Atkinson County Baseball

WORK-OUTS WILL RESUME ON TUESDAY, JAN. 7TH Off-season voluntary weightlifting and conditioning is ongoing every Tuesday and Thursday at 3:15 in the ATCO weight room. POSITION WORK-OUTS See Coach Porter (Varsity/JV) or Coach Burkett (7&8) to sign-up for Monday and Wednesday position work-outs. Space is limited.

3 former Rebels are currently on rosters and competing on the college level. JARRED MORRIS: Brewton Parker College. Could make the jump from the JV squad to the Varsity in 2004. Jarred coached Atkinson's 12-14 summer traveling team. SHANE NEWMANS: Abraham Baldwin College. Shane started at shortstop the entire 2003 season for the Stallions. He is expected to again start and hit in the middle of ABAC's order in 2004. MICHAEL TUCKER: South Georgia College. Michael was the #4 starting pitcher and the closer for the Tigers in 2003. He will be expected to throw in big games again next year as SGC looks to improve on the 3rd place finish in the state JC tournament. *2003 grad, Jonothan Batten turned down an opportunity to play college baseball and joined the Army.

Michael Tucker was selected Region 1A Co-Player of the Year as a total of six Atkinson County Rebels were selected All-Region 1A for the 2002 season. Here is a complete list of the 2002 All-Region 1A team. ***REGION 1A CO-PLAYERS OF THE YEAR*** Rhett Barber (Clinch) Michael Tucker (ATCO) ***REGION 1A OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR*** Rance Morgan (Clinch) ***REGION 1A CO-PITCHERS OF THE YEAR*** Ashley Cooper (Lanier) Blake Deal (Ware Magnet) ***FIRST TEAM ALL-REGION*** Kenneth Burch (ATCO) Jarred Morris (ATCO) Shane Newmans (ATCO) Michael Tucker (ATCO) Rhett Barber (Clinch) Rick Corbitt (Clinch) Todd Dupree (Clinch) Jarrett Edwards (Clinch) Rance Morgan (Clinch) Adam Greene (Echols) Ashley Cooper (Lanier) Willis Flintroyal (Lanier) Chris Studstill (Lanier) D.J. Jackson (Pelham) Blake Deal (Ware Magnet) Preston Pope (Ware Magnet) ***HONORABLE MENTION ALL-REGION*** Jonathon Batten (ATCO) Cale Spivey (ATCO) Adam Tolle (Clinch) Chad Mathis (Clinch) Michael Gribble (Echols) Chris Scott (Echols) B.J. Luckie (Lanier) Rome Wilkes (Lanier) Gabe Crabb (Ware Magnet) Joseph Hayman (Ware Magnet)

Michael Tucker was selected Region 1A Co-Player of the Year as a total of six Atkinson County Rebels were selected All-Region 1A for the 2002 season. Seniors Kenneth Burch, Jarred Morris, Shane Newmans, and Michael Tucker were all selected to All-Region 1A 1st team, while senior Cale Spivey and junior Jonathon Batten were named Honorable Mentions. The ATCO Baseball program is very proud of these young men and their contribution to the 2002 Rebels. Batten was an outstanding offensive and defensive player for the Rebels in 2002. Batten played rightfield and first base for the Rebels. He hit over .500 in the state playoffs this year. Batten's 2002 regular season stats: AB 64, R 22, H 26, 2B 5, RBI 20, SB 8, AVG. 353 Batten's 2002 post season stats: Burch started every game for the Rebels this season in centerfield or on the mound. He batted in the clean-up spot every game. Kenneth was named the "Outfield Defensive Player of the Year" for 2002! Burch's 2002 regular season stats: AB 67, R 23, H 25, 2B 6, HR 2, RBI 34, BB 15, SB 14, AVG. 373 Burch's 2002 post season stats: Morris was a big contributor to the Rebels on offense and defense this season. He batted lead-off most of the season while serving as the #2 pitcher, third baseman, and first baseman on defense. He was named the "Infield Defensive Player of the Year" for 2002! Morris' 2002 regular season stats: AB 74, R 24, H 27, 2B 5, 3B 1, HR 2, RBI 25, BB 19, SB 11, AVG. 365 IP 39.67, H 37, K 37, ER 10, W-L 7-1, ERA 1.76 Morris' 2002 post season stats: IP , H , K , ER , W-L , ERA A year after being named the Region 1A Offensive player of the Year, Shane Newmans increased his batting average by 100 points and stole 49 bases. Shane played shortstop for the Rebels and served as the closer in 2002. He batted in the #2 or #3 spot in the line-up all year. He was named the "Offensive Player of the Year" in 2002! Newmans' 2002 regular season stats: Newmans' 2002 post-season stats: Cale Spivey was the Rebels' starting second baseman in 2002. Spivey is a sound defensive player and helped the Rebels tremendously with his dramatic offensive improvement from the 2001 to the 2002 season. Spivey's 2002 regular season stats: Spivey's 2002 post-season stats: Michael Tucker was named the 2002 Region 1A Co-Player of the Year. As the Rebels' #1 pitcher, he generally saw only the Rebels' top opponents. Offensively, he was a major factor in the top of the Rebels line-up all year. Tucker shared the Player of the Year honor with Clinch County's Rhett Barber. These 2 young men were the 2 dominate pitchers and 2 of the top 5 hitters in Region 1A in 2002. Only region rules may have prevented them from winning every region award. Tucker's 2002 regular season stats: AB 62, R 35, H 27, 2B 6, 3B 1, HR 5, RBI 28, BB 23, K 6, SB 12, AVG. 435 IP 46, H 38, K 70, ER 20, W-L 6-3, ERA 3.20 Tucker's 2002 post season pitching stats: IP 19, H 14, K 18, ER 6, W-L 2-1, ERA 2.21

The Atkinson County Baseball program would like to thank the St. Edwards' baseball team for traveling 7 hours to play baseball in south Georgia. They completed the road trip with a 1-4 record and a little food poisoning that caused several starters to miss the Ware Magnet game. Their game results included an 8-2 win over Lanier, a 5-4 and a 5-0 loss to Atkinson, a 3-2 loss to Berrien, and a 2-1 loss to Ware Magnet. Coach Shaw has a classy group of young men who play the game the right way. They will be tough in the years to come. Good Luck and thanks again!