2004 NEWS

Revamped Dragons start out right

With what amounts to a whole new squad for the fall season, the Cherokee Dragons started out right by pounding the Tar Heels 12-2 on Saturday.

Luke Large turned in another good pitching performance, allowing 2 runs, one earned, with one hit and one walk with 6 strikeouts in 3 innings pitched. Joel Schellese came in for one inning to get some work and threw 6 pitches to retire the side in order.

But the story of the day turned out to be the offense. The Dragons batted around and scored 7 in the first inning. The scored 4 more in the second and in the fith, Large went deep to cap off a fine start to a fall season.

Game balls went to Luke large, for his previously mentioned stellar performance, and to newcomer Mark Packwood, who went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI, 2 Runs, 1 SB, and a fantastic slide right into second base to break up a double play.

Dragons Win 12-2!

DIVISION CHAMPS!

The Cherokee Dragons, who, in their inaugural season started with an 0-7 record, have won their first division title in only their second year in existence.

After stumbling out of the blocks against the Angels in the first game of the 2004 season, the Dragons ripped off six wins in a row against some excellent teams.

"I think the key to our success has been our attitudes," said Manager, Scot Turner. "This group of guys just love playing the game of baseball and it shows. There is nothing we would rather be doing each sunday. When a mistake is made, we pick each other up and focus on the job at hand."

The Dragons are focused on team accomplishments. While indivdual performances are recogonized, the theme for this group of guys is team success.

The Dragons will now head into the playoffs with a bye. Their next opponent is yet to be determined.

Dragons record for 2004; 12-6!

Mudcats Hand Dragons Their Ass

The Mudcats were firing on all cylinders against the Dragons on Sunday, scoring 4 in the first, 2 in the second, four in the third and three in the fourth.

Dereck Hollis was the only Dragon pitcher that was able to retire the Mudcats without allowing a runner to score, pitching two innings.

The Dragons' bats weren't exactly setting the world on fire. They managed only six hits all day.

After the game, Mudcats Manager Scott McRae handed Scot Turner his ass back after Turner got caught in a historically, meta-stupid rundown in the seventh inning. Twenty four hours later, Turner was still chewing on it. "At least my ass is Atkins-Friendly," said Turner. "Pass the Atkins Steak sauce."

Dragons Lose 16-6

Dragons Defeat Demons, Take Over First

Heading in to today's play, the Blue Demons and Cherokee Dragons were tied at 9-4 at the top of the National League East. That is all the motivation each team needed to get pumped up to face off in what surely will be a playoff preview.

Chris Salmon of the Demons started the game by striking the Dragons out in order to retire the side. The Dragons responded in the second inning though, scoring two on the back of an RBI double by Flash Gordon.

Meanwhile, Corey Ehteridge was putting together yet another fine pitching performance, striking out 7 and scattering 4 hits in 5 innings.

In the third, the Dragons added another run when Alex Hickman reached on an error and promptly stole a base. Donny Williams hit a deep fly to Center and Hickman tagged and advanced. Corey Etheridge then hit another deep fly to left this time, and Hickman scored easily.

The Demons were not going to go away quietly though scoring three times in the top of the fifth behind a 3 rbi Double by Greg Perry.

The Dragons responded in their half of the fifth. Ryan Palazzo, who is quickly becoming Mr. Clutch, stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two out. On a 1-2 count, Palazzo raked a single to center that was over-run by the Demons Centerfielder and became lost in the centerfield grass. When the dust settled, Palazzo was standing on second and three runs had scored. Troy Lockett promptly singled Palazzo home and made the score 7-3.

The Demons tried to battle back, but a strong relief appearance by Brian Corcoran held them to only 2 more runs.

Dragons win 7-5!

EMI Manager suffers temporary blindness

East Marietta Indians manager, Paul Mclarty, suffered a bought of temporary blindness late wednesday, apparently brought on by staring at his computer monitor for 72 straight hours.

