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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 -- *■■•"** r 7 aw- —s— - ■ - 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 □