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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Braves rough up 'Big llrat'
By MIKE FITZPATRICK
AP Sports Writer
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The
New York Yankees waited a
long time to acquire Randy
Johnson and send him to the
mound.
They’ll have to wait some
more to see his best fastball.
The Big Unit finally made
his much-anticipated Yankees
debut Tuesday, working two
innings in an 8-2 loss to the
Atlanta Braves. He threw 36
pitches, 22 for strikes, and
gave up a two-run homer to
old nemesis Chipper Jones in
an uneven performance.
“I know I still have a long
way to go to be ready for
opening day,” Johnson said.
“But we’ll get there.”
Most important, he said he
felt fine physically; Johnson
was scratched from his first
scheduled start last week
because of a tight left calf.
Facing the Braves for the
first time since he pitched a
perfect game against them
last May, the five-time Cy
Young Award winner struck
out his first batter, Nick
Green.
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IDU/Joe Sersey
Warner Robins' Stephen Clark attempts to head a ball past Upson-Lee defenders Tuesday
at Tanner.
STALEMATE
From page 1B
the net after Prior’s goal.
Because it was a physical
game, both teams attempt
ed several penalty and free
kicks, but could not take
advantage.
Upson-Lee’s keeper Eric
McGourik finished the night
fßlf Mb.
Warner
Robins' Alyssa
Schmucker,
left, pushes
the ball up
the field while
being pursued
by Upson-Lee's
C.J. Brooks
Tuesday at
Tanner.
HH#J/Joe Sersey
RALLY
From page 1B
She got two chances to
score. Her first attempt was
saved by goalie Jenny Drain,
but the official ruled the ball
dead because Atkins hadn’t
allowed the defense to set.
The 21 mile-per-hour wind
pushed the ball into the far
comer of the net, just out of
reach of the diving Drain.
“We spread the ball out to
the wings and played with
intensity,” Upson-Lee head
coach Jamie Joiner said of
his team’s first-half effort.
The Demonettes’ defense
shut down the Lady Knights
offense in the second half.
Upson-Lee attempted six
shots on goal in the first half,
none in the second.
Warner Robins made four
shots on goal in the first half,
seven in the second.
“We just let down in the
second half,” Joiner said.
But Brian Jordan singled
and Johnson fell behind 2-0
on Jones before he drove a
92 mph fastball over the left
field fence.
“It looked like his first
spring outing,” said Jones,
a .370 career hitter against
Johnson with six homers in
27 at-bats. “I don’t think
anybody in baseball expected
him to come out blowing 97.
A guy like Randy’s got to get
his feet under him, just like
the rest of us. He’ll be on his
game come Oct. 1.”
That’s right, October.
The Yankees didn’t start
pursuing Johnson last sum
mer just to add a few wins
during the regular season.
No, they pushed to finally
complete a drawn-out trade
with Arizona in January
because they needed an ace
in the postseason.
And that’s exactly why
nobody sounded wor
ried about the 41-year-old
Johnson losing his first out
ing of spring training.
“Everything turned out
fine. He got his work in,”
manager Joe Torre said. “I’m
with seven saves, and Warner
Robins keeper Patrick
Robertson had six.
“We let them score,”
Warner Robins head coach
Andy Bailey. “You play as
hard as you can. It was a tie,
but we have to keep mov
ing.”
“We felt we had it in the bag
and lost our intensity.”
Sarah Sherman started the
comeback with two goals six
minutes apart.
Her first was a penalty
kick at 43 minutes from 10
yards out. It was set up by a
foul in the box on Monique
Winn who was pushed to the
ground by a Lady Knights
defender to prevent her from
getting to the ball.
Sherman scored her sec
ond goal in the 46th min
ute. Alyssa Schmucker took
control of the ball in front
of Upson-Lee keeper Alex
Pennington and flipped it to
Sherman who kicked it in.
Her goal made the score 5-
4 Upson-Lee.
Winn tied the game with
six minutes left to play. She
juked the goalie out of posi
tion for an unassisted goal.
“We played our game in
not really concerned about
statistics.”
Johnson retired Andruw
Jones on a flyball and struck
out Raul Mondesi to end the
first inning, then got through
the second unscathed despite
a two-out walk.
The 6-foot-10 left-hander
hit 94 mph on the score
board radar gun but was
mostly in the low 90s with
his fastball.
“He’s not trying to set up
anybody. He’s just trying to
make his pitches,” teammate
Derek Jeter said. “He wasn’t
even trying to throw hard, I
don’t think.”
