Todd Greene jersey retirement ceremony and girls basketball.

Friday night at Evans High School, former Knights' baseball star and current major leaguer Todd Greene had his No. 10 jersey retired by the Evans baseball team.

The honor, which featured a ceremony between the girls and boys basketball games against Fayette County, was certainly well deserved, and wrapped up an incredible six-month stretch for Greene.

During that time-frame, Greene blasted a three-run homer in his debut with the New York Yankees - a home-run which prompted a curtain call at Yankee Stadium.

Then, on Sept. 11, Greene watched from his apartment in Edgewater, N.J. as the World Trade Center toppled.

From that low-point, Greene came back and caught the ceremonial first pitch from President Bush at the World Series in the house that Ruth built.

The Arizona Diamondbacks went on to beat the Yankees in an exciting seven-game series, but in Game 6, Greene doubled off Arizona ace Randy Johnson.

Amazing.

For those of you who weren't around when Greene was playing baseball for Evans in the late 1980s, the former Knight began his incredible feats right here in Columbia County.

Greene led Evans to back-to-back state championships in 1988 and '89. During those seasons he hit 24 home runs in 60 games, including a county-record 17 in the perfect 29-0 campaign in 1989.

When Greene left Evans, the hits kept coming. He had a stellar career at Georgia Southern University, and as a freshman he swatted 25 home runs to lead the Eagles to the 1990 college World Series.

On his journey to the major league, he hit 40 homers in 1995 and was named the Minor League Player of the Year.

Court success

The Greenbrier Lady Wolfpack and the Lakeside Lady Panthers each picked up big wins on the basketball court last week.

Greenbrier traveled to Thomson Tuesday night to take on the Lady Bulldogs, a squad which features Yolanda Martin, the state's leading scorer.

Thomson is not a dominant team in Region 3-AAA (that distinction is shared by Glenn Hills and Hephzibah), but was definitely favored to win the game.

The Lady Pack, however, responded with an inspired effort, and the solid performance in Thomson followed Greenbrier's surprising loss at Westside.

Greenbrier coach Garrett Black was so disgusted by his team's play against the Lady Patriots that he took away the Lady Pack's standard uniforms and forced them to wear an old set of junior varsity duds.

The move must have provided some motivation, as Christina Large poured in a team-high 20 points to spark Greenbrier to a 57-53 victory at Thomson.

Lakeside also asserted itself in Region 3-AAA. The Lady Panthers employed a stifling full-court press to demolish Josey 51-30 Friday at the Lakeside gym.

After taking a 21-16 lead into halftime, Lakeside used a tenacious defense to outscore the Lady Eagles 20-2 in the third quarter, which essentially put the game away.

Lakeside guards Toya Coard and Nichole Bennett were magnificent, combining for 33 points in the game.

Bennett, in fact, may have played her best game of the season. The senior blocked shots, pulled down rebounds and recorded numerous steals to key the Lakeside press.

While these were only individual games, they showed what Greenbrier and Lakeside are capable of.

Greenbrier travels to Lakeside Friday for a 7 p.m. showdown. In two previous games this season, the Lady Panthers edged the Lady Pack by a point in December, and Greenbrier returned the favor with a one-point overtime win in January.

The finale should be something to see.