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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 13, 1971)
Mealey takes command with control, confidence By JOHN ANDERSON Of the Emerald For two full years, Rick Mealey was the big question mark on the Oregon pitching staff. As a sophomore, Mealey was inconsistent, hurling a two-hit shutout against Washington State but compiling only a 2-5 record and 4.30 earned run average. As a junior, his ERA dipped to a highly respectable 3.11, but his won lost mark also dipped to 1-4. That’s all different now. Mealey still gets his share of bad breaks, but he’s also a more mature and confident pitcher. As a result, he’s the number one hurler on Oregon’s Northern Division leading club, with a 4-2 mark and 2.57 ERA. And he’ll be the center of at tention Friday when the Ducks close their regular season at home against Oregon State, needing a win to clinch a berth in the Pacific 8 playoffs. "I haven’t been doing anything any different from the past two years,” claims Mealey, a &-foot, 190 pound righthander. “I’m just getting the ball where I want it, and I think I’m throwing a littler harder.” Coach Me! Krause has seen Mealey play since the hurler’s all state high school days at Beaverton’s Sunset High, and pinpoints two big reasons for the change in Mealey’s fortunes. "For one thing,” says Krause, “Kick realizes he’s supposed to be the number one pitcher on the staff lie’s taken that respon sibility upon himself, since he’s the only senior. ATOs capture swimming title with 34 points By WKS STINSON Of the Km era Id ATO, by capturing five of the six final diving places, upset SAK and claimed the 1971 !M swim ming and diving crown at Leighton pool Tuesday night. All teams are now braced for track and field, the concluding 1M sport, set to unfold with the finals at 4 p m May 26 Ilie defending champion SAK’s garnered only 4tt points in the swim meet, good for third place FINAL SWIMMING STANDINGS Place Team 1 Alpha ! au Omega 2 legalfagles 3 Sigma Alpha Eptilon 4 Boynton 5 Sigma Chi 6 Delta Upsilon 7 Delta Chi 8 Chi Pm Points 54 SO 48 37 25 15 4 PACE RESULTS Diving 1 Bruce Hoyt ATO. 226 15 2. Stan Shorvinton ATO. 3. Bob Langley. Delta Upsilon 200 yd med relay 1. Legal Eagles. 200 82 7. Delta UfKilon 3 Boynton 700 yd freestyle 1 Scott Mi keown Sigma Chi. 210 18 7 Tom Gates Boynton, 3. Dave Husk ATO SO yd freestyle I. Bob Wyler. SAE 24 44 2 Wiley Mi Hugh SAL. 3 Murphy Mi Hugh SAL 100yd lr>d Med 1. Tyler Walthers. I egal Eagles 101 10 7. P L ighttoot ATO 3. Laird Chambers Boynton 100 yd Butterfly 1 Dav»d foster indep 1 I8 60 2. With Barden legal Eagles 3. B<ll Corry (Vita Chi 100 yd freestyle 1 Bob Wyler SAE S4 va 2. Scott Mi Keown Sigma Chi 3. Riley Mi Hugh SAt 100 yd BaiKsfroKe 1 Craig Chisholm. Legal Eagles 1 W Va 2 Tom Gates Boynton 3. RicK Hammond Collier. Hamilton 100 yd Breaststroke 1 Tyler Walthers Legal Eagles 1 08 55 7 D Lighttoot ATO 3. Murphy McHugh SAE 200 yd Freestyle Relay 1. SAE 1 45 41 2, Boynton 3 Sigma Chi “And second, he’s in better condition than he has been. It’s to Rick’s credit that he ran all last winter and lost 14 pounds. I didn’t require it. He just wanted to get in better shape.” Mealey agrees that his loss of weight—he played at over 200 pounds last year—is a big factor in his success. But during that same period of time, beginning last fall he’s also concentrated a lot on his pitching. The result is a more effective fastball, a slider which he didn’t have before, better control and renewed confidence. “I’m throwing my fastball harder,” Mealey says. ‘‘It’s moving better, and I’ve been able to hit the corners with it. It feels good to throw the ball and know where’s it’s going to go. “I worked on a slider some last year, but I’ve got it down now where I’m confident of it and can throw it. In this league, you’ve got to have a slider, or they start hitting your fastball ” Mealey still, however, is primarily a fastball