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Sports
HVetoF. L
Roley I
Sports editor f§
When other's
expectations
are too high
Expectations.
When Darryl Stawberry made it
to the New York Mets in 1983, he
hit .257 with 26 homers and 74 RBI
in 122 games.
Whispers in the New York media
started. Whispers about the next ar
rival of the legendary Ted Williams,
the man who hit .406 in 1941 with
37 homers. Whispers of the man
who finished his career with a .344
batting average and 521 homeruns.
Expectations.
There is no doubt that Strawberry
had, and has, good talent But the
comparisons with the greats, the ex
pectations to do what they did. He
had talent; but, not that kind of tal
ent.
Faced with the fact that no matter
how good he would be, he would
never be good enough, never live up
to the expectations of the second
coming of Williams, Strawberry
started to self-destruct.
First, there were troubles in the
New York locker room, fights with
teammates, managers and coaches.
There was alcohol abuse as Straw
berry looked to unhealthy ways to
avoid the pressure of not measuring
up to the expectations.
Expectations.
So, Strawberry, fast approaching
the reality of his nickname, the
"Strawman," took his bat and his
glove to Los Angeles, away from
the New York media, away from
their expectations of his being the
next coming of Williams. He signed
a deal worth over S2O million.
But, back problems and other
ailments, and the fact that he never
really left the expectations of New
York, the fact that they followed
him to California, left him a failure
in the West Coast sunshine.
He could not, for whatever rea
sons, live up the expectations others
had for him.
Expectations.
Again, Strawberry went outside
the game to find solace of not living
up to expectations, turning to alco
hol, turning to other drugs.
The expectation was that Straw
berry would be healthy, that he
would lead the Dodgers from the cel
lar this year in the National League
West.
Nobody expected Strawberry to
not show for a exhibition game
against California Sunday. However,
he was still running from expecta
tions.
Expectations.
We need to be careful of expecta
tions, especially when we apply our
expectations to someone elses’ per
formance.
Where I went to school, there was
a great athlete by the name of Steve.
Steve was the tightend for the
Tigers. He also played linebacker for
Howard Busby, who left this school
for Kendrick in Columbus, and
would later be named Georgia
AAAA Coach of the Year.
A pro scout came out and looked
at Steve. He said Steve could go
from high school to the pros, skip
ping college.
Steve signed with Alabama.
Although the plans were for Steve to
work out with the team and be red
shirted, injuries soon put Steve in
the national spotlight. Alabama
upset Penn State, a game where
Steve went back and picked off a
pass on national television.
Two days later, Steve could not
be found. He couldn't live with the
expectations. He wanted to be no
more than a good old boy, hanging
with the gang. Others, however, had
great expectations.
Expectations.
They are among the most neces
sary ingredients of any life. But,
sometimes we go to far.
Instead of expecting someone to
be good, or above average; we de
mand that they be the best, that they
go further than their talent can carry
them. We expect a good player to
challenge a great player.
And, it never happens.
We have to be careful, especially
in youth sports. That's why I am
real reluctant to do features on high
school stars. I am afraid of expecta
tions being set too high. Some peo
ple can't handle that.
Dogwood 5K sets attendance record
By VETO F. ROLEY
Sports Editor
Around 300 runners toured Perry
Saturday afternoon in the Dogwood
Festival 5K Run/Walk, making it
the largest race ever for the Dog
wood Festival.
When the race was completed, it
was a stranger to the Perry area,
Sherman Eller, who came across
the finish line first, running from
start to finish in a time of 16:19
minutes.
The Dublin runner finished
nearly a minute in front of Macon's
Luther Ver Steeg, who won the 35-
39-year-old male division with a
time of 17:12 minutes and Warner
Robins' Bobby Jones, who won the
30-34-year-old male division with a
time of 17:13.
"I thought it was great," said
Eller. "It was a well marked, nice
event.
"It was a good course," said
Eller. "It was not a real fast course,
but it was not a slow course." He
added that the course had enough
turns and neighborhoods to make
the run interesting, and not boring.
Eller said that if he was in the
Westfield loses first region game to Trojans
By PHIL CLARK
Sports Columnist
The Tattnall Trojans scored five
runs in the second and third innings
off Lon Talton, and then made it
stand for an important Region
2AAA victory over Westfield Fri
day afternoon at the Hornet's Nest.
The Hornets would come back
with three runs late, but it would be
too little, too late as the Trojans
went back to Macon with the 5-3
road win.
Bert Brown, head coach of the
Hornets' nine, said that after the
Trojans went up on Westfield 5-0,
he started to have bad thoughts. "I
thought, 'Up, oh, here comes a
blowout.'”
However, Brown said that those
fears eased when his Hornets picked
up a couple of runs in the fourth
and one in the fifth to make a run at
the Trojans.
Panthers break losing streak with 12-4 rout
r 1
11111
A Wayne County runner beats a quick retreat back to first as Perry's Tim Allen waits
on the throw over from Jason Brett.
