Three Lee County baseball players sign

LEESBURG — At a small table in the Lee County High School cafeteria, friends and family asked Landon Cooper for just one more photo. Before Cooper and a pair of teammates signed college scholarships Monday night, Coooper had grew tired of all the photo snapping.

The Lee shortstop signed with Columbus State, while pitchers Tyler Goff and Andrew Wingate signed with Andrew College.

“This has always been a dream … I’ve dreamed of this my whole life,” said the three year starter. “This is a dream come true.”

It will be hard to imagine a Lee County infield that won’t include Cooper. The shortstop has been a defensive specialist and a catalyst on offense as the team’s No. 2 hitter.

“It’s only an hour and a half away,” Cooper said of Division II power Cougars. “That’s not too far. I can deal with that.”

Goff didn’t mind the spotlight and he’s been in it this season. The senior left-hander has started many of the team’s crucial region games on Tuesday nights and become a tough pitcher to hit. He said he liked the idea of attending college with Wingate.

“I put a lot of thought into where I wanted to go and continue my career, and I ended up choosing Andrew,” Goff said. “I was going to be going there by myself, but then Andrew decided to go there too. We’ve played a lot of ball together.”

Goff is expected to play a vital role on the mound when the Trojans open the first round of the Georgia High School Association Class AAAAAA state playoffs Friday against McEachern on Friday.

Wingate has established himself as a confident reliever and been a solid leader out of the bullpen. The lanky pitcher has kept batters off-balanced by mixing his speeds and relied heavily on his defense.

“I took the opportunity to play baseball at Andrew and it’s a blessing,” Wingate said. “Andrew is a good place to start … not too big, not too small. I think I will fit in pretty well with their pitching staff.”

Lee County coach Brandon Brock said the trio will leave a void that will be tough to replace.

“Those guys are a perfect example of guys who have bought into the system,” he said. “They wanted to play and they wouldn’t accept no for an answer. I’m very proud of all of them.”