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Momr v Jmmml OUR SANDLOT ON DECK Today Major League Baseball ■ St. Louis at Atlanta, 7:35 p.m., Fox Sports Network BRAVES CORNER Orioles 7, Braves 4 ATLANTA (AP) - By his own appraisal, Russ Ortiz didn’t deliv er a winning performance in his Baltimore debut. Thanks to their 17-hit attack, the Orioles didn't have to rely on strong pitching. Nick Markakis had his second four-hit game of the week. Brian Roberts drove in two runs with three hits and Baltimore jumped on Tim Hudson early to beat the Atlanta Braves 7-4 Saturday night. Russ Ortiz lasted only 4 1- 3 innings, allowing three runs and nine hits He struck out one, walked four and was pulled before qualifying for a win. Ortiz was 0-5 with a 7.54 ERA in six starts for Arizona this sea son when the Diamondbacks released him on June 21. The Braves, coming off a 6-21 June, had hoped to start a win ning streak with Friday night's 5-3 win. Instead, Hudson (6-8) gave up 11 hits and six runs, five earned, in only 2 2-3 innings in suffering his fourth straight loss. It was Hudson's shortest start since pitching 2 2-3 innings in a 7-3 loss at Texas on June 13,2005. Kurt Birkins (3-1) retired the last two batters in the fifth as the Orioles improved to 14-23 in road games. Braves reliever Chris Reitsma pitched 11-3 scoreless innings in his first appearance since coming off the disabled list Friday. He hit Tejada with a pitch in the eighth inning and, following a visit from trainer Jeff Porter, left the game. Chipper Jones hit a solo homer in the ninth. IN BRIEF Youth center sets registration The Robins Air Force Base Youth Center’s sports registration will be held July 15. Parents may resister from 1-6 p.m. on that day and from 3-6 p.m. the following Monday-Friday. Youth may register for cheer leading ages 5-12, NFL flag foot ball ages 5-10, tackle football ages 11-12 and fall soccer ages 5-16. Registration will continue until teams are full. Also, the cen ter is currently accepting applica tions for volunteer cheerleading/ football/soccer coaches. No experience is required. Training will be provided though the youth center. Apply in person at Robins Youth Center or call Ron Hayes at 926-2110. Cross country series dates set Warner Robins High School head cross country coach David Erpelding is preparing to host the Sixth Annual Middle Georgia Cross Country Summer Series at Pearl Stephens Elementary School in Warner Robins. The races are open to every one and the following races are planned: ■ Thursday: 4000 meters ■ July 20: 5000 Meters Each race is slated to start at 7:30 p.m. on the Thursdays listed above. Awards will be given for the top five in each age group male and female. 14-and-under, 15-19 and 20 and over. Runners register on race day. Contact Erpelding at 328-3208 or via e-mail at Erpelding@bellsouth. net for more information. The entry fee is $5. HLCC to host clinic, more Houston Lake Country Club will be holding a Junior Golf Clinic July 11-13, 9:30-11 am. all three days. Each clinic is limited to the first 50 golfers to sign up. The cost is SIOO for members and $l2O for nonmentbers. The dub will also have a Junior Club Championship July 27. Call the Pro Shop at 218-5252 to sign up or for more informa tion. In addition, the 25th Annual Ron Stafford Invitational Two-man Best Ball tournament sponsored by Coca-Cola will be held July 22 and 23 at the course. Sign up is in the pro shop. WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2006 WRALL teams open District 5 play with wins -v ’ liys| , jijjk -- wj§ Wf If I f ■ ;: .. 4 | V iV- --V "v ' f ... /i*v i— ‘...- . ! ——i.—.. —: ENI/Gary Harmon Warner Robins American Little Leaguer Taylor Campbell slides safely into third in the team’s District V game Saturday at the Western Little League field in Macon. Richt’s first five years characterized as some of Georgia’s most successful (Editor’s note: The following is the second of four stories gathered from interviews conducted at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame’s Peach State Pigskin media day on June 28 to appear in the Houston Home Journal.) By MATTHEW BROWN HHJ Sports Writer What must it be like to sit on top of the college football world? A head coach like Mark Richt of the University of Georgia finds that it is Pigskin Preview 2 of 4 seasons as the Bulldogs head man, and those first five years have been among the most successful in the his tory of the football program in Athens. He has led Georgia to the Southeastern Conference championship game three times with two victories, including last year’s upset of LSU. Those wins earned the Bulldogs trips to the Sugar Bowl for the first time since the early 1980 s. ‘Fired’ up, on the straight and narrow The next time you see me, I’ll be a leaner, meaner Joe Sersey. When you get fired from a job you’re doing for free (more on that later), that can cause a deep depres sion. To escape my despair, I left Warner Robins for a month of fresh air and rehabilita tion in Boone, NC. Actually, I’m attend ing a month-long institute on developmental educa tion at Appalachian State University. If you haven’t visited ASU, everything on the campus Top of the world ... iHF <* — l,l if B _JBB - § I mr . W HB ■■ £4 Jm' I J \ 1 i wk \ fj ***kß&"*L *B* . •a/. t .