PGs manager: 'We should've won 30 at least' By Chronicle Staff Winning records don't always bring complete satisfac tion. And so it is with Nelson Petree, owner/manager of the Winston-Salem Pond Giants. Petree's team improved dra matically over a 12-month peri od, finishing up at 26-9, com pared to 16-18 in '90. "Yeah, we won more games this year than we did last year," Petree said. "But we also had better ball players. Still, I feel we could've done better, I had 36 games booked and we should've won 30 at least." Added talent combined with added experience, said Petree, made the difference for this year's squad. Lamont Ferguson, in his second year of semi-pro ball, continued to develop as a lead-off hitter and base stealer, often acting as the spark for the PGs offense. . Jeff Belcher proved to be one of the team's most consis tent hitters, particularly with men in scoring position and rookie Dfrryl Young played first base and third base, while providing Winston with another steady bat at the plate as a regular and designated hitter. Catchers Scott McDanie! and Chad Sinkist proved to be valuable as able battery mates for the PGs pitch ing staff. ' One of the major problems that plagued the Giants was noT always having a full roster for each game. As a result, consis tency was difficult to maintain for an entire season, even though the PGs won 70 percent of the time. "What hurt us most was hav ing a lot of our players leaving before the season ended because they had to go back to scfjool (college), M Petree said. f "A lot of times, we just never knew what we would do because we weren't always sure who would be playing on a given day. It was always a problem of us having everybody there for all the games." The PGs pitching staff was left a bit on the sparse side when they lost three pinchers during the early portion of the season. ' Dennis Key, who played at South Carolina-Spartanburg, was picked in the fourth round of Major League Baseball Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Gerald * Plaster also signed a pro con tract and Todd Jenkins optedto play in the Valley League which is composed primarily of college baseball players. Even though the pitching wasn't as well-stocked as he would have liked, Petree still received steady performances from the remainder of the mound crew. Kyslinger, who playjed at Georgia Tech last spring, came on strong after joining the team in late June. ?* The fireball pitcher (fastball has been clocked at 94 mph), won five straight games for Win ston coming down the home stretch. Tony Smith (Guilford College) was also a prime hurler in Petree's starting rotation. In the bullpen, Frankie Bur cham, David Brentley (Appalachian State) and Rusty ? Baumgardner helped to solidify the Giants' relief pitching. A lack of roster depth haunt ed the Giants when they played in the State Semi-Pro Tourna ^ment in July. The PGs bowed out with a 2-2 record. However, the consensus 1s That their upen ing round forfeit loss to Mt. Airy was a major contributing factor to their being eventually elimi nated. In that tourney opener, the PGs forfeited in the top of the 10th inning with the scored tied 7-7. Ferguson was ejected from the game when the umpire ruled that he threw his bat away after striking out. Petree claims that the ump was in error. What happened, he explained, was that Ferguson threw his bat down and ran to first as instructed because the Pond Giants finale Continued From Page B1 two for three with one run driven in. On the base paths, Lamont would give the PGs all they could handle. Baugess didn't get a lot of defensive support from room ?i Ferguson proved to be especial ly troublesome for Walnut Cove. Ferguson had three stolen bases. Burcham was also pro ductive in that department, com ing through with two thefts of his own. At the outset of the game, it appeared that Walnut Cove ? his mates in /the first inning as the PGs starter, but it could have been much w/orse. / The Tipers broke on top, 1 0, thanks* to a passed ball by Hooker afnd two missed opportu nities to /Wn double plays by the Winstoff? infield. The PGs com I Aggies opener ihontinued From Page B1 At linebacker, Rodney, Edwards and Chad Armstrong are proficient at creating turnovers, whiie Dee Moye and Sam Davis (seven interceptions) are proven performers in the secondary. Morgan's strength is on offense. All 11 starters return, including wtde receiver Gtonny Moore, who missed most of *90 j due to a muscle tear. / Moore, if given the opportu nity, figures to administer a ste rn test to the A&T secondary. Two seasons ago, Moore, an All MEAC choice, established him self as the league's premier deep threat, finishing up witjh 41 receptions for 637 yards aind 8 touchdowns ? in spite of being double and triple teamec^' most of the time. In order for Morgan t? have a decent shot at an 'upset, Moore will have to get hit's hands on the football. A&T's defense, while very formidable, proved to be most vulnerable against the pass last season (allbwing over 2,000 yards). Given that, sopti QB David Partin looms as a Central figure in the MSU gam v*\- ? 