Yellow Jackets sting Panthers 8-5
By VETO F. ROLEY
Sports Editor
The Perry Panthers had a chance
to solidify fourth place in the re
gion with a win over Wayne
County in Jessup Saturday after
noon.
The winner of the game would
have the inside track at the final re
gion playoff spot. The Yellow
Jackets came through on their home
field, beating the Panthers 8-5.
Trailing 2-1, the Yellow Jackets
scored three in the third and one in
the fourth to take control of the
game. Wayne would add a single
run in the fifth and two in the sixth
to take an 8-3 lead into the seventh
inning.
However, the Panthers came to
Bad day at the Landings hurts PHS golfers
By VETO F. ROLEY
Sports Editor
After a solid day of golf Friday,
the Perry Panther golf team was in
consistent Saturday, finishing
eighth in the 11-team Demon Invi
tational, played at Houston Lake
area next year, he would like to
come back to Perry and defend his
title.
Teressa Sowell made the trip
from Cordele, completing the race
route in 19:53. She was a minute
faster than Mandy Brooks, from
Macon, who finished with a time of
20:58, and Jodi Tillman, from
Forsyth, who finished with a time
of 21:10. Brooks and Tillman took
the first two places in the 15-19-
year-old female competition.
Sharon Law of Perry, who won the
30-34-year-old women's competi
tion was just behind Brooks and
Tillman, finishing the race with a
time of 21:15.
The master's male competition
was won by Macon's Mark Welden,
who circled the route with a time of
18:42. Tifton's Bonnie Evans took
the female master's title with a time
of 22:14.
"The turnout was excellent," said
Marti Tolleson, one of the organiz
ers of the race. She said that over
300 runners registered for the race,
compared to 130 registered runners
last year. "It was very successful. It
Please see Run, page 9A
"We could've gotten whalloped
pretty good," said Brown. "But, to
the boy's credit, they didn't roll over
and quiL"
Talton breezed through the first
inning, but ran into trouble in the
second. Tattnall put together three
singles, a fielder's choice and a dou
ble to score three runs, taking a lead
they would not relinquish.
Towson and Stuart opened the
inning with back-to-back singles,
with Towson scoring when Thorn
ley hit into a fielder's choice. Tal
ton almost escaped without further
damage as he retired Moore on a
grounder to short and then got Paul
Britt, his mound opponent, to fly
out to left field.
But, the number nine hitter, des
ignated hitter McDaniel, delivered a
double to score the second Trojan
run. McGee followed with an RBI
single to make it 3-0.
play seven, mounting a late-inning
comeback against the Yellow Jack
ets. Jamie Walker started the last
inning with a single. Dallas
Waldrip brought the Panthers to
within striking distance, pounding a
two-run shot over the center field
fence. •
However, the key play in the in
ning might have been Steve
Madray's play at third, robbing Ja
son Brett of a single and recording
the first out of the inning.
One out later, Tim Allen dou
bled and Adam Lancaster walked,
bringing the tying run to the plate
with two outs. However, the rally
would fall short as Yellow Jacket
pitcher Bradley, who lost the first
game to the Panthers, would retire
Country Club and the Landings
Country Club.
The Panthers shot a 324 at
Houston Lake to open the invita
tional Friday, a score which golf
coach Tony Thrift termed
"respectable.” However, he said the
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Young and old runners took part In the Dogwood Festival 5K run Saturday morning.
Over 300 runners participating, setting a new record for entries.
Stuart and Thomley were in
volved in the Trojans two-run third
inning, as they drew two-out walks
ahead of RBI singles by Moore and
Britt as the Trojans increased their
lead to 5-0 after two-and-a-half in
nings.
The inning finished Talton for
the day, as Brown brought in
freshman Brian Staines, who
worked the remainder of the game,
giving up just three harmless hits.
"Staines pitched an outstanding
game," said Brown. "He allowed
only two people to reach base in
the last two innings."
Meanwhile, Britt was doing a
number on the Westfield batters.,
holding the Hornets to just six base
hits, with two of them coming in
Westfield's two run fourth inning.
Talton walked to open the
fourth. One out later Troy Nuss and
Clay Smith singled, with Talton
the final batter on a grounder to
second.
However, the Panthers would
hurt themselves throughout the
game leaving 10 runners on base,
six in scoring position and and two
on third base.
"We played well," said Bob
Jones, the Panther's head coach.
"We made a few early mistakes;
but, we hit the ball well and made
some good defensive plays.
"But, they hit the ball well. It
was just their day to win.
"I'm proud of the way the kids
played. Dallas (Waldrip) was four
for-four and had his fourth home
run. He hit the ball well.
"Jason Brett pitched the ball
well."
team should have shot in the
neighborhood of 315.
