Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / May 4, 2000, edition 1 / Page 17
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(Elj t Daily (Ear MM DTH Senior Reflects On His Own Final 4 Final anythings are never easy. Just ask the Tar Heel basketball team about Final Fours. But trying to capsulate four years in a Final Column - well, let me tell you - UNC had an easier time with Florida. They get timeouts, something you don’t get in journalism. And there’s never a dull moment in this place. This place - the sports office of The Daily Tar Heel - has become my home for the past four years, years that have passed too quickly, but certainly not uneventfully. Four years at the DTH have served as the best internship an aspiring sports writer could ever ask for. In those years, I’ve witnessed just about all there is to take in with UNC athletics: the retirement of Dean Smith, a Final Four, an emotional appeal by a 300-pound offensive lineman to save his coach, the ACC field hockey tourna ment in a driving rain, baseball games at the beautiful Bosh. I’ve witnessed the dirty underbelly of college athletics, the side the NCAA and North Carolina don’t want anyone to see: disgrunded ex-coaches, drunken athletes, fights (both barroom and street), a coach publicly batding alcoholism. They are the events that sully the rep utation of institutions and individuals. The events that lead to courtrooms and suspensions. They are also the events we must cover. There can be no glossing over nine arrests within a year, no gazing past coaches who claim they were fired and athletic departments who say they resigned, no gamely reporting of only t]je good and none of the bad. £ Coaches and athletes - even college ofles - are role models. They are spokespeople for the University, a responsibility they accept when they sign a contract or take a scholarship. And when we praise the good ones - believe me, there are plenty of good ones - we must also give notice of those who misstep. And I won’t lie. The hunt is fun. The frantic scramble to confirm the rumors that trickle through this office and campus gets the adrenaline flowing. But it’s no more fun than extending a ■ , ■ , , I dim t , -- .. . gx. yM *Jr •* ■v " if rpn BRIAN MURPHY PLAYER TO BE NAMED LATER hand of congratulations to a pitcher after a three-hit shutout before asking him your questions. No more fun than seeing the pure joy in the faces of players who had been counted out rising to the challenge. Asa fan, you spend your life becom ing attached. Asa journalist you must become detached; no cheering, no boo ing. Through the good times and the bad, you must keep a firm distance and call it like you see it. Just the facts -and an occasional feature story. But that doesn’t mean sports don’t still inspire. If seeing Vince Carter and Tim Duncan square off at the Smith Center doesn’t inspire, something is wrong. If watching Nikki Teasley crossover some poor, innocent defend er doesn’t inspire, something is wrong. I will forever cherish the days I spent watching Tyrell Godwin hit and run at Boshamer Stadium. (An aside: If you haven’t see Godwin play, your last chance to see him in Carolina blue is most likely next weekend against Florida State. Do yourself a favor: Go.) I hope Ronald Curry returns from injury and becomes the stuff of highlight reels -as he was on an unbelievable 2-point conversion against Virginia - so others can see for themselves. Sports are inspiring, even if you can’t cheer. They’re inspiring even if there are only friends and family in the audience. They’re inspiring; that’s why you watch and I get paid to write. It’s why I’m thankful to have had four years in Chapel Hill, covering the Tar Heels. Saying goodbye is never easy. But the time has come. The Player to be Named Later has been traded. That’s final. Brian Murphy can be reached at bmurphy@email.unc.edu. Seniors Make Pirates Walk Plank By Brad Broders Staff Writer It was an ideal ending for seniors Jen Klesaris and Crystal Henderson. However, North Carolina’s softball team must wait another day to see if the ending will be storybook or a case of too little, too late. The Tar Softball Heels swept East Carolina 2-0 and 4-3 Wednesday at Finley Field, keeping their NCAA post season hopes alive. East Carolina 0 UNC 2 East Carolina 3 UNC 4 Now, Florida State must lose at least one game tomorrow in its doublehead er against Maryland in order for UNC (47-17) to secure an automatic NCAA berth. “It would be awesome,” Henderson said about an NCAA spot. “We need Florida State to lose one, but if we do not (gain a berth), I am still very happy will all the successes we have had." In their final game at UNC, it was Klesaris and Henderson, the team’s senior combo, that would complete a three-run comeback. Triple