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Sports GISA North boys outgun South, 86-58 By Phil Clark Hoy JtxmnAL Augusta Christian s James Seegars and Joey Isaac got most of the ink in a middle Georgia daily paper's accounts of the Georgia Independent School Association boys' all-star game, but the play er who broke open a close game was Piedmont Acade my's Thomas Yancey. Scoreless in the first quarter. Yancey watched Seegars and George Wal ton’s Jeremy Pritchard score five points each to lead the North to a 20-15 advantage. The South had gone ahead at 15-13 on a basket by Westfield's Robert Causey, but a seven-point run by the North to close ihe quarter game them a five-point lead. Then Yancey took over. The 6’o" guard hit three pointers on three consecu tive North possessions, and Isaacs’ free throw and a basket by Seegars complet ed a 20-point North run finally broken when South land's Chuck Carson hit a basket for the South. Yancey answered Car son's basket with his fourth three-pointer of the quarter, and the North was off and running to a 43-22 halftime advantage. Will Puckett of Randolph Southern led the South with 12 points, with West field's Brian Hartley scoring 11. Causey finished the game with 6 points. Isaac scored 24 to lead the North, while Augusta Christian teammate See gars had 21 and Yancey 15. Recreation all starts in state softball tourney The Perry Recreation Department 9 and 10 year old girls All-Star team has won the District 6 champi onship and will play in the state tournament in Dublin on July 30 and 31. Coaches for the team are Chipper Harrell, Linda Gordon and Geraldine Davis. Players are Lacy Rucker, Sheeka Ragin, Shay Newberry. Karissa Harrell, Sammi Mauer, Bianca King, Tina Gordon, Chris Whitehead, Rebecca Gordon, Tanieda Davis, T.K. Williams, Jessica Wright and Ashley Grantham. Baseball Hall of Fame now has 244 honorees With the induction July 25 of seven more members, the Base ball Hall of Fame now numbers 244, including former major league players, pioneers and executives, managers, umpires and Negro League players. Nolan Ryan and George Brett became the two top vote getters from members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, but that is a little misleading. You see, this year a total of 497 members cast votes, the most ever, eclipsing the 465 votes cast in 1995. Ryan was selected, on 491 of the 497 ballots, a percentage of 98.79. That places him second all time to the 98.84 percent of the votes Tom Seaver received in 1992 when he got 425 votes from the 430 voters. Brett became the fourth player to garner 98 percent or more when his 488 votes placed him on 98.19 percent of the ballots. Ty Cobb, in the initial year of bal loting, 1936, is the only other player to be named on more that 98 percent of the ballots. Hank Aaron came close in 1987, 3 CREDIT -C I*® cash loans on car titles ] Friendly, courteous staff, fast service, easy qualify. /Ace Title Pawn Inc. Special Photo CHAMPS These 9 and 10 year olds, coached by Len Taylor and David Knowles, and sponsored by Coldwell Banker, won the AAA championship in their age group in the Ochlahatchee league. From left, first row: Jacob Par nell, Jonathan Gentry, Jake Mitchem, Ricky Williams, Tripp Tolleson, Adam Newman; second row: Anthony Nel son, Matthew Warren, Robby Taylor, Steven Peake, Brad Knowles, Paul Brannon; back row, Coaches Taylor and Knowles. Hospice plans golf tourney SraciAi. to the Home Journal Hospice of Houston Coun ty will host its eighth annu al Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament to benefit the Hospice programs. The tour nament will be at Houston Lake Country Club. According' to Art Holtz, the event is for a good cause. Teams should register soon. Deadline for entry is Aug. 10. The tournament format is a' five-person scramble, with each four person team begin accompa nied by a celebrity or pro. The lowest score for each hole is tabulated for the North GISA all stars claim 7-6 win on extra point conversion By Phil Clark Home Journal Sports me Sou tli game plan was a good one. Shut down the North's inside running game, and keep mistakes to a minimum. It almost worked ‘for South head coach Ronnie Jones of Westfield and his staff. The hard-nosed South defense held Tattnall’s heralded Nathan Smith to just 24 yards in 10 carries and Brentwood s Mitch Sheppard to 16 on four carries. But one big play by Smith, a 20-yard touchdown run with eight minutes left in the first half gave the North a 7-0 lead, and they were able to protect it when the South scored with three minutes left in the game and opted to go for two points and the win on their point Phil Clark Home Journal Sports though, when he received 406 votes from the 415 voting mem bers, or 97.83 percent. Robin Yount was also elected by the BBWAA, and if you