The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 38

D- Akron Beacon Journal Tuesday, March 26. 1985 HUH, By Dan Thorn Beacon Journal staH writer Each year about three weeks before the Firestone Tournament of Champions, the defending champion comes to Akron. He talks to the press, answering questions about how he is playing and what he thinks his chances are to defend his title. Mike Durbin of Chagrin Falls has made this trip three times. The first was in 1972; the second in 1982.

And when he won last year he became the first player to win this gem of professional bowling's triple crown a third time. A victory this year would make him the only player to win consecutive titles. "I have been blessed three times," Durbin said Monday, referring to his three Tournament of Champions titles. Durbin has an enviable record at Riviera Lanes, where the Tournament of Champions is conducted. In addition to his three victories, he was second in 1977, third in 1970, fourth in 1967 and 1983, fifth in 1980 and sixth in 1971.

Of his $670,892 in career earnings, $162,950 has come from the Tournament of Champions. His total from Riviera Lanes alone ranks in the top 100 on the PBA career money list. "I have not been bowling very well," Durbin said. "The last 11 tournaments last year were a total loss. And even though I have won a tournament this year, I still don't think I am bowling well.

But I am working very hard practicing to get my game in order." Durbin won the Quaker State Open Jan. 26 when Mike Edwards needed only a mark in the 10th frame but left the 4-9 split and failed to convert. "This year I have had to deal with a subtle change in the conditions that the PBA has put out," Durbin said. "There is more oil. That favors the wrist players who twist the ball.

You can look at the players who throw the ball straight and you'll see that they aren't doing nearly as well. "For example, George Pappas and Rickie Sajek are not performing nearly as well as they did last year. And even though Ernie Schlegel has won this year, he is not doing as well as he usually does." Durbin said he will play in the PBA events (Baltimore, New York and Windsor Locks, Conn.) that precede the Tournament of Champions, which is scheduled for April 16-20. "I played them last year, and played well," he said. "Those tournaments are kind of a barometer on how I will play here.

"Last year I had a chance to make the show in Baltimore and did not bowl well the last game. I led the tournament in New York and got beat in the championship game by Ernie. And I had a chance to make the show in Hartford and ended 11th." -J Mike Durbin tough at Riviera 0 Wioin trvu li TklT (i il'ThJ Horner insists he's ready to return to Braves' lineup Heaton is finally pitching the way Corrales wants BASEBALL ROUNDUP :4 YSV base. According to Corrales, one of them will not make the team. "We're going to play both of them and see what happens." Otis Nixon also made an error that let in the tying run with two outs in the ninth inning, but Corrales excused it.

"It was a real bad sky, and the wind was tough," he said. True, the wind blowing off the desert was fierce, but nobody else dropped a fly ball. On the other hand, Nixon had four singles and drove in the winning run when he bounced a ball over second base with the infield pulled in. Five other pitchers followed Heaton to the mound. All of them performed creditably.

Ernie Camacho, making his second appearance since missing two weeks with an injury to his shin, worked two strong innings, allowing an unearned run on two infield hits, a walk and a hit batter. "Ernie got hit again in the leg backing up a play," Corrales said. "We're going to have to hire somebody to watch him." Jamie Easterly pitched two innings, giving up an unearned run, and Jim Siwy was unscored upon in two innings though he forfeited a pair of walks and a hit. Dave Von Ohlen got two outs in the 13th but allowed a bloop single then hit a batter. He gave way to Jeff Barkley, who retired the final batter on a ground ball.

Jerry Willard, Joe Carter and Continued from page Dl admittedly has been placing the emphasis on developing his change-of-pace pitches rather than getting every batter out. Still, he has retired the side in order only six times in 18 innings. Monday he did it in the fifth and sixth innings but was in trouble every other inning. "He got himself into some jams, but he got himself out, too," Corrales said. He extricated himself from serious problems in two innings by picking Leon Durham off second and Davey Lopes off third, of all places.

That is hardly a method on which a pitcher can rely. Though Corrales had no unkind words for Heaton, he took another swipe this time indirectly at Tony Bernazard, who made two errors, one of which allowed Chicago to tie the score 2-2 in the eighth. "One inning we let "em tie it by giving them four outs," Corrales said. "You can't do that against a good team." Bernazard also hit the Tribe's first home run of the spring in an game. Randy Washington and Cory Snyder, who already have been reassigned to the minor-league camp, hit homers in games.

When someone reminded Corrales of Bernazard's home run, the manager said, "Hey, Junior got a double." Junior Noboa is Bernazard's rival for second Jays defeated the Chicago White Sox in Dunedin, Fla. Toronto's Doyle Alexander pitched six innings, allowing five hits and one run. Twins 5, Dodgers 1 Greg Gagne doubled home the decisive run in the fourth inning, and Steve Lombardozzi doubled home two more in the ninth to lead the Minnesota Twins over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Vero Beach Fla. Mike Smithson, Tom Klawitter and Curt Wardle held the Dodgers to six hits. Los Angeles starter Orel Hershiser took the loss.

