July 12, 2007

sports

Abby McAnerney, age 4 kept her eyes on the ball during Friday night's t-ball.

By Jimmy Chesire

By Jimmy Chesire

Emma Romohr, 9, was deeply touched and very grateful to have seen her story in the paper. She was gracious, too, “knowing,” she said, “this week it would have to be my sister” who gets into the paper. She was being big and brave, magnanimous even, though not necessarily wanting to be — and I identified with her again: you don’t want to hog the limelight, but you do, too.

Her sister, Krista, 5, seemed to know it was her turn, too. Elizabeth, her mother, brought her to the plate as I was preparing to help another child. “She wanted me to make sure you knew she was here,” Elizabeth said. I bent down so I could look Krista in the eye. “I’m here!” she proclaimed.

“And I’m glad you are,” I said, meaning it.

Luka’s back. Luka Sage-Frabatta. He’s 2 and is so happy to be inside himself, so delighted to live inside his perfect little body, that he’s giving off light rays. He’s one of those natural athletes t-ball graces us with. They show up every summer, two-year-olds who trot out to the right field for exercises, moving with all the beauty and grace of a thoroughbred, usually grinning from ear to ear, these gifted children ecstatic to be alive.

Luka runs easily, gracefully. He throws the ball like a much older child, like one who’s been coached a lot, using his whole body to do it — most of us throw the ball with just one hand and arm, only using that arm from the elbow down, when we first begin to throw a ball. These “natural” athletes are different. They’re kids who run, throw, jump, leap, dive, squat, roll, catch, scoop, bat, spin, dance, tumble, and even plop onto their bums with an uncanny harmony of limb that we intuitively recognize as Something Perfect the moment we lay eyes on it.

Such children have a felicity, a fluidity of movement, a precision and refinement that surprises and delights, a proportion and elegance in action that is thrilling to see. They are invariably children in possession of a joy that is deep, broad and strong, a joy radiating in all directions with such intensity you think you can warm your hands on it. They are children who live within themselves, within their bodies, so fully you’d swear you can see that which is invisible, their spirit, their soul, their very essence, in all its magic and mystery.

Year after year parents will say, shaking their heads in awe, “I didn’t do it. I didn’t show him. I didn’t teach her. She made me come out to play catch. He insisted we buy our own tee.”

I said something of his natural giftedness to his parents, Heather Sage and Tony Frabotta, and suddenly we’re in some sacred place, standing on some hallowed ground. We’re humble and proud at the same time, we’re amazed and gratified, we’re encouraged and fortified, and we’re thrilled by how mysterious it is. How it just happens whether you want it or not.

“Yes, it’s amazing,” Heather said, “he’s amazing, isn’t he?” And it was totally without hubris. It was just one of those remarkable, unbelievable, stupendously wonderful, facts of life.

Devyn’s another one. Another “natural.” Another gifted athlete who’s just turned 3 on June 28. She’s got the curly blonde hair that ends up matted and stuck to her forehead from the heat, from her unrelenting, deliriously happy, completely non-stop ball diamond activity, the girl chasing after every ball coming her way.
At bat Devyn assumes a stance you’d see a major leaguer or Dayton Dragon take; then she swings the bat using her hips and shoulders, her head and neck, her whole body, whacking the ball off the tee on her first or second try.

When the evening’s done, after 90 minutes of running, jumping, batting, and chasing after balls — balls she decided half way through the evening that needed to be put directly on the tee, which she then did with the last 45 balls she scooped up — here’s Devyn climbing on the bleachers, walking briskly the 15-foot length of the second tier, going right to its edge where she springs, and flies, oomph! to the ground — only to spring back up and do the same darn thing over and over and over again, only stopping when Dana and Mike say it’s time to go home.

And that’s the Perry League, Yellow Springs’ t-ball program for all the community’s children ages 2–9 regardless of race, color, creed, or degree of giftedness. We’re at Gaunt Park every Friday night from 6:30 –8 p.m., trying to have some fun. Children can begin to play at anytime and there’s no requirement to play every week — come when you like, come when you can. We’ll be out there for the next four Friday nights, until our final potluck trophy-to-every-kid-who-shows-up night, Aug. 3. So why don’t you come on out and play with us. We’d love it if you did, we surely would.

Minor Leaguers fight for top

By Tim Sherwood

With two weeks left in the season, the Indians remain at the top of the Yellow Springs Minor League standings at 7–3, just a game ahead of the Pirates, who are at 6–3. The Yankees are holding down third place at 4–4, followed by the Dragons at 4–5. The Reds are still looking for their first win against eight losses.
Last week’s play opened on Monday, July 2, with the Indians hitting on all cylinders to triumph 13–2 over the Reds, who struggled on offense. Ruth Scherr and James Fulton scored for the Reds and Joey Flores contributed a single and a double. Meanwhile, Andrew Clark led the way defensively at second base for the Reds.

