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2B
FROM IB
1st state title
“I’m definitely very
happy that I swim for
Central. Even though I’m
the only person (who qual¬
ified], 1 feel like it's my
job to represent them,” she
said.
Forsyth County saw other
success in the weekend’s
two girls meets.
Lambert’s girls snared
points from 10 different
events, ending sixth in the
state with a total of 159
points in Class A-AAAA.
The Lady Longhorns
placed in three different
relays on the day: 200-yard
medley (fourth, 1:48.93 —
Megan Bestor, Ellen
Johnson, Ellie Sills and
Kelsey Thompson); 200
yard freestyle (seventh,
1:41.83 —Amanda Ray,
Sills, Brooke Wheeler and
Aubrey Jones); and 400
yard freestyle (sixth,
3:36.50 Bestor, Jones,
Thompson and Ray).
Other points-eaming per¬
formances for Lambert:
Bestor finished seventh in
the 50-yard freestyle
(24.44) and seventh in the
100-yard butterfly (57.93).
Ray was 10th in the 100
yard freestyle (53.84) and
11th in the 50-yard
freestyle (24.81).
Johnson came in fourth in
the 100-yard breaststroke
(1:05.43) and 13th in the
200-yard individual medley
(2:11.05).
Sills finished seventh in
the 200-yard 1M (2:09.56).
FROM IB
Quarters: Central boys face Chattahoochee for spot in state
tried to play for the final
possession of the half.
Already ahead by three
points, tSouth (5-20)
forced a turnover and got
a basket at the buzzer
from T^neel Pike to take a
25-20 lead into halftime.
South also came out of
the break with the hot
hand, as a 3-pointer from
Mark McCorkle and a
layup from Geronimo
Cruz pushed the advan¬
tage to 10 points.
Jake Thayer (11 points)
responded with a layup
for Central, but the War
Eagles came back with
four more points to
extend the lead to 12.
Brock Ragsdale (10
points) gave Central a
much-needed spark by
scoring the next 8 points
in the game, cutting the
South lead to 34-30.
Barnes credited
Ragsdale for jump-start¬
ing the offense in the sec¬
ond half, much like Kurt
Cross (6 points) did with
a pair of 3-pointers off
the bench in the first half.
Central finally climbed
on top 42-40 midway
through the fourth quar¬
ter, when Thayer snagged
a defensive rebound and
slung a pass to Herslebs
(game-high 13 points)
downcourt for a fast
break layup. It was the
first time the Bulldogs
had been ahead since
holding a 3-0 lead in the
opening minutes of the
FROM IB
Ashway: Anniversary celebration draws more than 600 people
is rated for his fielding
ability. Outfielders’ and
catchers’ throwing arms
are rated as well. Pitchers’
ability to hold runners on
base is rated, as well as
players’ running, stealing,
bunting, and hit and run
ability.
And if that isn’t enough,
each game is affected by
the ballpark in which it is
played, and the current
weather conditions.
The result is a game that
is as close to real baseball,
and all of its limitless pos¬
sibilities, as it could possi¬
bly be. Minus the constant
spitting.
Former major league
player and current ESPN
analyst Doug Glanville
attended Saturday’s gala.
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS
Thompson came in 10th
in the 200-yard freestyle
(1:56.40).
Wheeler finished 14th in
the 100-yard backstroke
( 1 : 01 . 01 ).
Gentry Anderson was
16th in the 200-yard 1M
(2:14.44).
South Forsyth’s Shea
Hoyt earned a lOth-place
finish in the 100-yard
breaststroke (1:08.32),
earning 7 points for her
team and a 29th place state
finish.
In Class AAAAA, the
girls from West Forsyth and
North Forsyth both ended
up in the points.
North freshman Kaylyn
Thomas earned a ninth
place finish in the 200-yard
freestyle (1:53.83) and a
15th place finish in the 100
yard butterfly (59.93).
