Robin Trimarchi/Deily Nebraskan
Nebraska outfielder Jeff Stych leaps into his slide toward second base. Stych, a redshirt
freshman for the Cornhuskers, is hitting .295.
Sanders remains optimistic
despite recent road losses
By Nick Hytrek
Staff Reporter
Despite being swept in a four-game
series at Kansas, Nebraska baseball
coach John Sanders said the team’s
recent nine-game road trip wasn’t a
total loss.
“We didn’t play well at Kansas,
and they did,” Sanders said. “We didn’t
play consistently."
The Comhuskers will play the
nationally ranked Creighton B luejays
Wednesday in a doubleheader at Buck
Beltzer Field. The first game will
start at 4 p.m.
Sanders gave a lot of credit to
Kansas for the sweep.
“Kansas is a belter team than they
were last year, a lot better,” Sanders
said.
Nebraska split the four-game se
ries with the Jayhawks last season.
Sanders said some good came out
of the road trip.
“Our hitting was a real positive
and the pitching was stable for the
most part,” he said.
The Comhuskers finished the spring
trip with a 3-6 record, winning two of
three games against Hardin-S immons
and splitting two games with nation
ally ranked Texas Tech.
In the two games against Texas
Tech, the Huskers, 14-10, showed
signs of coming outof a hitting slump,
scoring 10 runs in each game.
“It was a real positive,” he said.
“Texas Tech is a good team and they
threw some quality pitchers at us.”
Even though Nebraska is now 0-4
to begin the Big Eight season, Sand
ers said there will be no added pres
sure to win.
“Last season we split every series
except two. We lost three to Okla
homa State and won three against
Iowa State,” he said. “So now we’ll
be looking to pick up a game here and
there.
“But I’ll tell you what, the Big
Eight is really balanced this year. I
said that at the beginning of the sea
son and I still believe that.”
After being swept by Kansas,
Sanders said the players need to work
on fundamentals.
“We need to look at our problems
and find a solution to them,” he said.
Sanders gave the players Monday
off because of fatigue from the trip
and said it will be back to basics
today.
“We’ll look to have a hard prac
tice and just work on some funda
mental things,” he said. “I think the
players are really motivated to get
back.”
1 Gooden receives contract extension,
becomes second-highest-paid player
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) —
Dwight Gooden vaulted to No. 2 on
baseball’s salary list Monday, agree
ing to a three-year contract extension
worth a guaranteed $15.45 million.
The average annual value of $5.15
million places Gooden just behind
Boston’s Roger Clemens, who will
average $5,380,250 during a four
year extension he agreed to Feb. 8.
The two former Cy Young Award
winners are the only players with
contracts averaging $5 million a year
or more.
Gooden’s new deal contains a to
tal of $750,000 in performance bo
nuses that, if earned, would leapfrog
his deal over Clemens’ contract.
“It is important, but it’s so close
that it really doesn’t matter,” Gooden
said of the race for the top spot. “It
depends on how you look at it (whether
highest paid or not).”
“The bottom line is we got what
we wanted,” said Gooden’s agent,
Jim Neader. “The Mels got Dwight
for three years, and Dwight got his
5.4 million."
“He will be the best-paid player in
the National League,” Mets execu
tive vice president A1 Harazin said.
“In general, it’s a unique contract for
“«
In general, It’s a unique
contract for a unique
player. If there’s one
player who Is the heart
and soul of our
ball club, it’s Doc
Gooden.
Harazin
Mets executive vice president
-»» -
a unique player. If there’s one player
who is the heart and soul of our hallclub,
it’s Doc Gooden.”
Gooden will be making $2.25
million this year in the final season of
a three-year contract worth $6.7 mil
lion. When he agreed to the deal on
Feb. 8,1989, it made him the highest
paid player in baseball. But Clemens
passed him one week later with a
threc-ycar S7.5 million contract.
Under the new deal, Gooden will
get a $2 million signing bonus and
salaries of $4 million in 1992, $5
million in 1993 and $3.7 million in
1994. He also is guaranteed $250,000
per year under a joint video-promo
lion deal with the Mets that is part of
the extension.
Gooden can make a $250,(XX) bonus
each year if he pitches 2(X) innings.
He would collect the full $750,0(X) in
bonuses if he pilches a total of 500
innings over the three years.
If Gooden makes all the perform
ance bonuses, he would make $16.2
million over the three years, an aver
age of $5.4 million per season.
Last fall, Gooden had set a Feb. 22
deadline for a new deal, then altered
his stance the day after the deadline
passed. The sides have been talking
since.
Gooden originally sought a four
year extension worth more than $20
million. He softened his stance to
three years after Mets objections.
Gooden, 26, was 19-7 last season
with a 3.83 ERA. He won the Na
tional League Cy Young Award in
1985 with a 24-4 record and a 1.53
ERA, then went 17-6 the following
season as the Mets won the World
Series.
He missed the start of the 1987
season while undergoing cocaine
rehabilitation. Gooden is 119-46 life
time. n
-“SPORTS BRIEFS
Crew teams finish first, second
The University of Nebraska
Lincoln crew teams recorded a first
place finish and a second-place
finish Sunday in triangular sprint
races with Wichita State and North
western.
The UNL team of Ron Vokoun
and Wade Sikkink, Charles
Richardson, Eric Polivka and Pat
rick Bonnet: won by two boat lengths
over Wichita State in the men’s
novice four.
In the women’s varsity four, the
UNL team of Vokoun, Amy Green,
Teresa Kastl, Sarah Batcher and
Aimee Connelly finished second
behind Wichita State.
The next competition for the
teams will be the Great Plains
Rowing Championships, April 12
13 in Topeka, Kan.
| ARTISTS OF THE LIED
'E'S'T'I'V'A1
Join us for one of the region’s most jubilant annua) celebrations—
the Artists of The Lied Festival. Be a part of our inaugural annual
series that showcases the creativity, excellence, and excitement of
world-class arts and entertainment
The Bach Ensemble* 1
April 9,8:00 pjn. Kimball Hall *
Opera/Omaha’s The Magic Flute
April 11,8:00 p.m. Lied Center
I
Lincoln Symphony Orchestra
Spring Pops Concert
with The Canadian Brass
April 12,8:00 p.m. Lied Center
The Broyhill Chamber Ensemble*'
April 13 & 20,8:00 p.m. Kimball Hall
Miami City Ballet'* '
April 16 & 17,8:00 p.m. Lied Center
Chilingirian String Quartet
Sponsored by Lincoln Friends of Chamber Music
April 19,8:00p.m, Sheldon Art Gallery
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra*
Leonard Slatkin, conducting
I with International recording artist Alicia de Larrocha, pianist
April 21,8:00 p.m. Lied Center
UED CENTER
FOR PERFORMING ARTS
Good seats still available!
* 402/472-4747 or 800/432-3231
I
Lied Center Box Office, 12th & ‘R’ Streets, Lincoln ,NE.
Open Mon.-Fri. 11 a m. - 5:30 p.m. ■
"Sponsored In part try the Jrilnek memorial Fund.
'Made possible In part by a grant from the National Kudowmeni lor the Arts, a Irdcral agency.
*A mid-America Art* Alliance Program.