On Friday, July 6, the Yankees dropped the week’s second game to the Dragons 13–9. Jake Savage, Grant Reigelsperger and Tony Marinelli all went 3 for 3 to lead the Dragon offense. Laura Chase was 2 for 3 at the plate and scored a pair of runs, while Evan Pace also went 2 for 3, as did Teran Pergram, Andrew Chase, Aman Ngqakayi and Rhona Marion, who smacked a double.

The Pirates opened on Saturday, July 7, with a 16–3 win over the Reds in which all 11 Pirates managed at least a base hit. Devon Perry was awarded the game ball after going 3 for 3, scoring three times and knocking in a run. Isaiah Taylor scored twice, including a bases-loaded home run in the second inning. Nate Baggett smashed his first home run of the season, going 3 for 3 at the plate and knocking in 3 RBIs.

Meanwhile, Nathan Miller, Aaron Sherwood, Kaner Butler and Augie Knemeyer all went 3 for 3 and scored twice. Kennedy Butler scored a run and knocked in another, while rookie Aidan Hackett extended his hitting streak with a solid single and a run. Sharde’ Scott added a single. For the Reds, Christian Werner led the offense, sparking a pair of three-run innings with two doubles and a single. Jacob Woodburn, Andrew Clark, James Fulton and Carter Collins each had a pair of hits and knocked in runs.

Saturday’s second game saw the Indians extend their record to 7–1 with a 9–5 win over the Dragons. All of the Indians were hitting well with Maya Creighton going 3 for 4 at the plate and Fielding Lewis hitting 4 for 4 with three doubles. Liam Creighton, Nathan Hardman and Hayden Orme put up a defensive front. For the Dragons, Rhona Marion went 2 for 2 at the plate and Grant Reigelsperger made a couple of excellent plays at short stop.

Bulldogs end with big wins

By Karen Wintrow

The Bulldogs ended their season on a very positive note with two big wins after an unfortunate elimination from the DABC tournament the week before after only two games.
July 2 found the Bulldogs in Cedarville facing their cross town rival. Cedarville got on the boards first, scoring 1 in each of the first two innings, but a strong complete game pitching performance from Jarrett Moon kept their scoring to 5 runs for the night. The Bulldog bats were working well in this game, especially in the fourth inning when they scored 5 runs.
The game started going the ‘Dogs’ way in the 3rd inning when Cory Daniels, who also had an excellent first start catching, scored on a wild pitch. Then in the fifth, Andrew Ferguson started the hitting fest with a lead-off double, followed by a single from Moon, 2 RBI double from Jonathon Haller and an RBI single from Anthony Pettiford, who scored on a balk.
Jack Daily reached base after being hit by a pitch and scored on a bloop single into the outfield from Lucas Donnell. Daily hit a 2 RBI single in the fifth, scoring Moon and Haller with Haller getting the final hit for the Bulldogs in the seventh, scoring Ferguson to bring the final score to Bulldogs 9, Cedarville 5.
Playing under the lights at Gaunt Park Friday night against the familiar Patterson Park Raiders proved a fitting way to end the season. The ‘Dogs started off hot with a 2-run first inning with Ferguson and Moon scoring and a 4-run second inning with Donnell, Pettiford, Tyler Fox and Moon all scoring. The highlight of the inning was a two RBI double from Fox.
Ferguson then scored in the fourth on a double from Ethan Brown with Brown scoring on a single from Jake Kepler. The final run for the Bulldogs came in the sixth when Brown, who had reached base on a double, scored on a sacrifice from Kepler.
Starting pitcher Lucas Donnell held the Patterson Park Raiders to only 2 runs. Catcher Jamie Kitzmiller, familiar with the Raider batters, was able to direct Donnell to put his pitches outside their hitting zone to keep the scoring low. Two innings of strong relief pitching from Brown kept the final score to Bulldogs 8, Raiders 2.

YSHS boys soccer season to begin

Organization and planning is now underway for the 2007 YSHS boys soccer season. All students at Yellow Springs High School who are interested in playing on the YSHS boys soccer team this fall should send their e-mail address to coach Jim Hardman at james.hardman@sinclair.edu to be placed on the team’s roster and kept informed of team activities.
The Bulldogs will be participating in the Greeneview Preseason Super Soccer Scrimmage on Saturday, July 21, (9:45 a.m. vs Franklin Monroe, and 4:30 p.m. vs Oakwood) and Sunday, July 22 (11:15 a.m. vs Bishop Fenwick, and 4:30 p.m. vs Zane Trace). To prepare for this tournament, practices will be held Monday, July 16, through Friday, July 20, from 4:30 until 6:30 p.m., on the practice fields behind YSHS.

Sports physicals

Any Yellow Springs High School or McKinney School student in grades 7-12 who plans to play a school sport during the 2007-08 school year must have a sports physical. Summer is the best time to take care of this through a family physician or chiropractor. The medical staff at Greene Therapy Services at Greene Memorial will also offer $15 physical checkups on July 23 starting at 6 p.m.
Sports physical forms are available in the school board office at 201 South Walnut Street. All three pages must be filled out and signed. Completed forms are to be turned into the coach of the student’s sport.