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Tuesday, October a6, aoio | The Red a Buck
Junior’s return could spark Dogs
In fielder May
looks to rebound
By ROBBIE OTTLEY
The Red & Black
To see what Georgia's upcom
ing baseball season means to
junior third baseman Colby May,
just look at his batting average
last year.
In his freshman season, Colby
May was one of two players to
start all 62 games and had a .339
batting average .047 above the
team's average.
Last season, though, May
played in only 37 games and com
piled a .176 batting average - .125
below Georgia’s team average.
The difference between the two
seasons was a strained hamstring
that dogged May during the begin
ning of last year. The road would
only get more difficult after May
tore his hamstring and missed the
last 15 games of the season.
Though May feels that he could
have done more to prevent the
injury, he anticipates significant
improvement in the upcoming
season.
“[l] probably should have rest
ed it, but that’s over with now,”
May said. “(Youj can’t take back
the past, so that's something I’ve
learned from and know not to do
now, and I’m glad I’m finally at
100 percent.”
May’s injury was a part of a dis
appointing season for the
Bulldogs, who finished 2010 with a
16-37 record. Though Georgia
faced difficulties last spring, head
coach David Pemo attributes
chief responsibility for the losing
record to events beyond the
team’s control.
"We had high expectations and
battled some setbacks," Pemo
said. “If the same type of circum
stances are dealt to this team
that were dealt to last year’s
team, it’s gonna be a similar
result.”
Hoping to vindicate his posi
tion and duties on the team, May
spent about three months this
summer resting and reha
bilitating, doing rehab work
almost every day. Though
he’s always learning more,
May believes that his road
back from injury has taught
him Invaluable lessons
about the game of baseball.
“(I’m learning] to not try
to do too much in pressure
situations,” he said. “I Just
go out there and relax and
have fun and play the game
of baseball like I’ve always known
how to play.”
Pemo expects that his work
over the summer and in fall prac
tice will lead May to have a much
more successful season in 2010.
“I think he can put together a
season like he had his freshman
year. I think he’s a lot closer to
that than he is to what went on
last year,” Pemo said.
May and the Bulldogs conclud
ed fall practice this week after the
Red and Black Series, a best-of
flve Intersquad series between two
teams chosen by seniors.
Fall practice was the first
opportunity for Georgia to return
to the diamond after the letdown
of the 2010 season. Coming off a
postseason appearance and a
38-24 record in 2006, the Bulldogs
notched only five SEC wins for the
worst season under Pemo.
“That’s not acceptable, espe
cially here at Georgia,” said Junior
outfielder Peter Verdin. “You look
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FILE | Tn Rid * Black
▲ Colby May is expecting an improved season in 2011
after rehabbing a hamstring injury in the offseason.
on the outfield wall [and see] the
tradition of going to Omaha, going
and winning SEC championships,
so only winning five conference
games really is not good.”
But Georgia is looking past last
year and toward the 2011 season.
In fact, Pemo believes that the
previous season’s setbacks will be
a source of strength for the 2011
Bulldogs.
“We had a bad season in 'O7 and
finished second in the
country in ’08,” Pemo
said. “These guys that
were a part of it under
stand how ... to handle
tough situations and cir
cumstances, and I think
this year that's gonna be
a huge advantage."
Pemo also expects that
starting pitching will be
able to address many of
the issues that plagued
MAY
them in 2010. Pitching was a major
weakness for the Bulldogs last
year, with the staff posting an 8.51
earned run average.
“[l’m] not saying that it’s a
pitching staff that’s gonna be
dominant or have a great year,”
Pemo said. “But we’re thrilled
about where we are from a pitch
ing standpoint."
One starter who will return
having endured the obstacles of
last season is Junior Michael
Palazzone, whose 8.66 ERA last
season was the highest of the
Bulldog starting pitchers. But
Palazzone took an additional year
of experience with him to the
Cape Cod Baseball League in
Massachusetts this summer,
where he played against some of
the most talented players from
the country. His summer success
gave Palazzone renewed optimism
for the upcoming season.
