COVINGTON, Ga. — On a sunny, clear blue sky Saturday at Alcovy High School, Newton, Eastside and Alcovy’s baseball teams competed against each other for the Newton Cup.
When all the action concluded, it was the Alcovy Tigers taking home the Newton Cup after downing Newton 19-4 and Eastside 7-6. Newton defeated Eastside 7-4, which caused the Eagles to go winless on the day.
As the host school and team, Alcovy’s head coach Kareem Hayes was proud of the atmosphere for Saturday’s in-county matchups.
“It’s been amazing,” Hayes said. “We’ve had the whole Newton County community out here and they’re enjoying it. It’s a beautiful day for baseball.”
The action on the diamond seemed like just one part of Saturday’s festivities, though.
There was a Kona Ice truck present with parents of Alcovy baseball players operating the concession stands, which featured freshly grilled hamburgers and hotdogs.
But what seemed to take Saturday over the top was the amount of people who showed up in attendance to watch all the action. The primary parking lot at Alcovy was filled and people ended up having to park in the lot at the top of the hill just to find a parking spot.
Some fans even parked on the side of the lane that led down to the baseball field.
It seemed like fans and community members were just having another great day at the ballpark.
The Rams’ head coach Derwin McNealy was pleased with the amount of people who showed up to support the three teams.
“I love [the support],” McNealy said. “I want Newton’s blue and white to be as visible as possible in the community. And, hopefully we’ll continue to get the support we got today.”
Eagles’ head coach Cody Walker is in his first year as head coach, but he’s no stranger to Newton County. Walker is an alumnus of Eastside where he also played baseball.
All in all, it seemed like all fans, players, coaches and community members enjoyed the bright day to showcase the local baseball talent across each team.
Newton, Eastside and Alcovy will continue their non-region slates for the next few weeks and will begin region play shortly.
Alcovy will face Mundy’s Mill on March 13 at home to kick off region play. Newton will welcome Brookwod on March 13 as well to begin the Rams’ region schedule. Eastside will kick off Region 8-AAAAA action against Loganville on March 10 at home.