West’s Madison Taylor
finished 12th in the 100
yard freestyle (53.70) and
15th in the 50-yard
freestyle (25.30).
North finished 27th in
Class AAAAA with 1 1
points, while West finished
29th with 7 points.
On the boys side. South’s
Elliot Brockelbank fueled
his school to a tie for 19th
place through strong per¬
formances in the 500-yard
freestyle (fourth, 4:39.35)
and 200-yard freestyle (sev¬
enth, 1:44.21). Those
results netted South 27
points on the Class A
AAAA boys table.
game.
The Dawgs never
trailed from that point on,
but South tied things up
on three separate occa¬
sions — the last time via
a pair of McCorkle (11
points) free throws with
30.5 seconds to play.
Central then ran 25 sec¬
onds off the clock before
point guard Austin
Gilliam tried to drive in
for a go-ahead layup, but
Pike blocked the shot out
of bounds with 5.5 sec¬
onds left.
Following the
inbounds, Herslebs
wound up with the ball at
the wing of the 3-point
line and launched a shot
that banked in off the
glass.
“Coach [Greg] Dirst is
the master of the telestra
tor,” Barnes said of
Central’s final play. “He
can draw them up with
the best of anybody.”
Despite the loss, South
head coach Kevin
Dankosky took solace in
the way his team finished
the season.
“I’m really pleased with
our team’s improvement,”
Dankosky said. “I think
[we’ve got] something to
build on.”
The War Eagles closed
with five wins in their last
15 games after winning
only l-of-35 during a
stretch that dated back to
the start of the 2009-’10
season.
“Even as a Little League
player, 1 understood a lot
more about the tactical
side of the game, because
my brother introduced me
to Strat-O-Matic,"
Glanville told Joe Lemire
ofSI.com.
Glanville even had a
Strat-O-Matic experience
during a real ballgame.
“When I was playing in
Philadelphia, Gregg
Jeffries was our left field¬
er,” Glanville told Fordin.
“Let’s just say he wasn’t
the best left fielder. He
was a converted infielder,
plus he had a bad ankle
that he was playing on.
“A gentleman came to
the Phillies-Toronto series
and 1 heard, 'You’re a
five, Jeffries! You’re a
forsythncws.com
BASKETBALL
Pinecrest teams beat Pisgah
in 5B-A tournament
From staff reports
Pinecrest Academy’s boys
basketball team suffered a pair
of heartbreaking overtime losses
to Mount Pisgah this month,
including a home loss in the reg¬
ular season finale on Saturday.
Those struggles were left in
the rearview mirror on Monday,
as the Paladins dominated the
Patriots (16-9) during a 58-35
win in the opening round of the
Region 5B-A tournament at
Atlanta International School.
FROM 1B
Wrestling: Everton, Robinson take 1st
at Gwinnett Center, including
one sectional winner apiece.
The top eight sectional fin¬
ishers each advanced to state.
North’s Will Robinson fin¬
ished first at 145 pounds in the
Class AAAAA West sectional
at Kennesaw Mountain, while
West’s Tyler Everton finished
first at 160 pounds and will
now turn to defending his state
championship at that weight.
Also advancing from North
were Luke Slaton (fifth at
112), Travis Scott (sixth at
1 19), Shane Cross (sixth at
130), Ryan Cross (second at
135), Mitchell Abreu (fourth at
“I thought his team
improved so much from
where he acquired them,”
Barnes said. “He’s really
coached them up and
those guys do some good
stuff.”
Central’s season con¬
tinues against the
Cougars tonight at 7 p.m
at Creekview with a trip
to the state playoffs at
stake. Chattahoochee
defeated Central twice
(64-51, 61-52) during
the regular season.
“We get to play another
day, and that gives us a
shot,” Barnes said.
“That’s what we’ve
talked about all along, to
just give ourselves a shot
to get in the state tourna¬
ment.”
South Forsyth (girls)
56, Cass 46
Headed toward a sea¬
son-ending loss, South
Forsyth’s girls came alive
in the fourth quarter
against Cass.
