PCHS senior baseball players Stetson Smith, Kyler Allen and Zack Goble (l to r) are shown signing their papers to attend college and continue playing baseball at the next level. Stetson and Zack are signing with Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah and Kyler is signing with the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega.  

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Shown in the top left photo are Kevin Allen, Kyler Allen and Tena Allen. Standing is team chaplain Lynn Harris, assistant coach Jamie Ammons, head coach Greg Gay, assistant coach Andrew Evans and athletic director Sean Pender.

Shown in the bottom left photo is Blake Smith, Stetson Smith, Melissa Smith and Spencer Smith. Standing is team chaplain Lynn Harris, assistant coach Jamie Ammons, head coach Greg Gay, assistant coach Andrew Evans and athletic director Sean Pender.

Shown in the bottom right photo is Ray Goble, Zack Goble and Robbi Goble. Standing is team chaplain Lynn Harris, assistant coach Jamie Ammons, head coach Greg Gay, assistant coach Andrew Evans and athletic director Sean Pender.

Congratulations to these three outstanding young men and their families for their hard work and dedication and we wish them the best of luck at the next level.

DAHLONEGA | University of North Georgia head baseball coach Tom Cantrell has announced his nine-player early signing class with the group set to join the Nighthawk baseball program for the 2015-16 academic year.  The 2015 early signing class is made up of a catcher, three pitchers, three outfielders and a pair of utility players and is comprised of all Georgia high school players. 

The class includes Kyler Allen (Pierce County), Zach Bitzer (West Forsyth), Steven Bower(Peachtree Ridge), Conner Corbitt (Stratford Academy), Kal Dempsey (Veterans), Brandon Gaubert (North Oconee), Mason LeBlanc (Brookwood), Derrick Pickvet (West Forsyth) and Josh Profit (Houston County). 

"We are very excited to announce these nine quality additions to our program for the 2015 early signing period," stated Cantrell.  "Our staff put in countless hours evaluating these players ability, but even more hours making sure these players were perfect fits for the University of North Georgia mission.  These players will all be fine representatives of our university and specifically, our baseball program."

Coach Cantrell commented on each of the nine players that make up the Nighthawks' early signing class. 

Allen: "Kyler is toolsy behind the plate and shows a quality arm and is a great receiver as well.  As good athletically as he is, he is an even better leader on the field.  He really controls the tempo of the game and does a great job of working the pitching staff.  I'm sure Coach Greg Gay down at Pierce County has taught him a lot of these traits.  We are really excited to have Kyler in our program for the next four years."

Bitzer: "Zach is a left-handed pitcher with a lot of deception.  He throws three pitches for strikes and really competes on the mound.  We think that he will physically develop here and with that development we feel that he can really help us on the mound for the next four years.  We are so excited to bring in another player from Coach Pruitt and Coach Rickett's program at West Forsyth. They do a great job developing winners there."

Bower: "Steven is a big projectable left-handed pitcher who we feel has a bright future ahead of him.  Steven has a quality arm and throws three pitches for strikes and is a quality young man as well.  We feel like he really brings a lot to the table off the mound.  He has made a huge jump as a pitcher within the last year, and we feel his best days are ahead of him."

Corbitt: "Conner is a dynamic outfielder with off the charts speed for Chance Reynolds.  He is a very physical player whose fast-twitch will play at a high level in any league.  He comes from Stratford Academy, which is rich in baseball tradition and we think that he will have an immediate impact on our program.  He is a true competitor that loves to win."

Dempsey: "Kal is an extremely athletic player who is a premium defender as well as a quality bat.  Kal has been a standout at Veterans High School for the last couple of years.  He can really run and we are excited to have him. David Coffey is an excellent coach and has done a tremendous job with Kal.  His athleticism will carry him a long way in baseball."

Gaubert: "Brandon is a two-sport athlete coming from a quality program at North Oconee.  He is an athletic infielder who has the arm strength to play all three infield spots.  His projectability is off the charts.  His older brother Blake has pitched here since he was a freshman and Brandon definitely has some good genes.  We are excited to welcome another outstanding Gaubert to our UNG Baseball family."

LeBlanc: "Mason comes from a great baseball program at Brookwood where he is also the starting quarterback.  Coach Rick Howard has always helped us get great players from his program.  Mason is a very athletic player who we feel can play multiple positions for us at North Georgia.  He is a quality bat and we feel that he can be a middle of the order type player for us one day.  Defensively, he has been a catcher at Brookwood, but we are going to explore other positions to play him to utilize his athleticism as much as possible."

Pickvett: "Derrick is a big projectable RHP that we are very excited about.  Right now he is an upper 80's arm that can throw three pitches for strikes.  We think he will have an immediate impact for us in 2016 throwing quality innings as a freshman.  Coach Mike Pruitt and former North Georgia player Justin Rickett have done an outstanding job bringing him up over the years."

