pf Nebraskan
Tuesday, Aprti 17,1990
UNL pounces on Panthers despite rain
By Paul Domeier
Senior Reporter
Nebraska third baseman Kevin
French found one fault with the Com
huskers’ 12-5 victory over Northern
Iowa on Monday, and it wasn’t that
the game was stopped after 6 1/2
innings, two batters before he had a
chance to hit for the cycle.
“I just kept thinking about that
ball 1 threw away,” he said, referring
to a fifth-inning throwing error.
French didn’t do much else wrong,
though. He singled, doubled and tripled
and scored three runs. The Huskers
had 14 hits and scored in every in
ning. Nebraska hit three doubles and
two triples, though no home runs, the
Injury postpones
pitcher’s chance
to silence critics
By Jeff Apel
Senior Editor
Nebraska pitcher Mike Zajcski
wants another shot at Wichita State,
but he probably will have to wait until
next year to gel it. [
Zajcski said he :
doubts if he will j
get another chance 1
iu i uvv uiv u i i v/v rv
crs this season
because a stress
fracturc in his right _:_i
elbow - his pitch- 7aiAQkl
ing arm - proba- tajewu
bly has ended his season.
Zajeski pitched Nebraska to a 4-2
victory against thcn-No. 1-ranked
Wichita State by recording nine strike
outs in more than six innings of work.
He said that performance, plus the
Comhuskcrs’ regional rivalry with
the Shockers, makes him wish he was
available for Wednesday’s game.
He said he wanted to face Wichita
State again to prove that his victory
against the Shockers earlier this sea
son was not a fluke.
The Huskcrs will try to continue
their mastery of the Shockers when
they travel to Wichita, Kan., to face
them for the second time this season.
The game begins at 7 p.m.
Zajeski admitted that he had been
waiting for Wednesday’s game ever
since he defeated Wichita State on
March 8. He said he is sure the Shock
ers have been waiting for Nebraska,
too.
“I know they’re going to be gun
ning for us because we were the first
team to beat them,” Zajeski said. ‘‘I
would have loved to pitch (Wednes
day), just to show them that my last
win wasn’t a fluke.”
Zajeski said he is not fond of Wichita
State.
“I hate those guys,” he said. ‘‘It’s
always a hard-nosed battle when we
hit French needed to complete his
day.
“Everybody on the bench knew it
(the cycle) before I did,” he said.
“They told me if I hit one high and
hard, hit to right field because that
was the only way I could hit one out. ’ ’
A strong, icy wind blew rain and
sleet in from left field, ending the
game early. Nebraska coach John
Sanders said he was glad the Huskers
could get in an official game despite
the weather.
“The alternative is practice, and I
know our players would rather play
than practice at this point in the sea
son,” he said.
The Huskers stole eight bases, and
Sanders admitted part of the running
was mean t to keep the players aggres
sive. French got his sixth stolen base
of the season in the fifth inning.
“That’s a rarity,” French said.
“ W hen I get one, i t m ust be to keep us
warm.”
Nebraska will play Northwest
M issouri State today at 2 p.m. at Buck
Beltzer Field. The Huskcrs will travel
to face Wichita State on Wednesday,
and Oklahoma Slate will visit Lin
coln for four games this weekend.
Nebraska starter Paul Fanucchi gave
up two singles, a double, an infield hit
and a walk to start the game. Fanuc
chi retired the next three batters, though,
and the Panthers scored only two runs.
The Huskcrs came back with two
runs in the bottom half of the first.
Lead-off hitler Eddie Anderson showed
the effects of the weather by scoring
the first run on Brian Me Am’s single.
Anderson dove headfirst for the plate,
and he stuck instead of sliding. The
Husker center fielder lay stunned for
a few minutes.
“I was dizzy until the last inning, ’ ’
Anderson said.
Sanders said he was glad the Husk
ers didn’t let the muck and rain bother
them.
‘ ‘We were pleased with our offen
sive execution,” he said. ‘‘We fo
cused on the game and not on the
weather.”
Nebraska took the lead for good
with two runs in the second and added
another run in the third. Todd Mosscr,
1-1, pitched the last two and two
thirds innings for the win, giving up
one unearned run. French, who is
hitting .352 after baiting .180 last
season, keyed the four-run fourth and
three-run fifth with his double and
single.
If he only could have avoided that
error. French said he came to Ne
braska from Ventura (Calif.) Junior
College as an outfielder last season,
then switched to first base. This year
he moved to third, where he had never
played before. Yet he has made only
about three of his 12 errors in the last
20 games, he said.
‘‘I don’t want to be a burden, I
want to be a plus,” he said. ‘‘I want
ground balls hit to me.”
I 1 1 1 1 I
David Hansen/Daily Nebraskan
Nebraska outfielder Brian Me Am dives back to first base as Northern Colorado’s Steve Brado
attempts to make the tag.
play them because we don’t get on
our knees and bow down.
“Thai’s what they expect you to
do -- bow down.”
Wichita Slate coach Gene Stephen
son said opponents have not had much
to bow to lately, as the Shockers have
not been playing up to their potential.
The Shockers, now 30-9 overall
and 5-3 in the Missouri Valley Con
ference entering a late game against
Kansas on Monday night, split wins
against Bradley.
“I’m not in a very good mood to
talk about our situation, except to say
that we better start playing better, or
we’re going to be out of this league
race,” Stephenson said.
Stephenson said he is sorry the
Shockers will not get another chance
at Zajcski.
‘‘We were hoping he would pitch
again,” Stephenson said. “I don’t
think anyone can beat us twice in one
year.”
Stephenson said he still has some
bitter memories from his team’s game
against Nebraska earlier this season,
as he was ejected for arguing with the
homcplatc umpire.
But, Stephenson said, he had a
good reason for arguing.
