Sports
Husker effort falls short against Creighton
By Peter i neonaris
Staff Reporter
OMAHA — Nebraska’s baseball team’s
effort at a late-inning rally fell short Wednes
day, as Creighton took an 8-6 victory at the
Creighton Sports Complex.
Nebraska trailed by three runs entering the
ninth inning, scored a run and had the bases
loaded with two outs on Blucjays’ closer Rick
Heiserman. But Heiserman was able to work
his way out of the jam as he struck out Jeff
Murphy to end the game.
“We got it down to our five-hole hitter with
bases loaded,” Cornhuskcr coach John Sanders
said. “But, give (Heiserman) credit, he struck
out our man.”
Bluejay coach Todd Wenberg said he was
calm until Nebraska loaded the bases.
tnetserman s; oecn so consistent an year,
you don’t get nervous until the tying run is at
second,” Wenberg said. “We haven’t been able
to get him enough work lately tp keep him
sharp.”
The save was the ninth of the season for
Heiserman.
While the Huskcrs, 24-14, looked to rally
late, the Bluejays did most of their damage in
the early innings. Creighton jumped out to a 3
0 lead in the first, with four hits, including a
two-run double by Chad McConnell.
The Bluejays added another run in the third
and two in the fourth as they built an early 6-2
lead off Husker starter Josh Bullock.
The early start by 23-10-1 Creighton en
abled it to beat the Huskers for the second time
this season. Creighton dumped Nebraska 19-1
earlier this season in Lincoln.
Bluejay first baseman J.J. Gottsch, who
went 2-for-4 with three runs batted in, said
beating Nebraska is important to Creighton.
“It gives us a lot of confidence,” Gottsch
said.
Wenberg agreed with Gottsch.
“(The series) is real important,” Wenberg
said. “The kids love to play them and we don’t
want to lose to Nebraska.”
Nebraska put together a big inning in the
fifth as it scored three times to narrow the score
to 6-5. Murphy had a two-run double, and Sean
McKenna had a run-scoring single in the in
ning.
By the end of the inning, Nebraska had
chased Bluejay starter Mike Browning from
the game.
Wenberg said Browning didn’t seem to have
the same velocity on his pitches he had dis
played against Wichita State on Saturday.
Brian O’Brien relieved Browning and im
proved to 6-0 as he picked up the win.
The Bluejays scored two insurance runs in
the bottom of the seventh inning, as they knocked
Bullock out of the game.
Bullock pitched 6 1/3 innings and took the
loss. He gave up seven runs — five earned —
on 11 hits.
Steve Boyd relieved Bullock and gave up a
two-run double to Jon Dunlop.
Nebraska then mounted its rally in the ninth
inning that fell two scores short.
Sanders said he was pleased with the Husk
ers’ performance and said he believed they are
ready to resume Big Eight Conference play at
Missouri this weekend.
Solid play NU softball team’s aim, coach says
By Jason Bruhn
Staff Reporter
This weekend could be the turning
point of Nebraska’s softball season,
Coach Ron Wolforth said.
The Comhuskers leave today for a
four-day, nine-game road trip.
“We’re at the stage of the year
where we arc looking for consistent,
quality performance and wins,”
Wolforth said. “It’s as simple as that.
If we do that we’re going to win six or
seven of nine.”
The Huskers open with a double
header against Wichita State today.
After Wichita State, the Huskers
will play in the Oklahoma State
Tourney at Stillwater, Okla., Friday
and Saturday. On the way back to
Lincoln, the Huskers will stop in Kansas
City, Mo., to play a doublchcadcr
against Missouri-Kansas City Sun
day.
Wolforth said the Shockers had
given me Huskers prootems at wic
hiia in the past, but if the Huskers
played solidly, he said, they should
win both games.
Earlier this month, Nebraska swept
Wichita State 5-0 and 3-2 in Lincoln.
“We’ve had a very difficult lime
sweeping them in Wichita,” he said.
“We swept them here, but it always
seems we’ve had a little difficulty
down there. We have been, in my
estimation, a better team almost ev
ery single year we have played against
them, but they always seem to find a
way to get one game of the four.”
Wol forth said the game plan against
the Shockers was simple.
“To sweep Wichita, all we have to
do is play a basic, sound game two
limes and I think we’ll win both
games,” he said.
“My main concern is that we take
Wichita too lightly. If we don’t do
anything in the first inning, nothing in
the second, and by the fifth they arc
thinking, ‘Hey, we can play with these
folks,’ and then you’re in adogfight,”
■ • -> -■ g.- ...___— ' :-——-mnn-ri-i. . -
^ Kiley Timpeney/UN
Nebraska’s Lila Kephart slides into second base past the tag of Colorado State’s Kim Johnson last Friday during the Cornhusker’s
doubleheader sweep of the Rams. The Huskers will play nine road games during the next four days, beginning with a
doubleheader at Wichita State today.
he said.
Wolforth said the Oklahoma State
Tourney could be an opportunity to
further the team’s recent success.
