Newspaper Page Text
♦ WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2008
4B
SANDLOT
"The down and dirty"
IN BRIEF
WR rec to sign up for
football, cheerleading
The Warner Robins
Recreation Department will
begin registration for the
2008 youth football/cheer
leading program beginning
Saturday from 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
Registration will continue
Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-5
p.m. until leagues are filled.
These programs are for boys
and girls ages 5- 12.
A birth certificate is required
upon registration unless it is
currently on file. Registration
fees are as follows: Football:
SSO (city), $lO3 (county) and
$177 (out of county); cheer
leading: $75 (city), SIOO
(county), $l2O (out of county).
For more information, call
929-1916.
WR continues annual
cross country series
Warner Robins High School
is in the midst of its eighth
Annual Middle Georgia Cross
Country Summer Series. As
per the norm, it will be held
at Pearl Stephens Elementary
School in Warner Robins.
One race has already been
held. The rest are as follows:
Thursday - 4,000 meters and
July 17 - 5,000 meters. Each
race is slated to start at 7:30
p.m. and Erpelding said there
would be awards in the follow
ing categories for the top five
in each age group male and
female: 14 and under, 15-19
and 20 and over. The entry fee
is $7. Registration is the day of
the race.
Contact David Erpelding
at 478-328-3208 or
Erpelding@bellsouth.net for
more.
Annual Ron Stafford
golf tournament set
The 27th Annual Ron
Stafford Memorial golf tourna
ment will be held at Houston
Lake Country Club July 19
and 20. The cost is S2BO per
team. Teams will be flighted
by handicap. The entry dead
line is July 16. For further
information, call the Pro Sho
at 218-5252.
Perry Rec Department
sets registration dates
The Perry Recreation
Department will be holding
registration for football, fall
soccer and cheerleading now
through July 18 at Rozar Park
in Perry.
For more information, call
988-2860.
WRHS Cheer Booster
Club sets golf tourney
The Warner Robins High
School Cheer Booster Club
will be hosting its sixth annu
al golf tournament Aug. 2 at
International City Golf Course.
The format is four-person
scramble - you can choose
your own team. The cost is
SSO per person, which includes
lunch, green fee, cart and
more. Prizes will be awarded
for first, second third and the
last place teams. Prizes also
include SIO,OOO for a hole in
one, as well as other hole in
one prizes. And, according to
a release, there will also be an
opportunity for a special prize
of $250,000.
For details, call Kelly Segars
at 213-1199 or contact her via
e-mail at ksegars@hcbe.net.
WRHS Cheer Booster
Club sets golf tourney
The Landings will be hold
ing a golf clinic for new golfers,
renewing golfers and those
not breaking 100 yet July 21-
23, from 5:30-7 p.m. It will
feature instruction on putting,
chipping and more. The cost
is $65 for Landings members,
$75 for non-members.
Also, the Landings will be
holding a junior two person
scramble Saturday. No sign up
is required. It will feature nine
holes on Bluff Nine. Those 12
and up should show up at 8
a.m., 10-11 at 8:15 a.m. and
ages 7-9, 8:30 a.m. The cost
is $5 for members, $lO for
non-members. Ages 11-plus
will walk, Ages 7-10 will have
chaperones and golf cars.
For more, contact PGA
Professional Bill Goggin at
923-5222, Ext. 4 or via e
mail at bill@goggingolf.com.
Or visit www.goggingolf.com/
news.
WRALL Majors earn District V title
By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
Behind a complete game
and eight strikeouts from
Payton Purvis, Warner
Robins American Little
League won another Georgia
District V tournament cham
pionship 6-1 against Vine-
Ingle Little League Saturday
at Freedom Park - the home
of Vine-Ingle - in Macon.
And Purvis, with six
home runs in three previous
District tournament games
going into Saturday’s action,
contributed ... well ... really
... nothing ... at the plate ...
because ... he didn’t have to.
One of the first things
Warner Robins manag
er Tom Nauss said to his
players after the post-game
handshake with Vine-Ingle
and before the trophy pre
sentation was how every
body, from top to bottom,
contributed to winning that
game.
