University Daily Kansan / Friday, April 24, 1987
Sports
11
Baseball fans save loudest, most creative yells for men in blue
By DAVID BOYCE
Staff writer
KU baseball fans routinely find enjoyment sitting in the stands and criticizing the men in blue.
Even Kansas basketball coach
Larry Brown and his assistant Mark
Parker go to Quigley Field to
participate in a baseball ritual of
abusing umbrellas.
Last weekend was a perfect example of the verbal punishment umpires must endure, especially during doubles or singles sometimes last as long as seven hours.
tion exclusively to the umpires.
The games that weekend featured Kansas against No. 1 ranked Oklahoma State. And since most of the games were decided by the fifth inning, the fans directed their atten-
The insulting barbs directed at the umpires were sometimes amusing, stinging, justified and unjustified.
"Hey ump, Stevie Wonder could have made a better call on that pitch than you," one spectator yelled.
Umpire Carl Nothnagel heard the statement and laughed.
"I thought it was very original," he later said from his home in Kansas City.
"At Omaha, the fans are right on top of you and you can hear everything," he said. "They are a little more intense."
Omaha.
"Everybody knew the previous pitch was in the dirt," Jones said.
The funniest comment he said he heard during his time as an umpire was on a called strike three.
Jones, of Blue Springs, Mo., said
that he also heard the comments
directed by Mr. McGraw.
The fan said of his call, "Hey, blue,
why didn't you call the last pitch a
strike, because both pitches were in
the same spot."
"Umpires need to have a thick skin and block out those comments because a lot of times you do hear
Some of the comment coming from the stands in the two blowouts the Cowboys handed the Jayhawks might be viewed as slanderous.
what they say," he said. "My wife's skin is not as thick."
"Ump, do you realize what team is paying you? I bet you have another check coming after the game," are examples.
When Kansas' right fielder Pat Karlin was called out at first after a bunt, a fan yelled out, "Ump, you made the call before the play was completed."
And late in the second game Sunday, when some fans felt more strikes than normal were being called, they said, "Ump, I guess you have dinner waiting."
Jones said the hardest part about umpiring was maintaining concentration during a lopsided game.
"They pay to get in." Nothnagel said. "Well, I guess at KU they don't, but they are just having fun."
Both Nothnagel and Jones say they would never eject a fan for abusive language.
"It's hard to stay on top when the game is a blow out," he said. "You sometimes start to lose concentration and you need a close play that needs to be called."
"I try to control the game from start to finish."
"I figure if a guy is yelling things, his wife must have holstered at him."
Said Jones, "I would like to tell a few fans to come on down, put on the
shin guards, and ampire for a half inning and see how they like it."
Jones began umpiring because he liked baseball
Before coming to the Big Eight, Jones did some major league games when the umires went on strike.
Big Eight umpires who work Kansas home games, such as Jones, are hired by the baseball department
Jones said he enjoyed umpiring Big Eight games and as far as the fans comments, "I just laugh at them.
"Some of the things they say are really funny."
After nine years of umpiring, Jones is used to comments like, "Hey ump, can you see, or do you need my glasses?"
St. Louis beats Chicago for split
The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — A freak injury spoiled Danny Cox's 1968 season, but he's making up for it in a hurry.
"Last year I didn't win my first game until June, so I'm way ahead of schedule," said Cox, who raised his record to 3-0 yesterday as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2. "I'm happy with the results."
National League
Cox, who won 18 games in 1985, started the following season on the 21-day disabled list after breaking a bone in his right ankle jumping off a three-foot-high sea wall. He had three victories at the All-Star break and finished with a 12-13 record.
His performance yesterday wasn't pretty — the Cubs had 11 hits — but Cox gave up most of the hits with two outs and didn't walk anyone.
"Otherwise, I might have spent the whole day pitching from the stretch," said Cox, who also defeated the Cubs April 9.
"He didn't have overpowering stuff, but in this ballpark you don't need it." Cubs catcher Jody Davis and Cox. "He kept us offbalance."
Jack Clark and rookie Jim Lindeman drove in two runs aopie, pacing
The Cubs scored their runs on in RBI single by Andre Dawson in the third and an upper-deck home run by Keith Moreland in the eighth.
Lindeman, who was back in the lineup after missing three games with a hamstring injury, is second on the team with 11 RBI.
Second baseman Tom Herr left the game in the third inning with a groin injury, and Cardinals Manager Whitey Herzog said the team may put Herr on the disabled list. Herr was to be examined this morning by team trainer Gene Gieselmann.
The victory gave St. Louis a first-place tie with the idle New York Mets in the National League East. The victory also salvaged one game of a three-game series with Chicago, but it may have been costly.
KU golf team expects better finish
St. Louis has already lost catcher
Jimmy Johnson and pitcher John Tudor to
injuries.
Lindeman's two-run single in the first inning gave Cox all the support he needed. The Cardinals made it 3-0 in the second when Vince Coleman's RBI single scored Tom Pagnozzi, who had walked and gone to second on a sacrifice.
