Softball: The Tuscaloosa News selects West Alabama’s top high school players | 4C
Sports
S A T U R D A Y , J U N E 14 , 2014
87th Anniversary SALE at: UNION FURNITURE COMPANY 758-3693
SECTION C
WWW.TUSCALOOSANEWS.COM
U.S. OPEN
Kaymer leaving field in the dust By Doug Ferguson
INSIDE
The Associated Press
UA PLAYERS:
Cory Whitsett fires a 69, but fails to make the cut | 5C
EARLY GIFT:
Dad serves as caddie for Kisner | 5C
PINEHURST, N.C. | Martin Kaymer set a U.S. Open record Friday with a game so dominant that he did more than just build a six-shot lead. He managed to bring Tiger Woods into the conversation at a major he’s not even playing. Kaymer opened with a short birdie and rolled his way to a second straight round of 5-under 65 — this one without a bogey. He set the 36-
hole scoring record at 10-under 130 and left the rest of the field wondering if the 29-year-old German was playing a different course, or even a different tournament. “If he does it for two more days, then we’re all playing for second spot,” said Adam Scott, the world’s No. 1 player. Such talk once was reserved for Woods, still home recovering from back surgery. Kaymer played early on a Pinehurst No. 2 course that received a
burst of showers overnight. That red 10 on the leaderboard next to his name was a daunting sight the rest of the day. He led by eight shots when he fi nished, and only three players in the afternoon cut into that deficit. “I heard he played the No. 3 course. Is that true?” Kevin Na said after a 69 put him seven shots behind. “It’s unbelievable what he’s done. Is 4 or 5 under out there? Yes. Ten under out there? No, I don’t SEE K AYMER | 5C
UA BASEBALL
Turnbull signs with Tigers
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BASEBALL
Tim Anderson Class High A Winston-Salem (White Sox) Through 55 games
.304
BATTING AVG.
4
HOME RUNS
22 RBIs
14
DOUBLES
7
TRIPLES
10
STOLEN BASES
By D.C. Reeves Sports Writer
Spencer Turnbull is a Tiger. The former University of Alabama standout and second-round pick in last week’s Major League Baseball Draft signed a pro contract with Detroit on Friday. Tu r nbu l l , a r i ght - h a nde d pitcher, picked up a $900,600 signing bonus, the exact slot value designated to the No. 63 overall selection in this year’s dra f t by Major League Baseball. Turnbull was at the Tigers’ spring training facility in Lakeland, Fla., to sign the deal on Friday morning. “You’re excited Spencer to finally get out Turnbull there and play,” Turnbull said. “It’s different, it’s not college, you’re a professional now. You’re being paid to play. It’s a little different feeling, but it’s the same goal. I’m excited and ready to get out there and get to the big leagues as fast as I can.” Turnbull will spend some time in Lakeland before heading to Norwich, Conn., to join the Tigers’ short-season, single-A affi liate in the New York Penn League. Turnbull went 5-7 with a 2.22 ERA for the Crimson Tide in 2013 and threw 6 1⁄3 innings of one-run baseball in his last outing, a 1-0 loss to Kennesaw State in the Tallahassee NCAA Regional Two more Alabama draftees — Ben Moore (eighth round, Red Sox) and Justin Kamplain (18th round, Yankees) — are expected to sign pro contracts in the coming days.
Martin Kaymer set the 36-hole scoring record with a 10-under at the U.S. Open on Friday at the Pinehurst No. 2 course. He shot 5-under 65 on Friday and did not make a bogey.
Former Hillcrest High School baseball player Tim Anderson was a first-round draft pick in last year’s Major League Baseball Draft. After a slow start to the season, Anderson is finding his rhythm with the Winston-Salem Dash and looking to climb the minor-league ranks and eventually make it to the majors.