Mclarty was found by Indians star player, Chad Huff. "He was sitting at his computer, rocking like Leo Mazzone, clutching his eyes with his left hand," Huff said. "He was screaming something about his eyes and being blind. I didn't know what else to do, so I called 911 and they sent the ambulance."

When parmedics arrived, they had to cut the mouse from Mclarty's computer because he was clinching it so tightly in his right hand, still clicking away madly. The mouse was later surgically removed at the hospital, but apparently Mclarty's right index finger has yet to stop making the clicking motion.

In an early morning press conference, doctors confirmed that the condition was only temporary and that Maclarty should be fine in a couple of days so long as he stayed away from computer monitors. The doctors went on to reveal that Mclarty was not surfing porn as was originally thought, but had become obsessed with the Cherokee Dragons website and could not bring himself to stop looking at it.

Dragons beat Bush-League Devils

The Blue Devils arrived at Satan's Armpit right when the game was supposed to start, fielding a team of 8 guys, only seven of which were in uniform. So rather than win by forfeit, the Dragons allowed the Blue Devils' pitcher to play wearing shorts. As if that wasn't bad enough, they decided to talk smack all day.

The Dragons, tired from the heat of the previous day, suffered those fools well, not responding in kind, instead allowing their bats to speak for them. The Dragons scored six runs in the second before Erik Booth blasted his second homerun of the year.

In the bottom of the seventh, the bush-leaguers went to make a pitching change, moving their original pitcher, still in shorts, to first base. The new pitcher apparently lost his pants on his way to the mound, because he was now in shorts as well. Manager Scot Turner had seen enough, and protested to the umpire to make the skinny-legged twerp put his pants back on.

The Devils got even more stupid, hollering like a chorus of stuck pigs. At that point the umpires, fearing a fight, called the game.

Afterwards, Turner was quoted as saying, "That team is just an embarrasment to our league. You would have thought we were playing in a beer-league softball game."

Dragons Win 8-4!

Skeleton Crew takes down Cyclones, Alexander renamed

In an extraordinarily hot saturday make-up game, The Dragons tapped some unlikely heroes for their match up against the Cyclones. With a bunch of the regulars out of town for various reasons, the Dragons fielded only 9 guys for the first time all year.

Ryan Palazzzo, battled the elements, rust, and his girl-friend Rachel, to pitch a gem, allowing 4 earned runs in seven strong innings. Palazzo's girl-friend was moving, so he had to leave her in the midst of boxes and packing to be there. It was the first time he had pitched since the fall.

At the plate, it was Tony D'errico's day. He was 4-5 with a triple, 5 RBI's and 2 runs scored.

Donny Williams came in to pitch the final two innings and earned the save, even though he gave up 4 earned runs, he looked good on the mound...for a short-stop.

Alexander Field was unforgiving in the afternoon heat. The outfield was moist from a recent rain which made the whole place a steambath. After the game, the Dragons affectionately renamed their home field Satan's Armpit.

Dragons win 13-11!

Corcoran straps team on back and carries them to victory.

After giving up 8 unanswered runs through three innings, things were looking quite bleak for the Dragons. An outfield error extended the first and allowed three unearned runs to score. The Alpharetta Cubs had scored another two in the second and 2 again in the third.

Meanwhile, The Cubs pitcher was making the Dragons' bats look foolish, striking out 4 of the first 10 batters and inducing a couple more pop-ups.

It wasn't until the fourth inning that Dragons were able to mount any type of offensive effort, taking advantage of some errors and a timely 2-rbi rip from Troy Lockett, cutting the lead to 3.

By then, Brian Corcoran, who had started the game, had settled in and was shutting the Cub offense off. And with the bases loaded with 2 out in the sixth, Corcoran hit a towering shot off the left-field foul poul to give the Dragons a 1 run lead.

The Dragons added another 2 in the seventh and never gave up the lead after that.

Some stats from Corcoran's game; he was 1 for 3 from the plate with a HR and 4 RBI and 1 Run. He pitched a complete game, giving up 5 earned runs, on 11 hits. He faced 43 batters, of which 27 saw 1st pitch strikes. He walked only 1 while striking out 9 on 37 balls and 81 strikes. His Grandslam was the third this season for Dragons' batters.

