Carrollton shortstop Brandon Prince made an out on Monday, and that was news. The senior had collected 12 straight hits dating to March 28. He had two triples, a double and five stolen bases during the streak.
The state record is unknown, but for reference, the major league record is 12 straight hits held by three players, most recently Walt Dropo in 1952.
‘’Brandon, is a very dedicated and hard-working individual,’’ Carrollton coach Ryan Zaideman said. ‘’He has really sold out to the weight room over the last two years and it has shown with his increase in bat speed and exit velocity. … During this streak Brandon was very patient, he hasn't been overly aggressive, he gone up there looking for something he can drive and hit his pitch.’’
Columbus State and Belmont Abbey and more recently some smaller Division I schools have begun to recruit Prince.
Prince was 0-for-3 on Monday against Villa Rica, which won 5-4. Carrollton, ranked No. 3 in Class AAAAA, fell to 21-4.
GHSA adds rule on counting pitches
It wasn’t a big deal, but it was the only deal involving baseball at the GHSA’s executive meeting on Monday.
Beginning next season, baseball teams will be required to use software such as GameChanger or Pitch Kount to document pitch counts in games. That’s mainly a money-saver. Currently, teams must pay someone to count pitches and pay him or her half the normal umpire fee, or about $35.
‘’The home scorebook has always been accepted as the final say in rulings, so there shouldn't be an outcry if the home team is responsible for the pitch count,’’ Valdosta coach Brad Porter said. “The software is accessible through an internet connection, so there should be immediate accountability.’’ The software will the visiting team, or fans, for that matter, to monitor the count live if there is internet connection.
History: Marist, Columbus all-time leader is playoff rounds advanced
Here’s a little research from the baseball state tournament. Actually, it took a lot of research, but Marist and Columbus are easily the all-time leaders in rounds advanced in the state tournament, which began in the 1940s. In 1969, the GHSA began using best-of-three series to decide each round. Before that, it was any number of methods from round-robins to double-elimination. Anyway, the results are interesting. The records of Marist and Columbus in advancing rounds are almost identical.
93-27 - Marist
92-27 - Columbus
69-19 - Lovett
61-20 - Cartersville
58-14 - Greenbrier
57-28 - Gainesville
49-26 - Cook
48-23 - Calhoun
48-19 - Parkview
47-29 - Harlem
47-36 - Evans
42-13 - Loganville
41-17 - Lassiter
41-12 - Wesleyan
40-12 - Blessed Trinity
39-27 - Buford
39-26 - Greater Atlanta Christian
39-16 - Walton
38-21 - Westminster
34-26 - Irwin County
34-19 - Lowndes
34-15 - Pepperell
33-10 - Mount de Sales
32-30 - Jones County
32-27 - Brookstone
32-27 - Westside (Augusta)
32-31 - Lee County
31-18 - Brookwood
31-14 - Calvary Day
31-18 - Gordon Lee
30-20 - Carrollton
29-20 - LaGrange
29-15 - Clinch County
28-28 - Ringgold
28-21 - Savannah Christian
28-10 - Pope
27-19 - South Effingham
26-25 - Wayne County
25-23 - Bowdon
25-13 - Pierce County
25-19 - East Coweta
25-10 - Eagle's Landing Christian
25-15 - Jeff Davis
25-14 - Schley County
