Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 8, 1998)
nrfimwi t . i n~*ii •—n—rm" • ~Ti-- ~ .. j&se. -• • mm David Wilson Craziness surrounds Maris chase ST. LOUIS - A marching band was tooting its way down Market Street Monday morning in front of Busch Stadium when a light came on inside the Gate Five Ticket Office. Most of the 100 or so baseball fans in the line jumped to their feet and attempted to peer through the blinds that prevented employees from making eye con tact with fans. It was rumored this was the only spot where a limited number of standing-room only tickets would go on sale for Monday’s 5<UUV. Many of the true enthusiasts had been at the stadium since sun rise. It was now 10:30 a.m. - two hours and 40 minutes before game time. Thousands of ticket holders already were lined up to get in the stadium. People were getting antsy. Baseball history was about to happen inside - and you could feel it You could see, hear and almost taste the excitement, the anticipation and the love of the game of baseball everywhere. That atmosphere - a dream for any baseball fan- came thanks to Mark McGwire, who would hit his 61st home run of the season Monday to tie Roger Maris’ sin gle-season record. Unfortunately, not all of the fans who had waited hours in line in front of the ticket office would witness McGwire’s solo shot to left field in the first inning. A large security guard came and broke the news to the ticket less fans that no tickets would go on sale. After a near riot, the line transformed into hundreds of lost souls desperately waving their fingers in the air in search of tick ets. (Editor's note: Apparently, David couldn 7 get in either. His sou story mat ne a rove i,uuu miles to see McGwire didn t work on anybody.) “Listen, man,” a scalper said in a convincing voice. “You're going to see baseball history. If that’s not worth $250,1 don’t know what is.” Tickets went from between $150 to $500 apiece. Face-paint ed, sign-holding and McGwire jersey-wearing fans just wanted in. That’s $500 for a regular sea son game. That’s insane. That’s McGwire Mania. That's baseball. David Wilson is a senior news-editorial major and a Dally Nebraskan senior staff writer. ST. LOUIS (AP) - No. 61 flew off Mark McGwire’s bat Monday, match ing Roger Maris’home run record and leaving just one question: How soon will it be his alone? History came quickly. McGwire lauochedMike Morgan^pitoh430feet to left field in die first inning, tying fee hal lowed mark that has stood for 37 years. McGwire immediately threw his hands in the air after connecting and then, wife a fist thrust high, began his triumphant trip around fee bases. Big Mac got a high five from Cubs first baseman Mark Grace as he totmd „ed the bag and got another high five from former St Louis teammate Gary Gaetti as he approached third. The 50,530 roaring fans at Busch Stadium stood all the while, except for those in the midst ofa wild scramble for the ball. Chicago’s Sammy Sosa, whose 58 home runs have pushed McGwire down die stretch, joined the celebration by applauding his rival from right field. McGwire’s 10-year-old batbcy son, Matt, was waiting at home plate where the Cardinals slugger ended his trek with a two-footed hop. McGwire hoist ed his boy in a big hug, while groundskeepers rushed onto the field to replace the bases - no doubt headed to the Hall of Fame. The Cardinals spilled out of the dugout to mob McGwire, and it took him a few moments to make it to the bench. But he didn’t stay there long, springing back out to salute Sosa and the Maris family, watching horn seats on the first-base side. In a touching tribute to die man he matched, McGwire acknowledged Maris’ children by pointing his right index finger to the sty, tapping his heart three times and blowing a kiss. “He tapped his heart, like Dad was in his heart,” said Kevin Maris, a son of the former New York Yankees slugger. McGwire homered in the Cardinals’ 144A game and now has 19 left to become the home run champion. Andwhen he does, certamly no asterisk will be needed. Maris hit No. 61 on the last day of a 162-game schedule in 1961. Toward die end of that season, Commissioner Ford Frick declared that any record would have to carry a “distinctive mark” if it did not beat Babe Ruthb mark of 60 in 154 games. It also made it a nice day for Mike Davidson, a 28-year-old fan from St Louis who wound up with a historic souvenir, which he planned to give to McGwire. McGwire and Sosa have homered on die same day 20 times this year, twice connecting in die same game. It’s easy to keep track of how they stand, too, by kxiking at the out-of-town scoreboard in coder field. Right below an inning-by-inning listing of the Florida-Colorado game, there’s a sec tion where it’s posted - McGwire 61, Sosa 58. McGwire and Sosa, who have become friends throughout their friend ly rivalry, spent the early part of the morning holding a news conference together. Sitting bicep to bicep, they took turns praising each other. “Wouldn’t it be great if we just ended up tied,” McGwiresakL “I think it would be beautiful” _ Dawn Dietrich/DN SENIOR