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Mcrustmt Pally
The Home Journal’s
SANDLOT
ON DECK
Today
Major League Baseball
■ Milwaukee at Atlanta, 7:35
p.m., Fox Sports Network
BRAVES CORNER
PHILLIES 9, BRAVES 3
ATLANTA - Want a sure-fire
sign of a bad inning - a stomach
churning, pity-evoking inning?
This one’s hard to top: When a
pinch-hitter for the opposing team
comes to the plate twice in the
same frame.
That obviously means the other
club batted around, for one thing.
Secondly and more importantly,
it means it was likely late in the
game.
Check and check in the case of
a woeful seventh Wednesday for
the Atlanta Braves’ bullpen.
Three relievers surrendered
eight runs on six hits and four
walks in the inning to slingshot
a two-run lead into a six-run
deficit in Philadelphia’s 9-3 vic
tory at Turner Field, continuing
the Braves' season of if it’s not
one thing it’s another. Atlanta
dropped to 52-61 with the loss.
A 5 1/2-game deficit in the wild
card standings entering the day
could only worsen by night's end.
The Braves are 23-30 at home
this season, 11-24 at Turner Field
since the end of May.
- By R. Travis Haney
Morris News Service
IN BRIEF
CGSA begins late
registration
Late registration for the Central
Georgia Soccer Association has
begun. It is open to children ages
4-19. Online registration can be
found at www.gasoccer.org/cgsa
or those interested can go by their
office during the hours of 11 a.m.-
3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Contact CGSA Association
Administrator Bette Dillon, at
478-987-2455 or email her at
playcgsa@alltel.net for further
information.
Landings sets dates for
Linkup2golf program
The Landings golf course will
be holding its Linkup2golf pro
gram for new and re-newing golf
ers now-Aug. 31.
The group will meet Tuesdays
and Thursdays 9:30-10:30 a.m.
for early classes and 5:30-6:30
p.m. for evening classes. The cost
is $129 which includes clubs. Call
Bill Goggin at 923-5222. Or e-mail
him at Bill@goggingolf.com.
Rec volleyball signups
set; cheerleaders needed
The Warner Robins Recreation
Department will begin registra
tion for volleyball Monday. It will
run from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., and is
open to girls and boys 13-18.
The age control date is Aug.
31. A birth certificate is required
upon registration unless it is cur
rently on file. Participants must
also have the required fee at the
time of registration.
Registration fees are as fol
lows: $25 for city of Warner
Robins residents, SSO for coun
ty residents and SBS for out of
county residents. Call 929-1916
for more information.
Jim Herrin Memorial
Stampede set
The 2006 Jim Herrin Memorial
Stampede takes place Saturday.
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.
Warner Robins chamber
to hold Playday Classic
The Warner Robins Chamber
of Commerce will hold the
Playday Classic 2006 Sept.
14, at The Landings Golf Club.
Registration deadline is Sept. 7.
Tee times available at 8 a.m.
and 1:30 p.m.
The registration fee of SBS
includes greens fees, a cart,
breakfast or lunch and admis
sion to the Celebration & Food
Festival. Prizes include a set
of tires, a Nissan truck from
Jeff Smith Nissan, a SIO,OOO
CD from Sun Mark Bank and a
Rolex watch from Satterfield &
Dempsey Jewelers. For informa
tion, call 328-7745.
FRIDAY,
AUGUST 11, 2006
Perry to gauge progress by success
SEASON
PREVIEW
PERRY
By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
Two years is not
enough time in the
life of a high school
athletic program to start
thinking about state cham
pionships.
Those involved with the
second-year Perry High vol
leyball program are aware of
that, but they are also aware
that just to play in the state
tournament is a matter of
finishing fourth in its area.
For now, head coach Brett
Hardy is simply thinking of
ways to generate interest
in the sport at the school’s
campus and in the commu
nity.
He is aware that volleyball
players are not made once
they become high school
freshmen, but when they are
exposed to the game in their
youth.
Sounds like the same for-
Tourney
By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
What better way to pre
pare a team for a possible
state tournament run than
to open the season in a tour
nament loaded with state
title contenders?
