The cold weather lately may not indicate it, but baseball season is close.
Both the Bryan County and Richmond Hill teams are set for their openers. Bryan County opens its regular season at 6 p.m. Monday by hosting Johnson. According to MaxPreps.com, Richmond Hill starts its 2016 campaign next Thursday against Woodstock at Armstrong State.

Four starters return for the Redskins, who went 11-12 last season: catcher Nathan Leggett, second baseman Gage Hagen, shortstop-third baseman Caleb Johns and pitcher-first baseman Dawson Brown.
Some key transfers are new to the program. Infielder A.J. Wiley, who recently signed with East Georgia State College, comes to the team this season, along with outfielders-middle infielders Dylan Wiley and Hunter Jackson.

Head coach Jason Roundtree said the players are swinging the bats well so far in preseason.
“Offensively, we look a lot better than last year,” Roundtree said.
He said defense remains the team’s strength going into this season and promises to improve on last season’s efforts.

Among Region 2-AA competition, Bacon County, last season’s No. 2 team in the region, has several starters back, and Benedictine promises to have another strong squad.

Richmond Hill, which went 18-7 last season, has won at least a share of the Region 3-AAAAA title for three straight seasons. More on the Wildcats’ season preview will appear in a future edition of the News.