March 31, 2000
SPORTS
12
Baseball aims for
post-season play
BY JERRY WHITMAN AND
GINGER PALMER
The baseball team (21-7) is
off to a great start for their first year
in NAIA competition. They quickly
i
m
Staff Photo
In their recent home game, the team holds their breath as a
player touches third.
made their way to a 16"" ranking due to
some timely pitching and strong offen
sive outbursts.
Junior hitting machine Korre
Humes, who leads the team with a
.418 batting average, added a stroke
of power with 10 home runs. The
team has had 14 games, which posted
more than 12 hits. Everyone on the
team contributed offensively, includ
ing the pitching staff.
The pitching staff maintains its
strength. Nearly every starting pitcher
has at least two complete games under
his belt. They hope for future success
as the tournament approaches.
“We have a good ball club and
as long as we stay
healthy we can win
games,” said
Payne.
The Torna
does also seem
prone to health
problems. Injuries
have caused
changes in regular
positions. Due to
the unfortunate
hand injury of start
ing catcher Alex
Kellner, right fielder
Ace LeGoff took
over catching. Af
ter Kellner’s return,
shortstop Jeff
Speers went down
with a severe ankle
spcain during the
team’s spring break trip.
Coach Gil Payne then called upon
pitcher Jerry Whitman to fill in for
Speers for the remainder of the trip.
Speers returned for the Tornadoes most
recent game with King College.
The team is now playing with a
full squad on the field and looks forward
to making a run for their first NAIA
National championship.
D.D.
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Spring games build
team for season end
BY GINGER PALMER
The recent spring break trip
to Pensacola, Florida added 5 losses
to an outstanding 6-3 record, now
giving the Lady Tornadoes an over
all 6-8 record. They faced tough com
petition against top ranked NCAA
Division II teams.
Even though the girls did not
win this tournament, “It gave the team
a lot of confidence coming back into
their regular schedule,” said Coach
White.
The girls competed against ev
ery team in Florida and built confi
dence in one another. With confi
dence and enthusiasm, the team em
barks on the last nine games of the
season. These games, according to
White, are winnable.
Sunday, March 25, the team
faces Tennessee Wesleyan, the 1999
TVAC tournament winners. Since the
team already knocked off the second
place Milligan, White believes
Sunday’s game will be a “Great yard
stick to see where they stand.”
L
Photos by Jamie Welch