Newspaper Page Text
Phil
Clark
Times-Journa!
Sports
PHS team gains confidence
Baseball fortunes at Perry High
School haven’t been the best in the past
few years. Bob Jones’ team won the
state championship in 1991, but since
then, things have been slowly heading
downhill. But in that championship
year, and the year or two before, and
perhaps the year after, there was a lot of
baseball talent at the school, and seem
ingly, always some experienced leader
ship.
Case in point. Ken Sikes, Sy Jones,
Jostin Clark, Brant Ellis, Jimmy
Dunlap, Setarvin Jackson, Keith
Newberry, Jason Sikes, Jimmy Dunlap,
P.J. Hartman, ‘Tater’ Mizell, Mark Lee,
Tobe Gilbert, Tony Arnold, and a little
later Jason Barrett and Dallas Waldrip
were all outstanding high school play
ers in the early 90s. But then the decline
began. Jones left after the 1995 season
and was replaced by Lee Whatley.
Whatley is a graduate of Northside
High School, so he is familiar with the
surroundings. He played at Middle
Georgia College then the University of
South Carolina before a stint in the
Dodgers’ minor league system.
Whatley has an extremely young
and inexperienced team for the second
year in a row. The 1997 edition of the
Panthers has but two seniors, catcher
Derrick Oliver and outfielder-designat
ed hitter Carey Washington. The youth
and inexperience has been evident, too.
After a 3-win season in 1996, the
Panthers have won just four this season.
But the good news is that they have
won three of their last four as I write
this column, and have won 3 while los
ing one in their subregion (3AA South).
The encouraging part is that the team
has started to score runs in clusters.
Eight in a loss to Bleckley County, 19
in a win over Dodge, 12 in a win over
West Laurens, eight in a loss to Dublin
and finally 13 in a win over East
Laurens.
As we pointed out, the team is still
young and inexperienced, and Whatley
is still searcing for the right combina
tion of personnel, in the right positions,
to produce winning baseball. The
achilles heel seems to be an inconsis
tency on defense. The team will make
spectacular- plays on the one hand, then
botch routine plays on the other. But,
again, that can be blamed on inexperi
ence. The team could also stand a little
more with each other.
Winning breeds that confidence in each
other, and on the other side of the coin,
that confidence in each other also
breeds winning.
Over the past few games, I have seen
a gradual change. Players are beginning
to think as ‘we’ and not as TANARUS, and that’s
a good sign. Everybody is beginning to
contribute, some more that others
because of their experience, but the last
time I counted, it took nine on the field
and about that many more in the
dougout to make a ‘team’. I hope the
guys read this, and I hope they appreci
ate the fact that some players are just
going to produce more than others, hut
that doesn’t mean that every player is
not a part of the team. And the closer
the players become as teammates, the
more the winning will come.
In no particular order, and in no par
ticular significance as far as production
is concerned, here are the guys you’ll
be watching when you come to a Perry
game. Jonathan Hayes, a second base
man; pitcher-infielder Wade Stewart;
firstbaseman Billy Terry; centerfielder
pitcher John Brewer; catcher Brent
Owens; pitcher-firstbaseman Clay
Talton; catcher Derrick Oliver; out
fielder Kent Franklin; outfielder Jeb
Stewart; shortstop David Coffey; out
fielder Robert Brewer; thirdbaseman
David Talley; outfielder Justin Tabor;
outfielder-designated hitter Carey
Washington; pitcher Brandon Farmer
and pitcher Chris Simmons. Each has
his role, and each is important to the
team. The underlying word is ‘team.’
$5 per plate
Friday.AprilU )
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Sports
Big inning lifts Perry over West Laurens, 12-9
By PHIL CLARK
Times-Journal Sports
The Perry Panthers pushed across six
runs in a fifth inning rally to erase an 8-4
West Laurens lead, and went on to a 12-9
region 3AA south victory April 1 at Perry.
The win improved the Panthers’ region
record to 2-1.
West Laurens took a 5-0 lead in the first,
sending ten batters to the plate, but Perry
Dublin takes
By PHIL CLARK
Times-Journal Sports
The Georgia High School Association
class AAA Dublin Irish scored three runs
in the first and two more in the second
April 2 at Perry, but the Panthers scrapped
back to tie the score at 5-5 after three
innings before the Irish erupted for seven
in their fifth inning and went on to a 14-8
non-region win over Perry.
Dublin ace Lee Foskey was cruising
along with a 5-1 lead before Perry scored
four in the bottom of the third to tie the
Terrell proves too much for Hornets
By PHIL CLARK
Times-Journal Sports
Terrell Academy’s Eric
Blanton was untouchable
through the first five innings
April 7 at Westfield, holding the
Hornets to a second inning single
by Joey Brumebelow as his team
built a 9-0 lead off hard-luck
Westfield starter Bryant Bledsoe
and reliever Chad Ekey.
Bledsoe was charged with
seven runs in his four innings on
the mound, but only two were
earned.
