I
emerald ^
sports
Gilmore trying
slowly to regain
form of 1974
A sport that originated with Indian tribes, lacrosse is growing on the West Coast
An old game, but new interest
By SAYRE MACNEIL
For the Emerald
Lacrosse is the only North American Indian
game still played in the United States.
The Oregon lacrosse team is seven years old,
and the game itself is perhaps 1,000. The first
history of the game was recorded by French ex
plorers who gave it the name "the cross because
the stick reminded them of a bishop's staff or
"crozter" There are records of forty-eight differ
ent tribes that played lacrosse, the majority be
longing to the Iroquois Nation in the northeastern
U S. and Canada
Though the sport has been slow in reaching the
west coast it has been played intercollegiately in
the east for over forty years. In fact, most Oregon
players learned in the East.
Attackmen John Meyer and Don Eber learned
in Connecticut, midfielders Joe Graham and
Brent Summers played in New York, defenseman
Bill Petersen played in high school on Long Is
land, with goalie Herb Hincks coming from Balti
more.
A lacrosse game in the Northwest is still a rare
sight. The Duck team must drive 100 miles to play
its nearest opponents, the Portland Lacrosse
Club. As members of the Pacific Northwest La
crosse Association, they also play four teams
from Washington, so an average road game re
quires around 600 miles of travel.
That is soon to change, however. In the past
year, three new teams have begun in the North
west, and six new squads in the San Francisco
area.
Perhaps contributing to the surging popularity
of the sport is the fact that it is exciting to watch.
The object is to throw and catch a hard rubber
ball with a netted stick, and so maneuver the ball
into a 6 ft. by 6 ft. goal. It is like hockey in that
opponents can block each other and check each
other's sticks and it is like basketball in that the
ball moves rapidly up and down the field, and
picks and screens are used to set up shots. In
short, it is a fast-moving, rough game.
Nearly every major college in New England,
including the Ivy League, has a varsity lacrosse
team. The national championships, usually
played in Maryland, draw over 20,000 spectators
every year. It may be some time before one sees a
crowd like that out for lacrosse in Eugene, but now
every Pac-8 school except OSU and WSU has a
team, so it might be sooner than you think.
Duck subs provide heroics in 3-2 win
By JOHN HENDERSON
Of the Emerald
Oregon Baseball Coach Mel
Krause has probably never had a
better game for substitutions
Substitutes Jeff Stanton and
Don Heil came up with key hits in
the eighth inning, and reliever Ray
Paiement pitched Oregon out of a
jam to preserve a 5-3 win over
visiting Portland Wednesday.
It pushed the Ducks’ record to
19-13, and clinches Oregon's
44th non-losing season in a row.
The last time Oregon fell below
.500 was in 1932 when it was
5-10.
“I'm really happy we assured
the streak of years for not going
below .500," said Krause. “I was
wondering from the very start of
the season.”
Oregon almost let it slip by in the
fifth inning when Craig Deardorff
scored Jim Dean with a sacrifice
fly to give Portland a 3-2 lead. But
Stanton, who replaced Mike Con
nolly in the second inning, drilled
the first pitch of the eighth inning
over the center-field fence to tie
the score.
After Ray Smith flew out and
Rob Closs struck out, Tim Stack
reached base on an error. Hank
Love singled him to second to set
up Heil. Krause pinch-hitted him
for Dave Ulrich, and he responded
with a single to center to score
pinch-runner Craig Fetzer. Tim
Reed followed with a blooping
single to left to score Heil.
The Pilots didn't want to be vic
tims of the Ducks' streak, how
ever, as a single, a walk and a
sacrifice put runners on second
and third with one out in the ninth.
Paiement came on in relief for
Mark Carnathan, however, to
strike out Al Reamer and Nick
Kintz to end the game.
“It’s real nice to have a relief
pitcher come in and retire the
side," said Krause. "Ray did it one
other time in Seattle. But the rest
have been few and far between."
Port and 000 210 000 — 3 4 3
Oregon 002 000 03* — 5 9 3
Newman. Hays (5). and Robertson Peterson
Jordan (6). Carnathan (8). Paiement (9). and Reed
W — Carnathan (40). L — Hays 26 — Oregon.