pitcher. In his 4-3 complete game win over California last Friday, 70 per cent of the pitches he threw were fastballs. Despite his 4-2 mark this year, Mealey could easily have a better record than he does. He lost a one-hitter at Pacific earlier this year when the Boxers scored two unearned runs in the final inning for a 2-1 win. And he was defeated 3-1 at UCLA on two infield hits and a checked swing sacrifice in the last frame. “There have been times in the past two years,” said Mealey, “when I thought I really threw well, but didn’t win games. But this year, a lot of things have been going right. Like that last game . . In “that last game,” Mealey’s key 4-3 win over Cal, a highly controversial umpire decision saved his victory, and may well have prevented a defeat. The Ducks led by just one run with a runner on third and one out in the sixth. Cal’s Steve Ohland Continued on Page 11 SDSC picks Dietz as baseball coach Jim Dietz, Frosh basketball and JV baseball coach for the last three years, accepted Monday night the position of head baseball coach at San Diego State College. The announcement was made Wednesday by Norv Ritchey, Oregon’s Athletic Director and Ken Karr, Director of Athletics at San Diego State. Dietz, who replaces Lyle Olsen, will officially assume his duties on September 1. During the summer, Dietz will coach the Alaska Goldpanners semipro baseball team of Fairbanks. Over the past three seasons, Dietz has compiled a 55-12 Frosh basketball record and a 29-12 JV baseball record over two seasons. IIis most successful cage season was in 19(19-70 when his team went 22-2. His best year on the diamond was the 1970 season when his squad achieved a 21-3 record Dietz, 32, was "really happy about the job In fact. I’m ex tremely happy San Diego State has a great baseball program and a great baseball schedule. We ll be playing schools like Arizona State, USC and UCLA. "And another thing; 1 won't have to fight the rain any more— or that tarp detail "The only thing 1 regret, other than leaving friends, is that 1 won't be associated with basketball because I'll be busy working in the Department of Scholarships." A 1900 graduate of Southern Oregon College, Dietz holds a Master's degree in Counseling from Oregon. While at Southern Oregon, Dietz earned NA1A All American honors in baseball w hich ied to a brief career in professional baseball in the Detroit Tigers organization At the time Ritchey announced that Dietz would be going to the 22.000 student Southern California institute, he said "Jim has been an outstanding coach in his three years at Oregon and we are extremely happy that his work here has enabled him to Jim Diet/. land a very good major college head coaching job.” Dietz’s leaving is the third such departure for a member of the Oregon coaching staff in the past month. Earlier, head basketball coach Steve Belko was replaced by Dick Harter of Pennsylvania and assistant varsity basketball coach Frank Arnold accepted a similar post at UCLA. ALL CAMPUS KEGGER! U of O and O.S.U. 100 ke9* Three Bands Sat May IS Tickets on sale on the EMU Terrace $2 00 MAHARAJAH Water Skis ✓ SANGER ■S SIDEWINDER ; ✓ HONDO DELTA WING KITES MAXON MARINE W. 1 lth & Chambers 344 8061 Oregon pitching star Rick Mealey fires a fastball past a California batter in the Ducks' 4-3 win last weekend. Mealey, a senior who is experiencing his best year in an Oregon uniform, will work against Oregon State Friday at Howe Field in an effort to clinch a spot for the Ducks in the post-season Pacific-8 playoffs. ANNOUNCING THE OPENING of Eugene’s Newest, most Unique Dancing & Entertainment Center U;ltp (Ehart iRinmt Located Top Side at 2855 Willamette 345-3367 Dine & Dance Nightly 9:00 p.m. - 2:30 to the Fantastic New D.J. Bar Make it TONIGHT The ASUO Cultural Forum Presents in Concert — Lecture “Muhammad Ali” May 24, 1971 McArthur Court — 8 pm TICKETS: J ,7,,, TICKETS: EMU siumission *7 MATTOX PIPE SHOP