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I - FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS - Thursday, March 4, 2004
Local Sports
Baseball
• Forsyth Central vs. Cartersville,
at Gainesville's Ivey-Watson Field,
Friday, March 5, 5:55 p.m.
• North Forsyth at Campbell,
Friday, March 5, 5:55 p.m.
• South Forsyth vs. Cross Creek,
Friday, March 5. 5:55 p.m.
Soccer
• Forsyth Central boys at North
Atlanta, Thursday, March 4,
4:30 p.m.
• Forsyth Central girls at North
Atlanta. Thursday. March 4.
5:30 p.m.
• North Forsyth boys vs.
Sequoyah. Friday. March 5.
7 p.m.
• South Forsyth vs. St. Pius X,
Friday, March 5. 6 p.m.
• North Forsyth girls vs. Druid
Hills, Saturday. March 6. 11 a.m.
I
Tennis
• South Forsyth at Forsyth Central.
Thursday. March 4. 4 p.m.
Golf
• North Forsyth girls vs South
Forsvth at Countrvland. Thursday,
March 4
• South Forsyth at Habersham
Central in Apple Mountain
Invitational. Saturday. March 6
Cheer trvouts
approaching
Forsyth Central's Cheerleaders
will host their annual "Cheer
Dawg Clinic" on Saturday. March
13. at Central's new gym. The clin
ic will last from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
and costs SSO. (If you register after
March 8. cost is $55.) Registration
forms are available at Forsyth
County Schools Main offices.
Also, this year, a "mock tryout”
will be held from 2-3 p.m. and
costs an additional $5.
Fast-pitch team
needs players
The Georgia Stprm 12-U A
level fast-pitch travel team is look
ing for a few key players for the
upcoming 2004 season. If you are
serious and willing to work hard,
call (770) 205-9437.
Soccer club
hosts signups
Atlanta Soccer Academy.
Forsyth County’s new soccer club,
is hosting its spring 2004 registra
tion for U-6 and up. Walk-up regis
tration will take place at the
Forsyth County Public Library's
Sharon Forks Branch at 2820 Old
Atlanta Rd. in Cumming on
Saturday, March 6(10 a.m.-1
p.m.). They will also host a Spring
Break Camp on April 5-9 from 10
a.m.-l p.m. (U9-U11). and from
1:30-3:30 p.m. (Ul2 & up). Cost is
$95. Call (770) 557- 0430 or visit
atlsrKcer.com for information.
Hoops camp
seeks applicants
Applications are now being
evaluated for the Ten Star All-Star
Summer Basketball Camp. The
camp is by invitation only. Boys
and girls ages 10-19 are eligible to
apply. A camp will take place this
summer in Atlanta. Call (704)373-
0873 for more information.
Running Camp
gearing up
The Mountain High Running
Camp will take place July 12-17
and July 19-24. at Tallulah Falls.
The staff is composed of elite
Kenyan and international distance
runners and internationally experi
enced coaches. Contact Scott
Simmons at simmons@>minotsta
teu.edu; (800) 777-0750; or visit
www.mountainhighrunning.com.
Sports EXTRA
National quarter midget
finals coming to Forsyth
From staff reports
Members of the North Georgia
Quarter Midget Racing Association
recently attended the Quarter
Midgets of America National meet
ing in Las Vegas and were awarded
the honor of hosting the Eastern
Grand National Championships in
late July. 2005.
The Grands.
to. will bring tNu’NtS
many quarter What: The Jack
midget racing Slayton Classic
tans from all When:Saturday,
over the country March 6at noon
g u Where: Bill
R . OCd L , u Thomas Raceway
anticipates that „ - ■ ’
Fairgrounds 9
cars will partici
pate in the
week-long event, bringing between
3000-4000 visitors to Forsyth
County and positively impacting the
local economy.
NGQMA members in attendance
at the QMA National meeting were
Mike Gordon, president of the local
chapter, regional director Scott
Tankersley and regional tech director
David Mclntosh.
Quarter Midget Racing is a fami
ly oriented sport for children ages 5
to 16. The cars, rules and safety pro
cedures are designed specifically for
kids.
Safety features include full roll
cages, multi-point seat harnesses, full
face helmets and other gear.
Scoring runs as simple as ABC
By Bill Zack
Morris News Service
LAKE BUENA VISTA. Fla.
So. the inquisitive mind wants to
know, how will the Atlanta Braves
score runs this season'’
"I foresee us having to manufac
ture more runs than we did last year."
left fielder Chipper Jones said.