‘‘I don’t think the umpiring was
very good behind the plate,” he said.
‘‘(Umpire Fred) Gcrardi, he’s a nice
guy, but I don’t think he’s a good
umpire.”
Stephenson said his personal feel
ings do not add any importance to
Wednesday’s game.
I mink lhal Nebraska probably
thinks it’s a big deal,” he said. ‘‘But
this game means no more to us than
Kearney State. It’s not a big deal one
way or another.”
Stephenson, however, said he
impressed by the Huskers.
‘‘Nebraska has a fine team and a
fine program,” he said. ‘‘We’re not
scared about lacing them, but we’re
not overconfident.”
Zajeski said Nebraska is approach
ing the game with confidence. He
said a large portion of lhal confidence
comes from the Husker pitching staff,
which has made up for Zajeski’s loss
by relying on a variety of arms.
‘‘I’m very impressed by the pitch
ing staff right now,” Zajeski said.
‘‘They’ve done a phenomenal job.”
Will takes analytical look at baseball
Not loo many people can criticize
the President of the United States by
making a comparison between him
and baseball.
But that is exactly what George F.
' McGraw
-— —■ Milhaven
Will did while promoting his new
book, “Men at Work: The Craft of
Baseball.”
While Will was on the talk show
circuit promoting his book, he criti
cized President Bush by comparing
his administration to his playing days
at Yale University.
“Bush is a left-handed person,
batting from the right side of the
plate,” Will said of Bush.
A smart left-handed player should
bat ieft-handed to take advantage of
the left-handed baiter’s box, which is
closer to first base than its right-handed
counterpart. Will was implying that
Bush was not and still is not smart
enough to take advantage of obvious
opportunities.
Back in the late 1970s, Will won a
coveted Pulitzer Prize for his politi
cal writing. If you saw him on ABC’s
“This Week with David Brinkley,”
you might never know he-has a love
affair with baseball.
“Men At Work,” which is No. 2
on the New York Times best-seller
list this week, focuses on Oakland
manager Tony LaRussa, San Diego’s
Tony Gwynn, Los Angeles’s Orel
Hershiser and Cal Ripken Jr. of Balti
more.
Will wrote the book, not to write
about the game of baseball, but to
learn about the game. He look an
analytical look at baseball and made
an in-depth study of his subjects, but
he was never far from a joke or a
antidote.
A sample of Will’s humor and
other noteworthy topics:
• Babe Ruth was so fat that the
designers of the Yankee’s uniform
thought the pinstripes would make
him look thinner.
• Ring Lardner, a sports writer in
Chicago, stopped writing about base
ball after helping uncover the 1919
Black Sox’s scandal. The Black Sox
scandal focused on eight members of
the Chicago While Sox who were
accepting payoffs to throw games.
• My favorite story appears in the
section on pitching. Will recalls an
Orioles’ game in which Davey Johnson
was playing second base, and Dave
McNally waspitching. McNally, who
was not having much control on the
mound, needed help. Johnson, a math
major from Texas A&M, walked up
to McNally and told him about
“unfavorable chance deviation.”
Johnson told McNally to stop trying
to aim for the comers of the strike
zone and pitch the ball down the
middle of the plate. That way the ball
would end upon the comer’s, accord
ing to Johnson’s crazy theory.
The book docs more than just tell
interesting and humorous stories. It
showcases Will’s ideas on the game
itself. Will makes strong and con
vincing arguments against aluminum
bats and indoor stadiums, but his
argument in favor of the American
League’s designated hitter is not a
convincing one.
A designated hitter is a batter who
See WILL on 9
NU’s Bair faces
last-ever meet
with enthusiasm
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
For Tami Bair, this weekend
is il for gymnastics.
Bair, a senior member of the
Nebraska women’s gymnastics
team, said the NCAA champi
onships Friday and Saturday in
Corvallis, Ore., will be the last
meet of her career.
No coaching aspirations, and
no plans to compete for a spot
on the 1992 U.S. Summer Olym
pic team arc in her future.
“I’ll be done with gymnas
tics after this,’’ she said.
But she’s hoping her colle
giate career will end on a posi
tive note.
“Il just hasn ’t hit me yet, but
I’m sure it will once 1 get out
there,’’ Bair said of her upcom
ing final meet. “Right now, the
whole team is excited. Every
one’s ready logo.’’
Last season’s No. 4 finish at
the NCAA championships was
the highest ever for the Nebraska
women’s program. Bair said the
Comhuskcrs arc confident of
finishing even higher this sea
son.
I lit UlggCM UUMxH. lv iup
ranked Utah, which defeated
Nebraska in the Midwest Re
gional two weeks ago. But, Bair
said, the Utes “arc beatable.”
“Thev’re not perfect,” she
said. “They aren’t as good off
their floor, away from home
(where die regional meet took
place).”
In this year’s regional, Bair
tied with teammates Angie
Burdette and Lisa McCrady for . r
fifth place in the all-around with
a 38.35 « her best all-around
score of the season.
Bair also scored a 38.35 in
the all-around against Oklahoma
on Feb. 11.
The NCAA championships
are nothing new to Bair. Last
season, she finished lied for
seventh place on the balance
beam and tied for eighth on the
vault with scores of 9.65.
Those finishes earned her All
America status in those two
events — the first time a Ne
braska woman had earned two
All-America honors in a sea
son.
This season, Bair has fought
back from a mid-season ankle
injury to record strong show
ings in the last three meets. At
the Big Eight championships
March 24, she earned all-con
ference honors in vault, uneven
bars and the all-around.
Against Illinois, Bair earned
a career-best 9.85 on the bal
ance beam. Earlier in the sea
son, she recorded career-high
- marks on the vault (9.75) and
See BAIR on 10