Heard softball seniors

RYAN BLISS

By Kevin Eckleberry

Year one as a professional player is in the books for Ryan Bliss.

Bliss, the former Troup High and Auburn University standout, was selected in the second round of the professional baseball draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks in July.

After playing two games for the Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks, Bliss spent the final 37 games of his debut professional season with the Visalia Rawhide, a Single-A team.

At the two stops combined, Bliss hit .267 with a .326 onbase percentage, and he had six home runs, 10 doubles, 24 RBIs, and 23 runs scored.

The highlight of Bliss’ season came in September when he hit for the cycle, meaning he had a home run, a triple, a double and a single.

During a season with so many milestones, from being drafted, to making his professional debut, it was a moment that stands out.

“I’ve got videos on this game,” Bliss said during an interview with MLB.com. “I’m going to save these videos and go back to the night where I felt great. I’m going to go into the offseason really remembering this swing and doing everything I can to make sure that’s the swing I have every time I’m at the plate.”

Bliss went 4-for-5 in a win over Rancho Cucamonga, and he had two RBIs and two run scored in the 7-3 win.

Bliss began his landmark night by driving the ball over the right-field fence for his sixth and final home run of the season.

Bliss followed with a double in his next at-bat, and he came through with a triple in the sixth inning, leaving him a single shy of the cycle.

Bliss grounded out in the seventh inning, but in the ninth and final inning, he got one last at-bat, and he lined a base hit up the middle on a 3-1 count to earn the cycle.

Asked if he was thinking about the cycle, Bliss said “oh, 100 percent. You try not to think about it. You’re trying to win. But it’s baseball, it’s hard not to, especially when you’ve got your teammates. The crowd understood it, too. It was definitely an adrenaline rush.”

Despite everything Bliss accomplished as a youth, high-school and college player, he’d never hit for the cycle.

“After T-ball, high school, college, this was my first cycle,” Bliss said. “It’s pretty cool to have it in my first pro season.”

Bliss, after three exceptional seasons at Auburn, was taken with the 42nd overall pick by the Diamondbacks.

A few weeks later, Bliss was in Arizona embarking on his professional baseball career, and his goal is to continue giving everything to a sport that means so much to him.

“I’m just continuing what I was doing in the spring with college ball,” Bliss said. “I did have to make adjustments in pro ball. Obviously, it’s different. But I’m having the same mindset and approach of trying to stay through balls and not as much lift balls as hit hard line drives and doubles to the gaps. Let my hands and power take over, and that’s what’s happening here.”

LAGRANGE COLLEGE FOOTBALL

By Kevin Eckleberry

Photo: Kevin Eckleberry

I’m excited and ready to make plays and get to the ultimate goal (a league championship).”

It was only two years, but in some ways, it had to seem like an eternity.

The LaGrange College Panthers didn’t play a game in 2020 after the season was canceled because of COVID-19.

While some teams chose to play a limited spring schedule this year, LaGrange College decided to wait until the traditional fall season to return to action.

It was a challenging situation for the players, but head coach Earl Chambers understood it was a situation that was out of anyone’s control. “It’s disappointing for the players, but our leadership made the best decision for the school, and I support that,” Chambers said. “And also, it gave us an opportunity as coaches to really hone in on our players and kind of gain a better relationship with them. Academically, we had plenty of opportunities to get better, and also, we practiced 10 straight weeks, so we built the spring around what a real season would feel like.”

Still, there’s nothing play an actual game, and on a September evening in Alabama, LaGrange College made its long-awaited returnto the field for a 42-17 season-opening loss to Birmingham Southern. The season has been a struggle at times for the Panthers, but at least they’re playing after sitting on the sidelines in 2020.

LaGrange got its first win of the season on Sept. 18 when it outlasted Southern Virginia 38-34 in a USA South game.

The win ended a six-game losing streak dating back to 2019, and LaGrange College had to overcome a 14-point first-half deficit to make it happen.

Quarterback Shedrick Lindsey threw for 252 yards with three touchdowns, and James Monroe ran for 109 yards on 21 carries. they followed that up with four straight losses in games that were competitive.

LaGrange College lost 26-21 to North Carolina Wesleyan, and 20-10 to a strong Brevard team.

After the Brevard game, LaGrange College head coach Earl Chambers said “there’s a lot we can take from that game, a lot we can learn as a young football team. When it’s time to make plays, you’ve got to make plays. You can’t sit around and think that something is going to happen magically if you don’t make it yourself.”

The good news for the Panthers looking toward the 2022 season and beyond is that the bulk of their players are underclassmen, including Shedrick Lindsey, a junior quarterback from Spalding High in Griffin.

After his big-time performance against Southern Virginia, Lindsey threw for 152 yards and two touchdowns against North Carolina Wesleyan.

Facing a strong Brevard defense, Lindsey threw for 163 yards, and while he didn’t have any touchdowns, he also didn’t throw any interceptions.

Junior running back James Monroe has also been a bright spot for the Panthers, and junior De’queze Fryer has provided some electrifying moments at tight end, and he had touchdown catches in each of the first six games this season.

Fryer had nine catches for 123 yards against Southern Virginia, and he had back-to-back games with eight receptions against Methodist and Brevard.

“He is a talent,” Chambers said. “He made some catches that makes you go wow. I know everybody’s looking at him. He’s been double-covered. He’s got a lot of eyes on him, and he still able to find a way to get himself in position to make plays. That’s extraordinary.”

On defense, sophomore defensive back Klynell Johnson is LaGrange College’s leading tackler, and two freshmen, linebacker Hassan Tutson and defensive lineman Jaden Jones, have also been among the team leaders in tackles.

He made some catches that makes you go wow.”