"We're going to have to play more A-
B-C baseball and take advantage of
the speed we have at the top of the
lineup."
No more bash and gloat baseball.
No more American League-style
scores. These Braves, minus the 104
home runs hit by Gary Sheffield. Javy
Lopez, and Vinny Castilla last year,
will revert to their early 1990 s style
of ball, emphasizing pitching and
defense over smash-mouth offense.
"We're not going to hit as many
home runs, no doubt about that,”
manager Bobby Cox said. "But we've
won 100 games before without hit
ting many homers.”
Cox will get his first look at a
revamped lineup Wednesday after-
No. 6-ranked Bulldog softball warrants a look
The next time you’re in Athens,
ride down South Milledge Avenue
and take a gander at the University
of Georgia softball team’s new digs.
The new facility holds close to 1.400
fans, while featuring the best ameni
ties possible.
Both the Georgia and visiting
team dugout are connected via tun
nel to new locker rooms.
The Bulldogs' locker room has
all the best facilities in it an ath
letic training room, players’ lounge
and locker room, showers and the
coaches’ offices and locker room.
On the first base side, the visiting
team has its locker room and show
ers along with the umpires' locker
room.
Fans enter through a new plaza
located underneath the stadium,
directly behind home plate. Here,
fans have access to concessions and
souvenirs.
Ramps lead fans to their seats,
which are divided into two sections.
TTie middle and lower sections have
seat-backs.
This weekend presents an oppor
tunity to check out the facility and
see some outstanding softball.
A (k A 0 _
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"W B W:. '
HI B ■ «H
I
, Photo/Submitted
NGQMA's director Scott Tankersley, front row from left, and presi
dent Mike Gordon are joined by members of the national associa
tion. They are QMA president Curt Biro and vice president Tisha
Bucanek; back row: safety director Steve Chopko, PR director John
Mitchell, treasurer Kim Kendall and secretary Patty Abbott.
Children race in Quarter Midget
cars that are a scaled-down (approxi
mately 1/4 scale) versions of an actu
al midget-racer on oval tracks that
are approximately l/2()th of a mile.
The sport focuses on family partici
pation, safety, improvement of
mechanical and driving skills, sports
manship and competitive fun.
The Quarter Midget Association
is constantly reviewing and evaluat
ing safety rules to ensure that quarter
midget racing remains a safe compet
itive sport. Quarter Midgets of
noon when the Braves open exhibi
tion play against the University of
Georgia. He plans to start all of his
regulars and give them two at-bats
before sending in the reserves.
Anybody who expects to see balls
flying out of the park will be disap
pointed. With the exception of the
three hitters in the middle of the line
up Chipper Jones. Andruw Jones
and J.D. Drew there's not a hitter
here who would describe himself as a
home run hitter. The Joneses and
Drew are sandwiched by gap hitters,
which means the Braves no longer
have the luxury of waiting for the
long ball. Instead, expect to see what
Chipper Jones described as “A-B-C
baseball." hitting and running, steal
ing bases and consistently putting the
ball in play.
"That's three big changes, losing
Sheffield. Lopez, and Castilla," hit
ting coach Terry Pendleton said. “It's
going to be a little different. We're
going to have to put the ball in play
and make things happen."
Pendleton also acknowledged that
the lineup must receive production
Danny
Daniels
Georgia, currently 12-4 on the sea
son. hosts the Georgia Softball
Classic. The Bulldogs meet
Winthrop Friday at 4 p.m. UNC-
Wilmington. Maryland and Ball
State complete the tournament field.
UGA features some excellent
athletes and one of the top young
coaches in the country in Lu Harris-
Champer.
Pitcher Michelle Green, a junior
from Duluth, hurled a perfect game
Saturday against Central Michigan,
winning 8-0 and striking out 18 bat
ters. a new school record. Last sea
son Green posted a 39-8 record and
was the SEC Pitcher of the Year.
The 2(X)4 Bulldog infield is a
unit that can be described as experi
enced and versatile. Georgia feturns
five starters from last season's SEC
Championship team.
Shannon McKeon is back behind
America is a non-profit organization
with over 2,500 family memberships
and approximately 4.000 drivers.
There are 13 regions in the organiza
tion and more than 50 Quarter
Midget Clubs Nationwide.
The North Georgia club hosts
races on various weekends from
March through November.
The group hosts races at the Bill
Thomas Raceway at the Cumming
Fairgrounds. More information and a
complete race schedule can be found
at w w w.ngqma.com.
from three newcomers, third base
man Mark Deßosa, catcher Johnny
Estrada, and rookie first baseman
Adam Laßoche. to be successful.