"We're beat-up right now," Herr said. "We've just got to hope we can keep going out there and stay competitive."
Rookie right-hander Greg Maddux was the loser, falling to 0-2. He gave up five runs in six innings, walking five and allowing seven hits.
The Cubs cut the margin to 3-1 in the third when Chico Walker doubled and Andre Dawson drove him in with
See NATIONAL, p. 12, col. 5
MARIEAN Marilee Scheid, a member of the Kansas women's golf team, practices at Alvamar Golf and Country Club, 3000 West 15th Street. Scheid was trying to qualify for a spot on the Jayhawks' team that will compete in the Big Eight Conference Championship. The meet will be Monday and Tuesday in Oklahoma City.
Dale Fulkerson/Special to the KANSAN
By DIANE FILIPOWSKI Staff writer
The Kansas women's golf team doesn't expect to finish sixth as it did last year at this year's Big Eight Conference Championships.
Third-year coach Kent Weiser said yesterday that this year's team was more prepared for the tournament, which will be held Monday and Tuesday in Oklahoma City, Okla., than any KU team had been in the seven years that he has followed the program.
"They have proven to themselves this season that they can play almost any team," Weiser said. "I hope that they remember that and don't take a back seat to anybody."
Weiser said seventh-ranked Oklahoma State, the defending Big Eight champion, and 13th-ranked Oklahoma would be Kansas' toughest competition.
Representing KU at the tournament will be Sherri Atchison, Tina Gnewch, Donna Jo Lowen and Susan Pekar. Weiser said the fifth player would be named today.
"The key for the team is not to worry but to play the best that they can," Weiser said. "Then the finish will take care of itself."
When the Jayhawks played to their ability this season, Weiser said, they shot a first-round total of 305 at the Illini Spring Break Tournament in Tampa Bla. Fla., one of its best single-score ever.
"We finished a stroke behind ninth-ranked Indiana that day." Weiser said. "We have the ability to play with the nation's best teams if each player plays well."
Pekar, a team captain, said all five of the team's tournament players had been playing consistently this season, which had allowed the team's stroke average to drop significantly.
Pekar, a junior, said the teamwork would make a difference at this year's conference championship
"It's nice to see everyone happy when the team does well because golf is such an individual sport." Pekar said. "It's easy to concentrate on what you are doing and not the team."
In its five tournaments this season, Kansas has finished third twice, sixth once and seventh twice. Pekar was the individual champion at the Missouri Invitational in Columbia, leading a Jayhawks team that finished third.
Pekar said the addition of Atchison and Lowen, who are freshmen, had added momentum to the
"They came from good teams that were used to winning. Poker said, "Some of their enthusiasm had to come."
Weiser said the freshmen had increased the team's confidence by solidifying four of its five tournament positions.
"We are aggressive and not defensive," Weiser said. "We go out and expect to do well rather than hope that we don't bad."
Yanks extend streak
The Associated Press
CLEVELAND — Dave Winfield hit two home runs, including a three-run shot with two out in the ninth inning last night, as the New York Yankees extended their winning streak to 10 games with a 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
American League
In five career at-bats against Cleveland starter Greg Swindell, 1-3, Winfield is 3-for-5 with three home runs. The other owner came in the Yankees' home opener this season.
The Yankees are 13-3 and just one game behind Milwaukee in the AAA division.
Swindell struck out six and limited the Yankees to two runs on three hits through the first eight innings. But he walked Rickey Henderson with one in the ninth, and, after Henderson stole second, walked Don Mattingly before Winfield lined the game-winning homer to left.
Dennis Rasmussen, 2-0, threw a six-hitter for eight innings. Dave Righetti recorded his six save.
Anaels 7. Twins 3
See related story p.12
MINNEAPOLIS — Darrell Miller's single in the sixth inning drove in the winning run last night and home runs by Devon White, Wally Joyner and Brian Downing led the California Angels over the Minnesota Twins 7-3.
John Candelaria allowed four hits, struck out six and walked one in seven innings, earning his third straight victory of the season. Donnie Moore pitched the final two innings for his third save, allowing one hit.
Rangers 9. Orioles 4
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers scored seven runs in the fourth inning on six hits, two by bate Incaviglia, and three Baltimore errors, and beat the Orioles 9-4 last night.
Mike Loynd, 1-0, who relieved Rangers starter Mike Mason in the second, got the victory with $4\frac{1}{3}$ innings of three-hit, one-run pitching.
Royals' Seitzer no hometown boy to Middletown
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Never have a Kevin Steider Day in his hometown of Middletown, Ill.? Unthinkable, says the mayor.
Jealousy over his athletic ability, he said, led to bad feelings and came
Earlier in the week, Seitzer, the hot-hitting rookie infielder of the Kansas City Royals, said in an interview with The Associated Press that he had some very bad memories of his high school days in Middletown.
"The story about ill-will between Seitzer and Midtown residents is biased unfairly against Midtown," Paul Poole, mayor of the central Illinois community of about 500 people, said yesterday.
