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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 1999)
Bat restrictions don’t bother NU ■ Despite yet another change, Coach Dave Van Horn is ready to adjust to NCAA restrictions again. By Matthew Hansen . Staff writer The sound of a Comhusker’s bat connecting with a baseball may be a little different this season. For the second year in a row, the NCAA has changed its rules on bat regulations in an attempt to make the game safer. Nebraska Coach Dave Van Horn said this change will affect the Huskers and college baseball in ways other than the altered sound. The new. metal bats are designed to play more like wood. “What the new bats are going to do is make teams rely more on speed, defense and pitching and less on power,” Van Horn said. “For us, depending on the effect of the bats, it may make us change things as far ranging as the lineup, the batting order and even recruiting.” The new NCAA regulations state that all bats must conform to a maxi mum exit speed of more than 97 mph. This means that a pitched ball should leave the bat no faster than that rate. The new standards will be in place for at least three vears. Van Horn said he agreed with the changes and the NCAA’s reasons for making them. However, he felt that the biggest changes would be offen sive production. “The new bats are probably going to make the game more like it was in the past,” the coach said. “I think the practice of relying on the home run is* going to decline. Teams built on power, like LSU and Oklahoma State, will have to adjust more than we will.” Since the specifications of the new bats were just given to manufac turers last week, it will be several more months before Nebraska will u It may make us change things as far ranging as the lineup, the batting order and even recruiting” Dave Van Horn NU baseball coach receive them. Sophomore Will Bolt said he is anxious to try them out. “I’m not rea^y a power hitter,” Bolt said. “I’m more of a singles hit ter, a gap hitter, so I’m thinking that these new bats might give me a little advantage over somebody that is used to hitting home runs.” Coach Van Horn is also eager to get the first shipment of new bats and have his team take some cuts. Once they leam how different they are, he said his team and coaching staff might have to adjust. The bottom line is that if the bats are a lot different, we are going to have to rely more on speed,” Van Horn said. “This means that we will start to recruit players that maybe have more speed and less power or hitting skills. It may also mean that we alter our lineup. One example of this would be moving a faster out fielder to first base to increase our team speed.” Regardless of the change in offensive production, Bolt said because of the safety advantages, he favored the new bats. “Having thicker walls on the bat is going to make the ball come off slower,” Bolt said. “This is going to give the pitcher and third baseman a little more time to react. Although there are still going to be people that hit rockets, the dan ger factor will definitely go down.” DuBose a disgrace for ’Bama football IVY from page 9 good-ol’-boy love amongst members of an athletic department and univer sity officials at football powerhous es. Last week, the school made its first right decision in months firing Bockrath for the way he handled the situation. I hope Dubose is next. Rather than releasing Dubose and appointing a temporary head coach immediately, the university chose to pay off the alleged victim with taxpayers’ money over three years. Obviously, the $360,000 meant more to the university than the integrity of the football program or even its good name. Every time Alabama plays on television, there will be mention of the decision to keep a football coach who sexually harassed his secretary. This doesn’t sound like a school I would want to attend. Even if a football player wanted to go there, Dubose lacks credibility, and this lack of credibility is sure to be used against him by his recruiting competition. Try going into a good Christian family and telling them you will be a role model for jtheir son.. 1 don’t think so, Mike. But before you go and make judgments about the University of Alabama, there are some concerned people. Many members of the board of trustees wanted to fire Dubose. But legally their hands were tied. The board couldn’t overturn the decision of the president and the athletic director to keep Dubose in the wake of the “mistake” he “misled” every one about, even if it wanted to. But make no mistake. There were board members who wanted to. There were board members who, call them crazy, wanted to dismiss an employee who lied to his superiors and brought great shame upon his employer. Then, after the board of trustees meeting on Aug. 12, Sorensen said he did not know “for sure” if he still could trust Dubose to abide by NCAA rules. “That does make it dif ficult,” he said. The president isn’t sure the head coach won’t cheat. The president is sure the head coach lied. And the president still didn’t fire him. What does that say about the president? About the head coach? About the entire university? It says what the board of trustees meeting said in not so many words: It ain’t over till it’s over. And this ain’t neces sarily done. Hopefully, Alabama s board of trustees will do what should have been done before the season and fire Mike Dubose. Let’s hope the upset win over the Gators doesn’t save his job. He doesn’t deserve to be a head coach. Darren Ivy is a senior news-edi torial major and a Daily Nebraskan senior staff writer. ' • v * ' • " ' • • - ■(, ' Fall important for Huskers FALL from page 9 At first base, senior Jim Bailey At its core though, fall baseball is and junior college transfers Dan about preparation, not competition, keep things interesting with the scrim- Johnson and Dan Wright are locked in Away from the fans and the media, mages. We also make it clear to the a three-way race to replace departed Nebraska prepares to defend its Big players that starting jobs and playing All-American Ken Harvey. Junior 12 title. Bolt said fall camp is the first time are earned in the fall.” Josh Hesse is challenging Bolt and step in this process. Judging by the competition at sophomore John Cole at the middle “The fall is really where it all nearly every position, the players have infield positions. In addition, fresh- starts,” Bolt said. “It’s where every taken their coach s warning to heart, man Jeff Leise has performed well body learns how to play together and The most heated battles for starting enough to receive a shot in the out- where chemistry starts to develop, spots are in the infield. field, Van Horn said. The season really begins in the fall.” Part-Time Manufacturing Technicians Working Together Manpower and Pfizer . ... . . .. „ Apply in person: Offering part-time and full-time 1001 s. 70th suite positions: Morning. Evening. 484-sln and Might Shifts!! Ask for Pete FDF Ilprnmfag Mpprinp CLIMBING - Club meeting Wed. the 13th 8:00 p.m. Outdoor Adventures Conf. Room. RACQUEIBALL - Information meeting Wed. the 13th 6:00 p.m. Campus Rec. Center TV Lounge. VOLLEYBALL - Information meeting Tues. the 12th 6:00 p.m. Campus Rec. Center TV Lounge. On ratniiitt tijs WeAend RUGBY - Both the Women’s & Men’s club will be competing in Alumini matches on Sat,«af Whittier Held. Action starts at 11:00 a.m. L. W SOCCER - The NU Women take on Drake University Sunday at Noon at Whittier Field. Whittier Field (22nd A W Street) For more information regarding any of the WVL Sport Clubs events - Please contact the Office of Campus Recreation 472-3467 —■—J On the Road CREW - A full weekend is planned for the NU Crew Club. Competing in two regattas Quad Cities on Sat. and the Head of the Rock on Sun. ULTIMATE - The NU Men's Club will travel to Milwaukee, WI this weekend to try and capture the Central Regionals Championship title. dab Results CLIMBING - Congratulations to the members who took part in the intraclub comp. Craig Wacker, Kris Linstrom, Matt Hraban, Travis Schweger, Naomi Kholes, Megan Alexander, Damien Bayol, Bill Barritt, Roger Renken & Garry Baker, r, RUGBY - Another success this past weekend for die Men’s club as they took first place in the Hearland of America Tournament The club boasted a 3-0 record for 1st place in the collegiate division. SOCCER - The Women’s club wound up in a tie on Sun. die 3rd with KU in Lawrence. Saving for NU was Tricia Bair and Amanda Hansen.