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High school baseball report!
Early lead not enough,
Perry falls to Shaw
By ALLINE KENT
For the Times-Iqurnal
Senior Kent franklin took his
first at bat during the Panthers
first home game of the season
Friday evening and sent the ball
sailing over the center field fence.
It was Franklin's third home
run of the season.
David Coffey had already sin
gled so the Franklin homer put
the Panthers up 2-0, a lead that
they kept through the third
inning.
The Shaw Raiders retaliated
with two runs of their own and
tied the score in the third until
Philip Gentrys stand up double
sent David Talley and Kent
Franklin home and put the
Panthers up 4-2.
Johnny Watkins’ single later in
the inning brought runner Dante
Holmes on third across home
Eilate giving the Panthers a 5-2
cad over the AAAA school from
Columbus.
The Panthers held the Raiders
scoreless in the fourth. Seniors
David Coffey and Dante Holmes
both had singles and David
Talley’s hit was good for a RBI.
The Raiders came back in the
sixth and tied the game with an
inside the nark home run with a
runner on first.
Senior Jcb Stuart opened the
bottom of the sixth with a single,
running towards first with so
much hustle that Shaw’s defense
never had a chance. Pinch run
ner Dante Holmes was sent in
and Coffey’s single gave Perry
Hornet update
Bats improve but defense suffers
By PHIL CLARK
Times-lournal Sports
, , when the Westfield
Hornets’ to come
around, the defense disappeared
here March 18 in a 13-6 region
lAAA loss to the Mount de Sales
Cavaliers.
The Hornets, who had collect
ed a total of just three hits over
their previous three games,
banged 13 off two Mount de
Sales but fielding lapses
cost the Hornets a chance to win
the game. The team committed
six errors, including four in a five
run Mount de Sales seventh
inning.
Starter Matt Hardy hit the
first two Mount de Sales batters
to start the game, then shortstop
Nick Richardson got one into the
wind blowing out toward left field
and lifted it over the left field
fence for a quick 3-0 lead.
The Hornets came back with a
run in the first, then took a brief
4-3 lead with three more in the
second.
With one out, Ron Marshall
got the first of his three hits for
the day. Hardy and Nathan
Skinner followed with singles to
load the bases ahead of a bases
clearing double by Trevor Jones.
The lead was short-lived,
though. The Cavaliers came back
to score four in the third with
Luke Knights double the big hit
in the inning.
Not finished, Westfield closed
to within one again in the third.
Jared Shell led off with a single
and stole second.
With one out, Shell scored on
a double by Chance Jones. Later
in the inning, Ron Marshall
scored the Hornets’ second run of
the inning after drawing a walk.
The Hornets couldn’t manage
another run as the big seventh
Sve Mount de Sales a win that
oked more lopsided than it
actually was.
MDS 3 0 4 0 0 1 5- 13
Westfield 132 000 0-6
Winning pitcher Richardson:
Losing pitcher Matt Hardy.
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Times- Journal Photo by Alline Kent
DEEP BREATH - Panther
David Talley takes a breath
after reaching first during
recent Perry baseball action.
runners on first and third with
two outs.
Holmes scored while Shaw
was trying to run down Coffey
on an attempted steal of second
giving Perry back the lead bv one
going into the last inning of play.
Starting pitcher Tripp Morath
struck out two in the seventh and
first baseman Willie Simon
caught the third out on the bag
but the Panthers had allowed
Shaw to score three runs and take
the lead for the first time.
Perry’s rally during their last at
bat fell short and the game ended
with Perry down 9-7.
Leading hitters: Westfield Ron
Marshall 3-3, Trevor Jones 2-4
(double) Jared Shell 2-4: Mount
de Sales Richardson 2-4 (home
run, double) Brandon Renfroe 2-
3
Weir, Jones lead
Hornets to win
By PHIL CLARK
Times-Fournai. Sports
Westfield sophomore Daniel
Weir evened his pitching record
at 1-1 with a complete game 10-
5 victory over Fullington here
March 22.
Weir allowed nine hits, three
of them in the seventh inning,
and took over the team lead in
strikeouts. Weir’s seven strikeouts
against the Trojans gives him 20
for the season.
Trevor Jones scored three runs
for Westfield and drove home
two, one of them on a perfectly
executed squeeze play that scored
Gary Virden in the second
innings. Jones’ third inning dou
ble scored Matt Hardy.