Nearly two hours before
the game, fans were lined
up four rows deep behind
the New York dugout.
Meanwhile, Johnson was sit
ting quietly in the clubhouse,
reading a newspaper and
watching television alone.
The Yankees noticed how
serious their new teammate
is on the day he pitches -
even in spring training.
“I didn’t know if we should
be laughing in there,” slug
ger Gary Sheffield said.
Warner Robins’ record is 8-
0-1 and Upson-Lee is 4-2-1.
SCOREBOARD
WARNER ROBINS 1, UPSON-LEE 1
WR - J. Prior, free kick, 5:00
UL - Nick English, free kick, 32:00
Shots: (UL) 9, (WR) 15. Saves: (UL) Erick
McGouirk 7, (WR) Patrick Robertson 6.
Records: (UL) 4-2-1, (WR) 8-0-1.
the second half,” Hunt said.
“I’m proud of my girls. They
didn’t give up. They spread
their offense out, passing the
ball to the open player.”
This match was a 3-AAAA
North versus South game.
Warner Robins remains
undefeated at 4-0-1 while
Upson-Lee is 3-3-2.
SCOREBOARD
WARNER ROBINS 5, UPSON-LEE 5
UL - Jesse Larson, unassisted, 2:00
UL - Natalie Alverson (Sara Gardner)
10:00
WR - Danielle Atkins (Brittany Hill) 20:00
UL - Ashley Elder (Kristin Ledford) 26:00
UL - Hailey Pope (Ledford) 33:00
WR - Atkins, unassisted, 34:00
UL - Larson, penalty kick, 36:00
WR - Sarah Sherman, penalty kick, 43:00
WR - Sherman (Alyssa Schmucker)
49:00
WR - Monique Winn, unassisted, 76:00
Shots: (UL) 6, (WR) 11. Saves: (UL)
Alex Pennington 7, (WR) Jenny Drain 1
Records: (UL) 3-3-2; (WR) 4-0-1. Next
(WR) vs. Hardaway, Fri„ 6 p.m. at Tanner.
SPORTS
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EDGE
From page 1B
he struck out the next two
batters. After the third
(more on that in a second,
too) he struck out the side
in the fourth and fanned
two out of four batters in
the fifth.
But back to Smith.
After his earlier problem,
what better way to atone
than to step into the batter’s
box with runners in scoring
position? Which is exactly
how the table was set for
him in the third.
Chris Barnard opened the
inning with a single. Heath
Spears followed with a hard
shot to right that needed
about another step on Carter
to make it to the fence for
a double or more. He was
held to a single while Spears
went to third.
That brought up Smith
who laced a double down the
left field line and into the
comer that scored both run
ners. Shane Scott later fol
lowed with another double
that scored another runner
and that set the final 3-1
score in favor of the Eagles.
It should also be men
tioned that not only did
Smith atone for his mis
cue by driving in the tying
and go-ahead runs, he also
recorded the final two outs
in the fourth that undoubt-
I * /w»‘ ■ 9m^r’
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HHJ/Don Moncrief
The Panthers' Mitchell Fowler takes a strike. Catching for
the Eagles is Nick Chemey.
edly kept Seth Reber, who
had reached on a single,
moved to second on a passed
ball and to third on a field
er’s choice, from scoring.
It wasn’t the only time
Smith’s good work was in
jeopardy. The Panthers
stranded 11 runners in all.
Three of them came in
the fifth when after Bowen
struck out the first batter,
the second then reached on
an error, the third singled
and the fourth walked to
load the bases.
By that time, however,
the Eagles’ No. 1 starter
was getting stronger by the
Perry Rotary Club
c
mm
THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2005 ♦
pitch. He struck out the
next hitter and coaxed the
next into a ground ball to
third that Barnard scooped
up and stepped on the bag
for the force.
Of the next five batters
Bowen faced, he struck out
two, jammed two for easy
popups to short and walked
the other. Justin Felkin
worked the seventh. He
started out shaky - throw
ing six straight balls to start
- but then settled down to
strike out the next two hit
ters and get Jones to hit
into a ground out to end the
game.
MK* jHwP'' I
3B
Perry shor
stop Phillip
Rice, left,
and team
mate sec
ond base
man Jeff
Roeder
attempt
to hold
Northside's
Jonathan
Carter
close to
the bag
at second
Tuesday at
Northside.
HHJ/Don
Moncrief