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TUESDAY,
JULY 25, 2006
The Home Journal’s
SANPLOT
ON DECK
Today
Major League Baseball
■ Florida at Atlanta, 7:35
p.m., TBS
BRAVES CORNER
BRAVES 5, PHILLIES 1
PHILADELPHIA - Playing
every day without the Joneses,
Chipper and Andruw, in the line
up? Not something the Braves
would welcome, certainly. Bobby
Cox might tender his resignation
effective immediately.
But Atlanta got away with it
here Sunday night. A good thing,
since the team might have to do it
again tonight.
With their two best hitters on
the bench nursing minor injuries,
the Braves scored four runs in
the ninth off two of Philadelphia’s
toughest pitchers for a 5-1 victory
against the Phillies at Citizens
Bank Park.
In the ninth, Edgar Renteria’s
double off tiring Phillies starter
Brett Myers scored Marcus Giles
from first to break a 1 -1 stalemate.
The shortstop's ultimate game
winning hit came after he twice
failed to put down a bunt to move
Giles along to second and into
scoring position.
Renteria had homered off
Myers (6-4) in the fourth, his sec
ond of the series and 11th of the
year, to tie the game.
Two batters after Renteria’s
double, Jeff Francoeur hit his sec
ond home run of the series to seal
the game.
With a four-run lead, new clos
er Bob Wickman wasn’t in line for
his first save, but he did make his
Braves debut in the ninth. And the
37-year-old owner of 229 career
saves got a strikeout and two
groundouts in a perfect inning.
Although he wasn’t involved
in the decision - lefty Macay
Mcßride (2-1) picked up the win
with a scoreless eighth - Horacio
Ramirez deserved plenty of credit
for the Braves’ victory.
Ramirez had his best start since
June 27, when he didn’t allow an
earned run in eight innings in a
win at Yankee Stadium. He gave
up just a run in seven innings
Sunday.
- R. Travis Haney
Morris News Service
IN BRIEF
Soccer association preps
for its Fall session
The Central Georgia Soccer
Association is gearing up for its
Fall session. All children 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 inter
net access, the office will be open
Friday from 4-8 p.m., Saturday
from 9 a.m.-noon and Monday
31 from 4-8 p.m., for registration.
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 Monday. Contact CGSA’s
Association Administrator, Bette
Dillon, at 987-2455 or email her at
playcgsa@alltel.net for more.
Jim Herrin Memorial
Stampede set
The 2006 Jim Herrin Memorial
Stampede takes place Aug. 12.
The 5K and 10K runs start at
7:30 a.m., and the 1 Mile Fun
Run starts 8:15 at the Galleria
Mall in Centerville.
Entry fees are sls postmarked
on or before Aug. 7, $lO for par
ticipants 19 and younger (any
time), $lB for race day registra
tion from 6:15-7:15, and $lO for
the one-mile fun (un (any time).
There are awards for overall top
three male and female finish
ers in 5K and 10K, overall top
male and female masters in 5K
and 10K, top three finishers in
the following 5K and 10K age
categories: 9 and under, 10-14,
15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-
39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59,
60-64, 65-69, 70-plus, and over
all top male and female runner in
the 1 Mile Fun Run
See robinspacers.org for
additional race information and
results.
Warriors pick up weather-shortened win
Special to the Journal
The International Warriors
took to the field Saturday
night in Macon, according
Co-owner/
General
Manager
James
Hamp,
“hungry
for a win”
against
the 2005
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Warriors 7, South
Georgia Stars 0
Southern Football League
Defending Champions, the
South Georgia Stars from
Americus.
And, they got it, 7-0,
despite an attempt by
Mother Nature to take it
away.
The two teams, Hamp
said, began play in a light
drizzle and lightning in the
distant skies.
As play grew fierce, he
said, the teams taunted each
other in hopes of getting the
opposing team to abandon
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Journal/Don Moncnef
Tigers runner Mark Irwin scores on a passed ball as Eagles pitcher Eddie Sasser leaps to avoid him. The play was part
of action in the two teams’ Middle Georgia Baseball League championship series Sunday in Macon.
Eagles draw first blood
Tigers rally in nightcap to set up championship showdown
By DON MONCRIEF
Journal Sports Editor
First Eddie Sasser showed
off his bat, then his arm.
