From the Associated Press

- April 1998 -

The ballgame is over for the Silver Bullets -- for now.

Unable to find a sponsor, the Atlanta-based women's professional baseball team will not play this year, said co-owner Paul Beckham.

The Silver Bullets, the only women's pro baseball team in the world, will use the time to find sponsors for 1999, he said.

"You ask people to name two minor-league baseball teams and they can't do it, but a lot of people can name the Silver Bullets. We don't want that to go away," Beckham said. "But sponsorship sales have changed over the last few years."

Last August, Coors Brewing Co., which has invested more than $8 million in the Silver Bullets since the team started four years ago, bowed out as chief sponsor.

Consisting mostly of former softball players, the team has spent the past four summers playing men's minor-league, semipro and amateur teams. Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro is the team's manager.

Last season, the Silver Bullets compiled their first winning record, 23-22.