The next week, he said, his father Cliff Seitzer moved his family to Lincoln, Ill., 12 miles away, to remove Kevin from the unfriendly atmosphere.
to a head one night during his junior year when he teammates refused to pass him the ball in a high school basketball game.
"Whatever happens to that town is up to them," the infielder said. "I don't think they'll ever have a Kevin Seitzer day in Middletown."
"My phone has been ringing off the hook," the mayor, a cousin of Carolyn Seitzer, Kevin's mother, told reporters. "There may be jealousy about Kevin, but it is one-sided. Kevin is liked here. Kids look up to him."
Yesterday, Seitzer's parents and a number of Middletown residents said they wanted to set the record straight.
Jim Vipond, a science teacher in Middletown and one of Kevin's high school coaches, confirmed his recollection of events, saying, "There are people in this town who hope Kevin falls flat on his face."
The mayor also said Midtown residents have already been talking about some sort of celebration for the rookie.
Cliff and Carolyn Seitzer said they never doubted that their son was still bitter about his high school experiences.
"When I read his comments, I could just hear him saying those things because I know that's the way he feels," his mother said. "Kevin just does not understand that by far the majority of the people in Middletown are happy for him and proud of him."
"There were some bad experiences in high school, yes," she said. "But you know what they say . . . a few bad apples."
"Kevin has been away from here so long, I think he may have lost contact with some things," Cliff Seitzer said. "After his senior year in Lincoln, he went off to college. Every summer he was playing ball somewhere."
Terry Steinhour, who farms near Middletown, also took exception with the how the situation was characterized.
"I haven't talked to anybody in Middletown who has anything bad to say about Kevin Seitzer. "Steinhour said. "People in Middletown are proud of him. I think we are going to have a Kevin Seitzer Day."
"He does have a lot of fans down there, and we've got a lot of friends there," Cliff Seitzer said.
"We consolidated with New Holland, a very small town about six miles away," Carolyn Seitzer said. "When Kevin talks of Middletown, he means the New Holland-Middletown school district, not the town."
Shockers rout 'Hawks second night in a row
Rv DAVID ROYCF
Baseball
The Kansas baseball team continued its losing days yesterday with an 18-6 loss to the Wichita State Shockers at Wichita.
In the fourth, Wichita State scored seven times and took the lead for the first time in the game. 9-3.
Staff writer
Kansas took the early lead in the first. With two outs, Hugh Stanfield
The Jayhawks took a 3-0 lead after singles by Scott Serrae and Tom Bilyeu, followed with a two-run double by Steve Estes.
singled and John Byrn doubled him home.
From there, Kansas enjoyed little success on the field.
Both teams scored one run in the fifth, which made the score 10-3 in favor of Wichita State.
Wichita State scored two in the third and put the game out of reach with 14 points.
The Shockers made the game a rout with five runs in the bottom of sixth. Dan Raley's three-run homer in the sixth ended what little hope the Jayhawks had.
Kansas scored its final two runs in the eighth, but by then, the runs meant little.
Kansas has now lost seven games in a row and is 11-29 one overall and 15 in the post.
Unlike Wednesday's game against the Shockers, when Kansas displayed some offense and pitching, the Jay-Sun not pitch well in yesterday's game.
Coach Marty Pattin used four pitchers who gave up 16 walks and 11 runs.
When the pitchers were allowing Wichita batters to hit the ball, the Kansas infielders were committed five errors in the game.
ICHITA STATE 18. KANSAS 6
Steve Purdy, 1-5, started, and despite suffering the loss, pitched well until the fourth inning. Purdy had relief help from Steve Renko in that inning.
Kansas will try to break its losing streak this weekend when it plays a four-game series with the Iowa Hawkeyes at Quigley Field. The games start at 1 p.m. tomorrow and 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
Kansas          120 010 020—6 75
Wichita State    002 715 015—18 11 04
Purdy, Renko (4) , Hinkle (5), Stopper (6) and Pfister, Boeschen; McIntyre, Kelly (4), Marshall (6), Biuma (7) , Pumphrey (8) , Lunnon (9) and Koch (10) , L Purdy (1-3) , Hirsa, Wichita State, Riley
By a Kansan reporter
Jayhawk track teams to compete at Drake
Cliff Roello, assistant women's coach, said the Drake meet was considered more competitive than the Kansas Relays because fewer
The Kansas track teams will travel to Drake to compete today and tomorrow in the Drake Relays, the third leg of the triple crown of outdoor track.
Five women and 12 men from KU will compete in the meet. The KU Relays and the Texas Relays are also included in track's triple crown.
athletes have qualified to compete.
The Drake Relays are not a team meet, but are for individuals to achieve season bests and qualify for nationals. Rovelo troted.
The NCAA Outdoor Champion ships are June 3-6 in Baton Rouge La.
Men's coach Bob Timmons said he was expecting some good competition and performances.
"If anything," Timmons said,
"It will let us know where we stand
this season."