“We’ve won six of our last seven,
and we arc at the stage where we need
to start building momentum heading
into the Big Eight,” he said. “Our
players need to be ready from the first
pitch of the first game, and if we do
that we make things easy for our
selves.
“Quite honestly we haven’t done
that very often. We have made things
difficult for ourselves this year.”
Other teams playing at Oklahoma
State include Texas A&M, South
west Missouri State and Wichita State.
Wol forth said he was concerned
with the altitude his players had as
sumed this season.
“There arc times you need to turn
it up a level, and you don’t turn it up
being looscy-gooscy, and that’s the
personality of this team.
Looscy-gooscy is not going to
beat Oklahoma State.”
Wolforth said Oklahoma Slate had
been a national power in recent years
and the Cowgirls offered the Huskers
a chance to gain confidence.
“Oklahoma State has been one of
the lop four winn ingest programs in
Division I softball the last four years,”
Wolforth said. “But they have an
Achilles’heel, and that Achilles’ heel
is the University of Kansas and the
University of Nebraska. Kansas and
Nebraska have given UbU almost id
percent of their losses over the last
four years.”
Regardless of the outcome of the
games against Oklahoma Stale,
Wolforth said the Huskers could make
an impression on the Cowgirls.
“If we go out there like a junkyard
dog and really lake a bile out of them,
then we send a message to them that
every time we play it’s going to be
different.
“That helps your confidence.”
A
Golfers' pure talent deserves more respect, attention
“You’re watching golf?”
“How can you stand to watch these
so-called ‘athletes’ hit a tiny ball into
a hole? And why arc the announcers
always whispering?
“Golf is lame.
These are the comments and ridi
cule I took from my roommates when
I tried to enjoy the coverage of the
Masters Golf Tournament last week
end.
Okay, so golfers are not the best
athletes in the world. That’s obvious.
But the hand-eye coordination,
talent and practice it takes to get to
the pro ranks puts golfers in a class all
their own.
For anyone who has ever golfed,
the sport is not as easy as it seems on
television.
Golf can be enjoyable, or it can be
the most frustrating exercise ever
invented. But the strangest thing about
golf is that even if you haven’t golfed
well all day, one hit will make you
want to come back and try again.
Then you sec Fred “Boom Boom”
Couples slide through one of his grace
ful, effortless swings, and you in
stantly want to hit the fairways.
Couples, who eventually won the
Masters, hasa swing that looks simple
and smooth, but the end result is often
spectacular.
“Boom Boom” is currently the lop
Thomas
Clouse
ranked golfer in the world, and justi
fiably so. This past weekend was a
testament to his ability.
But, the one thing that overshad
owed Couples’ ability in the Masters
was Ray Floyd’s longevity.
Floyd had the lead at the end of
CBS’s Friday coverage. He cventu
{*■
ally lost to Couples by two strokes.
“Boom Boom” and Floyd were
paired together for the third round. It
was evident that their quality of play
was higher than the rest of the field.
Time and lime again, Couples
would make a charge and Floyd would
answer with a monster pull.
Or Couples would hit the flag with
his second shot, and Floyd would find
a way to strike back.
Big deal. So Floyd had a good
tournament.
Yes, but consider he will turn 50
on Sept. 4. He has remained competi
tive in the PGA since he joined the
tour at the age of 19.
Floyd has not lost his fire after 30
years of competition at the highest
level of concentration,. talent and
practice.
Early this year, Floyd beat Couples
by two strokes in the Doral Open.
This was his first tour victory in six
years. i
With the victory, Floyd became
ihc oldest player to win a tour event
since Art Wall won the 1975 Milwau
kee Open at age 51.
He also became only the second
player since Sam Snead to win golf
tournaments in four different dec
ades.
Floyd’s accomplishments never will
be compared to other “old” athletes
such as Nolan Ryan or even George
Foreman, because golf has been la
beled a “recreation* sport.
Baseball and boxing arc sports
known for tremendous athletes who
arc great for a few years, then for the
most part, they fade into anonymity.
Golf has no world championship
or world scries. Any golfer on the lour
has a chance to win on a given day.
This is one reason golf is so ap
pealing as a sport. Fans can have
many favorite golfers as opposed to
one favorite team.
A golf tournament is won with
concentration, patience and talent. Not
by how fast you can run, how high
you can jump or how badly you can
hurl someone.
Golf also can be enjoyed by play
ers of all sexes and ages, unlike pro
fessional football, baseball or box
ing.
The PGA also gives ils older play
ers an option other than retirement—
the Senior tour.
At 49, Floyd would seem a likely
candidate to be a force on the Senior
tour.
But why should he switch?
Floyd has proven he can push the
top-ranked player to the limit, even
after 30 years on the tour.
Watching golfers like Couples, who
display talent in ils purest form, is
exciting. But competitors like Floyd
pul professional golf on a different
level than any other sport. You have
to tip your hat to the “old” guy.
Clouse is a senior news-editorial m^jor
and the Daily Nebraskan assistant sports
editor.
I.