Athletes Beyond Bartow: Mosby leads Patroons into TBL finals series

ATHLETES BEYOND BARTOW

Cartersville High basketball product A.J. Mosby helped lead the Albany Patroons of The Basketball League to a 121-83 home win Sunday night as his team advanced to the league’s championship series beginning Wednesday at the Shreveport Mavericks.

Also this week in minor league baseball, former Canes Sam Howard, Connor Justus, and Anthony Seigler continued to toil in three different leagues.

PRO BASKETBALL

A.J. MOSBY — Albany Patroons (5th yr. pro; The Basketball League; Alcorn State; Cartersville HS) … led by Mosby’s 36 points, six rebounds, and two assists Monday night, the Albany Patroons won a decisive third game of The Basketball League’s East Regional finals series with the Kokomo Bobcats to advance to the league championship series. The Patroons will open the best-of-three finals on the road Wednesday night at the Shreveport Mavericks with Game 2 (and Game 3 if necessary) in Albany this weekend. In the first two games of the East Regional finals, Mosby scored 26 points in a 123-110 loss last Thursday and added 18 points in a 106-89 win Sunday. The former Alcorn State guard totaled 11 rebounds, 11 assists, and two steals in the first two games of the series. This season, including the playoffs, Mosby is averaging 20.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 4.9 assists per game.

PRO BASEBALL

SAM HOWARD — Toledo Mud Hens (9th yr. pro; Triple-A Detroit Tigers organization; Georgia Southern; Cartersville HS) … worked 1-1/3 inning last Friday and was tagged with a pitching loss in a 2-0 loss to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Howard worked a scoreless sixth inning but was touched for a solo home run in the seventh. The southpaw walked one and struck out two in the appearance. The 29-year-old is 0-2 in 15 MiLB appearances this season with a 3.86 ERA. He has one save and six holds with 20 strikeouts, a 1.43 WHIP, and opponents are batting .196 against him. Toledo (37-33) is 5-1/2 games behind Nashville in the Triple-A International League’s West Division. The Mud Hens host Louisville in a six game series this week.

CONNOR JUSTUS — Charleston (WV) Dirty Birds (7th yr. pro; Independent Atlantic League; Georgia Tech; Cartersville HS) … in a pair of three game series at the Gastonia Honey Hunters and at the Kentucky Genomes, Justus was 3-for-23 at the plate with a double, four walks, two runs scored, and four RBIs. In 42 games this season, the shortstop has a .282 batting average with three home runs and 27 RBIs in 156 official at bats with 17 walks. Defensively, Justus has a .949 fielding percentage in 167 total chances across 354 innings. Charleston (25-34) is now in fourth place in the Independent Atlantic League’s South Division. The Dirty Birds trail division leading Gastonia by 15.5 games. Charleston hosts the High Point Rockers Tuesday through Thursday and the Kentucky Genomes Friday through Sunday.

ANTHONY SEIGLER — Hudson Valley Renegades (5th yr. pro; High Class-A New York Yankees organization; Cartersville HS) … appearing in three games this past week at the Winston-Salem Dash, Seigler was 3-for-9 at the plate including a double, three walks, and two runs scored. He also stole one base. The switch hitting 22-year-old catcher now has a .273 batting average this season with Tampa and Hudson Valley. He has seven homers and 27 RBIs. His on base percentage is .448 with a .480 slugging average. Defensively in 34 starts at catcher, Seigler has a .994 fielding percentage in 347 total chances across 281 innings. Hudson Valley (34-35 overall) finished the first half of the South Atlantic League 34-32 and in third place in the North Division. The Renegades host the Brooklyn Cyclones in a six game series this week after starting the second half schedule 0-3.