Smith 2 HR — Oregon, Stanton RBI — Portland,
Deardortl. Hurst Oregon, Stanton. He*. Reed
By JOHN HENDERSON
Of the Emerald
Before arm problems sidelined
him last season, Oregon pitcher
Eric Gilmore utilized a sneaky fast
ball and good control to make the
All-Northern Division team as a
sophomore
But if he’s going to regain that
form of 1974, he’ll use something
else: patience.
At the beginning of this year, in
a period which makes or breaks
most pitchers trying to come back,
Gilmore had a start that would
break most hurlers. After three
games, Gilmore gave up 19 hits in
14 innings and had a lofty 5.76
earned run average.
‘‘After you lay off for a while, you
tend to forget fundamentals,” said
Gilmore as he basked in the sun in
the Howe Field bleachers. “I had a
misconception of how to throw. I
thought I threw more side-arm. I
didn’t have any velocity and had
bad control at first.
“I could throw strikes, but not
good strikes. They were all waist
high”
Gilmore kept his cool, however,
and has shown some signs of his
1974 form. He went to Washing
ton last weekend, and threw a
six-hit shutout which helped him
raise his record to 3-2 and lower
his ERA to 3.29.
“His ball is really moving,” said
Duck Coach Mel Krause. “In his
first few starts, everything went
straight. I can see his fast ball
coming, and he’s starting to strike
out people.”
Gilmore doesn't have to look at
films or statistics to describe his
progress.
“I'm pleased just to play after
sitting out 19 months," said Gil
more. “I wasn't sure I’d ever play
again. And I threw a Pac-8 game
which I didn’t think I’d ever do.”
A year-and-a-half is a long time
to sit out for any athlete. And with
the success Gilmore has had in
the past, it’s especially tough.
He compiled an incredible 0.50
ERA at Beaverton High School,
and came back to have an equally
awesome year in American Leg
ion. After he pitched his freshman
year on the Oregon JVs, Gilmore
built a 17-0 record to lead Watco
Electric of Portland to third place
in the nation.
“That really helped a lot,” said
Gilmore. “I got a lot of confidence
and those extra innings were re
ally valuable.”
Bursting forth with confidence
and momentum, Gilmore helped
lead Oregon to the Northern Divi
sion championship in 1974. With
an 8-1 record and a 2.20 ERA,
Gilmore appeared headed for a
storybook success story.
His shoulder, however, had
other plans
It was during the last game of
the national Semi-Pro tournament
in Wichita, Kan. that summer
when Gilmore was pitching for
Eureka, Calif. He didn't feel a thing
when it happened.
“Afterwards, my arm stayed
tight but it always does after
games,” he said. “I just thought I’d
lay off for a few weeks because I
never really thought it would be
serious.”
It turned out to be tendonitis of
the shoulder, and Gilmore began
a year of waiting.
“After a while, I just stopped
thinking about it,” he said. “I
couldn't dwell on it too long so dur
ing the summer I played golf,
worked and had a great time. I
think a lot of people in athletics
re-adjust themselves when their
careers are over.”
Gilmore isn't about to hang up
the spikes, however, as he still
has stints this Saturday with
Washington State and next week
against Oregon State.
And he may not be through
then. After red-shirting last year,
he still has another year of eligibil
ity left. Oregon baseball, however,
may lose out to academics. He
decided this year to get a jour
nalism degree as well as a history
degree, and needs 17 more cre
dits to achieve it.
“It all depends on whether I
want to stay around for a whole
year,” said Gilmore. “I can
graduate in one or two terms. It
also depends on how good a
summer I have (in City League
ball), and how I feel. I don't really
know right now.”
And like he has been so much
before, he'll be patient.
Spoftfolio -=
Netiers, golfers face tourneys in Seattle
Two Oregon squads will be in Seattle this weekend for
tournament competition.
The tennis team, coming off one of its best seasons ever,
will start play today in the Pacific Northwest Intercollegiate
Championships.
Besides the Ducks, teams from Washington, Washington
State and Seattle University will be entered.
Oregon's golf squad, meanwhile, will try and keep its suc
cess going in the Northern Division Championship Meet. The
Duck golfers, who have won the title five out of the
tournament’s ten years, are heavily favored again this season
over Oregon State, Washington and Washington State.
Women’s soccer squad gets two victories
The University women's soccer team recently won two
games by whipping Oregon State 5-1 and the Portland Thun
derbirds 4-1. Oregon’s next competition will be Sunday when it
hosts Washington State at Autzen Stadium.