“I think that gave me a little bit
of confidence,” Palazzone said. “I
SOPHOMORE SLUMP
it was the tale of two seasons
for Colby May in his freshman
and sophomore seasons:
2009
• Started all 62 games
• Hit .339 with 11 home funs
and 42 RBIs
• Named Louisville Slugger
Freshman All-American
2010
• Started just 34 games
• Hit .179 with five home runs
and 19 RBIs
think I can be as good as any
other weekend starter in the coun
try.”
Having finished up fall practice,
the Bulldogs are looking forward
to a break before starting back up
in the spring.
Georgia will have its first offi
cial practice In late January, and
the team begins competition in
mid-February. Pemo says that
he'll be focusing less on his play
ers fulfilling team obligations this
offseason.
“It’s an opportunity for them to
kind of get away and be more of a
student and a college kid," Pemo
said. “Well do some baseball stuff
individually and some team stuff,
but It’ll be a lot less than we have
In years past."
And if Verdin has his way, the
work In fall practice and the
upcoming winter break will reap
benefits come spring.
“We’ve been beating up on each
other,” Verdin said. “It’ll be good
to beat up on somebody else."
Walsh works to prevent future missed kicks
By NICK PARKER
The Red & Black
Blair Walsh snapped the
school record of 114 con
secutive extra points made
in the Vanderbilt game,
but that streak finally
came to an end last week
end against Kentucky.
Now, Walsh is hoping to
start another streak.
1 was bound to miss
one eventually, I Just hope
I won’t miss another one
before my career is over,”
Walsh said.
The miss was Walsh’s
first missed extra point at
Georgia, and first since the
U.B. Army All-American
Bowl his senior year In
high school. Because of
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that, Walsh hit the practice
fields early Monday, get
ting up “30 to 40” kicks
before practice began.
“It’s unacceptable, and
I’ll fix it.” Walsh said. “I’m
just glad it didn’t
happen this week.”
Walsh's extra
point miss wouldn’t
be such a cause for
concern If he hadn’t
missed a field goal
in each of the last
two games —a
47-yard attempt
against Kentucky
and a 31-yard
attempt against
Vanderbilt. All three of
Walsh’s misses on the sea
son have come from the
right hash —and missed
Coach credits romance
for lifelong profession
By LISA GLASER
The Rid & Black
Frank Pollto started play
ing tennis for one reason: a
girl.
“I liked this girl and she
played tennis, so I started
tennis. And I stuck to it,” said
Pollto, who was promoted to
women’s tennis associate
head coach In September.
Pollto attributes his con
tinued Involvement In tennis,
despite his dwindling roman
tic success, to the encourage
ment his high school coach
Frank Hicks and college coach
Dan Ryan gave him.
At Eastern Michigan
University, Pollto competed
for four years and captained
the tennis team his senior
season. Though Pollto’s expe
rience as a collegiate athlete
in the 1980s differs from his
female players’ experiences
today, Pollto finds he
can still relate.
“Back then, we had
to drive vans every
where, and [today]
they get to ride in
buses and get more
stuff. It’s a lot different
from when I played,”
Pollto said. “It’s similar
though. The game has
evolved over the years,
but it’s still competing.
You’re out there competing,
trying to beat your opponent,
and that’s what it’s all
about.”
Pollto began coaching
immediately alter graduating
in 1990 for his alma mater,
before assisting at Kansas,
Louisiana-Monroe and Ohio
State. Bom in Pennsylvania
and raised in Ohio, Polito
spent the majority of his life
in the Midwest, before moving
to Georgia to coaching in
2006. The 43-year-old appreci
ates the warmer weather, but
feels the core of his Job holds
constant no matter the loca
tion.
“Well, I don’t have to shovel
snow anymore," Pollto said.
“Coaching Is coaching. You’re
still coaching, trying to make
players better. I Just think
that here at the University of
Georgia, they give you all the
resources needed to have a
successful program.”
Head coach Jeff Wallace
first knew Pollto from seeing
him at different college tour
naments before they began
their working relationship
together. Wallace describes
Polito as someone who has
“never met a stranger,” so
their rapport built naturally.
"I think my first Impression
was that he’s very blue collar,
he's not afraid to roll his
sleeves up and get to work
each and every day. That's
something I really like about
him. He’s all about 'let’s get
better today,'" Wallace said.
“He's got a great sense of
humor. He’s someone who’s
fun to be around."
