Sports
Huskers need
wins to reach
Big 8 tourney
By Nick Hytrek
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska Comhuskers need
at least three wins this weekend against
Iowa State to keep alive their Big
Eight baseball tournament chances,
which are slim and getting slimmer.
The Huskers were in a similar situ
ation last weekend at Kansas State
but came away with two wins and two
losses, one of the losses after Ne
braska led 12-3 in the late innings.
Nebraska can’t afford another se
ries like that and still hope to make
the four-team tournament. The Husk
ers are in seventh place and at the
bottom of the conference with a 6-10
record.
Missouri, Oklahoma State and
Oklahoma lead the conference, and
the Cyclones are fourth at 10-10. If
Nebraska splits this weekend, the
Huskers would need to sweep Okla
homa next week to have any chance.
Husker coach John Sanders said
his team will not feel pressure to
come up with a series sweep against
Iowa State.
“I think at this time of year the
pressure is not to get wins and losses,
it’s playing well,” he said. “Our guys
aren’t stupid, they know what they
need to do.”
Sanders said playing at home will
help Nebraska.
“It means that you gel to come to
bat in the bottom of the ninth or the
seventh with a chance to win,” he
said.
Sanders said Iowa Slate’s offense,
which didn ’ t produce many runs early
this year, has become capable of scoring
a lot of runs lately. The Cyclones
have scored 10 or more runs in 10 of
their past 16 games.
The two teams will play double
headers at Buck Beltzer Field on both
Friday and Saturday. First pitch both
days is at 4 p.m. In case of a rainout,
makeup games will be played Sunday
at 1 p.m.
Sanders said the status of infielder
Tim Seaton is still unknown. Seaton
collapsed between games at Creighton
^ Wednesday. The Creighton team
doctor said Seaton was suffering from
oxygen loss but didn’t know the cause.
Sanders said doctors were still
waiting for test results. Sanders would
not rule out the possibility of Seaton
playing against Iowa State.
KHey Timpedey/DaHy Nebraskan
Nebraska’s Jennifer Stevens slides safely into second base last weekend as Oklahoma shortstop Julie Dobbs misses the
ball, but Stevens was called out for leaving first too early.
NU softball team enters Big 8 tournament
By John Adkisson
Staff Reporter
Don’t even think about the next
game.
That is the message Nebraska
softball coach Ron Wolforth is trying
to send to his team as the Com
huskers enter this weekend’s double
elimination Big Eight Softball
Tournament in Oklahoma City.
Nebraska will play a first-round
game at 3 p.m. today against Iowa
State, a team the Huskers beat 9-1
earlier this season.
Wolforth said the Comhuskers’
previous trouncing of the Cyclones
will mean nothing today.
“I’ve heard a lot of our players
talking about (possible second-round
opponent) Missouri,” Wolforth said.
“I can tell you right now that any
talk about Missouri is premature.”
Top-seeded Missouri and sec
ond-seeded Oklahoma State, both
ranked in the Top 20, are the favor
ites to win the six-team tourna
ment, Wolforth said.
“Both Missouri and Oklahoma
State have the pitching to win it
all,” he said. “After that, Kansas
has a chance, and our team would
have to be considered a dark horse.”
The Huskers enter the tourna
ment with a 3-5 Big Eight record,
their worst in Wolforth’s five years
as head coach. Add that to “a lack
of intensity” in this week’s prac
tices, ^nd Wolforth said his team
will have to play extremely well to
win the tournament.
“This team relaxes too much,"
Wolforth said. “In past years be
fore the Big Eights, the players
were intense. They haven’t been as
intense this year.”
But despite downplaying his
team’s readiness to win the tourna
ment, Wolforth has seen his pitch
ing pick up leading into the tour
ney.
Last weekend, the Huskers re
bounded from a loss to Oklahoma,
the last-place team in the Big Eight,
to defeat No. 18 Kansas 1-0.
In that game, junior pitcher Marie
Bowie threw six shutout innings
and worked out of jams all game to
record her ninth win.
“Marie has been coming on a
little bit for us,” Wolforth said.
Senior Stephanie Skegas, who
leads the team with 12 wins and
ranks third on the all-time win list,
will start every tournament game
for Nebraska, Wolforth said. Bowie
will be used strictly in relief.
“I know that if I see Stephanie
starting to tire, I’ll have no hesita
tion at all in going to Marie,”
Wolforth said.
Offensively, Wolforth’s main
concern is his team’s lackluster
hitting of the rise ball, a pitch he
said will be extensively used in this
weekend’s tournament.
“We’ve worked for an hour and
a half each day this week on trying
to hit the rise ball,” he said. “Right
now, teams know we can’t hit it,
and that’s all we’ll see.”
Nebraska’s relative tournament
inexperience-1-as many freshmen
as seniors will start for the Huskers
— also worries Wolforth.
“When you’re putting two fresh
men in the outfield for something
like a Big Eight Tournament, you’re
putting a lot of pressure on them,”
he said.