4 ? i * tng. ' Mt. Airy catcher lost control of the third strike, which would allow Ferguson to advance to first base if he beat the throw. But whether or not Ferguson beat the throw became a moot issue. The umpire ejected Fer guson, which left the Pond Giants with only eight men to fin ish the rest of the game which would have gone into extra ' innings. ? - Because they had less than ?-the -nine players required to play, _ the victory was awarded to Mt. Airy. "Not having enough people really hurt us in the state play offs," Petree said. "We had only 11 players to start with. And I had to use both players that I had on the bench (relief pitcher and designated hitter). We nor mally have 16 players, but not for the state playoffs. If we had our normal crew, it gives me some flexibility in making changes during the game. With out that flexibility, you're limited as to what you can do." WSSU RAMS FOOTBALL FANS Travel with former WSSU athletes. Make reservations for chartered buses and game tickets to see the RAMS vs. Livingstone in Salisbury, Fayettevilie State in Fayetteville, Kentucky State in Frankfort and Hampton University in Va. For further information and reservations, please attend meeting Carl H. Russell Recreation Center, 3500 Carver School Rd., 7p.m. > Aug. 15 & 29. GAME TIME TRAVEL CLUB (919) 785-0814 or 720-2759 N TRAVEL OF THE WEEK w 3 ?. * Weston Travel is proud to have Toni Jones as our Ram of the Week. Miss Jones, a native of Winston-Salem, began her career with WSSU in 1986 as a secretarial assistant to the Title III Coordinator. Toni is a graduate of West Forsyth High School and an active member at Friendship Baptist Church. Outside of her work at WSSU, Toni | enjoys cookTngnewlngr and honing-in on her compuier skills. ? The most fulfilling aspect of Toni's job is the contact that she enjoys with the students and establishing great working relationships with her peers. Toni possesses a highly developed talent for pointing out places on the Ram campus, which has proven conducive to providing directions for lost students and visitors. You can find Toni Jones brightening up the R.J. Reynolds Business Center if you need help or just a friendly smile. Toni stresses the' importance of a solid educational foundation for living a productive and fulfilling life. One day Toni hopes to further her love for children and sincere belief In education by opening her own day care center. We salute Toni Jones for her commitment to WSSU, our community and all those with whom she interacts. "% Syl Toni Jones WEST@N TRAVEL (919) 721-9000 122- A Reynold* Vlllag* Wlnston-Satem NC 27106 *? -MAjatk ftSk AU- VOUR TfyjWEL NEEDS' FAX (919) 721-4877 < U4 * * 11 "WE DON'T THINK THEY SHOULD SMOKE" That young people and smoking don't go To help retailers enforce state laws prohibiting together has long been the position of the tobacco the sale of cigarettes to minors, we are providing a industry. And the industry has recently sign like the one shown here for display launched aggressive new programs with the where cigarettes are sold. There is also a new express purpose of putting cigarettes further UkIMIJI ' booklet available from The Tobacco Institute out of reach of young people. Here's what for families with young children. It's called we're doing: "Tobacco: Helping Youth Say No." It helps ? Supporting state laws that would H|mUm parents help their children resist peer prohibit the sale of cigarettes to those M||H pressure to smoke. For a copy write to under the age of 18. - ^^y|||||||||||p R j Reynolds Tobacco Company ^ ? Supporting state legislation to require RO. Box 1207, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. supervision of vending machines in D , D , , , ,. . ' ? . ? * _ . R. J. Reynolds believes that these new tobacco locations frequented by minors. ... . , . : ^ . Reqolnng cigala Jon billboards, o be a, . ^"s,ry program, w,? help^ungpeople , lei 500 fee? ,rom any eleven, ay, /un,or or . u"<,e's?"d '^a' smoking is NOT part of growing up. senior high school or children's playground. ? Sharply limiting the distribution of product samples and premiums.