Westfield’s softball
V -s£?•'' " 1 " vV
Freedom Park
Tourney
Saturday:
Westfield versus
John Milledge,
12:45 p.m.;
Hornets vs.
Stratford, time to
be determined
begins Saturday with two
pool games. The third
pool game is Monday, and
depending on how Westfield
fares in those three games,
the elimination tournament
begins Tuesday and con
cludes Thursday.
The Hornets drew the best
possible opponent for its
first pool game (12:45 p.m.
Saturday) in defending state
champion John Milledge.
The following game
on Saturday is against
Stratford. The opposition on
Monday comes from First
Presbyterian Day.
“It’s a great tournament,”
said Westfield head coach
Rodney Culverhouse. “It lets
you know right up front who
you have. John Milledge will
be there. George Walton will
be there. Tattnall’s there.
“You have all the one’s
who could be in that last
day of play. So you see real
quick how you fare against
them.”
Regardless of how the
Hornets finish at Freedom
Park, the new 2006 season
will continue with more
games against those top
state contenders like John
Milledge, George Walton
and Tattnall Square. The
championship foremost
on Westfield’s mind is the
Region 3-AAA crown the
school won last year.
In 2005, with a roster
filled with five seniors, the
Hornets placed fourth at
Freedom Park. This year’s
team has just one senior,
and Culverhouse will lean
on _the sophomore pitching
arm of Kelsey Gilliam. She
was a six-game winner and
All-Region player.
mula that makes good base
ball, softball and even foot
ball players.
“I think we can put six
players on the floor who
will compete real hard and
know what’s going on a little
better than last year,” said
Hardy after going through
a practice with his nine
Panthers Wednesday. “I just
want us to be successful
every match. If that turns
into wins and fourth in the
area, or seventh in the area,
I want us to be the best we
can be.
“The big thing is having
some success and not step
ping on the floor and getting
drilled every time we play.
That didn’t happen last year,
but we know our volleyball
program and someone up
around Atlanta, that’s just
two different animals.”
It has been Hardy’s task
since Perry added volley
ball as a fall sport for girls
in 2005 to basically build a
team from scratch.
There is no middle school
volleyball, nor is there a
youth program at the recre
ation level.
See SUCCESS,page iB
■arks Westfield opener
..." ■ ■«*. ■.
ENI/Gary Harmon
Shortstop Hanna Jones prepares to throw to first while taking infield practice
Wednesday.
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ENI/Gary Har'nion
Coach Rodney Culverhouse watches as Audrey Clearman runs the bases.
Hornets are
doing just
that with a
GISA sea
son-open-
ing event
called
Freedom
Park at
a place
in Macon
called
Freedom
Park.
All the
action
Sports
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ENI/Gary Harmon
Mary Beth Fall returns a serve during the Lady Panthers' volleyball practice Wednesday
at the school.
BECTION
B
NS should
lave no pity
on opponents
To Northside detrac
tors who insist the
school should have
moved up in classification
along with Warner Robins, I
say, “Why?”
To me, that’s like George
Bush say
ing, “Let’s
go kick
some Iraqi
booty.” We
see how
that turned
out.
In two
years,
Northside
will prob
ably be
forced into
Joe Sersey
HDJ Correspondent
“From Left Field”
eleanflPicß@an.net
quint A, but until then, the
school has an opportunity to
make like the Mongol horde
and pillage its quad A sub
division.
Only fools rush into wars
they don’t have to fight.
Northside still has to play
Warner Robins and Houston
County. That’s enough
to keep the traditionalists
happy. Those rivalries bring
me a lot of joy.
If I were Warner Robins,
I’d be honing whatever
sharp implements I’d need
for the coming Region 1-
AAAAA fight.
Look at their new oppo
nents.
Lowndes is a perennial
playoff contender that fields
sides of beef Warner Robins’
offensive and defensive lines
have not had to face.
Valdosta and Tift aren’t
going to be awed by the
Demons past in its lower
classification. More like
ly, the six other teams in
Warner Robins’ new region
are licking the chops because
they think dinner is served.
Just ask Houston County,
who has been battling Tift,
Colquitt, Coffee, Lowndes
and Valdosta the past two
seasons.
Quick doesn’t always
See SERSEY, page iB
"Only fools rush
into wars they
don't have to
fight."