Baseball Opens Season With Sweep of Athens Academy

On the heels of the best season in school-history, the East Jackson baseball team started its 2025 campaign with a sweep of former region rival Athens Academy last week. 

The Eagles earned a 9-4 victory on the road in Game 1 and then a 12-4 win at home Friday night. East Jackon hosts BASA on Monday before visiting Banks County on Wednesday and hosting Johnson on Friday. 

In Game 1, East Jackson pulled out to a 6-0 lead aided by a five-run first inning, adding three more in the top of the fourth to take a 9-1 lead. East Jackson racked up 10 hits on the night. Reed Casssidy led the way with three hits and three runs batted in, while Nick Carpenter, Hanseong Kang each finished with two hits and two RBIs. Bryse Patterson, and Carpenter each scored a pair of runs in the win. On the hill, Kang earned the win after three innings of three-hit, one- run baseball. 

In Game 2, East Jackson took advantage of four Athens Academy errors and racked up eight hits to blow past the Spartans. After trailing 1-0 going into the bottom of the second inning, the Eagles brought seven runs across the plate, with another in the bottom of the third. The Eagles scored three more in the bottom of the fifth and another in the bottom of the sixth. Drew Richardson and Patterson led the way with two runs batted in, while Brady Saunders and Walker Mauldin scored a pair of runs each. In total, seven Eagles scored a run in the win. On the hill, Saunders earned the win after throwing three innings of two-run baseball, striking out three. R Cassidy pitched three innings in relief, allowing one run.