Theft Steals Show as UNC Beats Winthrop By Matt Terry Staff Writer One of the rarest plays in baseball must be the triple steal. Rarer still must be the delayed triple steal. However, rarest of all must be the accidental delayed triple steal. Right field er Matt McCay was Baseball Winthrop 3 UNC 14 awarded a steal of home in a five-run third inning as North Carolina coasted past Winthrop 14-3. McCay trotted home after thinking first baseman Ryan Earey had walked with the bases loaded. The Eagles also thought that the pitch was ball four, and battery-mates Keith Pawlish and John Sports -- " ; ‘ ~ - .... ■ -- - . - ; DTH/KATE MF.LLMK UNC designated player Carrie Bates reaches on an error in game one against the Pirates. Bates was 1 -for-3 in the contest with a single. Tied 3-3 in the final inning, Henderson singled with one out. Klesaris then roped a double into the gap, scoring Henderson to win the game and finish off the sweep of ECU. “That made my day," Klesaris said. “Crystal got in, I drove her in. It was a great way to end the season.” Neale stood and watched the four Tar Heels (41-11) move around the bases. But home plate umpire Ron Sebastian raled that the pitch was only ball three, and before any one could react, McCay had touched home plate. “I have never seen that before,” UNC junior Eric Henderson threw six shutout innings and also went 1-for-1 at the plate with two runs. UNC coach Mike Fox said. “I thought it was ball four like everybody else. Ryan had thought the previous pitch was ball four and had jumped out of the way. So he obviously thought that he had three The Tar Heels fell into an early whole after RBI doubles by Keisha Shepperson and Amekea McDougald put the Pirates up 3-0 in the third inning. Knowing that a split would be disas trous to its postseason hopes, UNC was forced to step up. Natalie Anter began the comeback. balls. The umpire should have said something then.” North Carolina lefty Erie Henderson started his first game since April 15 and struck out the first five Eagles (25-25) that he retired. For the game, he allowed just three hits through six innings while striking out seven. The win was his first as a starter since March 11. “I felt pretty good,” Henderson (6-4) said. “I got some strikeouts early and was glad to get ahead of some hitters.” Batting in the No. 6 spot, Henderson was also 1 -for-1 with a walk and two runs scored. “I think the key is to let him hit when he pitches," Fox said. “It takes his mind off of (pitching). We needed him to give us a good start tonight.” Henderson was the beneficiary of an offense that gave him a 7-0 lead after three innings. Pawlish (3-6) lasted only three innings and faced 18 batters, nine Thursday, May 4, 2000 With runners on first and second in the bottom of the sixth, Anter bashed an 0-2 offering from Laurie Davidson off the center-field fence, cutting the lead to 3-2. One batter later, Beth Olen smashed a liner off the third baseman’s glove, scoring pinch-runner Lauren Parker to knot the game. In the seventh, the final heroics were reserved for seniors. “We are never out of a game,” UNC coach Donna Papa said. “One thing about this team is that they always bat tle back, and they have big hearts.” In the opener, Radara McHugh (23-6) struck out nine, gave up four hits and walked none in seven innings of work. She started game two but was replaced by Erin Joseph in the top of the fifth after allowing three runs. “I thought Radara threw an excellent game; the second game she did a great job,” Papa said. “We wanted to see how far she could go.” With the sweep, UNC set anew record for wins in a season. But in order to continue their season, the Tar Heels must now become Terrapin fans for a day. The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu. of whom reached base. Center fielder Adam Greenberg homered to lead off the third, and shortstop Chad Prosser added a three run bomb off reliever Ryan Chenard in the seventh. “We played hard tonight,” Fox said. “I thought we fielded great, hit well and pitched great” The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu. UNC 14, Winthrop 3 WU 000 000 300 - 3 6 3 UNC 025 011 32X l4 13 0 Pitching: WU - Pawlish. ToimmU 141 Haaws |SJ, ChenaKl (7). Chaak (81 Komar (8) and fteaw UNC - Henderson. Madeira (71 Autiey (71 Tanner (9) and McCoy (5k BaichMn (9} Wm - Henderson $4 Loss - Paw Ash 3-6 Leading hrttara: WU - Colson 14 (28. 88. 3 RBI). Leathers 2-3 (BBi UNC - Gteenberg 24 (HR 88, 2 runs. flßl SB) Hoop® 34 (88. 2 runs. 2 SB). Handerson 14 (88. 2 runs). Adams 34 (28. 88. ran, 2 RBI. 2 SB. C$L Pmswr 14 (Hfl. 3 RBI) 17
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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May 4, 2000, edition 1
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