% ''%L V W■' 3BF (HR W Pjjt, ’s’ i ,s3s % ***&*;’■ . ' JSfmi quite a crowded seat with many of his col leagues on the outside looking for a spot of their own. Richt is in between his fifth and sixth HHJ Matthew Brown Georgia head coach Mark Richt talks to media during the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Pigskin Preview media day June 28 in Macon. So this should be the beginning of a mpjor football dynasty run for Georgia ... or will it? The SEC, after all, is considered the toughest in all of NCAA Division I. Only twice in the eight-year era of the Bowl Championship Series has a team from this league won the national is either straight up or straight down, and I’m walk ing every where. I ’ d already begun to lose some weight while umpiring. To be more accurate, I didn’t so much lose pounds as I did inches on my waist. I’m proof positive that Sports Joe Sersey HH] Corre*pondent championship. The point is that Richt’s seat among championship winning coaches is a delicate one indeed. He talked about how hard it is to win big year after year in the SEC and the challenges facing the defending league champions in the fall of 2006 while physical activity can help. I didn’t do that much moving around, but the players did and through some process of osmosis, I gained from their efforts, or better, lost from their activity. Also, the constant men tal anguish I suffered from the verbal slings and arrows fired my way affected my appetite. Still, it took more than that to affect my physique. I have positive proof that the ego weighs 10 pounds because that’s how much weight I lost after I was informed - not by Don Moncrief but By MATTHEW BROWN HHJ Sports Writer Taylor Campbell’s four innings of perfect pitch ing got the postseason for Warner Robins American Little League major girls off to a good start Saturday at West Macon Park. Campbell struck out 11 of the 12 batters she faced from Ocmulgee, and the Warner Robins offense proved too much for even the scoreboard to handle in a 20-0 rout. This was the open ing round of the state’s District 5 tournament for Little League softball. Only the ninth batter in the Ocmulgee lineup put the ball in play, but Emilee Merritt at third base took care of the lone chance for the defense. The Warner Robins offense needed an inning to start clicking itself against a slower pitching delivery. Moriah Candenhead had an infield single in that first inning, but was her team’s only baserunner. But from there on in there were no need for attended the Peach State Pigskin media day last week in Macon. “It’s the same old thing,” said Richt when asked about this year’s outlook for the conference. “Probably eight teams, at least 10, could contend for the champion ship. That’s what makes it even higher up the chain - that my “free” editorials for the op-ed page were no longer needed. My talents were better suited, I was told, for the sports page. But looking thinner via a damaged psyche feeds the ego as well, and I am deter mined to continue my efforts in a more physical way. While I’m attending ASU’s Kellogg Institute, I’m going to turn the university into my own spa. I walk everywhere regard less of the weather. See SERSEY, page 3B SECTION B WE WANT YOU! Editor's Note: Warner Robns National and Perry Junior leagues: We know you're out there and we know you too are involved in postseason play. Please let us - and subsequently read ers - know how you're doing. Call 987-1823 Ext. 231 or 397-8811. adjust men t s . Warner Robins scored seven times in the second, eight in the third and five in the fourth. In fact, every run scored in the sec ond came with two outs. Warner Robins had two runners on base with one out when a pop-up was caught. The runner on third only went halfway, but Ocmulgee still made a throw to third base that got away. With one run scored, Warner Robins tagged four hits in a row ... one of each kind of hit to get the cycle in the inning. Carmen Field’s infield hit drove in a run, Candenhead doubled to left for two See WRALL, page 6B an interesting season every year. That’s what makes us look average sometimes because we are so evenly matched.” Richt further explained that a good offense from the SEC is more likely to struggle against a good See WORLD, page 3B GSGA taking entries tnr seninr tnurney Special to the HHJ MARIETTA - Entries are now being accepted for the 20th annual Georgia Senior Championship, which takes place Aug. 29-31 at Cherokee Town and Country Club in Atlanta. This event is open to male amateur golfers age 55 and above as of Aug. 29, who are GSGA mem bers and Georgia resi dents. The format of the See SENIOR, page 3B