Kristie Mason led the
way, as the Lady War
Eagles scored as many
points in the final period
as they had in the previ¬
ous three quarters com¬
bined and rallied for a
56-46 win against the
Lady Colonels.
Mason (game-high 22
points) tallied 15 of
South’s 28 points in the
fourth quarter.
Cass (4-20) led 39-32
early in the period before
five!’
In Strat-O-Matic, the
best fielders gamer a rat¬
ing of one. The worst are
rated five. If you have a
one-run lead late in the
game, you’d better not
leave any “fives” in your
outfield! As well Glanville
knew.
"I was laughing in cen¬
ter field. They invented the
rating five just for him!”
How realistic is Strat-O
Matic? In his 1986
Baseball Abstract, Bill
James noted that the game
should be used as a teach¬
ing tool for new man¬
agers, much like pilots use
flight simulators.
In his 2002 book The
Numbers Game:
Baseball’s Lifelong
It was the Paladins’ (13-13)
first win against a subregion
opponent this season.
“Yesterday's game was the
most satisfying win in a long
time,” Pinecrest coach Andres
Montana said.
“We had dropped 10 of ]our
last] 11 games, not because we
were playing poorly, but
because we’re in a tough subre¬
gion. Wc just figured some
things out about [Mount Pisgah]
and made a couple of changes.”
Pinecrest’s Joe Neiner led all
152) and Evan Miller (seventh
at 189).
Other state qualifiers from
West were Toby Crittenden
(fifth at 103), Cody Westray
(fourth at 112), Will Dickman
(sixth at 152), Colton Cloud
(fifth at 171), Evan Fallows
(second at 215) and Paul
Fallows (fifth at 285).
In Class AAAA, wrestlers
from Forsyth Central, Lambert
and South Forsyth all compet¬
ed in the West sectional at
Cass.
South saw all three of its
sectional qualifiers through to
the next phase: Ryan Prisco
Mason keyed a 10-0 run
that she capped off with a
3-pointer to put South (5-
21) on top 42-39.
The Lady War Eagles
later established breath¬
ing room by forcing
back-to-back turnovers
and converting them into
layups that made the
score 47-41.
When Cass chose to
foul. South sealed the
win by finishing 15-of-19
at the free throw line in
the final period alone.
Rachel Myers (12
points) and Sam Croce
(11) were also in double
figures for the Lady War
Eagles.
South advanced to the
quarterfinals to face No.
3-ranked Chattahoochee
on Tuesday. Results of
that game will be includ¬
ed in the Thursday edi¬
tion of the Forsyth
County News.
Lambert (boys) 37,
Johns Creek 56
A second quarter
drought put Lambert’s
boys directly behind the
eight ball against Johns
Creek.
It took the Longhorns
almost five minutes to
score in the second peri
od. allowing the
Gladiators to notch 12
unanswered points en
route to a 56-37 win.
Lambert (11-15) threat¬
ened to bring the game
within reach twice in the
Fascination with
Statistics, Alan Schwarz
discovered that fully half
of 50 decision-making
baseball executives sur¬
veyed had played Strat-O
Matic during their forma¬
tive years.
Daniel Okrent, the
founder of rotisserie base¬
ball, began by playing
Strat-O-Matic. “If there
hadn’t been Strat-O
Matic,” Okrent told
Lemire, “I still think I
would have come up with
rotisserie, but unquestion¬
ably it helped.”
Trip Hawkins went
even further, telling
Lemire, “The real reason
that I founded Electronic
Arts was because I want¬
ed to make computerized
WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 16.2011
scorers with 22 points, while •
Bryce Haynes added 15.
“They [Pisgah] were taking a
lot of jumpers, but we were get¬
ting the ball inside and basically
1 think that made the differ¬
ence,” Montana said.
Pinecrest advanced to play
Pace Academy on Tuesday.
