After helping lead 4-year Irish baseball resurgence, Dublin's Guyton, Jackson sign with East Georgia

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Their freshman year, only a 10-3 win over Telfair County and an 8-7 win over Wheeler County stood between Josh Guyton and Deago Jackson living through a winless first season.

The following year, the duo helped the Irish to 10 more wins, but five short of a playoff berth.

Then last season, the pair helped Dublin turn a corner and reach the playoffs for the first time in nine years.

All their hard work and suffering paid off this spring, with their best statistical seasons playing an integral part in a six-game winning streak that earned Dublin its first home playoff games in a decade, and getting them one win shy of a berth in the Class A “Elite 8.”

All of their exploits now put them in position to extend their playing careers beyond high school, as both signed to play collegiate baseball at East Georgia College during a ceremony at the Dublin High School fieldhouse last Monday.

“Josh and Deago have helped created a firm foundation we are going to build upon for many years,” said Irish head coach Brian Brown. “There have been several players I’ve coached over the years that take up a special place in my heart, and they’ve joined that group. They’re not just good baseball players, but the young men they’ve grown into is going to make them great fathers, husbands, business leaders and more.”

PROGRAM CORNERSTONES: Integral parts of an Irish rebuild stretching from their two-win freshman season to this past year’s region runner-up finish and state playoff run, Josh Guyton (left) and Deago Jackson (right), shown with coaches Brian Brown and Brad Wallace, did a lot to shape Dublin’s recent upward trajectory. Both will continue to build their baseball profiles as they continue playing next season at East Georgia College in Swainsboro/BISHOP NICHOLSON, Dublin City Schools

Over the past three years, Guyton racked up 90 hits and a .357 batting average, driving in 71 RBI, scoring 71 runs and hitting a team-best 10 home runs. He also had 29 doubles and an additional eight triples, all while averaging 30 stolen bases per season.

Jackson posted similar stats for the Irish from behind the plate, batting .326 with 82 hits, 40 RBI and 78 runs scored. Jackson added 18 doubles, seven triples, and stole 68 bases for the Irish.

“You wish you could clone about 9-10 of each of them,” Brown said. “On the team, they can play anywhere on the field, and they understand the team concept. With Eli Hartwell, those three seniors have been the type of leaders that help a team go as far as we made it this year. I just can’t say enough about them.”

The Bobcats finished 32-24 this season in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association, falling to ABAC in the GCAA Tournament.