Four Panthers named to all-region team

Senior shortstop Rob Williams and sophomore pitcher Austin Robinson both earned all-region honors, while sophomore catcher Trey Sorrells and sophomore outfielder Quinn Grogan were honorable selections.

In addition to all-region honors for these four Panthers, they all earned team superlatives, too.

Williams led all Panthers with three awards, winning Offensive MVP, Scholar Athlete and Team Captain. Meanwhile, Robinson was the team’s Cy Young Award winner, Sorrells won Defensive MVP honors and Grogan received the ‘Pawsitive’ Panther accolade.

Others taking home team awards were Zack Sticher (Commitment to Excellence), Ken Miller (Most Improved), Brandon Jefferson (Junior Varsity Offensive MVP), Chase Dunlap (Junior Varsity Defensive MVP), Tyler Kropp (Junior Varsity Cy Young and Junior Varsity Most Improved), Jacob Banks (Middle School Offensive MVP), Nick Corso (Middle School Defensive MVP), Andrew Fogarty (Middle School Cy Young) and Tyler Henderson (Middle School Most Improved).

Meanwhile, the Panthers are already back on the diamond, prepping for 2011. The varsity squad will play 21 scrimmage games in June, while the junior varsity will play 20 games.

“This will be a great opportunity to go ahead and start seeing what some of our younger guys can bring to the table next spring,” said Tommy Fountain, who just completed his third year as the Panthers’ head coach.

Jackson County — which enjoyed a five-game improvement in the win column this past spring and secured the program’s first wining season in over a decade — started its summer exhibition slate this past weekend, playing in the Gainesville Memorial Day Tournament. The teams will play in the Greater Athens Classic next weekend.
Included in the summer slate is the June 24-26 Jackson County Shootout, in which the Panthers will host three games.

Jackson County returns seven starters for 2011 and its entire pitching staff. But not everyone will be available for the entire summer season since some Panthers are splitting time with summer showcase teams.

“So it will give us an opportunity to evaluate other talent and build some depth,” Fountain said.