Faces Atlantic Christian tonight
Norris returns from
The Tar HeelThursday, July 20, 197813
apan series
by R.L. Bynum
Sports Editor
After any athlete has an outstanding
season, one wonders if he could possibly
equal, or much less surpass his
achievements. During his four years at
Carolina, fans wondered if All-America
record breaker Phil Ford could.
Tar Heel supporters can now marvel at
another All-America record breaker, and
ask themselves if this superstar can
possibly top himself.
In his junior year at Carolina,
Whiteville's Greg Norris broke better
than half the single season UNC pitching
records, tied an ACC record,' and put
himself an arm's length from three other
UNC career marks.
That season gave Carolina's baseball
team national prominence. Throughout
the season, it had to be a relief to rookie
coach Mike Roberts to know that every 3
or 4 games, he could put the nation's top
pitcher on the mound. Norris was an ace
that earned an All-America first team
spot, and was named ACC player of the
year.
As a fitting end to a magnificent regular
season, Norris pitched a no-hitter against
East Tennessee State. That gave him a
perfect 12-0 regular season record.
After a two week break, the f ireballing
Norris led the Heels into post-season play
for the first time in a while. He picked up
where he left off, by again hand-cuffing
East Tennessee State 15-1.
After pitching a pretty good game
against Memphis State, he had his first
bad game of the season. "I had a real bad
lapse against Oral Roberts. I knew it
would come sooner or later. It just came at
Omaha, which was a bad time," said
Norris.
'Then the next game that I pitched,
against Southern Cal, was, I think, the
best game I really pitched all year." Even
though the Heels lost to the eventual
champion Trojans 3-2, a lot of observers
echoed Greg's comments on his
performance.
One of the impressed onlookers in the
other dugout was Southern California's
head coach Rod Dedeaux. He invited Greg
to participate in the US All-Star team's
tour of Japan.
Perhaps the most awed person in the
stands, however, was a San Francisco
scout. He thought so highly of Norris,
that the Giants picked him in the summer
baseball draft.
Norris, however, didn't think as highly
of the Giants. "I really didn't like the team
that drafted me. For the round I went in,
the offers were a lot better than (a person
picked in) a round like that should get.
"They were really wanting me pretty
badly, especially after the Southern Cal
game. It was sort of appealing, I got the
kind of money I thought I was going to
get. But I just said no; I couldn't go. After
the experience in Omaha, and how
everybody really was so close, I thought
why not one more year here."
Although he turned down the offer to
go pro, he accepted the invitation from
coach Dedeaux to tour Japan.
The All-Star was made up of mostly
players from the national champion USC
team. It included many others that
competed in the NCAA tournament.
"We had a really good series with the
Japanese All-Star team," said Norris, "and
we found out how good they are, and
what kind of people they are."
Greg said that the styles of American
and Japanese players vary a lot. "The
pitchers threw straight under handed,
r
Greg Norris
instead of our straight over head or three
quarters."
"Most of the Japanese parks are small,
286 down the line and 384 to straight
center," said Norris. This might be one of
the reasons you see an average ballplayer
like Dave Johnson go from the Majors to
Japan, and lead their league in home runs.
Norris also said that the Japanese are
not power hitters' 'They can't hit the ball
out of the ball park, but they get base hits
and play real good defense. We are more
powerful, but I think they have more
technique."
'The big difference is the strike zone,"
he said. "It is much higher in Japan. It was
from the waist to the top of the
shoulders."
Japan's All-Stars won the series 4-3,
that marked just the second time in seven
years that the United States has lost the
series.
"Everybody was so tired from playing in
the College World Series," said Norris,
"and we had so much pressure on us.
When we went to Japan, we had 60 or 70
games already played, and they had 20. So
they were just starting to peak, while we
were just really tired. I think the whole
team enjoyed it a lot, but I'm just glad to be
irt Chapel Hill."
He will not, however, be in Chapel Hill
Kirk uses opportunity
by Ted Avery
Staff Writer
Many athletes wait for the moment of
truth, the moment when one's potential is
realized. For righthanded Tar Heel
pitcher David Kirk it came in a game
against Liberty Baptist. As a walk-on,
Kirk waited and worked hard until he
finally got the nod. He seized the moment
and proved himself in an 8-2 victory. "I've
always thought that given the chance I
could win," he commented.
Recognizing his talent, Coach Mike
Roberts sent Kirk against college baseball
powers South Carolina and Clemson.
Stated the young hurler, "It gave me
confidence knowing he was counting on
me and willing to use me."
Roberts continued to count on him in
the College World Series where Kirk was
the winning pitcher against Auburn and a
reliever against Memphis State and
Michigan. Carolina won all three games.
For Kirk, the Series was "a fulfillment of
daydreams."
Although his record is outstanding (5-
2), he does not foresee a future in
professional ball. "It isn't one of my set
plans." He is majoring in journalism and is
seeking a job in advertising.
In the meantime, though, he is working
on a different set of pitches. Sliders are his
bread and butter, but this summer he has
been working on curve balls. "In between
starts, I work on pitching by throwing the
ball and getting loose." He adds, "I try to
keep my legs in shape, my pitches in low
and my mind in the game."
This work has kept Kirk busy. He
laments, "I've only been home (Louisville,
Kentucky) two days since Christmas."
Although this year has been relatively
trouble-free, he concedes, "It's been a long
season."
