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INSIDE THIS WEEK
The Madison County Journal
Sports
Rec dept, hosts tennis campers
The Madison County Recreation
Department recently held its first-
ever tennis camp.
2B
IB
Thursday, July 16, 2009
www.MainstreetnewsSPORTS.com
Ben Munro/ ben@mainstreetnews.com (706) 795-2567
All-Stars
Jr. Leaguers
Madison Co. team comes
one game shy of state title
The Madison County Junior League softball all
stars came a win shy of a state title, losing 5-3 to
Pioneer Little League in the title contest Tuesday.
The three-team, double-elimination state tourna
ment was held at Rabun County Little League.
Madison County opened with a 9-1 win over
Western Little League on Saturday, and then beat
Pioneer 5-4 Sunday.
fall in finals
However, Pioneer rebounded with an 8-1 victory
over Western in the losers’ bracket Monday and
followed that up with a 13-1 victory over Madison
County the same night, setting up Tuesday’s deci
sive contest.
Madison County’s Junior League all-stars
advanced to state by winning a best-of-three series
with Rabun County June 29-30 for the district
title.
In other action, Madison County’s Little League
baseball all-stars were eliminated in a 6-4 loss to
— See All-stars on Page 2B
The Madison
County
Junior
League soft-
ball all-stars
(shown here
in recent
action) fell
one game
short of a
state cham
pionship,
losing to
Pioneer in
the finals
Tuesday
in Rabun
County. Ben
Munro/staff
Madison Co. all-stars
Haley Gordon fires a pitch toward home plate during the Madison County Little League all-stars’ district title win July 2. The team’s quest
for a state title begins Sunday. Ben Munro/staff
District champs ‘just ready to get down there and play’
Madison Co.’s bid for state title
starts Sunday in Warner Robins
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
T hings have died down a bit for the
Madison County Little League softball
all-stars since clobbering all competition
at the district tournament
and meeting Gov. Sonny
Perdue before their champi
onship win over Habersham
County.
For the past two weeks,
the team has practiced and
waited ... and waited ...
for its chance to get back on
the field. Oh, by the way,
no more politicians have
dropped by the dugout.
“No, the governor hasn’t
shown back up this week,’’ manager Jay Pridgen
joked.
Madison County finally returns to the field Sunday
at 4:30 p.m. when it opens state tournament play in
Cheyenne Pridgen breaks for home during
recent action. Ben Munro/staff
Warner Robins, ending what will be a 17-day layoff.
The day can’t come fast enough for this 4-0 team
with its sights set on winning a state title.
"We want to get back and play as quick as pos
sible,” Pridgen said. “I hate these rests.”
Madison County, which returns seven players
of last year’s state runner-up team, receives a first-
round bye at state, playing the winner of Oglethorpe
County and Harris County.
Having the bye means Madison County will be
able to scout both the Oglethorpe County-Harris
County and West Point-Warner Robins games
Saturday.
"So we get kind of an advantage,” Pridgen said.
"We get to look at them before we've got to play
them.”
Though the team hasn’t played since July 2,
Madison County has been hard at work. The squad
has practiced everyday but twice since winning the
district title.
"So they’re by no means unpolished," Pridgen
said. “They’re still working hard. We’re just ready to
get down there and play.”
The state championship game of the double-elim
ination tournament is Thursday, with an “if needed
game” scheduled for Friday.
The state champion — whoever that might be —
advances on to the regionals in Ceredo-Kenova, W.
Va, which start July 30. But Pridgen isn’t looking
that far ahead.
“You know what’s ahead of you, but I’m trying
— See Little League softball on Page 2B
STATE
TOURNEY
•Who: Madison
Co. Little League
softball all-stars
vs. Oglethorpe Co.-
Harris Co. winner,
•When:
Sunday, 4:30 p.m.,
•Where: Warner
Robins
Local Professional Athletes
Pro baseball update: Hull’s Fields heads into all-star break on hot streak
Hull native Joshua Fields entered
the Minor League all-star break on
the strength of four consecutive score
less relief appearances for AA West
Tennessee.
Fields, a first-round draft pick of Seattle
in 2008, made his most recent appear
ance Friday (July 10), throwing a perfect
inning against Mobile.
He allowed no hits and no walks and
shuck out one batter.
FIELDS JEFFERS WESTBROOK
Fields is 2-1 on the year in 24 games,
with a 4.50 ERA and one save. He has 29
strikeouts.
Fields hasn’t allowed a mn since June
28.
Elsewhere, Madison County High
School alum Ben Jeffers threw a perfect
inning of relief for the Helena Brewers,
Milwaukee’s Rookie League affiliate,
Monday in his seventh appearance of
the year.
Jeffers, a 22 nd round pick of the Brewers
in 20008, is 0-1 on the year with a
6.00 ERA. He's worked nine innings and
shuck out nine.
In the majors, Danielsville native and
Cleveland Indian pitcher Jake Westbrook
continues to recover from Tommy John
surgery. Westbrook, who hasn’t pitched
for the Indians since early in the 2008 sea
son, threw 30 pitches in a bullpen session
July 10, according to mlb.com.
He’s due back with Cleveland in early
August, according to the website.
Unfortunate
fate for
Francoeur
Rarely does one look
toward New York for less
scrutiny, but not everyone
is Jeff Francoeur.
The Braves jettisoned
the right fielder to the
Mets in a recent deal,
sending the hometown,
homegrown product to
a division rival after just
three and
a half sea
sons.
The
obtrusive
spotlight
of being
the local
kid is now
gone for
Francoeur.
He’ll just
have to deal with the New
York media, which could
be less taxing.
Few Braves faced such
pressure to please as
“Frenchy” did.
Francoeur grew up right
down the road and every
Braves fan knew it, mak
ing every homer a little
sweeter, each strikeout a
bit more sour.
Francoeur was already a
quasi-celebrity in Georgia
when the Braves nabbed
him in the first round of
the 2002 draft.
After all, he was one of
the most heralded prep
athletes to ever lace up
spikes in this state, leading
Parkview to two football
state titles and two more
on the baseball field.
Francoeur debuted to
much fanfare for the
Braves in 2005, hitting
.300 and drilling 14 hom
ers in less than half a
season.
Then, 100-plus RBI sea
sons followed in 2006 and
2007.
The next Dale Murphy,
anyone?
It was all going accord
ing to plan. Plenty of
kids in this state declare
they'll one day play for
the Braves, but how many
do it?
Then add Atlanta native
Brian McCann to the mix,
and you had a rarity in
professional sports: not
one, but two local products
starring for your team.
So with all the adulation
that comes with being the
toast of your hometown,
the fall from grace had to
be that much more sober
ing for Francoeur.
The past two seasons
he’s deteriorated from
an all-star-caliber player
to something of an “out-
machine.”
Francoeur hit a lowly
.239 last year and
was demoted to AA
Mississippi for a short
stretch. This year, he bat
ted .256 as a Brave, but
only managed a .282
on-base percentage —
16 points lower than
McCann’s batting average.
As it stands, McCann
is a four-time all-star.
Francoeur is yesterday’s
news in Atlanta.
But this isn’t to say this
guy can’t still be great.
It’s been said many
a time that maybe all
Francoeur needed was a
change of scenery.
I think New York will
suffice for new scenery.
So when Francoeur
returns to Turner Field
in Mets threads (which
will be today ironically),
let's hope he gets what he
deserves — an ovation, for
old-times sake.
After all, Atlanta is
home.
Ben Munro is a reporter
for The Madison County
Journal.
From the
sports desk
o