State Championships: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006
Top 5 National Rankings: 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2014 - National Champions: 2007, 2020, 2021



Americus Lightning 2000 Baseball Schedule and Recaps

2000 Team Roster

  • Joseph Aldridge
  • Mark Ammons
  • Chris Barr
  • Daniel Blizzard
  • James Brochu
  • Alex Denney
  • Johnny Ferguson
  • Sean Freeman
  • Jason George
  • Scott Kerlin
  • Kerry Kimmel
  • Brent Moore
  • Stephen Moreno
  • Jay Perdue
  • Adam Todd
  • Mark Young
  • Director of Baseball Operations: Tim Estes
  • Head Coach: Mark Todd
  • Assistant Coach: Marshall Kerlin
  • Assistant Coach: Chan Short

2000 Schedule
Date Opponent Time Location
Tuesday, May 30 Warner Robins Pirates 6:00 p.m. (DH) Warner Robins
Thursday, June 1 Warner Robins D'Backs 6:00 p.m. (DH) Bell Stadium - Americus
Thursday, June 8 Warner Robins Pirates 6:00 p.m. (DH) Bell Stadium - Americus
Friday, June 11 Randolph-Clay Andrew College - Cuthbert
Saturday, June 10 Crisp County (DH) Cordele
Tuesday, June 13 Warner Robins D'Backs 6:00 p.m. (DH) Warner Robins
Monday, June 19 Crisp County 5:30 p.m. (DH) Cordele
Tuesday, June 20 Tri-County 6:00 p.m. (1 seven inning) Draneville
Thursday, June 22 Tri-County 6:00 p.m. (DH) Bell Stadium - Americus
Monday, June 26 Ellaville Hornets 6:00 p.m. (DH) Bell Stadium - Americus
Wednesday, June 28 Perry 6:00 p.m. (DH) Bell Stadium - Americus
Saturday, July 1 Crisp County 1:00 p.m. (DH) Bell Stadium - Americus
Monday, July 3 Ellaville Hornets 5:00 p.m. (1 seven inning) Sumter County High - Americus
Wednesday, July 12 to Saturday, July 15 GRPA Major State Tournament   Perry

Recaps Section

May 30 - Warner Robins

The inaugural games for the newest pride and joy of Sumter County sports, the Americus Lightning, got off to a fantastic start with a double header sweep of the Warner Robins Pirates, 12-3 and 14-0.

Winning pitcher for game #1 was Alex Denney, who allowed deuce hits, quad walks, fanned eight Pirate batters, and allowed a trio of runs (deuce earned).

The Lightning scored twelve runs on eight hits; their upward climb started in the third inning as Denney singled, stole second, and batted forward to home resulting in a score by James Brochue. Mark Ammons singled, reached second via an error, batted forward to third, then reached home plate via an error. Daniel Blizzard walked, then advanced home via an error. Chris Barr's ground out allowed Johnny Ferguson to score. In the fourth inning, Brochu singled, stole second, advanced to third via wild pitch, then scored on Denney's sac fly. In the sixth, Adam Todd reached home plate as Jay Perdue walked, Denney reached after being hit, and Ammons walked to put ducks on the pond. Blizzard then doubled and advanced to third, which brought deuce runs in, and Moore's sac fly resulted in another score. Denney's double in the seventh brought in Barr and Perdue.

Winning pitcher in game #2 was Sean Freeman, who allowed deuce hits, a trio of walks, and struck out five Pirates.

Hitting for Game #2: Denney scored on a single by Ammons in the initial at-bat inning. Ammons himself reached home plate via a deuce scoring dinger by Joseph Aldridge. Ferguson, Brochu, and Perdue all reached home in the second via a single by Denney. Ammons scored in the third via a single by Moore, and a walk by Todd, who then advanced to second, resulted in Barr scoring. Brochu's sac fly brought Todd in. Aldridge reached home in the fourth as Freeman was hit by a pitch; Barr, as pinch runner, proceeded to second. A walk by Todd brought Ammons home. In inning #5, Blizzard singled, advanced to second, stole third, and reached home via a wild pitch. Moore's walk brought in another score.


