Luke Cross prefers to go about his day-to-day business without much fanfare, often leaving the spotlight to other members of the Social Circle High School baseball team. Even so, he has made a profound impact on those around him through steady, unassuming leadership.
Selected as one of two team captains—fellow senior Gehrig Knapp was the other—prior to the season, Cross has played a virtually flawless first base, carved out his spot as a productive cleanup hitter and served as a stabilizing force inside a locker room filled with a self-professed motley crew of characters all trying to pull in the same direction.
“I think the biggest thing that makes him a good leader is his ability to address any situation that’s put before him,” Social Circle head coach Kevin Dawkins said. “He has been in so many pressure-packed situations. Nothing really rattles him, so when things aren’t going the best or we’re behind in a game and his teammates look at him and he’s able to stay calm and focused, that helps them stay the same way.”
Cross takes his captaincy to heart.
“We try to make sure everyone is doing their part and taking practice seriously,” he said. “It’s very important to us that we have fun while also doing what we need to do. This group makes it easier for us to lead because of the work everyone wants to put in.”
Proof can be found in the results. The Redskins won 12 of their first 13 games and outscored the opposition by a 118-41 margin while doing so. They overcame a roster-wide flu bug that contributed to their only defeat and slowed their progress to a crawl, cementing themselves as one of the top 1A teams in the state amid considerable adversity. Cross points to chemistry as one of the driving forces behind their fast start. Many of the players who form the team’s core were suiting up together years before they ever reached the varsity level.
“We’ve just been playing baseball with each other for so long,” Cross said. “Most of us have been playing together since we were little and in travel ball. Everyone’s unselfish and wants to pick up their teammates.”
Ranked as high as No. 4 in the state in at least two reputable polls, Social Circle opens play in Region 4-A Division I against Putnam County on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in Eatonton. The three-game series with the War Eagles concludes in a home doubleheader on Friday at 4:30 p.m. Cross and his quiet confidence figure to be in the middle of the action at one point or another, as the senior first baseman has made significant strides in terms of production in 2025. Through 13 games, he leads the team in batting (.471), slugging percentage (.676), on-base plus slugging (1.164), hits (16) and runs batted in (13). Cross has struck out only seven times in 47 plate appearances. He credits his work at The Dugout with longtime hitting instructor Bill Dallas for much of his success.
“Luke has been hitting with me for years,” said Dallas, who has fine-tuned swings for countless high school, college and major league players in his more than 50 years as a coach. “He understood at an early age exactly the way I teach hitting: Keep your body quiet so your head stays still, and go straight to the ball.”
There were signs of what was to come for Cross right out of the gate. In his first at-bat of the season, he lined a ringing double off the left-center field fence—he missed a home run by little more than a foot—as part of a 3-for-3 night in an 8-0 win at Commerce on Feb. 10. He has driven the ball to all fields with authority ever since.
“Luke worked really hard in the offseason on making the minor tweaks that were impacting his ability to hit at a high clip,” Dawkins said. “The one thing that I think has allowed him to take his swing to the next level is his ability to make adjustments mid at-bat. He’s able to diagnose what didn’t feel right in a particular swing and can fix internally whatever it was that went wrong.”
While a loss at Monroe Area on March 6 ended Social Circle’s bid for perfection, all preseason goals remain in place for a tradition-rich program that has made four straight appearances in the Sweet 16, highlighted by a historic Final Four run during Cross’ freshman year in 2022. His senior class has already combined for 85 victories and appears to have a legitimate chance to eclipse the century mark before the dust settles.
“We want a region championship,” Cross said. “That’s something we haven’t done in a while, and we think we have a really good shot at it. We also want to make another deep run in the playoffs. We think we can compete for a state title. This is one of the best teams in the state when we’re playing our best.”
