University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 13, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 20, 2004 Page: 5 of 6
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==-...................University Press =====
Sports
5
Wednesday,
October 20,2004
Astros ‘Backe’ Cards against wall
Houston on verge of first World Series berth in franchise history
By JOEL ANDERSON
Associated Press
HOUSTON — Brandon Backe was almost
perfect, the most improbable postseason hero for
the most unlikely playoff team.
Now Backe and the Houston Astros are a
win away from an incredible upset.
Backe’s one-hitter in a career-high eight
innings and Jeff Kent’s three-run homer in the
ninth sent the Astros to their third straight win in
the NL championship series Monday night, 3-0,
over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Houston now holds a 3-2 lead in the best-of-
seven series, and needs only one more win for the
franchise’s first World Series appearance in 43
years of existence.
Thing is, the Astros wouldn’t even be here if
not for the 26-year-old Galveston native, who
dreamed of taking the mound for his favorite
childhood team on nights like this.
“I can’t really describe what happened out
there tonight,” he said. “When you feel as good as
I did out there and felt in the rhythm that I was
in, you just feel like nobody can hit you.”
Only one person in St. Louis’ powerful line-
up did: No. 7 hitter Tony Womack.
Backe outdueled St. Louis’ Woody Williams
in the greatest game of his career, making a run at
history by taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning
before allowing the single. He left the game after
the eighth, handing the ball to closer Brad Lidge
with a scoreless tie.
Lidge got three quick outs, and Kent sent
Jason Isringhausen’s pitch deep to left in the bot-
tom half of the inning for the win.
None of it would have beep possible without
Backe.
“Backe did a phenomenal job,” Kent said.
“He’s able to keep himself focused. He’s not
caught up in the hype of the playoffs.”
After the right-hander retired his first 13 bat-
ters, he walked Jim Edmonds with a pitch in the
fifth. Backe still didn’t allow a hit until his 78th
pitch, when Womack sent a grounder through the
gap between first and second.
The crowd groaned, but gave him a spirited
standing ovation before he took the mound again
to face Larry Walker.
Backe walked him on the next at-bat,
prompting a brief huddle on the mound with
pitching coach Jim Hickey and catcher Brad
Ausmus.
“I was concerned as we got deeper in the
game and the crowd kept getting into it more and
more,” Astros manager Phil Gamer said. “When
he gave up the hit, I was concerned. Sometimes
hitting can turn into a frenzy when something like
that happens.”
But showing poise uncommon for someone
new to the pressures of October, Backe retired
the next seven batters to complete only the third
postseason start of his career.
Once it was over, he pumped his fist and
shouted as he sprinted from the mound to the
dugout.
Mostly a reliever in the past, he emerged as
the Astros’ third starting pitcher in late August
after spending two months with Triple A New
Orleans.
The minor leagues never seemed so far
away.
In two weeks, Backe pitched the Astros to a
wild-card berth with a clutch performance in the
regular-season finale, won the first postseason
start of his career in Game 3 of the division series
against Atlanta, and now has put Houston one
win away from its first NL pennant.
Backe has become something of a Houston
fan favorite, an excitable guy from a nearby
coastal city who is incredibly demonstrative on
the mound.
Ex-Cardinal golfer Chris Stroud
ties for 57th place in PGA debut
Former Lamar golfer Chris Stroud tied
for 57th at the Chrysler Classic of
Greensboro, N.C., at the Forest Oaks
Country Club, his first appearance in a
PGA Tour event
Stroud, who was a four-time
Southland Conference player-of-the-year,
posted a 3-under par 69. The round
included six birdies and three bogeys.
Stroud followed with a 1-under 71 in
the second round to make the cut at 4-
under 140. After making the turn at 1-
over par, Stroud birdied two of the last
four holes to ensure that he made the
cut,.
“Overall I’m happyT Stroud said. “I
was excitedrabout the chance I was
given to play, and overall I felt like I
played well."
