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The Home Journal’s
SANPLOT
ON DECK
Today
Major League Baseball
■ Atlanta at St. Louis, 8:10
p.m., Turner South
BRAVES CORNER
Braves 10, Padres 5
SAN DIEGO (AP) - No
record was safe from Chipper
Jones and the Atlanta Braves,
who made spacious Petco
Park play like a bandbox.
Jones hit a two-run homer
Sunday to give him an extra
base hit in 14 straight games,
tying a 79-year-old big league
record, and the Braves
roughed up Jake Peavy dur
ing a wild 10-5 win that gave
them a three-game sweep
of the NL West-leading San
Diego Padres.
On a day when both man
agers, a bench coach and
a player were ejected for
arguing balls and strikes, the
Braves won their season-high
fifth straight game, and for the
ninth time in 11 games.
Whiie the Braves tore apart
the Petco Park record book,
Jones hit a 424-foot, two-run
homer in the fourth to tie the
record of 14 straight games
with an extra-base hit set in
1927 by Pittsburgh’s Paul
Waner.
It was Jones’ third homer of
the series and 14th this year.
He hit two in Friday night’s
15-12,11-inning win.
Brian McCann also hom
ered Sunday for the Braves,
giving them 11 in the series -
a Petco record for one team.
The 16 total homers were also
a Petco record, eclipsing the
14 hit by the Mariners and
Padres June 23-25.
The Braves scored 36 runs
- a ballpark mark - on 43 hits
in the series, including nine
doubles. The teams combined
for 56 runs - also a Petco
record - on 82 hits.
Chuck James (4-0) allowed
five runs and six hits in five
innings, struck out three and
walked one.
IN BRIEF
Soccer association preps
for its Fall session
The Central Georgia Soccer
Association is gearing up
for its Fall session. All chil
dren ages 4-19 are invited to
join. Online Registration has
already begun. The website is:
www.gasoccer.org/cgsa.
For those who don’t have
internet access, the office will
be open July 28 from 4-8 p.m.,
July 29 from 9 a.m.-noon and
July 31 from 4-8 p.m., for reg
istration.
In addition you can come by
and register during their normal
office hours Monday through
Friday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Registration closes July 31.
Contact CGSA's Association
Administrator, Bette Dillon,
at 987-2455 or email her. at
playcgsa@alltel.net for further
information.
WR Rec Department sets
softball signup dates
The Warner Robins
Recreation 'Department will
hold team registration for the
2006 Fall Softball League,
Aug. 7 and 8.
Teams may register between
the hours of 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
at the department, which is
located at 800 Watson Blvd.
They will register the first 28
coed teams and the first 21
men’s teams. League play will
be Monday through Thursday
for a 12-game season.
The entry fee is $348 per
team. The fall season will
open Sept. 5. They will play
all games at Peavy Park.
Participants must be 16 years
of age by Sept. 1.
TUESDAY,
JULY 18, 2006
Warriors beat Renegades for first win
From staff reports
Having gotten off to a
rocky start last week, the
International City Warriors
Warriors 20,
Renegades 7
Georgia Renegades.
The 20-7 win takes the
Warriors to 1-1 for the sea
son and 1-1 on the road.
Head coach Darrell
McNeil attributed this win
to a team refusing to loose
Tigers
By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
Andrew Meredith gave up
five runs total in the first
and ninth innings Sunday,
but in-between pitched
seven shutout innings and
got 15 runs of support from
his Tigers teammates.
The Tigers, the fourth
seeded team in the Middle
Georgia Baseball League’s
2006 season, reached the
championship round by
beating the second-place
Red Sox 15-5 at the Bibb
County Sports Complex.
It’s the Tigers against
either the Red Sox or Eagles
this coming Saturday in the
start of a best-of-3 series at
the Bibb Complex to deter
mine the Rosenberg Series
champion.
When the Rosenberg
Series began last Wednesday,
the top four seeded teams
advanced in the winner’s
bracket.
The first-place team and
defending Middle Georgia
League champions, the
Nationals, became the first
upset victim Saturday as
the Tigers came back from
a six-run late deficit to win
14-11.
On Sunday, the third-place
Eagles, which lost to the
Red Sox Saturday, opened
play in Macon by eliminat
ing the Nationals 8-6.
The Tigers and Red Sox
put the Series’ only unbeat
en records on the line next.
It was the Tigers, as the vis
iting team, making a major
statement in the first inning
scoring four runs with two
outs and the bases empty.
The Red Sox actually made
the first top play of the
game with second baseman
Chris Wilson starting a 4-6-
3 double play.
Troy Varnadoe started a
four-hit day with a two-out
single and Scott Simpson
started a three-hit day with
another single. Both run
ners stole bases on a double
steal, and both scored as the
Red Sox had two errors on
one play.
Alex Blain, one of two
recent Houston County
High School graduates on
the Tiger roster, doubled to
left to score a run. Jason
Varnadoe followed a wild
pitch by beating out an
infield hit to make it 4-0.
