MOULTRIE – Tony Kirkland is no stranger to coaching Georgia all-star baseball teams and taking them to play in national tournaments.
But getting to be in the dugout at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb., the site of the College World Series, was special.
The former Colquitt County High baseball coach – and Georgia Dugout Club Hall of Fame member – was on the staff of the Georgia high school all-star team that competed last weekend for the Stinger High School Baseball National Championship.
For Kirkland, the chance to be on the Georgia staff meant he would pull on a uniform for the first time since he retired from Colquitt County after the 2019 season.
In 16 seasons as the head coach at Colquitt County and Effingham County, Kirkland posted a record of 302-188.
He also was an assistant coach when the Packers won the 1997 and 2003 state championships.
The national championship tournament brought together all-star teams representing 12 states in a series eventually won Sunday evening by the California team, which defeated Oklahoma 10-0 in the title game.
Lowndes High’s Ryan Page, who has led the Vikings to the last two Class 7A state championships, was the Georgia team’s head coach.
Kirkland and Lambert High’s David Smart assisted the two-time Georgia Coach of the Year.
The team included three South Georgia players, including Lowndes’ Coleman Lewis, who had two hits in Georgia’s 4-1 tournament-opening win over Massachusetts last Thursday.
Tift County outfielder/pitcher John Davis also was on the team, as was Westwood School catcher Sam Summerlin.
“We have some incredible players,” Kirkland said of the Georgia roster.
Of the team’s six pitchers, five have committed to Southeastern Conference schools.
Among them are Rockmart High’s Hunter Atkins and Peach County’s Jackson Peavy, who are headed to Georgia.
Perry’s Connor Langdon is going to Mississippi State; Lassiter’s DJ McDowell is headed to Tennessee; and Washington County’s Ty Mobley is going to Auburn.
The sixth member of the pitching staff – Harrison High left-hander Colin White – is pledged to Georgia Tech.
Also committed to Georgia Tech are Prince Avenue Christian infielder Judson Hartwell and Oconee High outfielder Cole Johnson.
Hudson Reed, an infielder from Morgan County, also is going to Georgia.
Davis and Mary Persons outfielder Brady Christman are committed to Georgia Southern.
Infielder Jon Stuetzer is headed from Pope High to Florida State.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find high school baseball anywhere that is as dominant as it is in Georgia,” Kirkland said.
The tournament’s 12 teams were seeded in three brackets, with Georgia joining Arizona, Massachusetts and Michigan in Bracket A
Bracket B included Florida, Nebraska, California and Kansas.
Bracket C was made up of Oklahoma, Texas, Hawaii and Illinois.
Georgia stumbled after defeating UMass on the University of Nebraska-Omaha field.
On Friday, in its first opportunity to play on Charles Schwab Field, Georgia was shut out 3-0 by Michigan.
On Saturday, Georgia was eliminated by Arizona in an 8-4 loss.
Kirkland was impressed with the Schwab Field, where Tennessee defeated Texas A&M on June 24 to claim the school’s first baseball national championship.
Omaha has been the home to the College World Series since 1947.
Kirkland enjoyed reuniting with Smart, with whom he had worked side-by-side for a number of years taking Georgia teams to compete in the Sunbelt Classic in Oklahoma.
The event was well-run, with eight games covered by ESPN+ and two others, including Sunday’s 8 p.m. championship game, by ESPNU.