Dragons win 11-9!

Five Unearned Snap Streak at Six

The Dragons's defense let down a strong pitching perfomance by Corey Etheridge and Brian Corocoran on Sunday, allowing five unearned runs to an East Marietta Indians team that didn't need extra outs.

Etheridge struck out 8 in five innings, with one walk. But the Indians took advantage of every mistake to score a total of five run.

The Indians starting pitching was able to retire the side three up, three down in three consecutive innings with the support of some very fine fielding.

The Dragons were down by five in seventh, when Keith Jakupca hit a two out grand slam to cut the lead to one run. Latest reports are that Jakupca has had to change his underwear 17 times in the last 24 hours as a result. The lady at Wal-Mart just called and said that they are out of stock and they don't want him back in the store. She recommends that he do laundry instead.

Dragons Lose 8-6

Dragons extend streak to 6 in shades of Moussavi

Brian Corcoran faced a tough Atlanta Beast Line up for five innings, giving up only one earned run and scattering six hits in the process. His performance on the mound was backed up by yet another strong day turned in by Alex Hickman, who had four stolen bases.

The way this gamed played out continued to show how much heart the Dragons have. After giving up 2 unearned runs early, they battled back to score three in the next inning powered by a two rbi single by Erik Booth. But the Beast played the Dragons tough, scoring a tying run in the fifth.

In the very next inning, Wicket Jakupca stepped to the plate with one out and the bases loaded. He lifted a deep fly ball to left field for a sacrifice fly and the Dragons retook the lead. So with two out, Scot Turner took his turn in the batter's box. He promptly hit a chopper that bounced twice low to the ground and then took a huge hop over the second baseman's head for an rbi single; like I said, shades of Moussavi.

The Beast scored one more to narrow the lead to just a run before the door was slammed by Corey Etheridge for the save.

The win gave the Dragons their sixth consecutive victory!

Next up the Dragons will face a very strong East Marietta Indians team. The last time these two teams faced off, it was the fall ball playoffs and the Indians squeaked out a 1-0 win. Hopefully things will turn out differently this season.

Dragons win, 5-4!

Dragons slay...Dragons

After a two week layoff due to the Mothersday Weekend and a rainout, the Cherokee Dragons decended upon beautiful Harvey Cochran Stadium to battle the Atlanta Dragons.

The player of the game was clearly Alex Hickman, who went 2 for 2 at the plate with 3 walks, 1 RBI 3 runs and a stolen base.

The Boys in Green drew 13 walks in addition to 13 hits to score 13 runs. I hope no one suffers Triskaidekaphobia.

Dragons win, 13-10!

Brown, Williams Exorcise Demon

When the Dragons last played the Longhorns, the game ended in a rundown while Seth Brown stood in the on-deck circle. Donny Williams had Just drawn a walk, but some bone-head flashed the steal sign and the runner on 2nd took off 14.4 seconds too late. The final score of that game was 5-6.

After that game, Brown, who was the hottest Dragon hitter at the time, walked from the field in complete silence in a combination of anger and frustration that was shared by the rest of his team-mates. And that game has been talked about often whenever Dragons reflect on where we have come from.

So imagine how good it must have felt for Brown, who finally got that at bat he has been waiting a year for, to hit a three run homer in the first inning. And as the lead ping-ponged back and forth, imagine how it must have felt for Williams to come up with a 3 RBI double to put the Dragons ahead for good late in the game.

It feels good to have that demon banished. Redemption is mighty sweet.

Dragons win, 9-7!

Dragons return sterilized clock to Bulls

When the Dragons arrived to Alexander High School in their home opener on Sunday, they were focused on one task; cleaning the Bulls' Clock.

The Bulls, who had out scored their previous two opponents 43-3, began their trash talking almost immediately after arriving to the venue. That only served to help sharpen an already intense focus, as the Dragons jumped out to an early 3 run lead after the first inning, a five run lead after the second and then an 8 run lead after the 4th.

