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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 1997)
College Football: UCIA at Oregon, Autzen Stadium, 3:30 Sports Emerald Oregon confident competing against nation’s best Oregon will face 13 of the nation's top 22 teams at the Furman Invitational By Joel Hood Sports Reporter Cross country races in October are not supposed to be this important, but don’t tell that to Oregon and women's head coach Tom Heinonen. The No. 7 Ducks face off against the nation’s best with everything on the line Saturday. Thirteen of the country’s top 22 teams, including defending national champion Stanford, will run this weekend at the Furman Invitational in Greenville, S.C. — fittingly the site of the NCAA Championships in No vember. “This is the biggest, most high quality race we have ever run outside the NCAA Championships," Heinonen said. "It’s important for us to get experience running on the East Coast in a championship setting. We need to face this level of competition if we want to improve." Oregon began this season ranked 13th in the country, but as the Ducks’ confidence has im proved, so too lias their national rank ing. Oregon enters this weekend feel ing it can compete with the country's best. “This can be such a great confi dence builder for us," said Marie Davis, Oregon’s lone All-American last season. ”1 think that if we believe in ourselves and believe that we can compete against these teams then we’ll run a strong race. “We need to realize that we’re one of these top teams... People should be scared of us, like we should he scared of them in a big race.” Davis, along with senior Milena Glusae, has led the Ducks in each of the team’s first two races. Davis had a first- and second-place overall finish, while Glusae has come back from in jury this season to take a second- and ninth-place finish, respectively. 1 leinonen is looking for similar re sults from his top two runners this weekend. "We have run well this season, but 1 think we can run better,” Heinonen said. "Our goal is for each runner to be better each week, to be more fo cused and more relaxed.” Relaxed may be the one thing that Oregon won’t be in a race featuring five of the nation’s top six teams. The key, Heinonen said, is to be focused and healthy. "As long as our top five runners are healthy, I think we’ll do well,” Turn to DUCKS. Page 15A Grissom’s 3-run homer beats O’s to knot ALCS Benitez chokes again in playoffs as Cleveland beats Baltimore 5-4 to even series at one game apiece By Tom Withers AP Sports Writer BALTIMORE (AP) — Check the tempera ture and the scoreboard: this Indian summer isn’t over yet. Marquis Grissom hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning off Armando Benitez on Thursday night, giving the Cleveland Indi ans a 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in Game 2 of the AL championship series. With the Indians trailing 4-2 in the eighth and on the verge of falling behind 2-0 in the best-of-7 series, Grissom hit a shot into the Orioles’ bullpen that stunned the Camden Yards crowd and surely sent living rooms and bars in Ohio into a frenzy. Cleveland, which came back from a 2-1 deficit to beat the defending World Series champion New York Yankees in the open ing round, benefited from two walks and a controversial call in the eighth that set up unssom s shot. Benitez struck out pinch-hitter Jeff Bran son to open the inning before walking Sandy Alomar. He then struck out Tony Fernandez and appeared to get pinch-hitter Jim Thome as well on a 3-2 pitch. Thome checked his swing on the pitch and, although TV replays showed his bat had crossed the plate, he was awarded first base. Grissom, who went 3-for-4, then drove a 1-1 pitch to the deepest part of the ball park, bringing the Indians out of the dugout. In last year’s playoffs, Benitez gave up a tie-breaking grand slam to Albert Belle in Cleveland’s 9-4 win in Game 3. Cleveland’s Mike Jackson got two outs in the eighth and Jose Mesa pitched the ninth for the save. Following a travel day Friday, the series will resume at Jacobs Field on Saturday. The Orioles will send ace Mike Mussina to the mound against Orel Hershiser. Until Grissom’s dramatic shot, it ap peared Baltimore’s new shortstop and its old one would push the Orioles a little clos er to the World Series. Mike Bordick snapped a sixth-inning tie with a two-run single, and Cal Ripken hit a two-run homer — his first career postseason shot — as the Orioles took a 4-2 lead into the eighth and turned it over to their brilliant bullpen, which was 83-4 when protecting leads after the seventh inning this year. Manny Ramirez hit a two-run homer in the first inning for Cleveland, which strand Turn toALCS, Page 17A OREGON vs. USC CHAD PATTESON/Emerald Seniors Demi Cordova (left) and Tia Stewart attempt a block in Oregon's loss to CSC Thursday night 'The Ducks look to end an eight-match losing streak and notch their first Pacific-10 Conference victory Friday against I Id A at McArthur Conn. Women of Troy conquer Oregon, 3-0 All-American candidateJasmina Marinkovic leads USC to victory, 15-3, 15-8, 15-8 By Rob Moseley Sports Reporter Thursday night’s Pacific-10 Conference women’s volleyball match at McArthur Court was a study in contrasts. On one side stood the No. 7 USC Women of Troy, 11-2 on the year, their only losses coming to No. 2 Stanford and No. 6 Washington State. On the other side were the Oregon Ducks, 7-9 overall and wallowing in the midst of a seven match winless streak. True to form, the Women of Troy dominated the match, winning 15-3,15-8,15-8 on the strength of three scoring streaks of eight points or more. In game one USC looked relaxed, relying on their superior athleticism to rip off an eight-point scor ing streak after the Ducks tied the game at 1-1. The Ducks scored twice more, but the Women of Troy responded with another scoring streak, this one good for six points and the game. Both sides seemed listless at the start of game two. But with the Ducks up 3-2, USC's Jasmina Marinkovic led the Trojans on an eight-point scor ing streak. “She’s as good a player as there is in the coun try,” Oregon head coach Cathy Nelson said of the NCAA leader in hitting percentage. Nelson again attempted to breath life into the Ducks’ attack by substituting Michelle Graham at setter for Casey Crisler, but USC took the serve at 13-8 and scored two quick points to end the game. Graham stayed in to start game three, and Oregon Turn to VOLLEYBALL, Page 16A Stats ^ KILLS: Ernst, UO 11 Mar’vic, USC 12 f m BLOCKS: White, UO 9 | Stephen, USC 12 | H HITTING PCT.: | UO .055 USC .320 I
