Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 28, 1997)
MONDAY April 28,1997 Emerald Ducks break even after sweep of PSU ■ SOFTBALL: Ducks won two and lost two during the doubleheader this weekend against UCLA and PSU By Ryan Halvorsen Sports Reporter The Ducks came away with all they could this weekend, playing No, 4 UCLA tough for two games, losing both and sweeping a doubleheader against Portland State. In the first game Sunday, Oregon, 18-27 1 overall, got off to a big start and never looked back against Portland State (37-16). The Vikings got on the board first, taking a SOFTBALL 1-0 advantage, but the Ducks answered in the bottom half of the inning in a big way. Oregon loaded the bases with the first three batters and pitcher Jennie Cook drove in Jackie Ellis for the first run. Allison Nehei drove in the second run of the inning with an RBI sin gle. Jennifer Apfelbaum and Nehei scored on a Viking error off of a Missy Koke hit, making the score 5-1 after the first. Oregon scored two more runs in the bot tom of the third. Cook led off with a double and Nehei followed up with a single. Apfelbaum rapped a base hit, driving in Cook and advancing Nehei to third. Lisa Head hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring in Nehei to make the score 7-1 and that ended up as the final score. Cook got the win on the mound, her 11th on the year, giving up five hits and striking out eight Vikings along the way. Portland State put up a stronger fight in the second game, but the Ducks held them off to take the 8-4 win. Heather Holte started the Ducks off in the bottom of the second with a solo shot to left-center field, her 11th on the season, tying her for the Oregon record for home runs in a single season. Koke reached base on an error in the third to start another Oregon rally that pro duced two more runs. Ellis drove Koke in with a double, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. Angie LeRoy sin gled and was driven in on a Lemke triple to make it 3-0. Holte got her second RBI of the day, bringing in Lemke with a single, mak ing it 4-0 Ducks. Portland State made it a game, scoring two runs in the fourth and fifth innings to get within one, but the Ducks made one last run to put the game out of reach. Ore Turn to SOFTBALL, Page 12 SPRING GAME MARK MCTYRE/Emerald Jason Maas appears to be the Ducks’ top choice for quarterback after the annual spring game, played Saturday. Ducks answer some questions ■ FOOTBALL: Head coach Mike Bellotti is pleased with the progress his team made this spring By Ben Kwasney and Alex Pond Sports Reporters Oregon fans came to Autzen Stadium Saturday for the annual spring game hop ing to get a feel for what the 1997 football season may hold. What they found out was that the battle for the No. 1 quarterback spot is far from over and that the defense may be a pleas ant surprise as the first team offense and defense defeated the reserves 41-0. The focus of the game was on the quar terback duel between Jason Maas and Ak ili Smith. Smith, who was one of the most high ly recruited players in the country com ing out of Grossmont Junior College last season, completed 12-of-21 passes for 137 yards and one interception while splitting time between both squads. He also rushed for 29 yards, including a 9 yard touchdown run on the final play of the game. But Maas’ numbers were even more impressive, racking up 255 yards on 14 of-22 passing and one touchdown. Maas’ performance was enough for him to hold on to the No. 1 spot heading into fall camp, but head coach Mike Bellotti said things could change before the Sept. 4 season opener against Arizona. “It will be a very competitive situation, one that I like,” Bellotti said. “I think that competition will make us better as a team.” Maas said he is glad to be No. 1 coming out of spring drills but knows the battle FOOTBALL will continue through out the summer and into fall camp. “I’m not going to get complacent,” he said. “I’m going to go out and work my ass off and do what it takes to be the best quarterback I can be. ” Smith was not satisfied with his perfor mance Saturday and wants to better de velop his overall skills as a quarterback before fall camp. “I need to work on being more of a pass er instead of an athlete at the quarterback position,” he said. Smith did not seem bothered by the fact that he is not the No. 1 play caller right now. “If I’m not the guy I’m going to work hard until I am the guy,” he said. Whomever wins the job will benefit from a strong group of receivers, includ ing Pat Johnson and LaCorey Collins, who both had solid performances Satur day. Johnson, who decided to skip track to concentrate on spring football, had three catches for 57 yards. The highlight was a leaping 41-yard reception in the third quarter that set up a Collins touchdown two plays later. Bellotti said he is glad that the star sprinter decided to sacrifice track this sea son to focus on football. “His commitment to football this spring is going to pay dividends for he and for all of us as a football team,” Bel lotti said. Collins, a redshirt freshman, had seven catches for 85 yards and a touchdown. “He’s a big target, he makes things hap pen,” Bellotti said. “He’s tough to bring down.” As if Johnson and Collins won’t be dan gerous enough next season, Tony Hartley and Damon Griffin will be added to the mix in the fall. The pair sat out Saturday’s game with injuries. “I think our receiver corps will be one of the best in the conference next year,” Bellotti said. Defensively, the Ducks showed promise against the run, something they struggled with last season. The green team held the white team to no yards on 24 car ries. UO women make it a trifecta, men fail to repeat in relay ■ MEN: Oregon’s 4x1,600-meter relay team was unable to defend its 1996 title, finishing in fourth place By Alex Pond Sports Reporter Chris Nelson and Gregg Bleakney record ed season bests to highlight the Oregon men’s track and field team at the Drake Re lays Friday and Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa. Nelson placed fifth in the elite section of the high jump by clearing 7-3, his best mark since winning the collegiate section at Drake last year with an identical leap. The jump moved him into an llth-place tie on the NCAA provisional list. Bleakney, in just his third meet since returning from a hamstring injury, leaped 49-9 in the triple jump to finish sixth. The mark was a season best for him by eight inches and nudged Nelson s 49-8 for the team’s season best. Jody Mortimore continued Oregon’s strong showing in the field events by plac ing third in the long jump with a leap of 24-5. Nebraska’s Joe Laster won the event with a leap of 25-6. In the elite pole vault section, Piotr Bucia rski continued his strong season with a fourth-place finish by clearing 17-3. Turn to MEN, Page 12 ■ WOMEN: 4x800-relay team claimed third win in a row at the Drake Relays Saturday in Iowa By Ben Kwasney Sports Reporter Three times was a charm, but so were the last two for the Oregon women’s 4x800-me ter relay team at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa Friday and Saturday. “This meet’s a lot more fun when you win something,” head coach Tom Heinonen said. “So I guess you could say today was our most fun ever at Drake. We had won a relay and a field event before, but never two races.” Oregon captured its third straight win in the 4x800-meter relay. The team of Sue Morris, Robyn Sutherland, Kaarin Knud son and Vicky Fleschner finished in 8 minutes, 39.26 seconds. Fleschner has ran the anchor leg in the three consecutive victories. The other Oregon win came from Marie Davis, who won the 1,500-meter run in 4:27.70 with a surge in the final stretch. Davis ran the first 800 meters staying with the pack before separating on the third lap. “I was hoping for a faster race, something under 4:26, but it was a little slow at the be ginning,” Davis said. “It turned out OK, Turn to WOMEN, Page 12
