The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 66, No. 134, Ed. 1 Tuesday, April 5, 1988 Page: 9 of 16
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THE BAYTOWN SUN
Tuesday, April 5, 1988
9-A
SPORTS
i
■r.
i ^
TOURNEY OPENS
The District
23-5A tennis
tournament gets
under way today as
the local schools
hope to do well. See
first-day results
in Wednesday’s Sun.
Astros could
contend in ’88
Season opens tonight
By FRED HARTMAN
HOUSTON — Back in 1962,
before the Colt ,45s became the
Houston Astros, National
League history was made when
the team swept an opening
three-game series with the
Chicago Cubs.
Behind effective pitching of
left-handers Bobby Shantz, Hal
Woodeshick and Dean Stone, the
.45s were tied for the lead.
The Colt .45s looked like win-
ners, but weren’t. What I didn’t
know was the Cubs were losers.
I got so excited after the Colt
Stadium debut splurge, I began
to think about Houston World
Series tickets to watch our
heroes win it all.
I’m still waiting. After 26
seasons, Houston’s best has been
Western Division championships
in 1980 and 1986.
But, who knows, 1988 may be
the year.
I The Astros have a strong
ballclub with two or three spots
that must be strengthened.
Old Coach Matty Bell of TCU,
Texas A&M and SMU once said a
winner had to be talented, lucky
and destined.
To win, the Astros will have to
take a summer’s ride with
destiny to be free from serious
and key injuries.
I saw the Colt .45s play their
first game against the Cubs and
most home games since. If
Manager Hal Lanier could apply
Matty’s philosophy, the year
1988 might be the “next year”
we’ve waited for so long.
Will Rogers once said all he
knew was what he read in the
papers. That’s the way I am
about the Astros. All I know is
what I read in the newspapers,
having missed a spring trip to
Florida.
What do the Astros need most
to be a real contender?
. No. 1, a backup catcher must
come on to help Alan Ashby. At
36, sometimes injury-prone
Ashby cannot be expected to
carry the big catcher’s mask
burden alone.
Houston may not have the best
infield in the West, but there is
plenty of talent. Glenn Davis at
first and Billy Doran at second
are all-star material. On the
other side, shortstop Craig
Reynolds will get plenty of help
from Rafael Ramirez, who
moves to the Dome from Atlan-
ta.
They say Ken Caminiti’s bat
made him questionable as a
third base regular. But Denny
Walling, one of the most ver-
satile players on the squad, has
proved he can play third and
perhaps well enough to become a
fixture.
The Astros have never really
had a superstar, although Jim-
my Wynn, Joe Morgan, Rusty
Staub, Larry Dierker.Don
Wilson, Lee May and Cesar
Cedeno had great careers in the
Astrodome.
Gerald Young, bright and
brash ,321-hitting rookie last
year, may be the Astros’
superstar in the making.
He can run and field, is a
switch-hitter and a fiery com-
petitor. If he improves much
more, opposition superstars
may have to move over to let
him in.
Young will open in center field
with Billy Hatcher in left and all-
around star Kevin Bass in right.
With Terry Puhl always
available and Walling able to
play any outfield position,
Houston needs only a big right-
hand bat to make it tougher on
western rivals.
I’ve covered baseball from the
Baytown Earthman Little
League Tigers to, Baytown
semi-pro Oilers, Houston Buffs
to Colt ,45s and Astros.
You can’t see as many games
as I have without realizing
teams with the best pitchers wiij,
be big winners.
At least on paper and until
somebody knocks them down,
Astros starters Mike Scott,
Nolan Ryan, Joaquin Andujar,
Bob Knepper and Danny Darwin
might be the envy of the Na-
tional League.
Led by relievers Dave Smith
and set-up man Larry Andersen,
opposition this summer may not
welcome crossing bats with
Houston. Charley Kerfeld begins
the season on the injured list.
Young writers reach
rhetorical heights to describe
what players do “that does not
show up in the box score.”
That may or may not be true,
but what the Astros need more of
is what does show up in the box
scores — runs batted in.
Baseball is not a very complex
game if your pitchers hold the
enemy and if your batters come
through with men on base. You
can advance runners all over the
place, but until they’re knocked
in, you won’t be scoring runs.
Even ham-donating Otto Kar-
naky, lady umpire Pam
Postema and pitcher Knepper
will agree.
