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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 1994)
Daily Nebraskan Tuesday, April 19*1994 SPORTS Prize recruit verbally commits to Arizona By Mitch Sherman Staff Reporter Ben Davis, the highly touted junior college player who visited Nebraska on April 9, ver bally committed to Arizona on Monday. Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College coach Phil Anderson said the junior college All-American decided to commit to Arizona after visiting Tucson. Ariz., this weekend. Nebraska had been pursuing the 6-foot-9 inch, 245-pound power forward for the past few months. “I haven’t talked to Ben since he has been back,” Anderson said, “but from what I under stand, he has said that he is going to Arizona. He has^committed verbally but hasn’t signed any papers yet.” Nebraska basketball coach Danny Nee de clined to comment on the matter. Davis, who led Kansas in rebounding as a freshman in 1991, transferred to Florida and eventually to Hutchinson before the 1992 school year. Anderson said Davis would not take any more visits. He had originally planned to visit Oklahoma State and possibly California in the next few weeks, Anderson said. Nebraska is still in the running for two other junior college big men. Chris Sallee, a 6-foot-10-inch, 225-pound center from Phoenix South Mountain Commu nity College, visited Lincoln this weekend. Sallee averaged 20 points and 13.2 rebounds per game for South Mountain last season. He also broke the school record for blocks, averag ing 2.5 per game. South Mountain Assistant Athletic Director Bill Pride said Sallee could add depth to a team like Nebraska. “He can step in and help a lot ofprograms out right away,” Pride said. “He showed tremen dous improvement between his first and second year here.” In 1992, Sallee averaged 5.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in 19 games. He played soccer as well as basketball. Sallee played goalkeeper for South Mountain’s soccer team in 1992 and did not focus solely on basketball until last season. Nebraska assistant coach Jimmy Williams visited with Sallee, his father and South Moun tain coach Willy Young in Phoenix on Monday. Young said Sallee originally had scheduled See RECRUITING on 8 Huskers to face Kansas on road By Trevor Parks Staff Reporter_ When the Nebraska baseball team faces No. 21 Kansas in five games this week, the Cornhuskcrs want to put their 10 game winning streak behind them. Coach John Sanders said. Hotn tor mo mentum and for psychological pur poses. “The winning streak just adds con fidence toour team. Our lineup has fi nally stabilized. Our hitting is fi —-■ nany gening into Sanders rhythm.” he said. The Huskers. who have used the recent tear to improve their record to 24-16 and 8-7 in the conference, will face the Jayhawks at 7 p.m. Tuesday and at 3 p.m. Wednesday in Lawrence, Kan. Nebraska’s Troy Brohawn and Tom Bergan are scheduled to pitch against the Jayhawks, who are 17-2 at home. Last season, the Huskers won just two of six games against the Jayhawks. Both of Nebraska’s wins came in Baseball Standings Big Eight Overall Oklahoma 11*6 29-11 Lawrence. Sanders said the games with the Jayhawks this week—including three at Buck Bclt/.cr Field this weekend— could forecast how well the Huskers do in the stretch run of the season. “We’re still jockeying for position,” he said. “Pitching and defense have really helped us win some games.” ___^ See STREAKING on 8 Huskers’ Shepherd aims for All-American status By Clay Short Staff Reporter Last season, Nebraska baseball player Troy Brohawn both pitched and played first base. Brohawn turned out to be an All American. Sophomore A1 vie Shepherd is hop ing to duplicate Brohawn’s efforts this year with the Cornhuskcrs. Lately, Shepherd has been perform ing like Brohawn on the mound and at the plate for the suddenly streaking Huskcrs. In the weekend series against Kan Shepherd >ia5 Oiaic, OlltpilLI u. • Hit .583. • Went 2-for-4 and hit the game winning home run Friday night. • Pitched a strong 8 1/3 innings Friday, allowing just three hits and striking out nine. • Smacked a See SHEPHERD on 8 Travis Heyinq/DN Nebraska baseball player Alvie Shepherd is congratulated by Cornhusker baseball coach John Sanders after smashing a home run in Sunday’s game against Kansas State. Shepherd hit better than .500 during the Huskers’ weekend sweep of the Wildcats. Baseball hot streak drives in NU fans at Beltzer Field Thousands of fans dressed in scar let and cream make their way through the gates of the stadium. Shirtlcss college guys grill ham burgers on a hibachi while a hot sun bakes down on them. The Nebraska fight song booms over the stadium while hundreds of hungry and thirsty fans wait in line at the concession stand. The crowd roars as a Huskcr gal lops across the turf, headed for an other Nebraska score. After more than three hours of a hard-fought battle, the flow of fans slowly begin to trickle out of the sta dium with another Huskcr victory in hand — this time, a 23-14 final. Just a typical fall football Saturday in Lincoln. But it’s not fall — it’s spring. And it’s not football, it’s baseball season. The images described above did not come from Memorial Stadium. They came from beaut iful Buck Bel tzer Field, the little hideaway that sit:; in the shadow of the goliath football mecca of Nebraska. While hundreds of thousands of people pack the wooden bleachers at Memorial Stadium to sec the football Big Red each fall. Buck Beltzer is sometimes lucky to sec hundreds pass through its chain-link front gate. In Fact, if you walk in to Buck Bel tzer for a game on a chilly night in late February orcarly March, it looks more like barren Buck Beltzer. But on Sunday, the bleachers at Buck Beltzer were full, and it truly was beautiful. Apparently, word got out that the Huskcrs are on a hot streak, and with the weather on a hot-streak of its own as the temperature hit 90 degrees, the fans hit Buck Beltzer in full force. The grandstand area, which scats Jeff Griesch 1,500, was packed, and public ad dress announcer Rick Schwiegcrcvcn asked fans to get a little closer in the third inning. Along with the 1,500 in the stands, close to 100 stood in the shade under the bleachers for a Field-level view from behind the plate. And hundreds staked out little spots down the right field foul line and in the outfield. All together, the official total was 2,385 fans. Young children chased foul balls and each other while par ents tried to ignore them. Chronic college underachievers tossed the football around behind the right field fence, while track stars played catch with a baseball. UNL swimmers mocked the Kan sas State outfielders while women gymnasts took in the rays, and a bare chested group of football players en joyed the scenery. Even a few reporters and a lazy, good-for-nothing, nonworking mem ber of the sports information depart ment made their way to the lush green grass behind the outfield fence. Everything about theday was beau tiful. Well, everything except the pitch ing. The barrage by both teams in cluded: 37 runs, 31 hits, 20 walks and 10 batters hit by pitches by 11 differ ent pitchers. While most pitchers would like to forget' everything about Sunday ex cept for the weather, it was a day to remember for the hitters. Every Husker starter had at least one hit, and seven Huskers had mul tiple-hit games as Nebraska picked up its 10th straight win. The Huskers improved to 24-16 on the season and went over the .500 mark (8-7) in the Big Eight after picking up their first season scries sweep in six years. Along with being happy about their hits, the players were even happier to have a big crowd sec them take their licks. , Sen iorthird baseman Derek Dukart summed up the day the best. “It was a great day for baseball,” Dukart said. “We arc playing well, and every t ime we come to the ba 11 park, we feel like we arc going to win. It’s nice to have people here to sec us.” Griesch is a junior news-editorial major and is the Daily Nebraskan assistant sports editor.