Profit: "Josh is a fast-twitch athletic outfielder who can run.  Also, he has great potential with the bat.  Both of his parents were collegiate sprinters, so he definitely has the genes to run even better in the future.  Jason Brett has done an outstanding job over the years at Houston County and he has helped produced another great one with Josh. He is a very mature and dedicated young man who will be another outstanding addition to our program."

Cantrell and the Nighthawks will kick off his 16^th season at the helm of the North Georgia baseball program on Sunday, February 1, 2015 when the Nighthawks travel to Valdosta State in a 1:00 season-opening game. 

Atlanta - On Tuesday evening, 12 members of the University of North Georgia baseball team traveled to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta to deliver gifts to the facility's patients.  Nighthawk players and coaches spent over an hour inside "The Zone" where they interacted with the children by playing air hockey, video games and issuing out various UNG baseball merchandise including jerseys, hats and autographed baseballs.

"We were extremely humbled to spend time with kids and families that are dealing with real life battles," said UNG baseball coach Tom Cantrell. "It was rewarding to see our team to come in and interact with these true warriors, and you understand that we really are blessed and fortunate to do what we do."

The dedicated play area was donated to the children's hospital by former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, country music singer Garth Brooks and the Teammates for Kids Foundation.

In 1998, Egleston Children's Health Care System and Scottish Rite Medical Center came together to form Children's Healthcare of Atlanta—one of the largest pediatric systems in the country. The new system had a single priority: family-centered care. The next year, Hope and Will, our colorful boy and girl mascots came to life, representing the hopeful attitude and strong will of our patients, families and staff.

In 2006, Children's assumed responsibility for the management of services at Hughes Spalding Children's Hospital—growing the system to three hospitals and 17 neighborhood locations—all dedicated to all better.

The Department of Athletics at the University of North Georgia strives to enrich student-athletes with academic knowledge, refined athletic ability, and caring and respect for the surrounding communities.

Kyler Allen (PCHS 2015) is shown standing in the photo (second from the right).

Kyler Allen (PCHS 2015) (#20 in the dog pile) and the University of North Georgia (UNG) Nighthawks finished their season with an overall record of 36 wins and 8 losses, a conference record of 19-5 and winning the 2017 Peach Belt Conference (PBC) championship in the process. UNG had also previously won the PBC in 2015. Before joining the PBC, UNG won the NAIA hardware in both 2001 and 2003.

The Nighthawks still have five games left in the regular season before the PBC begins playoffs on May 10^th at Francis Marion University in Florence, SC and hopefully move on to the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional’s at a yet to be determined locations on May 11^th through May 21^st. The ultimate and final destination would be the NCAA Division II Championship series that will be held in Grand Prairies, TX from May 27^th to June 3^rd.

The #6 University of North Georgia (UNG) Nighthawks and Pierce County’s own Kyler Allen have earned a trip to the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship to be held in Grand Prairie, Texas starting on May 27^th.

UNG defeated the Catawba College Indians (Salisbury, NC) earlier today on a walk-off homer by Andres Perez in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 4-4 tie.

The Nighthawks will face the #14 West Chester University Golden Rams (West Chester, PA) on May 27^th at 3:00 p.m.

A full story can be found on the University of Georgia website at http://ungathletics.com/news/2017/5/22/texas-bound-eighth-inning-homer-by-perez-sends-nighthawks-to-first-ever-ncaa-baseball-championship.aspx?path=baseball.

Congratulations Kyler Allen.

DELAND, FL – The DeLand Suns dropped both games of their doubleheader with the Leesburg Lightning Wednesday, losing the games by scores of 5-0 and 2-1.

DeLand struggled to get much going offensively in the first game of the doubleheader but was given a great start from starting pitcher Thad Harris (Winthrop).

Harris threw five shutout innings in the first game, allowing only two hits during his start. Once Harris exited, the Lightning was able to take advantage of some of the Suns’ other pitchers, scoring five runs in the final two innings to take the first game 5-0.

In the second game, the Suns were given another solid start from a starter, as Cooper Cain (Valdosta State) went five innings and allowed a single run off of four hits. Cain left with the game tied at 1 after an RBI groundout from Kyler Allen (North Georgia) scored Alan Alonzo (Lake Sumter).

In the top of the ninth inning, Leesburg would plate the winning run after a close play at the plate scored Tucker Rayburn (Tallahassee CC) from second after a single from Peyton Faulkner (Jefferson CC) dropped in right field.

DeLand is back in action Thursday against Winter Park at home, with first pitch scheduled for 7 PM.