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BASEBALL ROUNDUP
Raiders rally in road-game win
By Travis M. Chaffin
Sports Editor
The North Forsyth Raiders
remained undefeated over this week
end. battling back to overcome
Cherokee County, 6-5, on the road
this past Saturday.
Dustin Martin earned the win in
relief, allowing one run on three hits
while walking one and striking out
five in five innings pitched. Dexter
Bobo picked up the save.
Offensively for North (6-0), Bobo
was 2-for-3 at the plate with a double
and an RBI. while Dusty Martin was
2-for-4 with an RBI.
The Raiders struck early, as a
one-out sacrifice fly by Buddy
Deßoche scored Dusty Martin from
third for a 1-0 North Forsyth lead
in the top of the first.
But Cherokee tallied two runs in
each the first and second innings
for a 4-1 advantage entering the
third.
North got a huge break in the
top of the fourth when, with two
outs and a runner on. Justin Smith
struck out. but took first base when
the ball got away from the catcher.
It was an opportunity that would
not be wasted.
Next up. Bobo reached first with
an infield single to load the bases.
Cherokee’s self destruction con
tinued as Dusty Martin reached
first on an error, allow ing Patterson
and Smith to score while Martin
stole second. The throw to second
was over-shot and Bobo came
home to tie the game 4-4.
The Warriors regained the advan
tage in the bottom of the fifth, taking
a narrow 5-4 lead. But a sixth-inning
single by Dusty Martin scored Troy
Hudson (running for Christopher
Light) to put the Raiders ahead for
good. 6-5.
North Forsyth travels to Dawson
County for this afternoon's 5 p.m.
date with the Tigers.
War Eagles split
doubleheader
South Forsyth's grueling nonre
gion schedule continued this past
weekend as the War Eagles split a
Saturday-afternoon doubleheader at
home first defeating Loganville
11-5 before falling to Greenbrier 7-0
in Game 2.
Ryan Johnson picked up the win
against Loganville, allowing four
runs (three earned) on two hits and
two walks while striking out two in
five innings pitched.
Despite a good performance at the
plate against Greenbrier batting 2-
for-3 Evan Nissley got the loss on
the mound, allowing five runs on two
hits and five walks in two innings
pitched, while striking out two.
“Walks hurt us all day,” said South
Forsyth head coach Mike Strickland.
“It’s the. old adage. You put some
body on. and they're going to come
back and score."
Offensively against Loganville,
Billy Upchurch and Stuart Barton
each batted 2-for-3, Nissley was 2-
for-2 with two runs and was hit by a
pitch and Joe White was 2-for-4 with
a double, a home run and 3 RBI.
“We were fortunate to win it.
because we still put far too many
people on base.” Strickland said.
"It was a positive because it was a
See RALLY, Page 2B
Due to the
recent higher
temperatures,
both stripers
and white bass
are beginning
to run, which
should bring
excellent fish
ing over the
next few
weeks.
Photo/Bill
Vanderford
Sports
'• *”1
Taßx --
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Upper end of Lake Lanier comes to life
By Bill Vanderford
For the Forsyth County News
For those who love fishing rivers, this
weekend could prove to be memorable.
Stripers and white bass are in the
beginning stages of their annual spawning
migration up into the Chattahoochee and
Chestatee Rivers above Lake Lanier, and
the walleyes are already spawning. Also,
crappie and black bass in the upper reach
es of the lake are beginning their mating
ritual, so the fishing action should be phe
nomenal over the next few weeks.
A few days of extra-warm weather has
triggered the mating instinct in the white
bass and striped bass, and the run is on in
the northernmost waters of the Chatta
hoochee and Chestatee rivers.
The excitement began as soon as the
lake temperature crept above the 50-
degree mark, and all the muddy water
North Forsyth
pitcher Dustin
Martin, above,
earned his
first win of the
year Saturday,
as the Raiders
defeated
Cherokee
County, 6-5.
