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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2004)
Sports Editor: Hank Hager hankhager@dailyemerald.com Monday, April 19,2004 Oregon Daily Emerald SPORTS Best bet NBA Playoffs: Memphis vs. San Antonio 5 p.m.,TNT UO visits UV^UCIA; takes away 2 victories The softball team went 2-1 on the road against two top-five Pacific-10 Conference opponents over the weekend By Mindi Rice Senior Sports Reporter SEATTLE — The consistent pitching of Oregon transfer Ani Nyhus remained a win ning recipe in Pacific-10 Conference play this weekend. Add run support from the 14th-ranked Ducks — including second baseman Erin GoodelTs first and second home runs of the season — and Oregon took two wins from two top-five teams. The Ducks (32-11 overall, 6-3 Pac-10) opened their weekend with a 2-1 victory against No. 5 Washington Friday in Seattle. "Ani was brilliant and we found a way to score runs," Oregon head coach Kathy Arendsen said Friday. "Kristi Leiter, a native kid playing at home for the first time in her career, got a big home run and Erin Good ell, who has really been swinging the bat well the past couple weeks, stepped up with _ a huge hit for us." HHi i 1 gyf' Leiter, Oregon's 1L# w% baseman from SOFTBALL Lake Stevens, - Wash., hit her third home mn of the season, a shot into the right field bleachers, to lead off the fifth inning. Washington tied the game at one in the bottom of the sixth, when Dominique Las trapes scored after hitting a one-out double. In the top of the seventh, Goodell, Ore gon's second baseman, hit her first home mn of the season over the left field wall. "It felt really good, just to pick us up from their mn that they scored the inning before," Goodell said. "We were all pretty determined that we had to score that in ning. I was trying to get a base hit and I guess that just happens." Nyhus threw a complete game three-hit ter in the victory, allowing the one run. She struck out 11. "We came out and scored early, which was good," Nyhus said. "They weren't real ly on to me yet. I was just looking for ground balls and stuff, and I got a couple strikeouts to add with it." Ducks go 1-1 in Los Angeles After the win, it was time for the Ducks to step on a plane and fly to UCLA. Ore gon opened the Los Angeles leg of its trip with four runs in the top of the first inning on Saturday. Catcher Jenn Poore scored the Ducks' first run on a single by third baseman Ash ley Richards. Richards scored when the next batter, designated player Beth Boskovich, hit a double to deep right cen ter field, making it 2-0. Left fielder Julie Jaime drove in Oregon's third run with a single, scoring Boskovich. Goodell drove in the final Duck run with a bloop single to right center field. "We were able to put runs on the board early and our defense made them hold up," Arendsen said in a release Saturday. "I thought we did a great job picking up a win on the road against a very good balldub." Nyhus pitched her second complete game victory in as many days. She gave up three runs on seven hits and struck out six. Turn to ROAD, page 12 MHchum breaks Ducks' hurdles record Eric Mitchum broke Micah Harris’s two-year-old school record in the 110-meter hurdles by .14 seconds The sophomore breaks a two-year-old school record in the 110 hurdles Sunday during the Mt. SAC Relays Jon Roetman Sports Reporter Eric Mitchum is well on his way to re-writing the Oregon record books. The sophomore from Calumet City, 111., broke a two-year-old school record with a time of 13.53 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles Sunday during the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. ^ Mitchum finished second overall to Brazilian entrant Matheus Facho (13.46) and broke the old Oregon record, held by Micah Harris, by a consid erable .14 seconds. Mitchum's time came with the maximum record-allowable wind limit of two meters per sec ond. His previous wind-legal best was 13.70 dur ing the Pepsi Team Invitational last weekend at Hayward Field. "My start was pretty good," Mitchum said. "I sped up from then and hoped for the best. I don't remember much from the race — I don't know if I hit any hurdles and saw only one other person during the race. The goal was to break the school record, which I did so I'm happy with that part of my race. "It was probably the best race of the season." Mitchum said he's going to keep working hard and has his eye on the Oregon record book. "I want to keep improving each year," Mitchum said, "and keep on going fast." Elsewhere on the track, sophomore A.K. Ikwuakor finished 27th overall (53.51) in the 400 hurdles, but was less than a second from his sea son best. In the field, Oregon sent four pole vaulters to compete at the Mt. San Antonio College meet but only one produced a mark. Senior Trevor Woods took fifth in the university pole vault, clearing 16 feet, 4 3/4 inches. Freshman Tommy Skipper didn't compete in the elite section, while sophomore Jon Derby and freshman David Moore no-heighted in the univer sity section. In other action, Travis Anderson continued his dominance in the 400-meter dash Saturday. The sophomore from Arvada, Colo., won the 35 person event (47.08) during second day action at the Mt. SAC Relays, a week after winning the 400 at the Pepsi Team Invitational (47.04). It was also the third meet this season in which Anderson met Pacific-10 Conference and regional qualifying standards. Anderson is coming off a freshman season in which he qualified for the Pac-10 Championships in the 400 and the NCAAs as a member of the Oregon 4x400-meter relay team. Right behind Anderson in the 400 Saturday was junior transfer Kedar Inico, who finished second MEN’S TRACK Turn to RECORD, page 10 Abildtrup heads UO contingent at Mt. SAC Sofie Abildtrup finishes eighth in the 200; Clarice Hayward-Lee takes fourth in the triple jump in California By Alex Tam Sports Reporter Oregon junior Sofie Abildtrup said she hoped to achieve a new personal record in the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints Saturday at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. Abildtrup traveled to the meet full of confidence after a strong performance last weekend where she triumphed in three events: the 200, 400v and 4x400. > However, while one goal was fulfilled, the other was not. The native of Fredericksberg, Denmark, finished in second place in the fourth section of the 100-me ter dash with a time of 12.01 sec onds. The mark was only .03 sec onds behind the section's leader, Michigan's Sierra Hauser-Price at 11.98, but still short of her goal. In the overall standings, Abildtrup's time was only good enough for 18th place among the 44 competitors in the field who recorded a legal time. Abildtrup missed her personal record of 11.84, which she achieved nearjy five years ago, by almost two-tenths of a second. Even meeting her personal best would have earned her only 10th in the event this weekend. Kaori Sakagami led a contingent of three athletes from Japan who .03 seconds better than the sec ond-place finisher, Daniella Vega of York University. Abildtrup, the Pac-10 Confer ence track athlete of the week, later competed in the 200-meter dash, which was the event she focused WOMEN'S TRACK placed among the top five. Sakagami clocked in at 11.65, which was on during the previous week. Before the race, Abildtrup said she believed she would break her personal record from just one week ago. Abildtrup, who is ranked sev enth all-time in Oregon history in the 200, recorded a time of23.94 at the Pepsi Team Invitational at Hay ward Field last Saturday. "It was a good race last weekend because of the wind and every thing," Abildtrup said. "But still, I had just done the 400 prior to that and I didn't get a really good start so 1 think I can do better in the 200." And that she did when she satis fied the second of her two goals. Abildtrup placed second in her Turn to MT. SAC, page 10