June 1 - Warner Robins

The Lightning team split a twin bill at Bell Stadium against the Warner Robins Diamondbacks, winning 8-5 and losing 7-5. It turned out a good day for Daniel Blizzard as far as hitting - he had a deuce scoring triple in the fifth inning to break a 5-5 tie. Earlier he had a run scoring single. Jay Perdue posted two doubles. In inning #4, Johnny Ferguson posted a deuce scoring hit, followed by a game tying double by Perdue. In #5, Mark Ammons doubled; Brent Moore singled with a solo out already on the board. Blizzard's triple broke the tie, and he scored via an out by Mark Young.

Winning pitcher in game #1 was Sean Freeman, who allowed deuce hits and walks. Starting pitcher was Jay Perdue.

In game #2, Blizzard posted deuce sac flies. Freeman posted a trio of hits which included a solo dinger. Taking the loss on the mound was Young, who allowed nine hits, six earned scores, quad walks, and he sent seven back to the dugout. Perdue posted a double and an RBI and Ammons posted deuce hits.


June 8 - Warner Robins Pirates

The Lightning team defeated the Pirates in a double header at Bell Stadium, 6-5 and 10-0.

Game One: Sean Freeman was starting pitcher; Daniel Blizzard came in as relief. James Brochu made a key play as catcher in sixth, putting out a base stealing Pirate.

Hitting: James Brochu walked, stole second, and reached third via wild pitch. Johnny Ferguson walked, then in attempting to steal second, Brochu was able to reach home via a wild Pirates throw. Stephen Moreno doubled, which brought Ferguson to home plate, and Jason George posted a hit that tied the score at 3-3 in the fourth inning. In the fifth, Mark Ammons doubled and Blizzard posted a hit. Brochu's bunt advanced both runners, then Ferguson helped the cause with a lead on a ground-out. In the sixth, with deuce outs already posted, Brochu's hit brought in the winning run.

Game Two: Mark Young pitched five innings of shut-out ball, allowing only a pair of hits, a trio of walks, and he sent five batters back to the dugout.

Hitting: Alex Denney posted a trio of hits and drove home deuce scores. Joseph Aldridge posted a pair of hits himself, including an RBI hit in the second. Aldridge himself scored via an error, and Denney had an RBI single in the third frame. In the fourth, George had a sac fly, and Ferguson, Young, and Denney each posted RBI singles. The Lightning scored three with nary a hit in the fifth as Moreno walked with ducks on the pond.


June 9 - Randolph/Clay

The Lightning defeated Randolph/Clay of Cuthbert, 19-7. Winning pitcher was Alex Denney, who allowed a solo hit and struck out a pair. Mark Young and James Brochu also saw time on the mound. The team scored 19 runs on 21 hits. Posting a trio of hits apiece were Adam Todd, Stephen Moreno, and Joseph Aldridge. Contributing a pair each were Jason George, Scott Kerlin, Young, Chris Barr, and Sean Freeman.


June 10 - Crisp County

The Lightning won a double header against Crisp County, each by a solo score, 6-5 and 8-7. In game #1, Americus jumped to a 3-0 lead in their initial at-bat inning via a wild pitch which led to a batter reaching base and hits by Mark Ammons, Alex Denney, and Jason George. In the second, Adam Todd walked, advanced to second via a wild pitch, then reached home plate via a hit by Jay Perdue. In the fifth, Ammons singled, then George's hit brought Ammons to home plate to tie the game at that point. The winning run occurred as Todd stole second after reaching base via being hit by the ball, then reaching home plate via a hit by Perdue.

In the nightcap, George posted a dinger to left field to give Americus a 1-0 lead. They would score five in the third inning as Johnny Ferguson and James Brochu had RBI hits and George and Daniel Blizzard both had doubles that brought in scores. Americus tied the game in the sixth as Blizzard had a hit, then reached home plate via Stephen Moreno's single. Blizzard would be the key to the winning run in the seventh, thanks to a walk, wild throw, and wild pitch.


June 19 - Crisp County

In Cordele, the Lightning split a twin bill with Crisp County's team, with a 9-4 loss and a 15-0 four inning win.

In game #1, Americus posted six hits total as Alex Denney and Adam Todd had a pair each. Mark Young was the starting pitcher, allowing five hits and all of Crisp's runs; Daniel Blizzard relieved with fanning quad in deuce innings. In the Lightning third, Denney doubled, then scored via an error. With deuce outs already posted, Jay Perdue's double brought Johnny Ferguson to home plate to put the score to 4-2. In the sixth, Denney's hit brought Scott Kerlin to home plate. Ferguson also contributed a double in that inning.