On the offensive side, he
was absolutely correct. Jake
Chastain, batting in the last
spot in the order, hit a solo
home run that broke a score
less tie in the bottom half
of the third inning. After
Vine-Ingle plated a tying
run in the top of the fourth,
Warner Robins countered
with a four-run home fourth
capped off by pinch-hit RBI
hits from Jordan Mcllwain
and Spencer Sato.
“I think (the Vine-Ingle
pitcher) held the top of our
lineup up pretty good, but I
think he relaxed a little with
the bottom of our order,”
said Nauss. “The bottom of
the order definitely got us
started and actually, I feel,
won the ball game.”
After beating Vine-Ingle 9-
0 the previous Saturday in
the District’s opening round,
the Warner Robins offense
fell victim to double plays
in both the first and second
Following is the All-Houston County
baseball team (as submitted by coach
es and voted on by staff):
First Team
• Aaron Dobbs, Warner Robins
• Jesse Scott, Warner Robins
• Chess Malone, Warner Robins
• Nathan Poole, Warner Robins
• Kevin Gifford, Northside
• Taylor Ham, Northside
• Joe Scott, Northside
• Adam Nelson, Perry
• John Randall Lasseter, Perry
• Jeff Stewart, Perry
• Sam Kinnas, Perry
• Tony Albritton, Westfield
• Matt Weaver, Westfield
Second Team
• Justin Burke, Warner Robins
• Zack Watson, Warner Robins
• Alex Fant, Warner Robins
• Chris Thompson, Houston County
Kishigian, Wolfe to contend at championship
Special to the Journal
Ben Kishigian and Edwin Wolfe of Warner
Robins are among a field 156 listed to com
pete in the 87th Annual Georgia Amateur
Championship to be held Thursday-Sunday
at Idle Hour Club in Macon.
Kishigian, according to a release, gained
entry into the field via an exemption - fin
ishing in a tie for 12th in the 2007 Amateur
Championship (as well as meeting other
criteria, i.e. age, residency, et cetera).
Wolfe earned a spot via a qualifier June
9 at the same golf club. He shot 73 there
and finished in a four-way tie for third
- two strokes away from the top of the
leaderboard.
The format for the tournament is 18
holes of stroke play each day with the field
begin cut to the low 70 and ties after 36
holes.
Entries for the tournament were open
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Journal/Matthew Brown
Warner Robins American Little League captures another District V trophy and banner
for Major League baseball Saturday at Macon’s Freedom Park.
innings. The only hit from
the first eight batters came
SnFflaupTOft IUrOIB 8 « w 8a 8
• Damian Phillips, Houston County
• Kyle Davis, Houston County
• Philip Knauer, Houston County
• Chance Kitchens, Northside
• Daniel Sandavol, Northside
• Matt Phillips, Perry
• John David Howard, Perry
Honorable Mention
• Robby Hinson, Warner Robins
• Tyler Brooks, Westfield
First Team
Aaron Dobbs
School: Warner Robins
Year: Senior
Position: Shortstop/pitcher
Impact: Was the team leader in several
offensive categories, said Head Coach
Bill Beatty. Hit .394, which included
28 hits and six homeruns. Also drove
in 28 runs, scored 30 and stole 10
from Hunt Smith, who put
the ball off the centerfield
Compiled by
Don Moncrief
to male amateur golfers who belong to a
Georgia State Golf Association member
club. A total of 684 players entered this
year’s championship - initially 27 exempt
and 657 non-exempt. Non-exempt players
competed in one of 10 statewide, 18-hole
qualifiers held June 2-23 for the remaining
129 spots in the field.
The Georgia Amateur Championship
began in 1916 and has been contested at 28
different GSGA member clubs in 20 cities.
Beginning with 14-year-old Bobby Jones,
who captured the inaugural title in 1916
(still the youngest amateur champion),
there have been 63 different winners in the
history of the event.
Current Champions Tour player and
two-time U.S. Senior Open champion Allen
Doyle of LaGrange lays claim to the most
titles (six), won between 1978-90.