During Pollto’s four sea
sons with the team, the
women went 86-19 and won
two SEC titles. Since begin
ning his coaching career in
1960, Polito has learned some
of the subtle nuances in work
ing with collegiate female ath
letes and continues to learn
while at the University.
right of the goal post
because he says he “didn’t
want to end up hooking
the ball,” so he ended up
overcorrecting the issue
and “kept it too straight,
not enough left."
Still, Walsh Is
14-for-17 on the
year on field goals,
a percentage many
kickers dream of.
But, for him, even
one miss is too
many.
“I’m not neces
sarily having a bad
year by my stan
dards, but I have to
MI.SH
make those. It just comes
down to It’s as simple as
that. Those are kicks they
expect you to make,”
“When I first started coach
ing women, that was different
for me. Now, I understand
them a little bit better and
understand what they go
through, dealing with com
peting, school and everything
else,” Pollto said. “Just like
anything, as you get older, you
get more mature. I’ve proba
bly mellowed over the years,
as well. I started coaching
when I was 23 and you learn a
lot over a 20-year period.”
Senior Cameron Ellis has
worked with Polito since her
freshman year and has consis
tently found him to be a
knowledgeable and comfort
ing figure on the court.
“He’s helped our doubles
as a team tremendously, and
[works with me] on my vol
leys, my all-around net game,”
Ellis said. “He does a lot of
positive reinforcement. He’s a
lot of fUn on the court. He
helps me stay pretty
relaxed. He Jokes
around a lot on the
court, but he’s intense
when he needs to be
intense.”
Ellis noted the com
plementary nature of
her two coaches, saying
head coach Jeff Wallace
Is more “stem,” while
Pollto “Jokes more.”
Polito said he “fools
POLITO
around more,” while Wallace
Is “more serious.” Wallace
agrees he and Pollto make
somewhat of an odd pair, but
feels each of their goals inter
sect.
“We’re somewhat different
sometimes in our styles, In
our approach and the way we
do things, which I think can
be a good thing for the play
ers. At the same time, I think
we both want the same thing
and that’s to be successful
and work hard every day and
to get these guys to challenge
themselves,” Wallace said.
In addition to being the
associate head coach, Polito
is the team's recruiting coor
dinator. Due In part to his
efforts, Georgia has the top
incoming class for the 2011
season according to the
Tennis Recruiting Network.
Pollto travels to national tour
naments and follows the pro
circuit, usually during breaks
such as in summer in order to
encourage players to attend
the University.
“[Recruiting], it's just
being myself. I think I relate
pretty well for an old man. I
sit there and try to learn a lot
about [potential players], talk
to them a lot. We’re only
allowed one phone per week
[to recruits], so I tiy to talk to
them a lot during that one
phone call,” Pollto said.
And despite his original
romantic motivation for play
ing tennis, Polito continued
playing and then coaching
and recruiting simply because
of his lifelong love of the sport
something he believes he
will do for the foreseeable
future.
“You can always get better,
it doesn’t matter how old you
are. You Just get better at it.
You can win a gold ball, which
Is a national championship, at
age 80,” Polito said. “So, I
mean, you can always get bet
ter.”
FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK
Walsh said. “I went out
there and I think I fixed a
couple of my Issues today.
Went out there pretty early
on Monday, kicked about
30 or 40 balls, and did a lot
from the right hash, that’s
where I missed my last
three kicks, and sort of
fixed it. And I’ll keep
building on it and working
on It this week.”
Monday’s special teams
practice allowed Walsh to
really focus on the issue
and try to correct it in
preparation for the Florida
game, one which Is a
homecoming of sorts for
Walsh.
The junior is from
Jacksonville, Fla., and the
game against Florida cre
ates a sort of rivalry
between him and his high
school friends.
So when his best friend
hit him up for a ticket to
the game, that ticket came
with a stipulation.
“I'm actually making my
best friend, who goes to
Florida, I’m making him
come and ait with my dad
and wear Georgia gear,”
Walsh said. “I told him the
only way he got to come
and get a ticket Is if he
wears Georgia gear and
cheers for me, so he'll be
there supporting the Dogs
and you can rat him out on
that one. I’m sure his
Florida fans love that.”