Ryan steals Rickey’s flame
on historic day in baseball
The Associated Press
There have been big days in
baseball, like last June 29 when
Fernando Valenzuela and Dave
Stewart each pitched no-hitters.
There have been historic days,
such as the same afternoon in 1985
when Tom Seaver got his 300th
career victory and Rod Carew got
his 3,000th career hit.
Then there was Wednesday.
Rickey Henderson started it early
in Oakland, becoming the all-time
stolen base leader by stealing No.
939 and breaking Lou Brock’s
record.
The Chicago White Sox and
Milwaukee kept it going, playing
into the early evening before the
Brewers won 10-9 in the 19th in
ning, the longest American League
game since the same teams played
25 innings in 1984.
But Nolan Ryan saved the best
for last. He “wrapped up the night
with his record seventh no-hiuer.
“I don’t think what I did will
take away from what Rickey did,”
the ever-humble Ryan said after
pitching Texas past Toronto 3-0.
r‘He did it in grand style.”
“This is the best,” the 44-year
old Ryan said oi his no-hit collec
tion. “This is my most overpower
ing night.”
Ryan (3-2) tied his own team
record for strikeouts. He threw 122
pitches, 83 for strikeouts, and mixed
a 96 mph fastball, a sharp curve
and a pinpoint changcup.
Manuel Lee threatened to break
up Ryan’s gem in the sixth with a
looper to center field. But five
time Gold Glove winner Gary Pet
tis made a running catch at his
shoe tops.
The no-hi tier gave Ryan his 305th
career victory. He tied Eddie Plank
for 17th place on the all-time list.
Five times Ryan has lost a no
hitter in the ninth inning. He look
care of business in quick fashion
this time, retiring Lee and Devon
White on routine grounders and
striking out a swinging Roberto
Alomar on a 2-2 pitch.
Henderson finally ended the
waiting, stealing third base in the
fourth inning against New York
pitcher Tim Leary and catcher Matt
Nokes.
Ryan struck out 16, walked just
two and did not permit either run
ner to get past first base.
Knicks’coach joins Notre Dame
NEW YORK (AP) — John
MacLeod resigned as coach of the
New York Knicks today to become
the coach at Notre Dame.
MacLeod said he hasn’t signed a
contract with Notre Dame yet but will
leave for South Bend, Ind., on Friday
to finalize a five-year deal. He re
places Digger Phelps, who resigned
on April 15 after 20 seasons with the
Fighting Irish.
“As much as I enjoy pro ball, I
always felt that if a good college
opportunity came along, I would be
receptive to it,” MacLeod said.
In 18 seasons as a coach with
Phoenix, Dallas and the Knicks,
MacLeod was 707-657. He was 32
35 with the Knicks after replacing the
fired Stu Jackson on Dec. 3.
The Knicks were eliminated from
the NBA playoffs Tuesday night and
MacLeod told the players Wednes
day he was leaving.
The only college coaching experi
ence for the 53-year-old MacLeod
was six seasons at Oklahoma almost
20 years ago. He was 80-79 witn tnc
Sooners, including a 19-8 record in
1970-71.
Dave Checketts, president of the
Knicks, said a coaching search would
begin immediately. Among those
reportedly under consideration arc
former NBA coaches Pat Riley and
Mike Fratcllo.
Notre Dame is coming off a 12-20
season. Before MacLeod’s acceptance,
Xavier’s Pete Gillen and Georgia
Tech’s Bobby Cremins declined
chances to coach the Irish.
NU tennis recruits to vie for top spot
By Jeff Singer
Staff Reporter
Nebraska men’s tennis coach Kerry
McDermott has three recruits to try to
take the place of team leader Mat
thias Mueller, who will redshirt next
season. *
The Huskers signed high school
standouts Andy Davis and Mike Gar
cia and junior college transfer Glenn
Henderson to compete in the fall.
Davis, from Scottsdale, Anz., is
ranked third in singles in the South
west Tennis Association’s 18-and
under rankings.
Garcia, a product of Lincoln South
east, was the state singles champion
in 1990 and runner-up this year.
Henderson played for McCellanan
Junior College for two years and was
brought to McDermott’s attention by
former Husker standout Steven Jung,
after Jung battled Henderson in an
open tournament last December.
“These guys are going to come in
and have an impact on our program
right away,” McDermott said. “We’ve
got some open spots that they will
need to fill.
One of those open spots is Mueller’s
slot at No. 1 singles, along with the
vacancy at No. 1 doubles. McDer
mott said Mueller’s sitting out for the
1991-92 season is mainly due to eco
nomics.
He said that with Mueller redshirt
ing, the German can be on scholar
ship for his final undergraduate year
as well as his first year of graduate
school.
“Since we’re getting the most out
of him from tennis, we should give
something back to him in education,’’
McDermott said.
McDermott also said he thinks this
will help Mueller, who finished sixth
in last weekend’s Big Eight tourna
ment, when he plays in his last year
for Nebraska during the 1992-93
season.
“I’m in favor of him taking a year
bff, since he doesn’t seem to be
mentally at the top of his game,’’
McDermott said. “I’m hoping his sit
ting out will make him really hungry
for tennis.”