Sasser, of the Eagles, won
the Middle
Georgia
Baseball
League’s
home run
derby. That
was Friday
at the Bibb
County Sports
Complex.
Sunday he
led the team
<s,
Rosenberg
Championship
Series
Eagles 13,
Tigers 11
on the mound and past the
Tigers 13-11 in the first
game of a best-of-three for
the league championship.
The Tigers rebounded in
the late nightcap (no score
was reported but look for
details in Wednesday’s
Journal) to set up a show
down Monday (results pend
ing on that, too).
The two teams.were slated
to play the first game of the
series Saturday but that was
rained out.
For a long time Sunday
it looked as if it would be
an easy win for Sasser and
company.
The Tigers took a 1-0 lead
in the bottom of the first
when Mark Irwin of Houston
County High School fame
Sports
their game.
“The rain began to pour,
the grass became puddles,
the sky darkened and light
ning arched across the sky
at random,” Hamp said.
But, with about four and
a half minutes to play in
the first quarter, defensive
line backer, DeFrance Leary
forced a fumble by the South
Georgia Stars.
Teammate, J.J. Thomas,
recovered it and trudged 28
yards for a touchdown.
Javon “Kick” Tyler, for
mer Middle Georgia Stallion
and rated one of the best
kickers in the league, then
took to the field and effort
lessly punched in the extra
point making the score 7-0.
“The weather was the
primary factor of quite a
few turnovers,” said Hamp.
“Tackles became slides
and the balls were con
stantly wiped down in an
See WIN, page 6B
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Journal Don Moncrief
Tigers starter Nick Shelton delivers to the plate against Eagles leadoff hitter Ted
Jones.
delivered an infield single
and then came around to
score when the next hit
ter, Troy Varnadoe, hit a
grounder to short that was
thrown away - ending up in
the vicinity of right field.
Eagles left fielder William
Alexander kept that from
being more of a lead in the
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Warrior defenders bring down a South Georgia player during their game Saturday in
Macon.
second when he gunned
down Lance Portivent for
the third out. Potivent had
reached on a fielder’s choice
and moved to spcond on a
walk, then tried to score on
Michah Smith’s single.
The Tigers’ lead evapo
rated in the third when the
Eagles - aided by a pair of
singles, a walk and three
errors - scored four.
Scott Simpson cut it to 4-
3 in the bottom half of the
inning on a two-run home
run that cleared the 320-foot
mark in left but the Eagles
then added six more in the
fourth.
Chad Melvin, the No.
8 hitter, and Sam Lilley
See FIRST, page 3B
SECTION
1B
Locals to
contend
in Atlanta
Special to the Journal
Ben Kishigian and Chris
Wolfe of Warner Robins
and Jon Kennedy of
Hawkinsville are among
those listed to contend In
a U.S. Amateur Sectional
Qualifier through today
- with Monday added in -
at the Piedmont Driving
Club in Atlanta.
The total field listed is
144. They are slated to
compete over 36 holes for
six qualifying spots and
two alternate positions in
the 106th U.S. Amateur
Championship. That is
scheduled to be held at
Hazeltine National Golf
Club in Chaska, Minn.,
Aug. 21-27.
The U.S. Amateur is one
of 13 national champion
ships conducted annually
by the United States Golf
Association.
Entries were open to
amateur golfers who have
USGA Handicap Indexes
not exceeding 2.4.
After 18 holes, the field
for the event Kishigian,
Wolfe and Kennedy will
be competing at will be
cut to the low 30 percent
and ties, as well as any
one within eight strokes
of the lowest score.
A second U.S. Amateur
qualifier will take
See LOCALS, page 3B
Gibbs, Clark
finish 1,2
Special to the Journal
“I think our Perry
Horseshoe Pitchers Club
is experiencing Ground
Hog Day in Mid-July.” So
said Dane Clark of the
organization, who added:
“Our horseshoe pitching
tournament adventure”
went to Jasper this week
end to compete.
Clark was one of thosS
competitors. Mary Ann
Gibbs was the other.
Both competed in Class
B and both finished quite
well.
Gibbs was first. She
posted a 5-0 record, aver
aging a 52 percent ringer
percentage.
Clark was second fin
ishing 4-1 and posting
a 39 percent ringer per
centage.
“It was another
great showing for our
local Perry Horseshoe
Pitcher’s Club,” he said
of the effort.