Same old
TIM
Anderson trying to prove he has what it takes to play in the major leagues By Tony Tsoukalas Sports writer
Tucked away in the shadows of a makeshift dugout on the set of MLB Network’s Studio 42 in Secaucus, N.J., Tim Anderson listened as his future was announced. “With the 17th selection of the 2013 First Year Player Draft, the Chicago White Sox select Tim Anderson, a shortstop from East Central C.C. in Decatur, Miss,” Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said, followed by a face as if to question, did I say that right? It was from that dugout, as the soft-spoken Anderson clumsily fumbled with the top button of a new pinstriped White Sox uniform, that the Hillcrest product stepped out of obscurity and onto the national scene. Minutes later, still fumbling with shirt buttons, Anderson spoke with MLB Network reporter Sam Ryan, almost out of breath and completely at a loss for words. You’ll forgive him if, at the time, he was a little overwhelmed. Anderson didn’t even watch the 2011 or 2012 drafts — he had no reason to. In 2011, the former dual-sport athlete earned just one offer to play college baseball, as two knee injuries while playing basketball in high school kept him off the diamond for most of early career and all but eclipsed his talent in the eyes of scouts. Even after his freshman season in college, in which he hit .360 with 37 RBIs and stole 30 bases on 30 attempts, Anderson received sparse attention from scouts who considered him athletic but not a highly-touted prospect. SEE A NDERSON | 3C
PHOTO | WINSTON-SALEM DASH
PREP FOOTBALL
Robbins takes over as head football coach for Sulligent By Andrew Carroll Sports Writer
Dennis Robbins, who retired in Mississippi, will continue his coaching career with a new job at Sulligent High School. Robbins, 57, has been hired to lead the Sulligent football program. A 35year coaching veteran with 21 years worth of experience as a head coach, Robbins was the offensive coordinator last season at Lafayette High School in Oxford, Miss. “It’s about 70 miles from where I live,” Robbins said. “I’m retiring in Mississippi, and I wanted to continue to coach. I’ve been trying to get in this part of Alabama for a couple of years, and Sulligent gave me the opportunity. The people here have been fantastic. The administra-
tion and the assistant coaches have been great. They made me feel right at home. I’m excited about the opportunity to be here.” Robbins conducted his fi rst summer workout Monday with about 30 players. “I’m still learning names and things like that,” he said. “I think the kids are wanting to be successful, and they’re willing to do what it takes.” Sulligent had a 2-8 record last season under the direction of Scott Marchant, who resigned after heading the program for three years. Jarrod Helms was hired to take over the program, but he stayed only a few days before returning to Brilliant, where he was the head coach. Robbins said his priorities for the summer are installing a new offense
and defense and concentrating on strength training. “A lot of it is working hard and doing the right things, doing the things it takes to win,” he said. “I think strength training is a big part of it. “We’re going to spread the field and try to make people defend it from sideline to sideline and goal line to goal line, both vertically and horizontally. The zone option will be a big part of our offense.” Robbins wants his quarterbacks to run and throw, and he expects Nathan Gardner and Cordarius Metcalfe to compete for the job. Gardner will be a senior. Metcalfe, who will be a junior, could play at wide receiver. “They don’t have to be a great thrower but just an adequate
thrower,” Robbins said. “Both of those guys are pretty athletic, and both of them can do the things that I would like them to do on offense at quarterback, so I feel good about that.” Robbins, who grew up in Southhaven, Miss., played football and baseball in high school. He was a wide receiver in college, first at Northwest Community College and then at Delta State. He was the head coach at Bruce High School, which fi nished as the Class 2A runner-up in Mississippi. With Robbins on the staff, Lafayette played for state championships in four of the last fi ve years and won Class 4A titles in 2010 and 2011. Lafayette had two straight 16-0 seasons a nd a 35 - ga me w inning streak.
Marchant said he expects to be teaching and coaching, possibly as a defensive coordinator, at a Tuscaloosa-area school. Marchant had a 19-7 record and led Pickens County to two straight playoff appearances in 2009-2010 before moving to Sulligent. His Sulligent teams went 9-21 in three seasons. “I learned a lot,” Marchant said. “It was a good experience for me. We didn’t win a lot of ballgames, but I met a lot of great people and a lot of great kids. I just wish them the best of luck in Sulligent. “God has blessed me. He’s going to continue to bless me, and I’m excited about the future.”
Reach Andrew Carroll at andrew.carroll@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205722-0223.