In the nightcap, Americus had 15 runs in 12 hits. Blizzard contributed a trio scored, deuce RBI. Stephen Moreno had five runs brought in on deuce hits; Kerlin and Kerry Kimmel each posted a pair of hits. In the initial Americus at-bat inning, Blizzard had a triple for a run scored. Kimmel's double brought a score to home plate, then Kerlin's hit sent Young to home plate. Blizzard scored via a wild pitch. In the second inning, James Brochu posted a sac fly. Americus' bats really cranked in the third as Brent Moore's hit brought in a run, then Moreno hit a deuce scoring dinger. He later had a hit that brought in a trio more. Chris Barr hit and scored via a wild pitch, then Kerlin had an RBI hit. Blizzard would single home Young for the final run in the fourth.

Winning pitcher was Sean Freeman, who allowed no hits, walked a pair, and sent five back to the dugout.


June 20 - Tri County

The Lightning team was defeated by Tri County, 6-5. Americus led 3-0 through the first four innings. Alex Denney took the loss on the mound; he allowed a trio of hits and no walks. Jay Perdue and Jason George contributed a pair of hits. Daniel Blizzard had a run scoring double, Stephen Moreno a sac fly.


June 22 - Tri County

The Lightning split a twin bill with Tri County Eagles, losing 8-2 in the first game and winning 11-1 in a five-inning nightcap. In game #1, Scott Kerlin posted a run scoring single with deuce outs already recorded in the third inning. Sean Freeman took the loss on the mound; he gave up a solo earned score, a pair of hits, a pair of walks, and fanned a pair. Mark Ammons and Alex Denney posted back-to-back hits to lead off the Americus fourth. Jason George and Freeman contributed hits in the fifth, but only one Lightning player scored. Daniel Blizzard and Brent Moore contributed a key double play to end the Eagles' seventh frame.

In the nightcap, Mark Young went the distance and allowed a trio of hits, a solo walk, and fanned a pair. The Lightning posted 10 hits, with Johnny Ferguson contributing a trio of RBI and Kerry Kimmel a pair of hits. Americus took the lead in the second with a sac fly by James Brochu and a run by Jay Perdue with deuce outs already recorded. The bats really exploded in the fifth with Kerlin's hit bringing Perdue to home plate. Ammons then singled home Kerlin and with ducks on the pond, Ferguson contributed a key double. Blizzard and Moore then hit run scoring singles.


June 24 - Randolph Southern @ Cuthbert

The Lightning defeated Randolph Southern in a twin bill, 16-2 in six innings, then 15-0 in four.

Americus tied the game in their second inning, then posted a trio of scores with nary a hit in the third. In inning #4, Sean Freeman posted a triple scoring double, Kerry Kimmel and James Brochu each had run scoring hits. Daniel Blizzard posted a deuce scoring hit in the sixth. Mark Ammons and Chris Barr each pitched three innings in the first game.

In the nightcap, Alex Denney sent four back to the dugout in four innings. Ammons had four RBI on a pair of hits. Brochu and Joseph Aldridge both drove in a pair of runs, and Adam Todd contributed hits that produced a run scored.


June 26 - Ellaville

The Lightning defeated the Ellaville Hornets, 13-3, in a five inning contest. Americus sent 12 batters to the plate in their initial at-bat inning and scored eight times. Joseph Aldridge started off with a double that tied the score, then Kerry Kimmel singed. A third batter scored via a wild pitch, then Scott Kerlin's hit brought the score to 4-1 at that point. James Brochu contributed a run scoring single, and with ducks on the pond, the last three scored via a wild throw.

The Lightning would put ducks on that pond again in the second inning; Johnny Ferguson singled for two scores. In #3, Kerlin's hit brought in two scores. Jay Perdue contributed a sac fly in inning #5, which scored Jason George. Mark Young went the distance as pitcher and did EXCELLENT - he allowed five walks and sent eight back to the dugout.

(Webmaster's Note: "A lot of sweat and guts went into these matches - I can say that cause I was there. Great playing, great focus, and let's not forget - TARTAR SAUCE! And a little TATER SAUCE on the side, too!

In the nightcap, the Lightning defeated the Hornets 7-6.


