Cash, Armour make Lakeview history

GAINESVILLE -- Lakeview Academy baseball coach and athletic director Deuce Roark always knew that Ralston Cash and Brett Armour were special talents.

This week, he has the papers to prove it.

Cash and Armour became future Division I baseball players on Wednesday, signing letters of intent with the University of Georgia and Wake Forest, respectively, and doing what no other Lions athlete has done.

"They're the first two Lakeview athletes to sign Division I scholarships," Roark said. "I hope this says that even though we're a small Class A school, we can offer a lot to kids, both through competition and through the ability to take their game to the highest levels."

Cash, a senior who posted a 9-0 record as a pitcher last season, will head to Athens next fall. He was voted Region 8-A's Pitcher of the Year in 2009, finishing with a 0.971 ERA and 83 strikeouts. On offense he batted .466 for the season with nine home runs and 48 RBIs.

"He's right at the top of some of the best baseball players I've been around," Roark said. "I think he was just most comfortable at Georgia, and he'd been wanting to go there for a while."

Armour, a hard-hitting catcher, will follow a little different path, as he is already playing junior college baseball at Young Harris (the team and school are in the midst of their switch to a four-year program). He will play this season in Hiawassee and head to Winston-Salem next fall.

Armour was voted 8-A Player of the Year in 2009, batting .455 with 16 home runs and 55 RBIs.

"The funny thing is that they both grew up playing rec league ball together in Habersham County, and now it's kind of come full circle," Roark said.