That explosive offensive effort was backed up wonderfully by the first errorless game in Dragon team history. It wasn't like the Bulls weren't hitting the ball hard, they lined out a couple of times and the Dragon infield made some fine snares of hard hit ground balls.

There were several outstanding performances at the plate;
Donny Williams
1-for-2 BB 3R SB

Troy Lockett
2-for-3 2B 2RBI BB R

Shane Fay
3-for-4 2B 2RBI 2R

But the game ball went to:
Corey Etheridge
3-for-3 HR 2R 4RBI

Dragons win, 14-5!

Dragons start like constipated sasquach

It was an inauspicious start to the 2004 season as the Dragons gave up 5 runs in the first inning and were never able to regroup.

The Dragons were out hit by a very strong Angels line up 6-11, and were stuck out a total of 9 times. To add insult to injury, they also hit into 3 double plays on the day, setting a new team record.

DJ Jones and Ryan (Duke) Duquette debuted the "Lurch Helmet" after DJ didn't slide and got tagged out trying to steal second base and Duke bobbled a grounder and then tried to throw to second with runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs. Both guys took it like a man, and Duke even singled wearing the hideous thing, as the fans chanted "pink-lemonade!"

There was a diamond in all that stinky dung pile though, as newbie Corey Etheridge went 2-for-3 with a solo homerun and had a strong pitching debut.

Dragons lose 9-2.

Dragons draft Westover, Clark

On March 7th, the Dragons solidified their outfield by picking up Ryan Westover and Julius Clark at the Annual MABL Draft.

Westover, a 23 Year old Stone Mason from White, Georgia, heard about the league from his old baseball coach. He will be a great addition to the Dragon out field and adds another lefty bat to the line up

Julius Clark is a 20 year old student from Atlanta, Georgia with tremendous speed.

Dragons pick up D'Errico, Gervasio

The cold subsided and the 8th of February turned out to be a very nice day to play some baseball as the Dragons conducted a team workout and open tryout. When the dust settled, The Dragons had added Anthony D'Errico and Matt Gervasio.

D'Errico last played 6 years ago as a Second Basemen and Outfielder for a rookie league in upstate New York. D'errico will primarily see time in the outfield in 2004. He missed playing ball and found his way to the Dragons through Shane Fay.

Gervasio, a left handed pitcher, spent 4 years playing for Long Island University before heading to the Mid-west League to play Class A ball. After coaching some 11 year olds, the baseball bug had bitten, and he found his way to the Dragons' tryout.

The Dragons have room for one, maybe two more guys and are looking for some big sticks to round out the lineup. If you are interested in playing some real hardball, and you have some Homerun power, email scot@cherokeedragons.com.

Team try out scheduled

Our team try out will be held on Sunday, February 8th at 1:00 PM at Adams Field. All players should bring a photocopy of their drivers license and come ready to play baseball.

Directions:
Directions; 85 to North Druid Hills. Take a LEFT if in from North, Take RIGHT if from the South. Go over Briarcliff (Chik-Fil-A and QT on the far left and right corners respectively). Continue straight for another 1⁄4 mile and turn right into Jim Cherry Teacher's School/Open Campus on the RIGHT (across from Target and Taco Bell). Field is off to the RIGHT of the school and down the hill next to the football/soccer stadium

Atlanta Fall League names Don "DJ" Jones co-CY Young!

After finishing the fall season with a 2-1 record and even 3.00 ERA, DJ Jones was named Atlanta Fall League Co-Cy Young. DJ's only loss came against the League Champion Gwinnett Indians, who went undefeated and shut out the Dragons on October 19th. But DJ impressed the other league managers by changing speeds and mixing his pitches, leading him to 22 strike outs in just 18 innings.

Congratulations to DJ, you earned it kid!

Dragons looking to build on momentum in 2004

Fees have begun to be collected, and practices are being scheduled already in preparation for the 2004 summer season.

The Dragons will have 11 returning players in 2004, leaving 5-7 spots open for new players. If you are interested in playing with a hard working, winning group of guys, then contact manager, Scot Turner, scot@cherokeedragons.com.

