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Assistant Sports Editor:
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Oregon Daily Emerald
Best Bet
MLB: Texas @ Seattle
7:00 p.m., FSN
Oregon softball hits
brutal road stretch
■ Oregon softball looks for first
Pac-10 win at No. 9 Washington
today before flying to No. 2 UCLA
for two games over the weekend
By Chris Cabot
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Oregon softball team (18-18
overall, 0-9 Pacific-10 Conference) em
barks on a road trip of dizzying magni
tude as it rivals a roller-coaster grand
enough to make even
the most steady
stomached rider call
for Dramamine.
Today’s game in
Seattle against No. 9
Washington marks
the beginning of a
hectic stretch for the Ducks, where they
will compete in 10 games in 10 days.
After the game against the Huskies,
the team will travel to No. 2 UCLA for
Saturday and Sunday games, immedi
ately followed by a Monday double
header at Portland State. The Ducks
will have Tuesday off before hosting a
double-header of their own against
Portland State on Wednesday.
April 26 begins a weekend in Ari
zona, where the Ducks will face the No.
1 Wildcats on Friday and No. 6 Arizona
State on Saturday and Sunday.
“It’s going to be a grind from a time
perspective,” Oregon head coach Brent
Rincon said. “The kids are going to
have to focus academically and athleti
cally in order to be successful.”
Oregon has had opportunities to win
many of its nine Pac-10 games, keeping
pace with some of the best teams in the
country, but has struggled to piece to
gether excellent pitching, offense and
defense in the same game. All of the
other seven teams in the Pac-10 are
ranked in the top 14.
“We’ve played some tough games
against some of the top teams, and
we’re playing right with them,” short
stop Lynsey Haij said. “All we can do is
remember the positives and keep work
ing hard.”
In order for the Ducks to get out of
their losing slide, they need to “play
consistently high softball for an extend
ed period of time,” Rincon said.
During Oregon’s two weekend games
against UCLA, the Ducks will try to pre
vent a historical monument. UCLA’s
Stacey Nuveman has hit 13 home runs in
her senior campaign, giving her a career
mark of 83, which places her third on the
all-time NCAA list. She needs only two
to reach the record held by Arizona’s
Leah Braatz and Laura Espinoza.
E-mail sports reporter Chris Cabot
at chriscabot@dailyemerald.com.
Pacific-10 Conference standings
Pac-10
1. Arizona 7-1
2. UCLA 5-3
Arizona State 5-3
4. Oregon State 5-4
California 5-4
6. Stanford 4-5
7. Washington 3-5
8. Oregon 0-9
GB
2.0
2.0
2.5
2.5
3.5
4.0
7.5
Overall
38-5
37-6
35-10
31-11
37-12
33-6
33-12
18-18
Jonathan House Emerald
Senior pitcher Connie McMurren and the Oregon softball team will play 10 games over the next 10 days.
Handful of athletes head to Mt. SAC
■The Oregon men’s track team heads
to the biggest meet on the West Coast
with high individual expectations
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
A week after a team mentality gripped the Ore
gon men’s track and field squad, it’s now back to
being individuals again.
Eight Ducks will compete in different events at
the Mt. San Antonio College Relays in Walnut,
Calif., this weekend. Several of those athletes will
be looking to notch NCAA-qualifying times amid
the chaos of the West Coast’s biggest track meet
of the year.
For starters, decathletes Billy Pappas and Jason
Slye were in action Thursday at
Azusa Pacific University —
next to Mt. SAC — in the de
cathlon competition. They will
conclude the 10-event de
cathlon today.
On Saturday, the Ducks will
hit the track for two days of running madness.
Sophomore Ryan Andrus will compete in the
800-meter race and the 1,500. Ross Krempley
will also compete in the 800, but because of the
large meet, Krempley won’t run the same race as
Andrus.
On Sunday, Terry Ellis will run the 110 hur
dles, Sarnie Parker will run the 100, Brandon
Holliday will run the 400 hurdles and Micah
Harris will run the 110 hurdles, but not against
Ellis.
All the track action puts a direct spotlight on
the runners and the handiwork of sprints coach
Steve Silvey. The first-year assistant coach has al
ready impressed head coach Martin Smith with
his ability to mold distance-runner Simon Kima
ta into a national-title contender in the 800, and
also to get personal bests out of several athletes
early in the season.
“I think I have two of the finest coaches in the
country,” Smith said of Silvey and field coach
Bill Lawson. “The athletes really respond to
those guys.”
Silvey brings an impressive history to Oregon,
especially the 34 Olympians he coached in stints
at Blinn College and Arkansas.
Now, Silvey has the task of molding Oregon’s
sprinters and distance runners into NCAA cham
pions. This weekend, especially, will be a chance
for the Ducks to shine on a large stage at Mt. SAC.
Turn to Men’s, pagelOA
Ducks California bound
in search of high marks
■ Bolstered by a strong field
program, the Oregon women head
to Los Angeles in large numbers
By Hank Hager
Oregon Daily Emerald
There is no question now as to the
ability of Tom Heinonen’s athletes.
They can fly, they can jump, they can
throw with some of the best collegiate
athletes in the nation.
Now, the question is, how far will
they go?
After a 105-95 win
over Pacific-10 Confer
ence foe Washington
last weekend in Eu
gene, the Ducks travel
south to the City of An
gels. Eighteen Oregon athletes will par
ticipate in three meets this weekend, the
most notable being the Mt. SAC Relays,
held in Walnut, Calif., near the bustling
city of Los Angeles.
All of this comes at the right time for
Oregon.
“There’s a lot of stuff going well right
now for us,” Heinonen said.
The Ducks have earned nine NCAA
provisional marks this season, and have
already begun a process to improve last
season’s 60th-place finish at the NCAA
Championships.
For starters, junior Eri Macdonald has
come out from beyond the shadows to
become a force for the Ducks. Her mark
in the 800 (2:06.37) vaulted her into
10th place nationally.
The Honolulu native looks to im
prove upon that this weekend when she ^
competes at Mt. SAC on Saturday.
Then there is the Oregon javelin four
some. All four have earned NCAA pro
visional marks, are in the top 30 in the
nation, and all but freshman Roslyn
Turn to Women’s, page 12A