2004

~ 1 Players Dedicate Season.Tolnjured Teammate u:::: LL 0 .fi-eshman hurlers competing for the start– ing rotation . He was also e:ll.-pected to see pL•tying time in the outfield.

Special to the Times DECATUR - When baseball Heuson gets underway February 12 for thC' East Central Community College Diamond Warriors, players will h.:'Wc mort' than scoring runs and winning gam<.'s on l.h<'ix minds. Team members will also dm•d Ilwn· thoughts towaTd J oh11 For1 Pnht•ny, u freshman pitcher from Carlhn~l', who sus tained a season-ending inJury dtmng an intra-squad scnnunagt> on Janttat} 23 Fortenben y was hit m the faet' by a lme dri"e, crushing the ride 1:11de ofhis face. He underwent several how'S of surgery a t Univen;ity of l\.1is~ppi Medical Center in J ackson following the incident, but efforts to save his right eye were not suc- cessful ·~· Another s ill·gery ·~as- pe1formed J anua ry 29, dUli.ng which time docto1'S removed his eye and reconstructed -the right side of his face. Fortenberry is expect– ed to receive an artificial eve sometime in March. Diamond Warrior head Jake Yarborough said players will display Fortenberry's number 29 on theil· caps throughout the 2004 campaign in tribute to their fallen teammate. Yru·borough said Fortenheny, a 6-3, 211-potmd 1-ight-hander and former stand– out at Ca1thage High SchooL wall among

Yarborough said Fortenbeny's accident baH lxoen "devastating to our whole base– hall tA:•am." "Our lwarl~ and prayers go out to J ohn and hi'l fiHmly," Ynrhol'Ough f!aid, "and we hop(' for a quick t't•c·owry. J ohn iH a V<'ly at hid I(' young man nnd otw of our top ftno~lum•n. Wl' will mJS.'I him thJ.'I Hl'nson hut tlw mo~l unportant thmg ts htH lwalt h and \.\<'ll bern!{." Fortenbcn-v is lhe son of Dawn and Coolo.e ForteclJen y of Carthage. Yarborough, now in lu.s thll-d yeru· as ECCC head coach, led the Diamond Warnors to a 21-21 mark last season. They were one game away from making the state playoffs, a goal Yarborough expects his teanl to reach this year. MWe have several returnees from lal)t year, including six starters in the field and two pitchers. Our sophomm"eS know how tough our schedule is and we expect them to give us leadership," Yarborough said. Regarding the team's strengths, Yarborough made the following observa– tion: "I think Oill' team has a strong work ethic and a love for the game. We should be more athletic this year. Our outfielders have good speed with arm strength. We

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iHE TWES 1 SUBMITTED PHOTO These student-athletes from Scott County are members of the East Central Coo'munity College baseball team for the 2004 campaign. Fran left are shortst~second baseman Mario Thomas and outfielder Drew Kenna, both of Forest; pitcher Jonathan Sigrest. Scott Central; and catcher/left fielder Craig Martin, Lake. Kenna also serves as team co-capta1n with pitcherJill Tally of Saltlllo. JakeYarborough serves as head coach of the Diamond Warriors and Reggie Richardson is his assistant

are fundamental in the infield. Our catch– ers 8.1'0 tough behind the plate. Our pitch– ing staff consists of six sophomores and seven. fi.-eshmen. OUl· key to s uccess lies witli defense and pitching." ._ Top offensive ret urnees and their

respective battmg averages fi.'Om 2003 include Drew Kenna of Forest, .392; Dexter Sellers of Bastrop, La., .320; and Michael Dunn ofPascagoula, who hit .287 With six home runs and 30 RBI11. D<.•Ht m Moore of Kosciusko collected 24 RBI•

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