June 28 - Perry

The Lightning was defeated by Perry, 9-3. Americus' only strong at-bat inning came in the fourth - Joseph Aldridge reached by being hit, Mark Ammons walked, Mark Young singled to put ducks on the pond. Daniel Blizzard walked, as did Johnny Ferguson. James Brochu contributed a sac fly to make the score 4-3 at that point.

(Webmaster's Note: "Where was the tater sauce tonight?")


July 6 - Americus 16 and Under

The Lightning defeated the Americus 16 and Under All Stars team in a scrimmage game held at Bell Stadium.


July 7 - Miller County High School

The Lightning defeated Miller County High in a twin bill, 3-2 and 5-4.

Alex Denney went the distance as pitcher in game #1, allowing five hits, a pair of earned runs, a solo walk, and sending six back to the dugout. The team posted five hits total, with Joseph Aldridge and Scott Kerlin contributing a pair each. In the Americus second, Aldridge singled, then Sean Freeman was hit by a pitch. James Brochu's sac fly put both in scoring mode, then Brent Moore walked to load the pond with ducks. Chris Barr's groundout brought Aldridge to home plate. The team then scored deuce runs on a hit by Kerlin in the fifth.

In game #2, the Lightning had a triple scoring inning: Brochu hit, then scored via error. Moore scored via a wild pitch. Kerlin's hit brought home Adam Todd (he reached via a hit). In the third, the lead went to 4-0 as Todd drew a bases loaded walk. Freeman then hit a bases loaded single in the 5th which plated Johnny Ferguson for the win. Combining efforts on the mound were Freeman and Jay Perdue.


July 12-15 - GRPA State Tournament @ Perry

The Lightning's season came to a close in Perry as the team finished third in the GRPA 18 and under state tournament. The following are recaps of their games:

  • July 13 - Douglas County: The Lightning was defeated by Douglas, 9-1. Americus was limited to only five hits in this game. With deuce outs already posted in the seventh, a double by Scott Kerlin brought in Brent Moore (Moore had singled, then moved to scoring position via a wild pitch). Other hits were contributed by Jason George, Jay Perdue, and Mark Young.

  • July 13 - Perry All-Stars: Americus defeated Perry, 9-6, posting a total of 11 hits in this game. Mark Young took the win on pitchers' mound; Jay Perdue, Mark Ammons and Sean Freeman were relievers. In the Lightning second, Brent Moore doubled, advanced to third via wild pitch, then scored via an error. Johnny Ferguson walked and Jason George reached via an error and both scored by a double from Perdue.

    In the third, Moore hit a solo-out single, advanced to another base via an error, then reached home by another error. With a pair of ducks on the pond, Perdue hit a deuce-scoring double. Scott Kerlin and Joseph Aldridge both contributed run scoring hits. In the sixth, Moore reached base via error then scored by a double from Alex Denney.

  • July 14 - Chattooga: The Lightning won over the Chattooga Indians, 8-2. Mark Young took the win on pitchers' mound; he scattered eight hits, allowed quad walks and a solo earned score. Americus had 15 hits total in this game (four batters posted a pair of RBI each). Jason George and Scott Kerlin reached via hits and Mark Ammons hit a deuce scoring single in the initial at-bat inning (in each inning afterwards, Americus scored single runs). In the second, Jay Perdue posted a deuce-out hit to plate Alex Denney. In the third, Mark Young had a deuce-out hit to make the score 4-0 at that point.

    In the fourth, the lead pushed to 5-0 on an RBI hit from Kerlin. In inning #5, another batter scored via a deuce-out hit from Perdue. In the sixth, Young had another deuce-out hit (double) which scored Joseph Aldridge. Kerlin posted a second RBI in inning #7.

  • July 14 - Dublin: The Lightning was defeated by Dublin, 8-4. Americus had a total of seven hits (Scott Kerlin and Alex Denney, doubles - Jason George, Jay Perdue, Kerry Kimmel, Mark Ammons, and Joseph Aldridge - singles. George, Kimmel, Aldridge and Ammons each had an RBI). In the initial at-bat inning, Kimmel and Aldridge both posted run-scoring hits that brought in Perdue and Kerlin. In the second, George's hit brought Stephen Moreno to home plate. In the third, Ammons posted a run-scoring hit.
With the loss to Dublin, the inaugural season has come to a close for the Americus Lightning, but what a great season it was. Congratulations to Coaches Todd, Kerlin, and Short and all the team players on an awesome season!!