The South Paulding Spartans pushed No. 1 seed Lambert to the limit over the weekend before bowing out of the Georgia High School Association AAAA baseball playoffs with a 5-4 Game 3 loss Saturday.

South Paulding, the No. 4 seed out of Region 5-AAAA, had to play all three games in Forsyth County against the top seed from Region 7-AAAA. The host Longhorns won the first game Friday, 9-6, but the Spartans stayed alive by taking the second game that night, 9-5.

Senior shortstop Marquise Vialet closed his South Paulding career with three home runs in the series, reported Dallas-Hiram Patch Facebook friend Denise Heath, and senior first baseman James McKnight and junior catcher Alex Cannon also homered.

In track and field action, North Paulding got some notice at the GHSA state championships in Jefferson, thanks to senior high-jumper Joey Eliezer.

Eliezer finished second in the AAAA state meet with a jump of 6 feet, 4 inches, equaling the leap of the champion, Michael Hamilton of Effingham County.

Eliezer's jump earned North Paulding eight points, the only points the Wolfpack scored but enough for a tie for 19th in the team standings.