2005

Fortenberry leads by example FORT sMITH. Ark.- Every successful team has its leaders. ::>orne lead by their actions on the field. Others lead by their ability lo inspire• others. It's no question that the inspira– tionallt•ader on the East Central Community College basc– balltt•am is drive to the face during an intrasquad game on jan. 23, 2004. Sinct' then, Fortenberry has I d ix surgeries and 19 screws in h1 face. He pitches with a face– mask often used by bull riders. While many would have thrown in the towel as far as trying to play baseball after such an injutY. 1 01 t nbcrry has bounced back to th1 O\\ 50 innings this spring for tlw 29-21 Warriors, who are com– peting in the NJCMSouth Central J)i,trid Tournament this wcckl'nd. In a true Hollywood story, Fortt>nbcrry would have not only won every game he threw this spring. but he would have struck out every batter he faced. In reality, Fortenberry is 2-4 with a 4.14 ERA. He has 44 strike– outs and 27 walks, but numbers alone don't begin to measure his ..nl...-. to the team. john Forlcn– bl•rry, a right– handed red– shirt fn,shman pildwr who lost his right eye a.; tlw result of a wicked line MARTY STAMPER staff writer

"It'sl5ecn a spt:cial thing for all of u ," aid ECCC head coach Jake Yarborough. "Him getting hurl Ia l year before the season even started and being able to come back takes a lot of heart. It takes a love for the game to get back out on the field and try to pick up v. here he \\as. "He's conll' out of several gam<.•s whert' he had no decision, and we'd end up getting the win," Yarborough added. ··He's done a good job thh; yt•ar. He's got a good ~plit-finger fastball in th<.' mid-80s (mph) and a good breaking ball." ECCC closer Kevin Hatch playt'd with Fortenberry at Carthage Iligh School as well as al ECCC. Ht•'s been impressed with his huddy as well. "lll''s proved himself so much after he lot;( his eye last year," Hatch said. "He docs have to wear a mask, but he has done excep– tional this year. 1 was really impressed. "He means a lot to me as a friend because I've grown up with him." Hatch added. ·'J'm just glad to sec him doing as well as he is. A lot of pcopl<· would just lay down and not do anything, but john loves the game and he decided that he wanted to keep playing." 1 he t•omeback trail hasn't been easy. ··It was mort• of a mental thing," Fortenberry said. ··1 had problems with getting mad before. I worked it clown a lot. Now, it's trying to romt' bark on me. I'm going to hav<.• to fight it off." Judging pop ups was a major problem art'a at first. "'l11al's goUeu a lol better," Fortenberry said "I can do thal now." There was a time when judging how big a lead a runner at third ba~e was gelling was a problem too. "I used to have to turn more toward third, but not any more," Fortenberry !':aiel. "I know how much to turn my head now. It's not rl'al bad. "I'm glad to be lwre. We're goin.(! tu lr} to do what we can to win." See Stamper Page 83

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