The Red Sox countered
with a three-run home first,
giving spectators the idea
they were in for a slugfest to
go with the heat and threat
ening skies in the middle of
the afternoon. Wilson led
off his team’s turn with a
hit, and left-handed bat
ting Tommy Joyce crushed
a home run to right.
Keith Barker doubled and
scored on two wild pitch
es to make it a 4-3 game.
That would be the closest
the Red Sox got the rest of
the game. Meredith allowed
two mpre runners to get on
base in the first, but retired
three in a row to preserve
the win.
as well as the proficiency of
the Warriors’ coaching staff.
After putting up a good
fight, the Renegades’ record
falls to 0-3 in the Southern
Football League’s American
West Conference.
The Warrior defense
was clicking as Defrance
Leary challenged them to
match his seven tackles for
the night: Rookie Seanon
Dinkins, a graduate of
Warner Robins High, rose to
the occasion with six tackles
followed by veteran Maurice
Releford with four solo
hits. Releford also forced
a fumble and helped the
Warriors regain possession.
emerged
as con
querors in
Saturday’s
semi-pro
football
action
against
the West
secure finals berth
?!
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| Mr J
ENI/Gary Harmon
Ty Whitaker of the Red Sox sneaks in safe at second on a double play attempt by the
Tigers’ Troy Varnadoe in the two teams’ Middle Georgia Baseball League playoff game
Sunday in Macon. Varnadoe was able to get the runner at first, while the Tigers went
on to win 14-11.
f ~ v\ * **
r
ENI/Gary Harmon
The Tigers’ Scott Simspson slides in safe at third after hitting a triple.
That would also start
a string of 11 outs in a
row for Meredith. Jeremy
Waldrep ended that streak
with an infield hit in the
Sports
Southern Football League Standings
American Division
W L T Pet Home Road PF PFAvg. PA
South Georgia Stars 3 0 0 1.000 0-0-0 3-0-0 67 22.33 31
Gadsden Avengers 2 1 0 .667 2-1-0 0-0-0 66 22.00 47
International City Warriors 1 1 0 .500 0-0-0 1-1-0 28 14.00 27
Phenix City Falcons 1 1 0 .500 1-1-0 0-0-0 12 6.00 12
West Georgia Renegades 0 3 0 .000 0-2-0 0-1-0 10 3.33 53
Pulaski County High gradu
ate (2002) Maurice McGriff
intercepted a Renegade pass
and added 15 yards to the
team’s drive.
Former Middle Georgia
Stallion Donte Holmes
picked of a Renegade pass
in the third quarter, ran it
home fourth. From the fifth
to the eighth, the Red Sox
had four baserunners. In
the home fifth, Blain, play
ing first base, started a 3-6-
back for a touchdown, but
the referees called the ball
back on a flag. The Warriors
maintained possession,
and quarterback Sheddrick
Risper scored his first rush
ing touchdown of the sea
son. The former Macon
Knight threw 10-for-12 for
3 double play.
After scoring the four
unearned runs in the top
of the first, the Tigers
See TIGERS, page 3B
BECTION
1B
196 yards and one 30-yard
touchdown pass to younger
brother Prentice Risper.
International City receiver
coach Jeff Ridley suited up
and pulled down four recep
tions for 86 yards. Gregory
Howard added 16 yards
See WIN, page 3B
’O6 Braves
are still a
.500 club
The Atlanta Braves
are 8-3 for the
month of July and
are now seven games under
five hundred.
I ’ m
rooting
for them
to win
because I
said they
would fin
ish the
year even.
The
Braves
have
played 91
games and
are 42-49,
12 games
behind
Joe Sersey
HHJ Correspondent
pwrjmrrig ■<
the New York Mets.
I still say Atlanta will fin
ish at 82-82 and should call
themselves lucky to do so.
Let’s start with pitching.
John Thomson is ailing,
Mike Hampton is dreaming
of next season and Jorge
Sosa is a no-show on the
mound. The’ only bright
spot is Oscar Villarreal with
his 8-1, and that is from the
bullpen.
The team ranks ninth in
earned run average at 4.73.
That’s almost a full run
worse than 2005.
Smoltz is almost 40 and
hasn’t made it through a full
season in four years.
The bullpen has recorded
20 saves and John Schuerholz
has gone through 21 pitch
ers this season.
The Braves pitching staff
ranks 13th in opposing
teams’ batting averages at
.276.
The New York Mets are
second in the league at .252
and have the best team ERA,
4.00.
At the plate, Atlanta shows
some pop.
Brian McCann leads the
team with a .343 average
but doesn’t have enough
See BRAVES, page 3B
Locals come
up short at
championship
Special to the HDJ
ROME - Things went from
good - or better - to bad for
Ben Kishigian at the Georgia
State Golf Association’s 85th
Annual Georgia Amateur
Championship, which took
place Thursday-Sunday at
Coosa Country Club.
Following the first day of
shooting, the Warner Robins
native and former high
school standout was tied for
eight after shooting a 69.
The leader at that time
- Bill Brown of Dublin
eventually won the tourna
ment - was Ryan Zebeau
See SHORT, page 68