saw the inauguration ceremonies at Cooperstown, you heard him say “with all respect to Lou Gehrig, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." He referred to Gehrig’s remarks dur ing his retirement announce ment before a full house at Yan kee Stadium. The four others who were inducted in 1999 include former players Orlando Cepeda, the sec ond Puerto Rican to be so hon ored, along writh Joe Williams, Frank Selee and umpire Nestor team even beginners are encouraged to participate. Team sponsorship for four persons is $350; indi viduals can also join in the fun for S9O. Individuals will oe teamed with other indi vidual participants. After a full round of golf, a Savannah-styled country boil, plus an auction and entertainment will be pro vided. Friends and family not participating in the tourna ment are invited for dinner and auction afterwards. Cost is only $25 per person. For more information, call Art Holtz at 922-1777. after try. Mount de Sales’ Donovan Davis and Glenn Shelby. Westwood’s Jeb Bell and Windsor's Michael Hodge anchored a rugged defensive line, and linebackers Jeremy Nippier of Fulling ton, Trevor Permission of Terrell Academy and Tyler Akins of Bullock Academy shut down the North run ning game, holding the best of the North crop to just 88 yards on the ground in 40 snaps, including Smith's 20-yard-touchdown scamper. Through the air, the North didn't fare well, either, with Southland's Derek Fountain, Jarrett Berry of Robert Toombs and Westwood Acade my’s Ray Dixon and Kevin Massey of Terrell Academy playing well in the secondary. Tomorrow THE CIRCLE.. i Today Jj Make it easier for those you love by pre-planning and pre-funding funerals with the Legacy 2000 Plan. Call Gene Dukes at Watson-Huat Funeral Home 987-2423 . Page 6A Wed., July 28, 1999 Chylak. The latter four were cho sen by the Hall of Fame Commit tee on Baseball Veterans. Cepeda played in the so called “modern era." The others did not. There are now 182 former players enshrined at Cooper stown in the total membership of 244. Sixty one of those players are still living. Ryan and Brett have always been among my favorite players. Their dedication to the game was above reproach. Brett, in fact, was not only dedicated to the game itself, but to the team that brought him to the major leagues. He played all of his 21 years in Kansas City, a feat that is rarely heard of today. Cal Ripkin, a future Hall of Famer, is an exception. There are a few others, but very few. Brett is the only major leaguer who fin ished has career with over 3,000 hits, 300 home runs, 600 dou bles, 100 triples and 200 stolen bases. He is the only player to ever win batting championships in three decades! The 52-year-old Ryan, just five years past his playing days, Sellers-coached South All Stars win GISA girls basketball game By Phil Clark Hoy Jowm group Georgia Independent School Association South all-star coach Billy Sellers had witnessed the scene many times from the West fleld sidelines close games going right down to the wire. With his team up by 10 points after three quarters, and clearly outplaying it's North counterpart. Sellers had reason to think he could relax and enjoy the final eight minutes. When Paige Hencley left the game with five fouls with 5:19 left in the game, the North began to pull back into the game. Hencley was not out of the game, since all-star rules allow each player six personal fouls. Randolph Southern’s Adri enne Hixon, who led the South team in the first half, also nursed five fouls, so Sellers had to keep one or Brannen stays close in standings races in Charlotte, Adanta Special to thi Hum JoimwAi. Walt DeWitt and Middy Brannen had double reason to celebrate July 22. in Atlanta. First of all Walt Brannen got his sixth win of the series after starting on the outside pole. Secondly this race marked the first year of Brannen's Legends driving career. His sister. Mary Margaret, and his mom. Dee Brannen. provided a Black and White 911 Team cake which was enjoyed by friends and several other drivers. Earlier in the day, Brannen started his heat in fifthn spot, but moved to third with in a lap, earning him a spot in the feature event. Forced to start in the outside spot on the The North got an early break but couldn’t talfie advantage of it. On a third-and- 1C on their first posses sion, the South was flagged for pass interference, but the North could pick up just two yards before they were forced to punt. The teams exchanged possessions before the South got the ball with 5:17 left in the first quarter. An elec trifying 49-yard run by Westfield's Jared Shell set the South up at the North 26-yard line, but a fourth down screen pass from Trevor Jones to Shell cqme up just short of a first down, and the North got the ball back with 2:22 to go in the quarter. Staying on the