It is a cold March morning, too cold for the boys of summer who have gathered for the annual Baseball at the Beach tournament at Edo Miller Field in Brunswick, Georgia. With the Brunswick Pirates leading the Ware County Gators by one run in the fourth inning, Ty Hobbs strides to the plate. The right-handed hitter digs into the batter’s box and waits for a fastball down the middle.
Crack! Everyone in the stands knows the sound as soon as the ball jumps off the bat. It travels over the centerfield fence, just near a sign that reads 355 feet. The homer ties the game for now, but Hobbs goes on to pitch a complete game victory.
He is one of a trio of Ware County Gators baseball players who garner respect from opponents everywhere they go. Dayton Beasley is the catcher and team signal caller who likes to gun down would-be base stealers. Hobbs is the big-hitting, hard-throwing player who competes at full throttle 100 percent of the time. And at first base is Ty Bennett, the player Ware County head baseball coach Tony Yeomans says is his brain and scholar. “He is one that I can tell him something about hitting or pitching, and he analyzes it and then does exactly what you want him to do.”
Tybee, as Bennett is known to his teammates, has a 4.0 grade point average and is ranked 10th in his class to go along with his .320 batting average. He was named the school’s Baseball Scholar Athlete the past two years, he’s a member of the WCHS Leadership Class, and he is chairman of the Waycross Bank & Trust Jr. Board. He is an advanced placement scholar who has dual enrollment at South Georgia State College and plans to attend Georgia Southern University and walk on the Eagles baseball team. Eventually, he hopes to practice dentistry in Waycross.
Bennett, the son of Lamar and Penny Bennett of Waresboro, has played since he was six years old and still recalls throwing a no-hitter against Appling County in All-Stars and his first varsity hit as a sophomore. “I hit a single up the middle for the first hit our team had of the game.”
Beasley carries a perfect 4.0 GPA and hopes to one day play Major League baseball. “Cheeseburger,” as he is known on the diamond, has been the Gators Defensive Player of the Year and Hardest Working Player of the Year twice each. Beasley started playing baseball in second grade and was playing travel ball by the time he was 10 years old. He was hooked on baseball when he caught his first fly ball by accident by sticking his glove out. “That play started my interest in baseball after all of the congratulations that I received.”
He started playing middle school baseball in Wayne County and played JV catcher for the Wayne County High School Yellow Jackets before moving to Ware County as a sophomore. A catcher himself, Yeomans seems to expect more from his players who play behind the plate. “Dayton would probably tell you that I am harder on him than anyone else,” says the coach.
The son of Lonnie and Sandy Beasley, Beasley has plans to major in the medical field in college.
Yeomans, in his fourth year at the Gators’ helm, said there has been recruiting interest in all three players from schools such as Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Valdosta State, South Georgia College, and Armstrong Atlantic State University. Perhaps the most heavily recruited of the three is Hobbs, who is being sought as a first baseman rather than a pitcher due to his ability to hit the long ball and his fiercely competitive nature.
“He also has a great baseball name too, doesn’t he?” says Yeomans, referring to Hobbs sharing his name with two baseball legends: Hall of Fame inductee Ty Cobb and the fictional hero of “The Natural,” Roy Hobbs.
“I don’t know what my dad was thinking (when he named me),” Hobbs says, “but it works.”
He is a .350 hitter who made the All-Region team as both a pitcher and first baseman and has attended the Nebraska World Series and Junior Fall Classic with the Baseball Factory/Under Armour. This year, he was chosen as a preseason Under Armour All-American to add to an impressive collection of accomplishments on the diamond. During his years at Ware County High School, Hobbs has been known as much as a pitching threat as he is at the plate. In his junior year on the mound, Hobbs tossed a perfect game against Windsor Forest.
In the classroom, he holds a 3.8 GPA and is an honor graduate, a member of the leadership team, and he mentors special education students. A member of the Future Farmers of America, he likes to help out on the family farm and plans to major in business. His future plans include owning and operating the family business.
The son of Jackson and Stacy Hobbs, Hobbs is known for his happy demeanor and positive attitude. But he can also be stoic and handles pressure well, especially on the mound. Insiders say it could be a short trip down Highway 84 for Hobbs to play for the Valdosta State Blazers next season, but, his father says, he will wait until the season is over to make an official announcement.
Yeomans can’t bring himself to consider a team without the senior trio, at least not until this season is done. “I have them now, and that is all that matters at this point.” Still, he admits that losing Beasley, Bennett, and Hobbs will be about more than just losing great players to graduation. “What I really am going to miss is the guys themselves. I have a great relationship with each of these young men,” Yeomans says. “These guys leave big shoes to fill next year, but that is next year.”
Ty Hobbs
Nickname: Hobbs
Positions: First base; Pitcher
Batting Average: .350
GPA: 3.8
Clubs & Honors: Leadership Team, FFA, Special Ed Mentors, Honors Grad, member of honors classes
Parents: Jackson and Stacy Hobbs
First big play: I was nine years old. I hit my first homerun over the Green Monster in Vidalia.
Most memorable hit: My first varsity hit, a homerun off of Wayne County.
Favorite part of the game: Pitching. I get to control the game.
Favorite player: Derek Jeter
What do you do away from school/practice: Show goats, take care of our farm, help the neighbors with their cattle and hang out with my team.
Hobbs started playing at four years old and continued through high school, where he has had eight homeruns, 57 RBIs, and 34 walks.
All-Region 2012, 2013.
Preseason All-America 2014.
Dayton Beasley
Nickname: Cheeseburger
Position: Catcher
Batting Average: .349
GPA: 4.0
Clubs & Honors: FFA, honor roll
Parents: Lonnie and Sandy Beasley
Most memorable hit: We were playing Wayne County sophomore year in the playoffs, and we were losing 3-0. I came up with the bases loaded and hit a three-run double to tie the game. We ended up winning 6-4.
Favorite part of the game: Doing something that no one thinks you are supposed to be able to do, such as throwing out their fastest player or facing the opponents’ best pitcher and succeeding.
Favorite player: Dan Uggla
The Gators Defensive Player of the Year twice and Hardest Working Player twice,
Beasley had a .987 fielding percentage as a catcher in summer ball. He started high school baseball in Wayne County and moved to Ware County sophomore year.
Ty Bennett
Nickname: Tybee
Positions: Pitcher, First Baseman, Outfielder
Batting Average: .320
GPA: 4.0
Clubs & Honors: WCHS Leadership Class, Chairman of Waycross Bank & Trust Jr. Board, Governor’s Honors Nominee in Biology (sophomore), UGA Certificate of Merit (junior), Lion’s Club Academic Honor Society (junior), AP Scholar, Dual Enrollment SGSC, All-A Honor Roll, Zell Miller Scholarship
Parents: Lamar and Penny Bennett
Favorite player: Lou Gehrig
What do you do away from school/practice: Normally if I’m not hanging out with my team, I’m hunting or fishing. I love to fish almost as much as I love to play baseball, and I could do it every day and not grow tired of it.
Bennett was the Gators JV Pitcher of the Year his freshman season and the Baseball Scholar Athlete following his sophomore and junior years. He has a .490 on-base percentage and a 2.1 ERA as a pitcher. He plans to become a dentist in Waycross.
SE-PS-0414-Ware trio
Player Spotlight/ Southeast / March 2014
Hobbs, Bennett & Beasley Ware County High School Waycross, Ga
By Rob Asbell
Diamond Trio Sparkles for Ware