NO MIDFIELDER KRISTEN GAY defeads the Hasten’ goal from a Wisconsin-Milwaukee defeader Friday evening during the first soccer game. Tlie Huskers lost 2-1 la double over time. Late goal costs Nebraska in loss to UW-Milwaukee By Darren Ivy Staff writer Within a period of 21 seconds Friday night, the Nebraska women’s soccer team went through an emotional roller coaster. The No. 8 Cornhuskers led 1-0 against Wisconsin-Milwaukee before Panthers’ striker Fanta Cooper dribbled around NU goalie Jackie Erdkamp and scored the game-tying goal with 21 seconds remaining in regulation. On the ensuing kickoff, theHuskers got the ball to freshman Kelly Rheem inside thePanthers’ goal box. She hit Kim Engesser with a pass. Engesser then flipped the ball to freshman Shannon Tanaka who score, what appeared to be the game-wining goal as time expired ■3 But the referees waved it offand said &e clock had run out “I’m not sure if it went in before or not,” Assistant Coach Megan Bechtold said “Whhyour emotions, you work that hard that you want it to count” In overtime, foe teams went scoreless the first 15 minutes. However, after a two-minute break and switching halves, UW-Milwaukee forward Danielle Alberg beat Erdkamp for the game-win ning goalat 1:06:19 before 1,266 fans at die Abbott Sports Complex. ' Albeig’s goal gave Wisconsin-Milwaukee its first win against a ranked opponent and ended Nebraska^ 27-game home-winning streak. “Losing hurts no matter how it happens,” said senior forward Becky Hogan. “It’s a little more heart wrenching to lose in overtime” It also hurt that NU was playing shorthanded. The Huskas had just 15 oftheir 22 players. Isabelle Moraeau, Amy Walsh and Karina LeBlanc were playing in a tournament with die Canadian National team. Lindsey Eddleman, Heather Brown, Jenny Benson and Karla Ledford were out because of injuries. “We have the opportunity to make a lot of excuses,” Bechtold said. “Those excuses don’t count fix’anything.” On the positive side, the Huskers outshot the Panthers 39-17 on the night Nebraska attempted 12 shots on goal, while Wisconsin-Milwaukee had eight Acts and two more that hit the crossbar ButNU can take no consolation in having more shots than the Panthers. Bechtold said not winning balls in the air was an area that hurt Nebraska. She said when NU players don't win balls, die Panthers get than and have a chance to bring the ball the otter way. Being complacent with a 1-0 lead also doomed Nebraska. “In the aid it is a tough lesson for us,” Bechtold said. “Our team felt confident. When we let them back into the game it was hard to stop dtem.” Despite the disappointing loss, Hogan said she was proud ofthe way her teammates played. “Those 15 players all played really well,” Hogan said. “Well bounce back fine. Some good can come out of bad.” ' p No. 4 Huskers pound through . *« JUJt-.il- W . * T '.f v.,5 Jt By Andrew Stenad Staffwriter A long week, which included four matches in five nights, was well worth it for the Nebraska vol leyball team. The fifth-ranked Comhuskers (4-0) claimed the San Diego State Tournament title in impres sive fashion with a three-game sweep over San Diego State on Saturday afternoon (15-11,15-7, 15-12). The victory came off die heels of a four-game win over two-time defending champion Stanford (5-15,15-9,15-6,15-11) on Friday. After dropping the fust game to the Cardinal, the Huskers rallied to win game two, with several Huskers stepping despite the kiss of junior out side hitter Mandy Monson and sophomore outside hitter Angie Oxley. “We showed some toughness,” Head Coach Terry Pettit said. “We got beat pretty soundly that first game, and we were able to keep siding out and siding out.” Monson was out with a knee sprain, and Oxley missed the second game because of a bloody nose. Stepping up for NU in the match was senior middle blocker Megan Korver, who led the team with 21 kills, while sophomore outside hitter Nancy Meendering add6d 18. With the absence of Monson on the left side, Pettit used sophomore Kim Behrends and senior Jaime Krondak to fill in. “We used a lot of people,” Pettit said. “Krondak came off the bench and played great I really thought our three seniors played big in the match. They showed a lot of leadership in that sit iiatinn ” > : J?jk Behrends started in place of the injured Monsdn and added a career-high nine kills with out a single error against the Aztecs on Saturday. Krondak, who has been plagued by a sprained left foot for the last two weeks, sawlimited action in the front row against Stanford before sitting out Saturday’s match. The Huskers ’ other senior, setter Fiona Nepo was named the tournament MVP. Meendering and Korver also were named to the All-Tournament team. Now the Huskers' focus will be on next week end’s Ohio State Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. The n^ranked Buckeyes knocked off sixth ranked Florida over the weekend, and Pettit will now look to this week’s practices in preparation forOSU. “Right now I want us to get better defensively,” Pettit stud. “I want us to understand our system a little better so we’re in better position.”