See CONTEND, page 6B
wall. Vine-Ingle’s defense
shined more with a sliding
bases. Had an on base percentage of
.537 and a fielding percentage of .867.
Helped the Demons earn a spot in the
GHSA AAAAA playoffs.
Other: Signed with Gordon College,
Earned the team’s Co-Most Valuable
Player award for 2008 and was named
to the Region 1-AAAAA First Team.
Coach’s Corner: “Aaron was new to
WRHS this year, but was our team
leader and one of the main reasons we
had such a good season. He has the
work ethic and the competitive spirit to
compete at the next level. He constant
ly is working on improving his game,
and I am sure he will be an impact
player at Gordon.”
Jesse Scott
School: Warner Robins
Year: Junior
Position: Pitcher/third baseman
Impact: Was the team’s leading pitcher
and one of their top offensive players,
Beatty said. Hit .356, which included
Clark finishes fifth at Clarkesville;
leads as state Player of the Year
Special to the Journal
In the small scheme, it may have been considered a small
step. But in the big one, in the end, it could to: Every point
counts.
Dane Clark of the Warner Robins Horseshoe Pitchers Club
was the only local contender to compete in the Clarkesville
Open 2 held in Clarkesville, Georgia June 28.
He didn’t do all that bad, but not all that great, either.
He finished 2-3 and fifth out of six pitchers in the B Class.
In all he had 74 ringers out of 200 pitched for a 37 percent
ringer percentage.
But in the grand scheme, with points being awarded every
time they compete, he also helped his cause in one other
area.
You see Clark is currently atop the state’s Player of the
Year standings. He currently has 90 points, just ahead of
Perry Horseshoe Pitcher’s Club member Mary Ann Gibbs,
who has 88.
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
catch of a foul ball in the
Warner Robins bullpen dirt.
That was before Chastain
stepped in. As it turns out, a
lot of extra batting practice
under the threatening skies
for the starting third base
man paid off.
“I was pretty confident
that I would hit the ball. It
felt really good when I hit
it,” said Chastain about his
two-out right-field shot to
an area with a chain-linked
fence that made it hard to
see just where the baseball
landed. But, Chastain got
confirmation from the offi
cials that it lancjed on the
other side.
“I thought it was going to
take a one-hop and hit the
fence, but then I saw it go
out. It was very exciting.”
“We were just waiting for
him to catch up,” said Nauss.
“He was a great player dur
ing the season. We put about
two hours of work with him
and (assistant coach Ryan
Nauss). Keep working, that’s
all you can do.”
Warner Robins was work
ing some defense in the first
half of the game behind
Purvis. Vine-Ingle hit a dou
ble in the top of the first only
to see that runner erased on
a double play.
But in the bottom of the
fourth, Vine-Ingle strung
some hits together, includ
ing a two-out safety up the
middle that brought in the
tying run at 1-1.
“Somebody’s going to hit
him every once in a while,”
said Nauss about Purvis,
who gave an “excellent”
effort on the mound oth
erwise, his manager added.
“He gave up one run the
whole tournament, so all I
have to do is score two runs
to win the ball game.
“My philosophy is: how
many runs do I have to score
when he or anyone’s on
See TITLE, page 6B
32 hits and four homeruns. Also had
22 RBI and scored 15 runs. Had an on
base percentage of .437 and fielding
percentage of .917. Won nine games
on the mound and had an ERA of 1.79.
Stuck out 84, walked 21 while helping
the Demons earn a spot in the GHSA
AAAAA playoffs.
Other: Was named the team's Co-MVP
for 2008 and was named to the Region
1-AAAAA First Team.”
Coach's Corner: “Jesse has been a
stalwart in our program for 2 years.
He has an excellent arm and is one of
the top pitchers in our region and all
of Middle Georgia. He is continuously
working on his game in his goal to play
at the next level. He will be our leader
next year and his future is bright.”
Chess Malone
School: Warner Robins
Year: Sophomore
See TEAM, page