There is on discordant note.
The Las Vegas smarts have
made the Astros 80 to 1. But so
were the Twins last year.
REL, RSS have hands
full in tournament
By DAVID BERKOWITZ
The way local coaches look at
it, the District 23-5A boys golf
tournament shapes up as a
three-team race. Unfortunately
for Ross S. Sterling and Robert
E. Lee, neither school figures to
be among the elite.
When the two-day tourney
begins Wednesday morning at
Lake Houston Golf Club in Huff-
man, Deer Park, Pasadena
Rayburn and North Shore will
battle it out for two Region III
tourney berths.
“Those three are just too
tough,” Sterling Coach Jerry
Sanders said. “Really, I think
we’ll be looking at third or
fourth.”
“It’ll probably be Deer Park
and Rayburn,” Lee Coach Joe
Herzik said. “This is pretty
much a rebuilding year for us.
We’re looking to the future.”
If nothing else, the Rangers
and Ganders will be familiar
with the course, since both
teams played there during the
Strake Jesuit Tournament. For
Sterling, the fifth-place finish
marked its best performance of
the spring.
Sanders will rely on seniors
Sam Watkins, Joel Touchet and
Barry Church to lead the way.
Joining them will be sophomore
Kevin Touchet and probably
freshman Brian Cavaretta.
If any of his players have a
shot at advancing as a medalist,
Sanders believes it is Watkins.
“He hasn’t played as well as
he did last year and he’s real
disappointed in himself,”
Sanders said. “Still, if he gets his
game going, he has a chance to
qualify for regionals.”
Herzik looks to senior Terry
Turnbull, junior Mark Horsey
and sophomore Chris Alton as
golfers who have an outside
chance of advancing.
In the Ganders’ tentative
lineup, they will be joined on the
A team by sophomore Randy
Tenery.
Lee’s tentative B team lineup
is comprised of junior Joel
Guidry, freshman Greg Creel,
junior John Bell, freshman Kyle
Littlefield and sophomore Brent
Hirschfield.
“This has been a tough year
for us,” Herzik said. “We’re
young, but I think we’ll be better
down the road.”
Kansas tops
Q
ROBERT E. Lee’s Jonas Groberg (9) tries to but It was not enough to help the Ganders over-
check his swing as South Houston catcher Chris come South Houston Monday at Memorial Field.
Tremie receives the ball from Trojan starting pit- The Ganders were no-hit by Cavanaugh 7-0.
cher Kenny Cavanaugh. Groberg went on to walk (Sun staff photo by Angie Bracey)
No. 1 Trojans blank Ganders
By DAVID BERKOWITZ
Earlier in the day, the South
Houston Trojans learned they
were the No. 1-ranked high
school baseball team in Class
5A.
Monday night at Memorial
Field, the Robert E. Lee
Ganders learned why the Tro-
jans deserved that lofty status.
Behind the no-hit pitching of
Kenny Cavanaugh, and an 11-hit
attack, the Trojans easily
dispatched the Ganders 7-0 to
run their District 23-5A-leading
record to 5-0.
South Houston, which was
ranked No. 6 by the Texas High
School Baseball Coaches
Association last week, improved
its season record to 16-1. In the
process, it sent the Ganders to
their second straight district
loss.
Lee, which is 3-2 in league play
and 11-5-1 overall, couldn’t take
advantage of five walks and a hit
batsman as it stranded five run-
Cavanaugh, who struck out
nine, received all the support he
needed in the opening inning.
The Trojans scored four unearn-
ed runs on five hits.
Delivering one-run singles
were Kirk Taylor, Chris Petter,
Manny Pardo and Ron
Salisbury.
Lee pitcher Kelvin Pagel settl-
ed down from there, allowing on-
ly two hits over the next three in-
nings. But the Trojans touched
him for a run in the fifth and two
more in the sixth.
Ray Liscano came through
with a run-scoring single in the
fifth and Chris Tremie con-
tributed a two-run double in the
sixth.
Jonas Groberg was the only
Lee player to reach second base,
as he and Brett Balcerak receiv-
ed back-to-back walks with two
outs in the sixth inning. But
Cavanaugh retired Ronnie Gan-
ske on a bouncer back to the
mound to end the threat.
