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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 , * k •< ——~ x mam H f Jfrfi MW W .Ms M W Vk if* jMCMP -j, ■ \ ;jfc sf JjjH % ... Jt:. . ® .. ; f IF m — r-,. — • n " r —— 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.