Sports Editor
Peter Hockaday
peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Sports
Best bet
NBA: Portland at San Antonio
5:30 p.m., KEVU
Wednesday, April 9,2003
Softball readies for Howe home opener
Oregon faces Portland State
today at 2 p.m. in the first of
two doubleheaders between
the teams this season
Softball
Mindi Rice
Sports Reporter
Oregon finally has come home.
The Ducks (18-11 overall, 2-5 Pacif
ic-10 Conference) kick off their home
season today against Portland State —
in a doubleheader that begins at 2 p.m.
— for the first two games of 14 the soft
ball squad will play at home during the
next month.
No. 20 Oregon’s only out-of-town
breaks will be a doubleheader at Port
land State next week and a Washing
ton/UCLA road trip in early May.
But first, the team must deal with
Portland State.
“Portland State always plays Oregon
tough,” head coach Kathy Arendsen said
earlier this season. “I expect a battle.”
The Vikings (11-15 overall, 3-1 Pa
cific Coast Softball Conference) are
coming out of a two-day, four-game
trip to San Diego, where they split Sat
urday’s doubleheader and swept San
Diego on Sunday.
Portland State opened the season go
ing 1-4 in each of its first two preseason
tournaments before the team split its
four games in the Tulsa Invitational.
Since then, the Vikings have played
six doubleheaders — including the two
in San Diego — sweeping three, being
swept in two and splitting one.
“We have a win against Oregon
State,” Arendsen said. “If we can beat
Portland State in this series then at least
we’re ahead in the state championship.
“They’re a dangerous team, well
coached, talented.”
The Vikings’ coach, Teri Mariani, is
in her 27th year as head coach at Port
land State. She has spent 31 consecu
tive years as a Viking — as student,
athlete, coach or administrator.
Mariani brought Portland State’s soft
ball program into Division I for the first
time five years ago. The Vikings have
only been a member of a conference for
four seasons — three in the Western
Athletic Conference and currentlv in
the PCSC.
The Ducks — a member of the Pac-10
for softball since the league added the
sport in 1987 — will try to break their
two-game losing streak after being swept
at California.
Oregon took a three-game losing streak
into Friday’s game at then-No. 12 Stanford.
The Ducks and Cardinal stretched out
a 10-inning, 2 hour, 50 minute game
into a pitcher’s duel after the teams
deadlocked at two runs each in the sec
ond inning. Oregon eventually pulled
out the 3-2 win.
Junior catcher Jenn Poore scored the
winning run in the top of the 10th on a
two-out single by senior first baseman
Alyssa Laux. Poore also hit her first
home run of the season — a two-run
shot to left field — in the second for
Oregon’s two runs in the second inning.
The Ducks faced California twice —
once on Saturday and once on Sunday
— to continue the Pac-10 road trip.
Oregon was shut out by then-No. 7
California — the defending national
champions — on Saturday with a 4-0
loss. The Ducks only managed two hits
in the game.
The Ducks lost again to the Bears on
Sunday, 4-1, avoiding being held score
less in two-straight games. Oregon has
scored at least one run in five of its 11
losses this season.
While Oregon is in the midst of its
season, assistant coach Mike White was
named the Men’s Amateur Softball Asso
ciation Player of the Year on Monday.
“It’s a great honor, especially with all
of the other great players,” White said.
“It’s something that I love doing so to be
honored this way is a great feeling.”
White led the Frontier Players Casino
team to the ASA Men’s Major Fast Pitch
Turn to Softball, page 8
}
Adam Amato Emerald
Freshman shortstop Breanne Sabol is the only Oregon player who has started all 29 games, as well as the only Duck to
start at the same position in each game. Sabol is one of four Ducks who is perfect in steal attempts.
New UO hurdler
runs with speed
Freshman Eric Mitchum has already run
a sub 14-second time in the 110 hurdles,
only the second such Duck time since 1991
Men’s track and field notes
Peter Hockaday
Sports Editor
Even in the photo-finish picture, which is stretched and
tweaked to make sure the winner is clear, it looks like
Duck freshman Eric Mitchum beat Arkansas’ Eddie Jack
son to the finish line in their 110 hurdles heat at last
weekend’s Texas Relays.
But Mitchum lost to Jackson, the official separation time
only .01 second.
No matter for Mitchum. He advanced to Saturday’s final,
which he ran in 13.98 seconds, just the second sub 14-sec
ond 110 hurdles race for Oregon since 1991.
“It was the best meet I’ve ever been to,” Mitchum said of
the Texas Relays. “Just the crowds, the competition, the
whole environment.”
While Mitchum is excited to be running well in his first
collegiate season, the Ducks are excited to have a short-dis
tance hurdling talent to immediately replace Micah Harris,
who graduated last year as the best 110-meter hurdler in
Oregon history.
In only two meets this year, Mitchum has proved that he
is a viable replacement for Harris. He ran an NCAA-regional
qualifying 14.07 in the Oregon Preview two weeks ago, and
Turn to Track, page 8
GeoffThurner Emerald
Eric Mitchum ran a 13.98 in the finals at theTexas Relays on Saturday.
Lost in shuffle,
quarterbacks
transfer to LB
Andy Collins and Scott Vossmeyer look to
make contributions next season at linebacker
Spring football notes
Hank Hager
Sports Reporter
College football players will often go through position
changes during spring practices.
To see a defensive lineman move to the offensive side of
the ball is not uncommon. Same goes for running backs,
wide receivers and members of the secondary.
Quarterbacks moving to linebacker is usually a bit more
of stretch. In the case of former Oregon quarterbacks Andy
Collins and Scott Vossmeyer, it is a real possibility.
With Kellen Clemens and Jason Fife returning to the
position and three recruits expected to round out the ros
ter as late as winter next year, Collins and Vossmeyer
were getting lost in the jumble.
So now, the duo is making a jump to the defense, not
exactly a breeding ground for former quarterbacks.
“It’s been kind of tough getting the whole different mind
set from offense to defense,” Collins said. “So far it’s going
all right, I just have to learn the defense.”
Turn to Football, page 12