Some of the PGA stalwarts who did
not make the cut included Davis Love III,
who designed the course, John Daly and
Jay Haas.
A two-time Ping All-American, Stroud
posted consecutive rounds of 1-over 73
on the weekend. He bogeyed two holes
on the front-9 and birdied the par-4 18th
hole on the inward nine in Saturday's
third round.
In Sunday's final round, Stroud
birdied the par-3 8th hole and the par-5
9th hole to make the turn at 2-under 34.
However, he bogeyed 13,14 and 15
coming in and finished in a four-way tie
for 57th place with Lucas Glover, Geoff
Ogilvy and Hunter Mahan to earn
$10,350.
“I expected to be nervous,” he said,
“but I felt like I handled that rather well. I
just wish I could have putted better.
Putting is usually the best part of my
game, but the longest put I think I made
all day was 4 feet”
Up next for Stroud is the first stage of
PGA Tour Qualifying School Oct 26-29 at
Black Horse Golf Club in Houston.
Lady Cards win; men place third
in home cross country invitational
The Lady Cardinals cross country
team placed first and the men placed
third at the Lamar Invitational, the largest
home meet in more than three years, at
Idylwild Golf Club in Pinewood on
Monday.
The Lady Cardinals won the team title
after placing four athletes in the top 15.
Texas-San Antonio was second, followed
by Sam Houston State, the Rice 'B' team
and North Texas rounding out the top 5.
Lamar was led by junior Jackie John,
who raced to her third top five finish of
the season with a second-place individ-
'• ual finish. She covered the 6,000-meter
course in a time of 22:52.35.
Junior Natasha Williams turned in a
time of 23:08.31 for a fourth-place over-
all finish. Sophomore Amanda King
placed 13th with a time of 23:54.58,
and Clerc Koenck was 15th with a time
of 23:58.94.
The Lamar men’s team finished third
behind Sam Houston State and North
Texas. Southeastern Louisiana’s Asbel
Ngetich won the individual title with a
time of 25:11.80 on the 8,000-meter
course.
Freshman Danny Shaw led Lamar by
posting an eighth-place finish with a time
of 26:27.56, his second top-10 finish of
the season.
Freshman Martin Husen was 18th
overall with a time of 26:53.43.
UPGuiseppe Barranco
Wildcatter forward Brad Voth and Louisiana Ice Gators defenseman Jake Gibson square off
in Saturday's pre-season opener. Wildcatters took the loss 2-1.
’catters drop
pre-season
hockey opener
By JENNIFER LOWRANCE
UP Staff Writer
As the sun went down Saturday, the
lights went up at Ford Park. The Texas
Wildcatters faced off with rival Louisiana
Ice Gators.
Fans ready to see the new season get
kicked off dawned Wildcatter jerseys and
signs reading, “Now Serving Gator on a
Stick!”
The exhibition game was a prelude
to the season opener, Oct. 30, where the
Wildcatters will get another chance to
face the Ice Gators.
Although the Wildcatters lost 2-1,
the game was tied throughout the second
period. Scoreless through much of the
first period, the game had no shortage of
excitement. Both teams came ready to
play and fight.
Since the South Texas State Fair was
opened in its new location at Ford Park,
fans and fair-goers alike had a chance to
see the Wildcatters for free with admis-
sion into the fair.
Lamar University alumni Clay and
Kimberly Jones brought their three chil-
dren to the fair on Saturday to take
advantage of the great deal.
“We bought two adult tickets for the
fair,’ Kimberly Jones said. “Our children
got in free because they are all under 10.
We really saved a lot of money and
received great entertainment for our
whole family in return.”
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■ '
Boudain Sale
11 a.m.-2 p.m., Oct. 18-22
Setzer Student Center Patio
Proceeds benefit the Lamar Advertising Federation
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Show, Mark. University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 13, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 20, 2004, newspaper, October 20, 2004; Beaumont, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth500702/m1/5/: accessed July 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Lamar University.