We will have a team try-out in early February, and weekly to semiweekly practices heading into the first game in late March.


		2004 NEWS Revamped Dragons start out right With what amounts to a whole new squad for the fall season, the Cherokee Dragons started out right by pounding the Tar Heels 12-2 on Saturday. Luke Large turned in another good pitching performance, allowing 2 runs, one earned, with one hit and one walk with 6 strikeouts in 3 innings pitched. Joel Schellese came in for one inning to get some work and threw 6 pitches to retire the side in order. But the story of the day turned out to be the offense. The Dragons batted around and scored 7 in the first inning. The scored 4 more in the second and in the fith, Large went deep to cap off a fine start to a fall season. Game balls went to Luke large, for his previously mentioned stellar performance, and to newcomer Mark Packwood, who went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI, 2 Runs, 1 SB, and a fantastic slide right into second base to break up a double play. Dragons Win 12-2! DIVISION CHAMPS! The Cherokee Dragons, who, in their inaugural season started with an 0-7 record, have won their first division title in only their second year in existence. After stumbling out of the blocks against the Angels in the first game of the 2004 season, the Dragons ripped off six wins in a row against some excellent teams. "I think the key to our success has been our attitudes," said Manager, Scot Turner. "This group of guys just love playing the game of baseball and it shows. There is nothing we would rather be doing each sunday. When a mistake is made, we pick each other up and focus on the job at hand." The Dragons are focused on team accomplishments. While indivdual performances are recogonized, the theme for this group of guys is team success. The Dragons will now head into the playoffs with a bye. Their next opponent is yet to be determined. Dragons record for 2004; 12-6! Mudcats Hand Dragons Their Ass The Mudcats were firing on all cylinders against the Dragons on Sunday, scoring 4 in the first, 2 in the second, four in the third and three in the fourth. Dereck Hollis was the only Dragon pitcher that was able to retire the Mudcats without allowing a runner to score, pitching two innings. The Dragons' bats weren't exactly setting the world on fire. They managed only six hits all day. After the game, Mudcats Manager Scott McRae handed Scot Turner his ass back after Turner got caught in a historically, meta-stupid rundown in the seventh inning. Twenty four hours later, Turner was still chewing on it. "At least my ass is Atkins-Friendly," said Turner. "Pass the Atkins Steak sauce." Dragons Lose 16-6 Dragons Defeat Demons, Take Over First Heading in to today's play, the Blue Demons and Cherokee Dragons were tied at 9-4 at the top of the National League East. That is all the motivation each team needed to get pumped up to face off in what surely will be a playoff preview. Chris Salmon of the Demons started the game by striking the Dragons out in order to retire the side. The Dragons responded in the second inning though, scoring two on the back of an RBI double by Flash Gordon. Meanwhile, Corey Ehteridge was putting together yet another fine pitching performance, striking out 7 and scattering 4 hits in 5 innings. In the third, the Dragons added another run when Alex Hickman reached on an error and promptly stole a base. Donny Williams hit a deep fly to Center and Hickman tagged and advanced. Corey Etheridge then hit another deep fly to left this time, and Hickman scored easily. The Demons were not going to go away quietly though scoring three times in the top of the fifth behind a 3 rbi Double by Greg Perry. The Dragons responded in their half of the fifth. Ryan Palazzo, who is quickly becoming Mr. Clutch, stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two out. On a 1-2 count, Palazzo raked a single to center that was over-run by the Demons Centerfielder and became lost in the centerfield grass. When the dust settled, Palazzo was standing on second and three runs had scored. Troy Lockett promptly singled Palazzo home and made the score 7-3. The Demons tried to battle back, but a strong relief appearance by Brian Corcoran held them to only 2 more runs. Dragons win 7-5! EMI Manager suffers temporary blindness East Marietta Indians manager, Paul Mclarty, suffered a bought of temporary blindness late wednesday, apparently brought on by staring at his computer monitor for 72 straight