The right-hander set down the
side in order in the seventh inn-
ing to wrap up his seventh vic-
tory against no defeats this
season. Pagel fell to 4-1.
The Ganders were to return to
action at 7 p.m. today against
Deer Park at Memorial Field.
South Houston will meet
Pasadena Rayburn at 4:30 p.m.
at Pasadena Memorial Field.
Forgy rf
Myers ph
Page cf
Toler ss
Taylor lb
Tremie c
Petter 3b
Pardo dh
3 110
10 0 0
4 10 0
3 110
4 2 2 1
4 0 12
4 1 1 1
4 13 1
3 0 11
4 0 11
34 711 7
LEE
Harris cf
Epperson If
Groberg 3b
Balcerak c
Ganske 2b
Botkin lb
Mayo rf
Allbritton dh
O'Connor ss
Kramer ph
Totals
...........................000 000 0-0
O’Connor 2, Pagel DP — South Houston.
Houston 9,
LOB — South
Pardo. SB — Forgy 2.
South Houston
Cavanaugh (W, 7-0) .
Pagel<L,44) .................7 11 7 2 2 5
HBP — Epperson (by Cavanaugh), Forgy (by
Pagel).
Layoff doesn’t hurt Rangers
By MIKE SIMMONS
Last week’s unexpected vaca-
tion from the District 23-5A race
had no harmful effects on the
Ross S. Sterling Rangers. They
proved that Monday night.
Dean Hanks hurled a three-
hitter and 6% innings of shutout
ball while the offense backed
him with seven hits en route to a
6-1 win over Pasadena Rayburn
at Winnie Brown Field. The win
improved RSS to 3-1 in league
play while Rayburn fell to 1-3.
Both of Sterling’s games last
week were rained out to create
an unexpected off week, but
Coach Bruce Paulus was pleased
his team’s return to action.
“I was really happy we were
able to come back like that,” he
said, “We played without com-
mitting a bunch of errors and
made contact when we had to
score some runs.”
Hanks turned in his second
consecutive fine outing in im-
proving to 8-0 on the year. The
left-hander struck out eight bat-
ters and walked five and narrow-
ly missed his second straight
shutout.
With two outs in the top of the
seventh and Rayburn runners at
second and third, Dane
Cardenas bounced a grounder to
RSS third baseman David
Salinas. When Salinas tagged
out Keith Tyler, the runner from
second, Mark Campbell was
able to cross home plate before
the tag was made to earn the
Texans’ lone run.
‘‘That was a coaching
blunder,” Paulus said. “I told
(Salinas) to tag the runner. I
should have let him whip it on
over to first and Dean would
have gotten his shutout.”
A first-inning run and three in
the second made sure Hanks
never had to worry about losing
the decision.
Shane Murphy drove in the
first RSS run with a single that
scored Robbie Riggs, who had
doubled to open the game.
RAYBURN
STERLING
b r h bi
2 0 0 0 Riggs 2b
Cargile 2b
Sampson 3b 3 0 0 0 Goress
Rodgers ss 3 0 0 0 Murphy lb
•sonss 0 0 0 0 Salinas 3b
2 0 0 0 Acosta c
2 110 Green If
1 hompsor
Mohler cf
Campbell If
Tylei
Talk
ipbell
r rf
lleyc
liams
3020 Hanksp
Vasquez cf
01
040
Chase rf
10 0 1
.22 1 3 1 Totals...
Rayburn
Sterling..
E — Tyler, Loza, Cardenas. DP — Sterling.
LOB — Rayburn 5, Sterling 5. 2B — Riggs, Mur-
phy.
Vasqi
______________.......000 000 1-1
................130 020 x—0
Loza, Cardenas. DP — Sterlii
Oklahoma
7' KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -
The ball caromed off the glass
backboard as time ran out, and
it fell, fittingly, into the hands of
Danny Manning. They were the
hands that built Kansas’ first na-
tional basketball championship
in 33 years.
Kansas beat fifth-ranked
Oklahoma 83-79 Monday night in
the 50th NCAA final, and the so-
called one-man team was the na-
tion’s No. 1 team.
When Manning rolled the ball
onto the hardwood floor at
Kemper Arena, the Jayhawks
had won the national title with
the most losses of any team in
NCAA history. And Coach Larry
Brown had turned a team in
disarray into team of cham-
pions.