It may seem even longer for the entire
Tar Heel team which is far behind
front'runner Louisburg. Although a
regular season championship seems
unlikely for Carolina, there is a possibility
that the team will top Louisburg in the
Summer League Tournament. A chance is
what the Heels will get; a chance is what
David Kirk got.
very much the rest of the summer.
Although Norris rejoined Carolina's
summer league team, he still wants to rest
his arm at the same time. "During every
game that I don't pitch, 111 stay home. But
when I have to pitch, I'm going tocome up
here. 111 pitch that day, and go back the
next day."
His first appearance was Saturday
night when he started the opening game
of a double-header against Louisburg. It
was an inauspicious return to the "states,"
as he yielded four runs in 4 23 innings. In
the top of the fifth inning, Norris pushed
the first base umpire while protesting a
call, and was thrown out of the game. His
team didn't have much luck on the rainy
night either. They dropped both ends of
the twin-bill 6-5 and 6-3.
Norris hopes for better luck tonight
when he is scheduled to pitch for the
Heels in a game at Atlantic Christian. "I
hope to have a really good season, and in
the fall, 111 push a lot of weights and
maybe get a little stronger so III have a
stronger fastball," says Norris.
In the back of his mind, of course, has to
be the question of how the team will do
next year. "We're gonna have almost
everybody back, and we're gonna have a
close team again. We expect a lot more out
of this team that's coming back, ihan what
we had this year. We weren't even ranked
in the top 30, and finished up third in the
nation, so I think this coming year, that
we are gonna really be strong. We ought
MlirlonY timnPY continued
I 1 WW frlW
r power.
to be the favorites, almost in the
country at least the top 2."
The traditions that Carolina, UCLA
and Kentucky have in basketball, are
similar to those USC and Arizona State
have in baseball. Norris believes that
Carolina can't be far from starting one
like that too.
"Southern Cal and Arizona State may
still be a step ahead of us because they do
have the tradition. But to me, that's the
only thing they have ahead of us. And
now since we have a great coach in coach
Roberts, and we have good players, and
good players coming in, we want to get
that tradition, and well be there for many
years to come."
As for his personal goals for next year,
Norris says that they will be almost
identical to last season's. "I'll have the
same goals, except next year, I don't want
to lose," says the confident hurler. "I
didn't really plan on losing this year, but I
did, and that's how it went. Next year I
want to duplicate myself, except I want to
have more fun.
"I want to get my strikeouts up," said
Norris, who had 118 of them last year,"
and really get my walks down. Walks sort
of hurt methi; vpar."
It will be very hard to have no more
walks than that a game. However, along
with almost everything else he does, his
hard work will make it look easy. You can
usually expect the best from the guy that
is rewriting the record books.
from page 7
become killers even if they operate within
federal guidelines. Such noted scientist as
Linus Pauling and John Gofman have
demonstrated that the normal operation of
nuclear plants could result in 50,000
additional cancer and cancer-related
deaths in this country for every year.
Recent studies have found that workers
in the industry, from the uranium mines
to the storage sites, are subjected to
excessive health hazards from their
exposure to radiation.
In fact, there are very readily available
alternatives of producing the energy we
need that are far more economical and
much less damaging to the environment
than nuclear or coal power. The blueprint
for a soft technology strategy has already
been produced: "Solar Energy: Progress
and Promise" is a lengthy study by the
Council on Environmental Quality,
President Carter's advisory group on
environmental matters. The report
details how solar energy and related
technologies can provide almost one
fourth of our total energy needs by the
year 2000. It also explains the numerous
social advantages such technologies have
over nuclear and coal power: their
renewable nature, their freedom from
boycotts and embargoes, their lack of
pollution, and, most significantly, the fact
that these technologies will result in a
large increase in jobs for our economy.
In numerous ways, the utilities have
continually aired the myth that our
economic livelihood is totally dependent
on a huge increase in our consumption of
electricity. Everywhere they proclaim
"More energy means more jobs."
In fact, this is hogwash.
States like Oregon and California and
groups like the Environmentalists for Full
Employment have shot holes in the
utilities' energy-jobs balloon by pointing
out that a careful program of energy
conservation and use of alternative
energy sources will create far more jobs
than use of nuclear or coal power
producing the twin goal of a safe
environment and a stable economy.
Such strategies are very pertinent to
North Carolina. We can significantly cut
back on our electricity consumption by
emphasizing other technologies. For
instance water and space heating, which
account for 45 percent of our residential
electricity consumption, can be produced
far more efficiently by solar technologies.
Passive solar designs in buildings will cut
electricity consumption substantially.
Other sources, such as wind power,
industrial cogeneration, and photovoltaic
cell production of electricity will further
decrease our reliance on electricity and
provide a boon to our economy if we
take the strong steps necessary to put
them to use.
DISCOUNT ON
ALL OFFICE
Even's Ccrrasble Pcper
Tablet
Pack
Pilot Firmer Pcini
Pilot Finsiiner - ; i
SCU CorcRanmMIc Ribbon"1'
Nolens! Cc:;S?-ru!ed Notebooks
SUPPLIES
List $iM Our $ .23
195 Prce 18
69 X5
59 .47
275 2.20
90 ,72
and, arc 2.S6
C)
PHONE 967-2585
ORaWA'oOFYCENim
AND OFFICE SUPPLY INC
EASTGATE SHOPPING CENTER CHAPEL HSLl
OPEN MONDAY - FRIDAY 8:30 - 5:30
CONVENIENT TO D&F BUS ROUTES