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SATURDAY,
MAY 19, 2007
The Home Journal’s
SANDLOT
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CALENDAR
Middle Ga MABL
Today
■ Dodgers at Redsox. 1 p.m.,
Simpson Park
Sunday
■ Angels at Eagles, 1 p.m.,
Georgia Military College
■ Eagles at Lugnuts. 4:30 p.m.
■ Tigers at Cardinals, 4:30 p.m.,
Simpson Park
IN BRIEF
Robins FD to hold MS
golf tournament
The Robins Fire Department
will be hosting a golf tournament
to raise money for the Muscular
Dystrophy Association. It will be
held June 8 at Waterford Golf
Course.
There will be scramble teams
with an entry fee of S2OO/team
(SSO player). It will include lunch at
11:30 and a shotgun start at 1 p.m.
There will be a putting challenge
contest, a raffle for prizes and a
three day two night Savannah trip
for the first place team. Anyone
interested in playing can contact
the fire department at 765-1020.
Perry HS to host youth
football camp
The 2007 Perry Youth Football
Camp will be held June 6-8 from
9 a m.-noon each day.
The fee is S4O, which includes
lunch and an event T-shirt. The
camp will be taught by Perry
head football coach Andy Scott
and his staff and it will held in
Herb St. John Stadium at Perry
HS. The first group will con
sist of children three-fifth grade
and the second will be for sixth
eighth graders. Contact Scott at
988-6319 or 256-8007 for more
information or visit the school at
1307 North Avenue in Perry to
pick up a form. Those interested
are asked to reserve a spot by
June 1.
Lady Bears fast-pitch
camp to be held
The Lady Bears fast-pitch
softball camp, open to everyone
ages 6-10, will be held June 6-8
at Houston County High School.
The cost is $65 per child - S7O
after June 3. It will be held from 9
a.m.-noon each day.
According to a release, skill
development - taught by coaches
and college players - includes:
hitting, bunting, slapping, pitch
ing, infield/outfield fielding, with
special contests that Friday.
Contact Cristi Griffin or
Angela Crawford at 988-6339,
397-2087. 960-9028 or via e
mail at cgriffin@hcbe.net or
alauzon@hcbe.net.
Panthers to hold BBQ
fund-raiser
The Perry Panther Football'
BBQ will be held Friday with
pick up from 4-6 p.m. at the
Panther Pit. The cost is $5 per
ticket, which includes: chicken,
roll, chips and dessert.
Tickets can be purchased
from any football player or call
Tony Holder at 447-8259.
Westfield Schools plans
summer camps
The Westfield Schools has
begun planning for its summer
enrichment and athletic camps.
On tap will be: Fast-pitch soft
ball, tennis, art, drama, Beauty
101, Voyage France, Wing-T
football, Fun 101 and girls and
boys basketball. Dates will range
from May 31-July 12. Contact
Jeff Eubanks, camp director at
jeubanks@westfieldschools.net
or 478-987-8115 for more. Camp
dates and details are available at
www. wests ieldschools. net..
CGSA preparing for
Academy, Select tryouts
Ttye Central Georgia Soccer
Association is gearing up for its
Fall 2007/Spring 2008 tryouts.
Academy Program tryouts will be
June 1-4. Select tryouts will be
June 11-23. Online Registration
has already begun. The website
is: www.gasoccer.org/cgsa. For
those who do not have inter
net access, the office will be
open during normal office hours
Monday-Friday, 3-7 p.m.
fontact CGSA’s Association
Administrator, Paul Brooks,
at 478-987-2455 or email at
playcgsa@alltel.net for more.
Troup wins battle of offenses
Out-guns Perry
in Game 3 18-9
By MA TTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
In a game in which the fifth
inning was a baseball con
test all by itself, Troup High
elitninated the Perry High
Pahthers from the GHSA
Class AAA tournament 18-9
Thursday in LaGrange. It
was an afternoon where one
could say the ball players
were dressed to the “9’s.”
Troup built a 9-0 lead
through the first four
innings, which put them
onte run shy of the 10-run
lead needed to end the game
with an easy fifth inning.
The fifth turned out to be
anything but easy for both
coaches.
In the top of the fifth,
Perry sent 14 batters to the
plate to score nine runs off
of three Troup pitchers. So
not only were the Tigers
not going to get a mercy
rule lead, they wound up not
having the lead at all.
That was until the home
team had its turn at bat in
thfe same inning. This, too,
tufned out to be a nine-run
marathon produced by 13
Troup batters.
Terry coach Shawn
Masters already made two
pitching changes in the first
four innings, but he made
three more in this inning
alone, including giving the
baseball for the first time to
sehior third baseman Robby
Taylor.
The Panthers and Tigers
needed this third game on
Thursday after splitting a
ddubleheader that began
the best-of-3 series on
Wednesday at Troup’s cam
piis field.
Each winning pitcher on
Wednesday, Evan Jones for
Perry and Jordan Beistline
of Troup, took the mound on
Thursday, though Jones had
worked seven full innings the
ddy before while Beistline
orlly had to throw four in a
game that only lasted five.
Perry needed two pitchers
to get through the home first
as Troup scored five runs on
four hits and two walks.
