Gwinnett’s 7-4 win over Grayson. Kent Rollins was 2-4 with three RBI and a home run in the contest for the Comets. North Gwinnett rallied from a 9-1 hole to beat Northview 12-11. The Bulldogs scratched four across in the fifth and six in the sixth to grab the win. Christopher Hawkins was 3-5 with two home runs and five RBI in the comeback victory. Will Bates got the win in relief and helped his cause with a 3-4 day with two RBI for North Gwinnett. Parkview knocked off Cartersville 6-4 thanks to a Brandon Kregel grand slam, and Jared Walsh was the story for Peachtree Ridge as the Lions slammed Duluth 10-1. Walsh was 3-3 with three RBI and one home run.
In coaching news, Rodney Potter will take over the Mill Creek wrestling program as former coach Dave Landis transitions to an administrative role and on to retirement. Potter joins the Hawks after serving two years as an assistant with his alma mater North Gwinnett. The 34-year-old Potter was a state champion and two-time state finalist in his wrestling days before wrestling at Georgia State. Upon graduation, Potter served as an assistant coach with Walton before spending two years in Gainesville as head coach.