hours. Mclarty was found by Indians star player, Chad Huff. "He was sitting at his computer, rocking like Leo Mazzone, clutching his eyes with his left hand," Huff said. "He was screaming something about his eyes and being blind. I didn't know what else to do, so I called 911 and they sent the ambulance." When parmedics arrived, they had to cut the mouse from Mclarty's computer because he was clinching it so tightly in his right hand, still clicking away madly. The mouse was later surgically removed at the hospital, but apparently Mclarty's right index finger has yet to stop making the clicking motion. In an early morning press conference, doctors confirmed that the condition was only temporary and that Maclarty should be fine in a couple of days so long as he stayed away from computer monitors. The doctors went on to reveal that Mclarty was not surfing porn as was originally thought, but had become obsessed with the Cherokee Dragons website and could not bring himself to stop looking at it. Dragons beat Bush-League Devils The Blue Devils arrived at Satan's Armpit right when the game was supposed to start, fielding a team of 8 guys, only seven of which were in uniform. So rather than win by forfeit, the Dragons allowed the Blue Devils' pitcher to play wearing shorts. As if that wasn't bad enough, they decided to talk smack all day. The Dragons, tired from the heat of the previous day, suffered those fools well, not responding in kind, instead allowing their bats to speak for them. The Dragons scored six runs in the second before Erik Booth blasted his second homerun of the year. In the bottom of the seventh, the bush-leaguers went to make a pitching change, moving their original pitcher, still in shorts, to first base. The new pitcher apparently lost his pants on his way to the mound, because he was now in shorts as well. Manager Scot Turner had seen enough, and protested to the umpire to make the skinny-legged twerp put his pants back on. The Devils got even more stupid, hollering like a chorus of stuck pigs. At that point the umpires, fearing a fight, called the game. Afterwards, Turner was quoted as saying, "That team is just an embarrasment to our league. You would have thought we were playing in a beer-league softball game." Dragons Win 8-4! Skeleton Crew takes down Cyclones, Alexander renamed In an extraordinarily hot saturday make-up game, The Dragons tapped some unlikely heroes for their match up against the Cyclones. With a bunch of the regulars out of town for various reasons, the Dragons fielded only 9 guys for the first time all year. Ryan Palazzzo, battled the elements, rust, and his girl-friend Rachel, to pitch a gem, allowing 4 earned runs in seven strong innings. Palazzo's girl-friend was moving, so he had to leave her in the midst of boxes and packing to be there. It was the first time he had pitched since the fall. At the plate, it was Tony D'errico's day. He was 4-5 with a triple, 5 RBI's and 2 runs scored. Donny Williams came in to pitch the final two innings and earned the save, even though he gave up 4 earned runs, he looked good on the mound...for a short-stop. Alexander Field was unforgiving in the afternoon heat. The outfield was moist from a recent rain which made the whole place a steambath. After the game, the Dragons affectionately renamed their home field Satan's Armpit. Dragons win 13-11! Corcoran straps team on back and carries them to victory. After giving up 8 unanswered runs through three innings, things were looking quite bleak for the Dragons. An outfield error extended the first and allowed three unearned runs to score. The Alpharetta Cubs had scored another two in the second and 2 again in the third. Meanwhile, The Cubs pitcher was making the Dragons' bats look foolish, striking out 4 of the first 10 batters and inducing a couple more pop-ups. It wasn't until the fourth inning that Dragons were able to mount any type of offensive effort, taking advantage of some errors and a timely 2-rbi rip from Troy Lockett, cutting the lead to 3. By then, Brian Corcoran, who had started the game, had settled in and was shutting the Cub offense off. And with the bases loaded with 2 out in the sixth, Corcoran hit a towering shot off the left-field foul poul to give the Dragons a 1 run lead. The Dragons added another 2 in the seventh and never gave up the lead after that. Some stats from Corcoran's game; he was 1 for 3 from the plate with a HR and 4 RBI and 1 Run. He pitched a complete game, giving up 5 earned runs, on 11 