At left, South
Forsyth’s Joe
White, seen
on right earlier
this season,
belted a two
run homer in
the War
Eagles 11-5
win over
Loganville.
Rhotos/David
McGregor
from recent rains had cleared.
Many of the migrating white bass and
stripers travel up into the Chestatee River
as far as the shoals above Ga. 400 or on
the Chattahoochee River to the rocky runs
above Belton Bridge. Without proper
knowledge or the right type of boat, how
ever. anglers often find themselves in life
threatening situations in the upper rivers.
Therefore, so that my clients can sample
the great white bass and striper fishing in
these areas in safety, I bought a specially
designed. jet-powered, aluminum river
boat.
Though not in large numbers, white
bass and striped bass are also found in
areas south of the river shoals where they
are more accessible to conventional craft.
These fish seem to prefer sandy flats near
the moving water of one of the main river
channels.
The area from White Sulphur access
I * ■
I. 4 J i I
Photo/Submitted
Forsyth resident Ajay Kumar, right, receives
a gold medal from Gov. Arnold Schwar
zenegger at the Martial Arts World Games.
Forsyth man
wins gold at
World Games
Kumar earns recognition
from Gov. Schwarzenegger
By Morgan Lee
Sports Writer
Ajay Kumar has competed in martial arts tour
naments all over the world, defeating the kind of
Tae Kwan Do experts against whom most of us
would be afraid to enter the ring.
And yet. earlier this month in Columbus. Ohio,
when Kumar took the gold medal for sparring at
the 2004 World Games just as he'd predicted
the champ was left feeling nervous and a little dry
mouthed.
The reason? These weren't just anybody’s
world games: These were "Arnold's” games the
Arnold Martial Arts World Games IV to be exact
and Gov. Schwarzenegger was personally pre
senting Kumar with the winner’s medal.
“I’m so excited,” said Kumar, looking at the
picture of himself standing with the weight-room
and action-film legend who lent his name to the
annual tournament which, appropriately, now
includes a bodybuilding competition.
“I'm on stage, and he's shaking hands with me.
He's trying to talk with me. but I don't know what
to do," he laughed.
It proved the only moment of the entire week
end when Kumar felt unsure of himself.
Fighting his way past seven opponents, the
Indian-born dynamo claimed his first gold medal
in an American competition. And although Kumar
had previously earned silver and bronze medals in
other U.S. tournaments, he is especially proud of
this win his first gold anywhere in six years.
“It was a very, very tough competition,” said
Kumar, 28. who has been taking part in Tae Kwan
Do tournaments since the age of 7 back in India.
“This is a very hard-to-get medal. I'm so
lucky.”
Kumar was just one of more than 1(X),(XX) mar
tial arts and bodybuilding experts to enter this most
recent tournament but he wasn’t the only
Forsyth resident to make a splash.
One of Kumar’s trainees. 2-year-old Hazel
Chadhary, also earned recognition as the youngest
athlete at the competition. And though judges ruled
that she was, in fact, too young to compete, organ
izers awarded Chadhary with a special achieve
ment medal.
See KUMAR, Page 2B
point north to Lula Bridge on the
Chattahoochee and from Wilkie Bridge to
just north of Lumpkin County Park on the
Chestatee side is excellent. Especially
productive spots are the mouth of Yellow
Creek and the big bend in the river near
Lumpkin County Park.
Casting the edge of these flats with
my one-eighths- or one-quarter-ounce
Swirleybirds. Blakemore Roadrunners or
one-eighths-ounce jig and Ranger curly
tail grubs can be effective as a means of
locating the schools. White or chartreuse
are always excellent color choices.
Other white bass and stripers make
their spawning runs into major tributaries
around the lake. Flowery Branch. Bald
Ridge, Six-Mile, Four-Mile and Flat
Creeks are good spawning areas for these
fish.
See UPPER, Page 2B
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