The game was the last col-
legiately for the senior Manning,
and some wondered if it would
be the last at Kansas for the
vagabond coach Brown.
“I’m trying to be part of a na-
tional championship team
here,” Brown said. “I can’t talk
about that now.”
The Jayhawks took control of
the game from Oklahoma with
about 10. minutes left, slowing
the tempo and sending coach Bil-
ly Tubbs’ run-and-gun Sooners
home with only their fourth loss
of the season against 35 vic-
tories.
Oklahoma was a team that ad-
mitted it liked to beat people
bad. And this was a bad way to
end a super season.
“It’s a bitter defeat,” Tubbs
said. “We thought we could win,
and we didn’t. We’re still pro-
ud.”
Kansas, meanwhile, had lost
11, but its 27th victory gave the
Jayhawks their first national ti-
tle since 1952. That’s also the last
time a Big Eight team won the
championship.
“I just wanted to tell all the
people who said it couldn’t be
done: The national champions *
are No/l, and how do you like us
now?/’ Manning said as the
postgame hews conference end-
ed.
Manning scored 31 points, had
18 rebounds and helped Kansas
control not only the tempo but
also Oklahoma’s two big men,
Stacey King and Harvey Grant.
King had 17 points, five below his
average, and Grant 14, seven
below his. Manning and Chris
Piper held them to four apiece in
the second half.
“Like I said yesterday, I knew
Danny Manning wanted it bad,
and he came out and proved it to-
day,’’King said.
Like Villanova in 1985 and
North Carolina State in 1983,
both of which had 10 losses, Kan-
sas had struggled from
mediocrity to the top during the
course of the season. Brown had
lost starters Archie Marshall to
injury and Marvin Branch.
ab r b bl
2 0 0 0
2 0 0 0
10 0 0
2 0 0 0
2 0 0 0
3 0 0 0
3 0 0 0
3 0 0 0
10 0 0
10 0 0
20 0 0 0
, Lee 5. 2B — Tremie,
IP H RERBBSO
0 0 0 5 9
ayburn 5, Sterling 5. 2B — Riggs, Mur-
- Cargile, Mohler, Tyler, Green. S —
SF-Riggs.
Rayburn
Loza (L) .......
Patterson......
Sterling
Hanks (W. 7-0) .
WP - Hanks.
IP H RERBBSO
..4% 7 6 5 2 1
..Hi 0 0 0 0 2
Mets win NL opener 10-6
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A season after the Year of the
Home Run, Darryl Strawberry
and the New York Mets are mak-
ing this the Year of the Home
Run II.
Strawberry and Kevin
McReynolds hit two home runs
each as the Mets set a club
record with six homers — the
most ever by any team on open-
ing day — and beat the Montreal
Expos 10-6 Monday.
If this is the time pitchers are
supposed to be ahead of hitters,
no one told the batters in Mon-
treal. They got 28 hits off eight
pitchers, obviously not helpied by
the higher strike zone.
“Both teams got their hits to-
day,” Expos Manager Buck
Rodgers said. “The difference
was they added the long ball to
theirs.”
National league pitchers also
struggled with balks on opening
day. Cincinnati’s Mario Soto and
St. Louis’ Joe Magrane each
were called for two balks and
Dwight Gooden of the Mets and
Dennis Martinez were cited once
apiece as umpires began enforc-
ing tighter balk rules.
In other openers in the Na-
tional League, Cincinnati beat
St. Louis 5-4 in 12 innings and
San Francisco defeated Los
Angeles. Today, everyone else
opens as Pittsburgh is at
Philadelphia, Chicago is in
Atlanta and San Diego visits
Houston.
In American League openers,
Toronto’s George Bell belted
three home runs to help the Blue
Jays down Kansas City 5-3. Also,
Oakland topped Seattle 4-1,
Milwaukee crushed Baltimore
12-0, Chicago beat California 8-5
and Texas edged Cleveland 4-3.
Strawberry, who created con-
troversy in spring training by
criticizing teammates and
manager Davey Johnson, caus-
ed a commotion by homering in
his first at-bat, the third season
he’s done that. In the seventh in-
ning, he hit a 500-foot drive off
the Olympic Stadium roof.
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Brown, Leon. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 66, No. 134, Ed. 1 Tuesday, April 5, 1988, newspaper, April 5, 1988; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1051384/m1/9/?rotate=90: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.