hits. He faced 43 batters, of which 27 saw 1st pitch strikes. He walked only 1 while striking out 9 on 37 balls and 81 strikes. His Grandslam was the third this season for Dragons' batters. Dragons win 11-9! Five Unearned Snap Streak at Six The Dragons's defense let down a strong pitching perfomance by Corey Etheridge and Brian Corocoran on Sunday, allowing five unearned runs to an East Marietta Indians team that didn't need extra outs. Etheridge struck out 8 in five innings, with one walk. But the Indians took advantage of every mistake to score a total of five run. The Indians starting pitching was able to retire the side three up, three down in three consecutive innings with the support of some very fine fielding. The Dragons were down by five in seventh, when Keith Jakupca hit a two out grand slam to cut the lead to one run. Latest reports are that Jakupca has had to change his underwear 17 times in the last 24 hours as a result. The lady at Wal-Mart just called and said that they are out of stock and they don't want him back in the store. She recommends that he do laundry instead. Dragons Lose 8-6 Dragons extend streak to 6 in shades of Moussavi Brian Corcoran faced a tough Atlanta Beast Line up for five innings, giving up only one earned run and scattering six hits in the process. His performance on the mound was backed up by yet another strong day turned in by Alex Hickman, who had four stolen bases. The way this gamed played out continued to show how much heart the Dragons have. After giving up 2 unearned runs early, they battled back to score three in the next inning powered by a two rbi single by Erik Booth. But the Beast played the Dragons tough, scoring a tying run in the fifth. In the very next inning, Wicket Jakupca stepped to the plate with one out and the bases loaded. He lifted a deep fly ball to left field for a sacrifice fly and the Dragons retook the lead. So with two out, Scot Turner took his turn in the batter's box. He promptly hit a chopper that bounced twice low to the ground and then took a huge hop over the second baseman's head for an rbi single; like I said, shades of Moussavi. The Beast scored one more to narrow the lead to just a run before the door was slammed by Corey Etheridge for the save. The win gave the Dragons their sixth consecutive victory! Next up the Dragons will face a very strong East Marietta Indians team. The last time these two teams faced off, it was the fall ball playoffs and the Indians squeaked out a 1-0 win. Hopefully things will turn out differently this season. Dragons win, 5-4! Dragons slay...Dragons After a two week layoff due to the Mothersday Weekend and a rainout, the Cherokee Dragons decended upon beautiful Harvey Cochran Stadium to battle the Atlanta Dragons. The player of the game was clearly Alex Hickman, who went 2 for 2 at the plate with 3 walks, 1 RBI 3 runs and a stolen base. The Boys in Green drew 13 walks in addition to 13 hits to score 13 runs. I hope no one suffers Triskaidekaphobia. Dragons win, 13-10! Brown, Williams Exorcise Demon When the Dragons last played the Longhorns, the game ended in a rundown while Seth Brown stood in the on-deck circle. Donny Williams had Just drawn a walk, but some bone-head flashed the steal sign and the runner on 2nd took off 14.4 seconds too late. The final score of that game was 5-6. After that game, Brown, who was the hottest Dragon hitter at the time, walked from the field in complete silence in a combination of anger and frustration that was shared by the rest of his team-mates. And that game has been talked about often whenever Dragons reflect on where we have come from. So imagine how good it must have felt for Brown, who finally got that at bat he has been waiting a year for, to hit a three run homer in the first inning. And as the lead ping-ponged back and forth, imagine how it must have felt for Williams to come up with a 3 RBI double to put the Dragons ahead for good late in the game. It feels good to have that demon banished. Redemption is mighty sweet. Dragons win, 9-7! Dragons return sterilized clock to Bulls When the Dragons arrived to Alexander High School in their home opener on Sunday, they were focused on one task; cleaning the Bulls' Clock. The Bulls, who had out scored their previous two opponents 43-3, began their trash talking almost immediately after arriving to the venue. That only served to help sharpen an already intense focus, as the Dragons jumped out to an early 3 run lead after the first inning, a five run lead