However, Saturday at the Land
ings was a bad day for the Perry
duffers, with the team shooting a
336 for a two-day total of 660. "We
Please see Golf, page 9A
Houston Times-Journal
Wednesday, April 6,1994-
and Nuss scoring to make it 5-2
Tattnall. But Britt battled back to
get the next two Westfield batters
out to retire the side.
Billy Kitchens opened the home
half of the fifth with a single. Two
outs later, Talton and Jake Walls
had back-to-back singles to score
Kitchens. But, again, Britt was able
to retire the side without further
damage.
Three-up and three-down innings
in the sixth and seventh ended the
game with the Trojans improving
in the region to 3-1. With the loss,
Westfield drops to 2-1 in the re
gion, and 2-8 overall.
"I feel like we can compete (in
the region)," said Brown. "I don’t
think there is a clear-cut favorite."
Brown said coming back on Tat
tnall was important for his players
going into the region race. "It at
least makes them feel like they can
By VETO F. ROLEY
Sports Editor
The Perry Panthers used the bats
of Jason Brett and Derrick Oliver to
exorcise a two-game losing streak,
beating Hawkinsville 12-4 in a
non-region match Monday after
noon.
However, it might have been a
chewing out after five innings by
Panther head coach Bob Jones that
lit the fire under the Perry team
more than anything else. After al
lowing the Red Devils to steal
home, tying the score at three,
Jones held a discussion with his
players, telling them that he was
glad there would daylight left (to
practice) when they returned to
Perry.
The Panthers would take Jones’
talk to heart, exploding for five
runs in the sixth and four runs in
the seventh to put the game away.
"It (the win) was important be
cause it broke a losing streak," said
Jones. "It was important for them
to understand that they can come
back and win at anytime.
"We are going to have to play
well to have any chance at winning
the region. This was a big win for
us."
Although the Panthers would
blow the Red Devils away, the first
five innings were nip-and-tuck.
Hawkinsville got on the score
board first with Troy Meeks taking
a Troy Davis pitch deep to left-cen
ter for a solo homer in the bottom
of the first.
PHS Netters lose to Wayne
By VETO F. ROLEY
Sports Editor
The Perry Panthers do not play
tennis in a region that is conducive
to learning tennis by playing.
There are four very strong teams
in the region. Last Thursday, the
Panthers played one of them,
Wayne County, with the Yellow
Jackets coming away with the
wins, beating the men’s team 4-1
and the women's team 5-0.
"Everybody played pretty well,"
said Perry coach Luke Smith. "I
don't have any problem with the
way that they played."
"We were not outclassed, and not
shut-out," said Smith. "The
matches were closer than they were
Page 8A
compete with other teams in the re
gion," he said. "It made them real
ize that nobody in the region can
put a whipping on us."
Westfield is still very much in
the hunt for the region title, said
Brown. "(Tattnall) coach Chip
Davidson and I talked about it Fri
day," he said. "He and I agreed it
would be a three-way race between
Tattnall, Athens Christian and us.”
Athens Christian gave Tattnall
its only region loss earlier this sea
son. The loss puts the Hornets even
in the loss column, and one game
out of first in the win column.
"2-8 is not what I would like us
to be," said Brown. "Two (region)
wins out of the first three ball
games—l'm not satisfied with it;
but, I'm not disappointed. You
could say I'm half-way pleased,
especially with the fact that the two
wins came on the road."
Errors would haunt the Devils
all afternoon. The Panthers would
come back to tie the game in the
second on the strength of two
Hawkinsville errors.
Thad Cook would start the in
ning by reaching on an error when
the firstbasemen dropped the throw
from third. The Panthers would
have runners on the comers with no
outs when the centerfielder dropped
Tim Allen's fly ball.
Two outs later, the Panthers still
had runners on the comers. Jones
called for a delayed steal. Devil
catcher Shane Savant threw down to
second to get Allen as Cook took
off from third. There was no return
throw home as Savant's throw
sailed wide of second.
The Devils would add a second
run in the bottom of the third.
Tony Meeks walked with one out
He came around to score on Savants
deep fly ball to center, which
hopped away from the Perry center
fielder, giving the Devils the 2-1
advantage.
Perry would take its first lead in
the top of the fifth. Oliver would
lead the inning off with a pop fly
single to right, which also broke up
Joey Lancaster's no-hit bid.
Travis Cantrell would sacrifice
bunt Oliver over to second. An in
field single to third by Terry Yawn
would put runners on the comers.
An error by the thirdbaseman on
Jamie Walker's grounder would
Please see Devils, page 9A
the last time.
"Last year it was not a contest,"
said Smith. "We had a lot of games
go to match (Thursday). We got
better."
The one win the Panthers had
came in men's singles play, only
the third win the men have had all
year in singles play. Daniel Wright
took the win, beating his opponent
6-3,3-6, and 6-2.
"Tara Powers continues to play
well," said Smith of his number
one women's singles player. "She
has to play the number one player
of the other team.”
The loss drops the women's
team to 4-4 on the year.