Freshman catcher Chance
Jones had his best day at the plate
this year, going three for four
including a triple, and driving
home two Westfield runs.
Virden and Jared Shell each
scored twice for Westfield.
Preston Etheridge and Joseph
Speight each had two hits for
Fullington, with Etheridge’s dou
ble the only extra base his off
Weir, who walked just one batter
in going the distance.
Fullington 101 0012 = 5
Westfield 424 000 x =lO
Winning pitcher: Daniel
Weir (1-1) Losing pitcher: Josh
Thompson
Leading hitters: Westfield
Chance Jones 3-4 (triple) Trevor
Jones 1-2 (3 runs, double), Gary
Virden 1-2 (2 runs) Fullington:
Joseph Speight 2-4 , Preston
Etheridge 2-4 (double)
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Page 5A
Perry heads to
region baseball play
By ALLINE KENT
For the Times-lournai.
It’s been all preseason up to now.
The Perry High Panthers open
their region schedule this week
against Southeast-Macon and
Dodge County.
Entering region competition with
a 2-9 record doesn’t speak much for
the season so far, but Perry’s schedule
during the early part of the season
has included mosdy top 10 schools
in AAA and AAAA. Their two wins
came against Warner Robins and
Wcstside-Macon.
The Panthers’ record is similar to
the 1-8 record they had at this time
last year going into region play. After
starting their region schedule last
season, the Panthers won eight
straight and played until the state
quarterfinals, ending the year as
region champs.
While the team record may not
be too impressive right now, a look
at the games and at individual statis
tics shows Perry can be contender for
the region championship again this
season.
Perry has played several games
lately without their entire crew,
including two close losses against
Hardaway, where the Panthers were
short four players and Dublin where
they were missing two.
During Perry’s close loss to Shaw
March 19, the Panthers batted
against a number 10 team’s third best
pitcher. The Panthers’ performance
in the game drew praise from the
opposition coach.
“After the game, (Shaw) Coach
Charles Flowers told me that we
were the best hitting team he had
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Panther Bth graders fourth in county soccer
ByALLINEKENT
For the Times-Tournal
Perry Middle’s eighth grade
girls soccer team brought home a
fourth place finish in the semifi
nals of the county championship
last week.
This season marked the first
time the Perry soccer program
has been split into girls and boys
teams.
The girls lost against Bonaire
3-0 at the game held at Bonaire’s
stadium.
Coach Elizabeth Harrison
compared the loss to an earlier
game against Bonaire.
“We lost against them earlier
in the season during regular sea
son play. That game we lost 4-0.
We played a real tight game both
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firne*- Journal Photo by Alline Kent
TAKING AIM - Johnny Watkins aims for the
fence while batting for the Panthers.
seen,” said Coach Lee Whadey.
Although their record is poor right now, Whadey said his
players understand the cottipetition they have faced has been
better than what the Panthers expect to see in region.
“We have been playing teams that are one or two levels above
us. We need to have more mental preparation than we have had,
but our kids realize we have a good, capable team,” he said.
The Panthers’ only freshman on the team, Caleb White has
stood out so far this season, according to Whadey. “Caleb is bat
ting over .300,” Whadey said, “He has played catcher for us in
two games and has played some at third. He is doing a great
job.”
Whadey also mentioned the performances from the “two
Davids”, Talley and Coffey, who have both played out of posi
tion this season and have both hit very well for Perry. “Both of
them (Talley and Coffey), will just get better during region”,
Whadey said.
According to his coach, center fielder Kent Franklin, already
a serious threat to the Perry opponents, also fits into that cate
gory. Franklin, who has pitched some for the Panthers this sea
son, “has the strongest arm in Middle Georgia,” Whadey said.
“His hitting keeps improving and he has pitched two good
games for us."
The Panthers have Dodge County March 25 in Eastman
and a double header with Calhoun County here March 27.
times,” she said.
The Panthers had only 11
team members at the game which
in soccer translates to having no
substitutes. Regardless, the 11 on
the field gave it their all until the
last second ticked off the clock.
Perry held Bonaire scoreless
during most of the first period,
allowing a goal with just a minute
on the clock.
After the game, Harrison
seemed pleased with the progress
her team had made over the sea
son.
“My entire team improved this
year. We figured out what to do
and how to shoot the ball.”