The Lady Paladins also
advanced with a 60-37 victory
against the Lady Patriots.
They are scheduled to face
Pace on Wednesday at Mt.
Pisgah.
(fourth at 130), C.R. Kimball
(fourth at 135) and Garrett
Smith (eighth at 189).
Advancing from Lambert
were Michael Nelems (third at
125) and Ryan Pangrazio
(eighth at 145).
Randy Bolinger will repre¬
sent Central at state, as the
215-pound region champion
finished seventh at sectionals.
Also competing at sectionals
were North's John Brown,
Steve Hill and Jose Santana;
West’s,Nick Vogel and Reice
Thompson; and Lambert’s
Quinn Crewdson and Gantt
Bauer.
second half, but each
time Johns Creek (11-14)
nursed the lead back to a
comfortable level.
Trailing by 16 points
early in the third quarter,
the Longhorns cut the
deficit to 33-24 with the
help of back-to-back 3
pointers by Nick Biumi,
but the Gladiators
responded with a 9-0 run.
Lambert cut the lead to
42-32 in the opening
minutes of the fourth
quarter, but a 13-2 run by
Johns Creek eliminated
any chance of a come¬
back.
Connor Harrington
(game-high 13 points),
Valiant Hed (10) and
Austin Biggs (10) were
all in double figures for
the Gladiators.
Keenan Valdez (12
points) led the way for
Lambert.
Longhorns center
Spencer Haywood, who
played despite a high
ankle sprain, was limited
to four points.
Lambert’s season is
now complete.
Lambert (girls) 51,
Johns Creek 37
The Lady Longfiorns
completed a hat trick
against Johns Creek.
Lambert moved to 3-0
against the Lady
Gladiators this season
with a 51-37 win that set
up a meeting with No.
10-ranked Forsyth
versions of games like
Strat-O-Matic.”
Most important, for
thousands of baseball
fans, Strat-O-Matic
offered the opportunity to
play the game, write out
the lineup cards, call the
shots, and be in charge of
creating your own game.
Not to mention having a
blast.
I speak from first-hand
experience. I purchased
my first set of player
cards in 1966, based on
the 1965 season. Yes,
Sandy Koufax was nearly
unhittable. And his
Dodgers barely hit. But
Maury Wills could steal at
will.
Since then. I’ve played
literally thousands of
Central in the region
tournament quarterfinals.
Scoring was scarce in
the opening minutes on
Saturday, as Lambert
(13-11) finished the first
period ahead just 9-4.
Johns Creek (2-22)
closed within a point
late in the second quar¬
ter, but a 3-pointer by
Taylor Runge (10
points) created breathing
room and helped
Lambert out to a 23-17
lead at halftime.
The Lady Longhorns
broke the game open
with a 10-2 run in the
opening minutes of the
second half and ended up
with 18 points in the third
quarter their largest
output in any period.
Johns Creek narrowed
the lead to eight points
midway through the
fourth quarter before
Christina Johnson (game
high 16 points) dropped
in a basket that pushed
the Lady Longhorns’ lead
back to double figures.
Lambert’s defense did
the rest, holding the Lady
Gladiators to just three
points over the final four
minutes of the game.
Results of Tuesday’s
matchup between
Lambert and Central will
be included in the
Thursday edition of the
Forsyth County News.
A spot in the state
tournament was at stake
in that game.
games, and replayed
entire seasons. 1 even
keep a box score in my
desk drawer, from May
15, 1995, at 6:25 pm.
After 30 years of playing,
I finally had my first per¬
fect game, Joel Horlen of
the ‘67 White Sox beating
the '67 Twins. Yes, the
excitement did build over
the final innings, just as
you’d expect. Totally real¬
istic.
And that proves what
Hal Richman observed
on Saturday. He told
Stuart Miller of the New
York Times, “Strat-O
Matic isn’t a religious
experience for these peo¬
ple. But it does have
tremendous meaning in
their lives.”