after the second and then an 8 run lead after the 4th. That explosive offensive effort was backed up wonderfully by the first errorless game in Dragon team history. It wasn't like the Bulls weren't hitting the ball hard, they lined out a couple of times and the Dragon infield made some fine snares of hard hit ground balls. There were several outstanding performances at the plate; Donny Williams 1-for-2 BB 3R SB Troy Lockett 2-for-3 2B 2RBI BB R Shane Fay 3-for-4 2B 2RBI 2R But the game ball went to: Corey Etheridge 3-for-3 HR 2R 4RBI Dragons win, 14-5! Dragons start like constipated sasquach It was an inauspicious start to the 2004 season as the Dragons gave up 5 runs in the first inning and were never able to regroup. The Dragons were out hit by a very strong Angels line up 6-11, and were stuck out a total of 9 times. To add insult to injury, they also hit into 3 double plays on the day, setting a new team record. DJ Jones and Ryan (Duke) Duquette debuted the "Lurch Helmet" after DJ didn't slide and got tagged out trying to steal second base and Duke bobbled a grounder and then tried to throw to second with runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs. Both guys took it like a man, and Duke even singled wearing the hideous thing, as the fans chanted "pink-lemonade!" There was a diamond in all that stinky dung pile though, as newbie Corey Etheridge went 2-for-3 with a solo homerun and had a strong pitching debut. Dragons lose 9-2. Dragons draft Westover, Clark On March 7th, the Dragons solidified their outfield by picking up Ryan Westover and Julius Clark at the Annual MABL Draft. Westover, a 23 Year old Stone Mason from White, Georgia, heard about the league from his old baseball coach. He will be a great addition to the Dragon out field and adds another lefty bat to the line up Julius Clark is a 20 year old student from Atlanta, Georgia with tremendous speed. Dragons pick up D'Errico, Gervasio The cold subsided and the 8th of February turned out to be a very nice day to play some baseball as the Dragons conducted a team workout and open tryout. When the dust settled, The Dragons had added Anthony D'Errico and Matt Gervasio. D'Errico last played 6 years ago as a Second Basemen and Outfielder for a rookie league in upstate New York. D'errico will primarily see time in the outfield in 2004. He missed playing ball and found his way to the Dragons through Shane Fay. Gervasio, a left handed pitcher, spent 4 years playing for Long Island University before heading to the Mid-west League to play Class A ball. After coaching some 11 year olds, the baseball bug had bitten, and he found his way to the Dragons' tryout. The Dragons have room for one, maybe two more guys and are looking for some big sticks to round out the lineup. If you are interested in playing some real hardball, and you have some Homerun power, email scot@cherokeedragons.com. Team try out scheduled Our team try out will be held on Sunday, February 8th at 1:00 PM at Adams Field. All players should bring a photocopy of their drivers license and come ready to play baseball. Directions: Directions; 85 to North Druid Hills. Take a LEFT if in from North, Take RIGHT if from the South. Go over Briarcliff (Chik-Fil-A and QT on the far left and right corners respectively). Continue straight for another 1⁄4 mile and turn right into Jim Cherry Teacher's School/Open Campus on the RIGHT (across from Target and Taco Bell). Field is off to the RIGHT of the school and down the hill next to the football/soccer stadium Atlanta Fall League names Don "DJ" Jones co-CY Young! After finishing the fall season with a 2-1 record and even 3.00 ERA, DJ Jones was named Atlanta Fall League Co-Cy Young. DJ's only loss came against the League Champion Gwinnett Indians, who went undefeated and shut out the Dragons on October 19th. But DJ impressed the other league managers by changing speeds and mixing his pitches, leading him to 22 strike outs in just 18 innings. Congratulations to DJ, you earned it kid! Dragons looking to build on momentum in 2004 Fees have begun to be collected, and practices are being scheduled already in preparation for the 2004 summer season. The Dragons will have 11 returning players in 2004, leaving 5-7 spots open for new players. If you are interested in playing with a hard working, winning group of guys, then contact manager, Scot Turner, scot@cherokeedragons.com. We will have a team try-out in early February, and weekly to semiweekly practices heading into the first game in late March.