Leopards split final week of non-region play

It was a split week for the Banks County diamond Leopards as the baseball team avenged an earlier loss over Elbert, but fell behind to West Hall. Banks’ record is now 4-2 with only region games remaining scheduled for the season.

Depending on the weather, the Leopards are set to head to East Jackson on Friday. The region game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

East Jackson will be looking to upset an undefeated Banks County winning streak between the teams. The Eagles are currently 2-3 including a region loss to Jefferson on Tuesday.

Banks was scheduled to open its region schedule off at Walnut Grove on Tuesday night, but according to preliminary results that game was called due to darkness.

While Friday’s game could be called due to rain, the Leopards are still set to host Oglethorpe County on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

Oglethorpe was on a 6-0 tear outside of region play, but fell to North Oconee in the Patriots’ first region game earlier in the week. Oglethorpe was scheduled to play Walnut Grove on Friday before coming to Homer next week.

Coach Joe Lord said that the 4-2 record leading into the region schedule has given a lot of insight into the team and where to focus at in practice.

“We know a lot more about our team now than we did a few weeks ago,” said Lord. “We've got our work cut out for us, but we've got good guys, and we're working hard. We're looking forward to getting started with region play and seeing how we stack up.”

How Banks stacks up will be key, as the Leopards face several tough region teams like Jefferson, North Oconee and Rabun County.

“Our region is tough, and nothing will come easy. We will have to play good, smart, clean games to give ourselves a chance to be successful,” Lord said. “We're on the right track, and we just have to keep working, learning, and getting better.”

For more on the diamond Leopards, see this week's The Banks County News.