ground, the North pounded out two first downs to move the ball to midfield, then Augusta Houston Home Journal the other of his two top scor ers on the bench. When Hixon fouled out at the 2:04 mark, the South led by just four points, 53-49. Brittney Rogers of Tattall, who was fouled by Hixon, made one of two to cut the lead to three points. Monroe’s Katy Peters, who scored six points in the fourth quarter for the North, hit a basket with 1:08 left to cut the lead to one and the South immediately turned the ball over. Before the North could get off a shot, they also turned the ball over. Then strange things happened. Over the next 30 seconds, Hencley and Lindsay Balkcom. two of the best players in the GISA, each missed the front end of one-if-one situations. Great defense by the South preserved the win. After Hencley missed from the line for the second time. logged a record 27 years in the major leagues. His 5,714 career strikeouts and seven no-hitters are a couple of records which will last forever. No pitcher will log enough years to eclipse the strikeout mark, ahd few pitchers go nine innings anymore, so no hitters are rare. Ryan struck out 15 or more batters in a game 26 times, and his single season mark of 383 strikeouts appears safe, although pitchers like Pedro Martinez of Boston and Curt Schilling of Philadelphia could have a shot at it. Randy Johnson is another. Ryan, too, is the only pitcher to ever strike out 16 batters in a game after the age of 40, and he did it an amazing three times! In fact, during his 27 major league seasons, Ryan averaged 9.55 strikeouts per nine innings pitched more than a strikeout an Inning for 27 years! Some 34 Hall of Fame inductees were on hand for this year’s ceremonies, 15 of them had been Ryan strikeout victims! Brett, Yount and Cepeda were | * Consolidate loan. • Remodel, new carpet, kitchen cabinets, Ijj the North rebounded, but could not get the ball across midcourt under the South’s backcourt pressure. Molly McWilliams of Crisp Acade my finally nailed two free throws to ice the game for the South 57-54. Sellers said after the game “We had the GISA's fran chise player at the foul line, but Paige couldn't convert. But if we were in the same situation again. I'd still want Paige on the line for me. It was Just one of those things that happen in the game of basketball. I’m proud of the way our girls played togeth er. It was definitely a team effort." Hencley led all scorers with 18 points in her final high school appearance before reporting to Georgia Southwestern State Univer sity. Hixon, who scored 13 for the South, wtll play at Andrew College in Cuthbert. third row, Brannen quickly fell back into the pack. Following a caution flag. Brannen made a quick run for the lead before anoth er caution flag slowed racers. With one lap to go, the caution flag was removed, Brannen shot for the inside and managed to finish sixth in the race. This kept him in second place in the Charlotte standings. The celebratiojn over, Brannen was scheduled to be in Charlotte July 27 for another race in the Wendy's Tuesday Night Shootout Series. Brannen remains in sec ond place in the semi-pro division at Char lotte. He is in first place in the Young Lions divi sion at the Atlanta speedway. Christian’s Nathan Duffle hit Briar wood’s Macy Thigpen for 22 yards, one of just two pass completions for the North in the game. After Athens Christian’s Wesley Morris picked up six yards and Brentwood’s Mitch Sheppard one. Smith broke free for his 20-yard touchdown run. First Presbyterian's Shae Hinson tacked on what proved to be the whining point after touch down, with eight minutes left in the half. The second half started much the same as the first. A South penalty on a pass play wras critical. This time, it was a holding call against the South on what would have been a good gain See FOOTBALL, Page 7A among Ryan’s victims. Brett, with his .305 career batting aver age. had a fair amount of success against Ryan, collecting 29 hits in 101 appearances, an average of .287. But he hit no home runs, end struck out 18 times. Ryan said after the ceremonies that he had expressed his opin ion on Pete Rose to Commission er Bud Selig. Ryan told the Com missioner he believes Rose should be in the Hall of Fame, that he should be judged on his merits as a player. Selig has said he will not rein state Rose to baseball, a prereq uisite to election to the Hall of Fame. First time candidates who will be eligible next year include pitchers Jack Morris and Goose Gossage and first baseman Kent Hrbek. Tony Perez and Carlton Fisk will again appear on the bal lots of the BBWAA, who, by the way, have elected just 91 of the 244 Hall qf Fame members. If you 'ever get the urge to explore the Hall, log on to www.baseballhalloffame.org. You'll find it very interesting.