BASEBALL: West Laurens Middle School Raiders win MGMSAA region title
The Raiders swept Bleckley County to win Thursday’s MGMSAA championship series, and complete their 2025 season with a next-to-spotless 16-1 record.
The West Laurens Middle School baseball team finished its once-beaten season with a sweep of Bleckley County last Thursday to claim the MGMSAA championship series.
The Raiders, playing on their home field, came from behind in both games to win by finals of 8-5 and 6-5 and clinch their first region title since 2019 (a second in the tenure of eighth-year head coach Vaughn Murkerson).
They defeated Swainsboro 6-5 in a play-in game earlier that week to set up the best-of-three showdown with BCMS, which had handed WLMS its only regular-season loss back in February. The Barons, after overpowering Jeff Davis 13-9 to advance, held early leads in both of Thursday’s back-and-forth battles.
The Raiders eliminated a 4-0 hole with a five-run second inning before pulling away, with the help of a Buck Shepherd solo home run, to take the opening game. Jarek Giles saved the win of starting pitcher Canon Mallette, who struck out five.
Bleckley’s Brody Arnold and Dylan Lamb both homered to aid in tying the score twice with WLMS as the visitor in game 2, but the Raiders came away with two on an error in the sixth to take their final lead, a run of which would stand with thanks to relief pitcher A.J. Dixon, who got half of the final eight outs on strikes to clinch the win.
The Raiders, who dedicated their 2025 season to the memory of former player “Steve-O” Vertin (25), finish the spring with a record of 16-1.
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