In the second inning, Terrell
sent nine batters to the plate,
scoring four runs, without get
Perry downs East Laurens for third region win
By PHIL CLARK out in the third, then Derrick Oliver followed with a
Times-Journal Sports single before back-to-back doubles by Kent Franklin
Although the young Perry Panthers have won and Carey Washington plated two more runs,
just four ball games through April 3, three of them But East Laurens came back to tie the score at
nave been where it counts, in region 3AA soutfc*£s 5-all with four in the fourth. *
they improved their region record to 3-1 by ©eat- A five-run fifth by the Panthers and excellent
ing East Laurens in Dublin April 3. relief pitching by Chris Simmons closed the door
Wade Stewart and Chris Simmons combined to on the Falcons, though. Franklin, Washington and
limit the Falcons to just seven hits, while the Peiry Billy Terry all drew walks to load the bases with
bats exploded for 15 hits on the way to a 13-5 win. one out. David Talley and Jeb Stewart then plated
A tnple by Wade Stewart, a double by David runs with perfectly executed squeeze bunts before
Coffey and a single by Kent Franklin highlighted a four more walks produced three more Perry runs,
two-run Perry first and three more runs in the third Perry 2 0 3 0 5 1 2 -13
built the lead to 5-0 before the Falcons could score East Laurens 0 0 1 4 0 0 0-5
in their third Winner: Wade Stewart Loser: Josh Sutton 2B: Coffey
Coffey hit a long home run to right field with one Washington (P) Logue (EL) ’ Sutton (EL)
Bowers graduates
Special to Times-Journal
KENNESAW Mary Ann
Bowers of The Bank of Peny in
Perry was among the second grad
uating class of the Community
Bankers Association of Geoigia’s
Graduate School of Banking for
Community Bank Management.
Bowers participated in
graduation ceremonies held
March 21 at Kennesaw State
University. Dr. Timothy
Mescon, Dean of the CBA
Graduate School of Banking
and Dean of the Michael J.
Coles School of Business at
Kennesaw State University,
and Dr. Don Sabbarese, CBA
Graduate School of Banking
faculty member, Associate
Professor of Economics and
Co-Director of the Kennesaw
State Econometrics Center,
attended the graduation cere
mony as special guest speak
ers.
Perry Shrine Club
BARBECUE
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came back in the bottom of the inning to
score three of their own, then picked up
another in the second to cut the lead to 5-4
before the Raiders got three more in the
third.
The score stayed that way until the
Panthers got to West Laurens starter
Dennis Howell for six runs in the fifth
inning.
Wade Stewart reached on an error to
non-region baseball game from Perry
The Dublin Irish erupted for seven in
their fifth inning and went on to a 14-
8 non-region win over Perry at Perry's
field.
game at 5-all.
With two out and Kent Franklin on base
with a single, David Coffey’s double
brought Franklin home, and Derrick Oliver
followed with an RBI single to plate
Coffey.
ting a hit. Three walks and three
Westfield errors led to the big
inning. Terrell went to 9-1 for the
year with a 9-6 victory.
Westfjeld finally got to
Blanton in the sixth inning, but
by then Terrell had built the nine
run lead.
In theinning, Jared Shell
reached on an error and Britt
Bazemore walked for the
Hornets. With one out,
Brumbelow drilled a double to
left field, scoring and sending
Bazemore to third.
Matt Hardy’s single scored
two more runs for the Hornets
before Blanton could halt the
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Page 5A
- Wed. April 9, 1997
rally.
Westfield go three more in the
seventh when Bazemore drew a
walk with two out. Ron
Marshall’s double scored
Bazemore, then Marshall scored
ahead of Brumbelow when the
Hornets’s first baseman hit a
long home run over the fence in
left-center.
Terrell Academy, 2,4,0, 1, 2,0 0-9
Westfield 0,0, 0,0,0, 3 3-6
Winner: Eric Blanton Loser:
Bryant Bledsoe
2B: Marshall (W),
Brumbelow (W) Massey (T),
Webb (T), Roberts (T)
HR: Brumbelow (W)
Houston Tms-Journal
open the Panthers’ fifth, and scored on a
David Coffey double. After Derrick Oliver
drew a walk, Kent Franklin delivered a
run-scoring hit, then John Brewer drove
home another run with a single.
Derrick Oliver scored on an error before
Billy Terry’s sacrifice fly brought in the
tying run and moved Brewer to third. With
the West Laurens infield drawn in, Carey
Washington hit the ball over the bag at sec-
Oliver scored on a John Brewer double,
then Brewer came home on a Carey
Washington single before Foskey could
retire the side.
Dublin sent 11 batters to the plate in the
fifth, though, scoring seven times on just
three hits. Three walks, a hit batsman and
an error helped the Irish to the big inning.
Perry picked up three in the sixth, but it
was too little, too late. Brent Owens
opened the sixth with a walk and David
Talley followed with a single, then Jeb
Stewart walked to load the bases.
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ond for a single, scoring Brewer with the
go-ahead run and the Panthers never trailed
again as reliever Chris Simmons picked up
his second win of the year.
West Laurens 503 000 1-9
Perry 3 1 0 0 6 2 x -12
Winner: Simmons Loser: Howell 2B:
Coffey (P), Oliver (P), Whittle 2 (WL), 3B:
Coffey (P), Collins (WL)
A fielder’s choice grounder off the bat
of Wade Stewart scored Owens and an
error at shortstop allowed another run to
score. Coffey then drove in Stewart with
the third run of the inning, but Dublin
reliever Scott Dixon was able to get out of
the inning without further damage.
Dublin 3 2 0 1 7 0 1-14
Perry 104 003 0-8
Winner: Lee Foskey Loser: Kent
Franklin
2B: Coffey (P), Brewer (P), Beale (D),
Carter 2 (D), Frank (D)
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