PHOTOS: Trinity defeats Southland in GIAA baseball quarterfinals

Some more snapshots from the Claude Graham Complex as the Crusaders and Raiders took the field for a doubleheader last Thursday in the state playoffs.

By Clay Reynolds

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Sports

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May 23, 2026

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Trinity swept Southland, 10-0 and 11-1, in its GIAA playoff debut last Thursday to advance to the state semifinals for a second-straight year.

Here are a few more snapshots off the camera roll from the doubleheader of games:

PAINTING THE CORNERS: Trinity head coach Josh Ward touches up home plate with a new coat of spray paint between games/CLAY REYNOLDS

JUNIOR GROUNDSKEEPER: Coach Chuck Grooms got some assistance with field maintenance duties between games as grandson Matthew joined him atop the tractor to drag the infield/CLAY REYNOLDS

SECOND-HALF WARMUP: Jake Johnson (30, above) and Sam Owens (12, below) toss the pigskin in front of the dugout to stay loose between games/CLAY REYNOLDS

GIVE ME A SIGN: Josh Ward runs through his instructions to baserunners late in game 1/CLAY REYNOLDS

STAN LEE CAMEO?: Official Jim Ward, who worked both corners of the infield for the games’ GIAA umpiring crew, may have had Marvel movie fans doing a few double-takes for his resemblance (below) to the well-known comic book publisher who’s appeared in most of the franchise’s films/CLAY REYNOLDS

CHOPPING IT UP: Coach Chuck Grooms hits some short ground balls to his infielders during warmups for game 2/CLAY REYNOLDS

BACK AT YA: Coach Josh Ward fires a foul ball back into play toward the Southland pitcher/CLAY REYNOLDS

NICE CATCH, COACH: Despite juggling a handful of items, Trinity head football coach/athletic director Bruce Lane had no trouble handling this foul ball that bounced his way late in game 2/CLAY REYNOLDS

Author

Clay Reynolds

Clay has headed up the Sports Desk since 2020, but his background at The Courier Herald – as a virtual jack of all trades – covers close to 15 years in a variety of full- and part-time roles since breaking in as a student intern during high school in 2010. The Dublin native, a proud alum of the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, has received numerous Georgia Press Association awards for his writing, photography and editing, including first-place honors recognizing the paper’s sports section in 2022, and its annual Heart of Georgia Football preview in 2023. In addition to reading his area sports coverage, you can also hear him on the radio as a local play-by-play voice, host of 92.7 WKKZ’s “Tailgate Party” and occasional contributor to the Georgia Southern Sports Network.

PHOTOS: Trinity defeats Southland in GIAA baseball quarterfinals

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