The trio isn't expected to replace the
317 RBI produced by Sheffield.
Lopez, and Castilla, but they are
being counted on to balance the
lower third of the lineup and not
allow pitchers to take a breather
against them.
"We're going to need help from
the kids, that's the bottom line."
Pendleton said. "Those three really
need to show up."
Said Deßosa: “I think my team
mates are expecting me to step up
and be a big contributor this season.
We can't ask Chipper and Andruw to
carry us every game."
Equally important is the bench.
Cox is expected to give Eli Marrero a
lot of playing time in the outfield and
at first base, Julio Franco will take an
occasional turn at first, and Gary
Matthews Jr. will be one of the pri
mary pinch hitters.
"Everybody on the bench is going
to come into play," Pendleton said.
the plate after throwing out 17 of 40
baserunners a year ago.
Kim Wendland is the first base
man, A two-time AII-.SEC and 2002
All-American performer. Wendland
provides a solid bat and reliable
glove. She hit .346 in 2(X)3.
Katie Lewis is the second base
man after leading the SEC in sacri
fices the past two seasons. Lewis
boasts outstanding range and a
strong arm.
Shortstop duties are handled by
sophomore Ashley Godfrey who
played her prep ball at Shaw of
Columbus. Godfrey hit .295 as a
freshman with a school record 10
home runs and 42 RBI while field
ing at a .960 clip.
Jade Jarvis returns at the hot cor
ner after placing third on the team
last spring with 10 multi-hit games.
The outfield is patrolled by a
combination including senior All-
American Nicole Barber. Courtney
Knight. Julie Milner, Charvi Greer
and Ember Awagu.
Overall. Georgia returns 10 play
ers from a squad that went 57-14 last
season and captured the program's
first SEC title.
Busch
brothers
to race
at Vegas
By Gerald Hodges
For the Forsyth County News
If things go as planned. Tom
Busch will get to watch his sons,
Kyle and Kurt go head-to-head
March 7 in the Nextel Cup race at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The last time the brothers
drove against each was in 1999 in
Dwarf and Legends cars on the
3/8-mile paved oval outside the
Las Vegas track.
"At that level we had our
Legend cars pretty well scienced
out and we could run 1-2 most
every week, so we had to chal
lenge one another for wins," Kurt
said. "Now, within the Nextel Cup
ranks, it's going to be another 41
other drivers plus us two. so there
are many more variables.
"It will be fun Maybe we ll
have a chance to run side-by-side
for a little bit and get some pic
tures out of it. 1 think it would be
nice to say we raced each other in
his first race, but anything can
happen."
Kurt is already an established
star in NASCAR's top stock car
series at the age of 25. but Kyle is
just getting started.
"1 didn't expect to be racing
against Kurt so soon, but I'm
excited to do it. especially at
home." Kyle said. "That is going
to be a special weekend for me
and my entire family.”
Kyle would have been in
NASCAR sooner if not for a rul
ing late in 2001 that a driver had
to be 18 to compete in its top
three series. ’
Will Rusty win again?
The legions of Rusty Wallace
fans are asking, “when.”
Wallace isn't able to tell them
when he will win another
NASCAR Nextel Cup race, but he
believes it will come.
"Well. I've had two bad years,
and now I'm out to prove that we
can do it again.” said Wallace.
“I've got a good crew chief, we've
made some changes, so we've got
to do something better. But we're
not going to change the driver."
He has not won a race since
April. 2001. That's a total of 100
races. But several other drivers
have endured even longer dry
spells before they bounced back.
Bill Elliott had a winless streak of
227. Sterling Marlin's winless
streak totaled 171 over a five year
period.
Harris-Champer is in her fourth
season at the helm following stops at
Nicholls State, the Women's Pro
Fastpitch League’s Orlando Wahoos
and Southern Miss.
She took Southern Miss to the
NCAA College World Series both
years she coached in Starkville. Not
one to rest on past accomplishments.
Harris-Champer is forever looking
ahead.
“It was very exciting to bring
home a championship last season."
she said. “But. at this point, last sea
son is over. Now it is time to focus
on today and this season we will
train and compete to perform to the
best of our abilities.
“We are striving to put ourselves
into position to compfcte for a
national championship. Our sights
are set on competing in the Women's
College World Series."
Harris-Champer's squad begins
defense of its SEC crown on March
13 when the Bulldogs entertain
Mississippi State in a double header.
Danny Daniels, sports editor at
the Barrow County News, con
tributes his regional wrapup once a
week.