A parting tribute
Perry High and Troup High baseball players shook
hands after a long, hard-fought game in LaGrange
Thursday. All players, coaches and fans then gathered
together to kneel down and say a prayer in remem
brance of the passing of Perry High student Eric
Williams.
As the public address announcer stated the Perry
Panthers played this deciding postseason game with
heavy hearts as Williams was remembered as a strong
supporter of the baseball team. The Panthers drew
large capital E’s on their uniform sleeves to honor
the one they called "Big E,” and the moment drew
applause from the home Troup contingent.
Music open on high note
ByJOESERSEY
Journal Correspondent
The Macon Music literally opened
their season with a bang, starting with
the fireworks after the National Anthem
ahd ending with a fireworks display after
defeating visiting Bradenton, Fla., 6-3.
More than 5,000 fans filled Luther
Williams Stadium to the point that
ohe team official said the fire marshals
Wouldn’t allow anymore people into the
facility.
Those lucky enough to get saw every
thing baseball has to offer from pick offs
to a suicide squeeze, to gap power.
Both teams used five pitchers and five
stibs.
Earlier in the week, Music manager
Phil Plantier said his team would rely
on speed. Macon was up 4-2 after four
ihnings on just two hits.
“Early in the season, the pitchers are
ahead of the hitters,” Plantier said. “We
have to focus on manufacturing runs.”
The Music drew first blood when game
Sports
I ■ WK
ENI Gary Harmon
Perry first baseman Sullivan de Yampert stretches for the throw to nip a Troup runner Thursday, in the two teams’
AAA state playoff Game 3 in LaGrange.
Lawrence Jackson had
a first-pitch single with
one out, stole second base
and scored as Drew Dukes
reached for a high delivery
and nailed an opposite-field
double.
Luke Bailey produced two
runs with a single to left,
and Dustin Ward followed a
walk with a two-run double
to the left-center gap.
Panther sophomore left
hander Perry Kiser, a win
ning pitcher in the first
round series at Crisp County,
got his team out of the first
by making two assists on
Troup bunts. He also retired
the side in order in the sec
ond with two strikeouts and
used a strikeout to escape a
bases-loaded jam in the third
with the score still 5-0.
The Tigers got their
offense back in gear in the
fourth with four runs scor
ing with two outs on the
most valuable player Lafyette Brown
reached on an error. Starting pitcher
Damian Moss laid down a sacrifice bunt
and Brown took advantage of Bradenton’s
inattention and raced to third.
In an unusual move, Bradenton played
the infield in with one out and a runner
on third even though the game was only
in the third inning.
The Juice infield hoped to stop Brown
from scoring, but a high chopper to sec
ond off the bat of Carlos Arroyo stifled
that hope as Brown scored.
Moss pitched three innings and left
with a 1-0 lead.
“We had him on a pitch count, ” Plantier
said of Moss’s early departure.
The Bradenton Juice took advantage
of the change of pitchers to push two
runs across in the top of the fourth off of
Drew Shetrone.
Juice third baseman John Clark drew
a one-out walk and scored on Zach
Woodward’s double.
See MUSIC, page ioB
board. The hosts had two
in scoring position on two
walks and two stolen bases
when Scott Phillips singled
both in. Ward hit his second
double for his third RBI, and
pitcher Blake Barber drove
him home (9-0).
Jones was back on the
mound and this point and
... -s "
2" .. ’ , * * v
Perry catcher Jeff Stewart waits for the throw at home as a Troup runner slides in
safely. Providing backup at left is Robby Taylor who came in in relief on the mound.
kept it a nine-run game with
a strikeout.
Barber, meanwhile, was
cruising through four shut
out innings with six strike
outs, one walk and two hits
allowed. Perry catcher Jeff
Stewart made it three hits
and took away the shutout
as he led off the top of the
Ayer, Myers pitch way
to first at Hull tourney
By DON MONCRIEF
Journal Sports Editor
Poor Dane Clark.
He leads the Perry Horseshoe
Pitcher’s Club’s Monday league
standings. He’s tied for the
lead for the Thursday league
standings.
But get him in a tournament
and ... well, it isn’t too pretty.
“He gets excited,” poked
Buddy Ayer, also of the club.
That would explain the 1-4
finish for the state’s publicity
director in the Hull Open at
Hull May 12.
Clark ended up last in the B
Class but fellow club member
Larry Myers was first in the
same division. He finished 3-2,
as did three other pitchers, but
won via ringer percentage. His
PAGE 8A
fifth with a home run.
The first out of the inning
lit up next, but Troup would
not see another out for what
must have seemed like an
eternity. That’s because
Stephen Calhoun, Kiser and
Phillip Vance had three sin
gles in a row for another
See BA TTLE, page ioB
ENI/Gary Harmon
AYER
was 45.50. The next closest to
that was 37.50. Clark’s was 31.
He tossed 62 ringers out of 200
and Myers hit 91 out of 200.
As far as Ayer, he may be
becoming his own worst enemy.
Yes, he won his class for the
second straight tournament
but at the same time, in doing
so, he said he’s been watching
See TOURNEY, page 9B
MYERS