Belcher makes his mark early in Reds organization

Former Augusta Christian School baseball star Jordan Belcher has been a pro only for a few weeks, but you'd never know it from the early numbers he's posted.

The 2003 Columbia County Player of the Year, who was selected in by Cincinnati in the 41st round of the amateur baseball draft last month, is leading the Gulf Coast League Reds in hitting with a .311 average.

Through his first 12 games with the Sarasota, Fla. squad, Belcher went 14-for-45 with three doubles and four runs scored.

The Reds have high hopes for Belcher at some point down the road, although most experts thought he needed some time to get bigger and stronger, and to basically adjust to professional baseball.

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Belcher's hot start, however, may change that evaluation.

Dobbs has monster year

Former Harlem High School pitcher Johnny Dobbs recently wrapped up a fantastic two-year stint at Chattahoochee Valley Community College in Alabama. Dobbs was named first-team in the All-Southern League and all-region.

Dobbs finished the 2003 season with a 9-1 record, and he also had seven saves, 70 strikeouts and a 2.64 earned run average.

His numbers in wins, saves and ERA ranked among the top junior-college pitchers in the country.

Next season, Dobbs plans to become a Bulldog again - he will play for the University of Georgia.

In remembrance

The Columbia County sports scene lost one of its most popular figures last week when Joe Ben Cassedy lost a long battle with cancer.

Later this month in the Bottom Line, I will offer a retrospective on the life of Cassedy, and will look at the Evans High School coach's influence on Columbia County sports.

All-star update

This Sunday, the Bottom Line will follow up on the recent articles on the 20-year All-Columbia County High School baseball team.

I will have several additions to the team, plus we'll review many other players that have been brought to my attention over the past two weeks.