This girls came out in the first
round of playoffs and beat
Rumble in a shootout. It is unbe-
Times Journal Photos by
AHine Kent
TOURNEY
ACTION
Members of the
Perry Middle
School eighth
grade squad gath
er for a team
(left) and
then perform on
the field (below,
left and right). in
the semifinal
tame against
onaire Middle
School. The team
finished fourth in
the county tour
nament.
f u
lievable how much
they have learned in
just seven or eight
games. Just truly
amazing,” she said.
“I believe that
they have enjoyed
themselves and that
this has been a good
experience for them.
I look for most of
them to play at the
high school level
next year.”
Phil
dark !
Times-Journal
Sports
A sony state of affairs
Professional boxing is in a sorry state of
affairs. It didn’t just get there overnight, mind
you. It’s been headed downhill for several
decades. But incidents in the past couple of
years really damages the sport even further,
especially in die heavyweight division.
First of all, there are too many titles
three of them, to be exact. Evander Hoiyfield
holds two, Lennox Lewis the other. In an
effort to unify the tides, the boxers were
scheduled in a winner take all affair.
Hoiyfield had two tides at stake, Lewis one.
But let’s back up a bit. There was the
Holyfield-Mike Tyson fiasco in which Tyson
was disqualified and banned from boxing
temporarily for biting off part of Holyfields
ear! Later, Tyson was arrested and charged
with assault following an automobile acci
dent. Tyson was sentenced to a year in jail on
the charges and began serving his time Feh.
Tyson would have been eligible for early
release in July, which means he would serve
only about five months of the one-year term.
But now Tyson has ‘requested’ that his sen
tence be reduced to eight months, and the
request will actually be heard by Judge
Stephen Johnson.
The first question is why? What has Tyson
done to deserve such consideration? He has
not demonstrated, whether he was behind
bars or on the outside, that he is a law-abid
ing citizen. As quickly as he hits the streets,
he is back into trouble.
Boxing is in a sad state, and maybe there
are those who feel that Tyson is needed to
rescue the sport. That is mind-boggling. If
the sport is in such bad sjiape that Tyson is
needed to hek> save it. there is no hope.
The Hoiyfield-Lewis spectacle was the
last straw. Hoiyfield had boasted that his
‘plan A’ was “Lewis has to go in the third
round." When asked what his ‘play B’ was,
Hoiyfield said “I don’t have a plan B, so plan
A has to work.” Needless to say, it didn’t.
He did, however, retain his two titles and
Lewis his one when the ‘fight’ was called a
draw. Clearly, Lewis won the fight all
evening, but with a judge from each of the
three organizations claiming a title, the fight
never had a chance from the get-go. It was so
bad, in fact, that now an investigation is being
organized to look into the fight, and it’s
results.
But the boxing public is gullible. They will
accept just about anything. And that’s just
about what they are getting. Remember when
wcused to professional wrestling was
scripted, the win
ners selected before the matches? Boxing has
become that way. It’s so obvious when you try
to watch a bout on television, Heaven forbid!
Sometimes, though, in switching chan
nels, I will pause briefly on a boxing bout. I
certainly won’t watch it for long. Time was
when fans would gather around radios to lis
ten to boxing bouts, when the outcome was
n’t determined ahead of time, when television
and uncouth promotion people weren’t call
ing all of the shots.
As a kid, I can remember a favorite uncle
who couldn’t wait for the “Friday Night
Fights”. Now, he won’t even read about a
bout in the newspaper. “It’s been ruined by
thugs”, he tells me.
The thugs aren’t all in the ring, either.
Most of them are promoting the fights.
Many of them have amassed huge fortunes at
the expense of gullible fight fans who believe
the game is legitimate, who will pay huge
prices for fight tickets and ‘pay per view’ tele
vision rights.
As long as those folks are out there spend
ing their money on the fight game, there will
be promoters who supply the game to them,
and cable television companies who clammer
for the opportunity to demand millions of
dollars to put in on the air. Again, it’s those
gullible fight fans who finance it all. As long
as they are there, there will be the Mike
Tysons, and there will be farces like the
Holyfield-Lewis spectacle.
Can Mike Tyson save boxing? Stupid
question. Don’t even answer. But you can bet
one thing. On Friday, when Judge Stephen
Johnson hears Tysons request for a reduced
sentence, he will approve it.
Later that day, Mike Tyson will be a free
man. That will mean he served less than two
months in jail on a-one year sentence! Boxing
is sick from the basement up!
Andrew United
Methodist Church
2430 Hwy. 127
Kathleen, GA 31047
for
1999-2000 School Year
For information, call 957-7934