Smithson, who gave up only one run on three hits, earned the win. Reds 5, Cardinals 4 The Cincinnati Reds scored five runs on six hits, including a double by Cesar Cedeno off Bob Forsch in the third inning, to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in Tampa, Fla. In the Reds' third inning, Ron Oester, Dann Bilardello, Eddie Milner, Duane Walker and Dave Parker all singled and Cedeno doubled. The Cardinals got seven hits off Joe Price, Jay Tibbs and Ted Power.

Mets 6, White Sox 1 Lefthander Bill Latham pitched five scoreless innings as the New York Mets defeated the Chicago White Sox in St. Petersburg, Fla. Latham, 11-3 at Tidewater of the International League last year, teamed with Jesse Oros-co and Tom Gorman to hold the White Sox to five hits. Chicago didn't score until Ken Williams hit an inside-the-park home run in the ninth inning. Kelvin Chapman led the Mets' attack with two singles and a double.

Padres 2-3, A's 0-4 Mike Davis hit a solo home run and Mike Gellego had a run-scoring single in the eighth inning as the "Oakland A's rallied for a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres in the second game of a day-night double-header in Yuma, Ariz. In the first game, behind three pitchers who limited the Padres to five hits, the A's took a 2-0 decision. Dave Dravecky won. Brewers 4, Giants 0 Ben Oglivie supplied most of the offense, and Ray Burris pitched 3-hit ball for six innings as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale, Ariz. Oglivie went 4-for-5 with a triple and two RBI.

Giants' starter Mike Krukow also pitched six innings, allowing his first two runs of the spring and seven hits. Mariners 2, Angels 1 Lefthander Matt Young limited California to three hits over the first six innings, and Barry Bonnell drove in both Seattle runs as the Mariners defeated the Angels in Palm Springs, Calif. Young walked three and struck out three. Bonnell's third single of the game in the seventh off Jim Slaton drove in Harold Reynolds to snap the 1-1 tie. Associated Press Bob Horner says he's ready to play, and Braves manager Eddie Haas is not about to stand in his way.

Atlanta's power-hitting third baseman, who hasn't faced a major-league pitcher since May 30 of last year, asked Haas if he could appear as a pinch hitter in today's exhibition game against the Baltimore Orioles at West Palm Beach, Fla. Horner, a 7-year veteran who is recuperating from surgery on his wrists, also told Haas he would like to play four or five innings at third base in Wednesday's exhibition game against the Kansas City Royals. Haas said whatever Horner wants to do is fine with him. "He's calling the shots at this time," said Haas, "because only he knows how his hand and his wrist feels. Who knows better than Bob Horner? He looks fine to me.

Better than I expected." Horner, who ranks third behind Hank Aaron and Dale Murphy on Atlanta's all-time home run list with 161, has taken batting practice for all but three days since he joined the team March 3. Last week, he suffered a bruise between the base of his thumb and index finger when his hand was jammed on a fastball during batting practice. But X-rays Friday showed that the wrist is fine. And Horner came back Saturday and Sunday with two eye-popping sessions in batting practice. "He's been mashing the baseball," said first baseman Chris Chambliss.

Horner told Haas Monday that he wanted to get into today's game. "As long as he doesn't come down with a problem in batting practice, or he changes his mind, then we'll let him go out there," said Haas. "But I don't want him to feel like he has to do it. We don't just play April 9. We're going to play in May, June, July, August, September and October." THERE WILL be (some) joy in Wrigleyville; the mighty Chicago Cubs have struck out.

"Yes, you're out. O-U-T. The Cubs are out," Circuit Judge Richard Curry said Monday in upholding state and city laws that ban night baseball at Wrig-ley Field, the only major-league ballpark in America without lights. Curry's ruling came in response to a suit filed in December by the Cubs seeking to have those laws declared unconstitutional. The judge's ruling interspersed lyrics from the song Take Me Out To The Ballgame and concluded on a light-hearted note: "Justice is a southpaw and the Cubs just don't Kit lefties!" But it looks like this contest FYI MEDINA TO HOLD WRESTLING TOURNEY The fourth annual Medina Open Wrestling Tournament will be held al the high school Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.

Competition will be in four age divisions (8-10 vear olds, 11-13, 14-16 and 17-18). The weigh-ins will be held one dav only, from 5-7 p.m. Thursday at the school. Proof of age and signed parent consent forms are due at that lime. Registration is $5 before the weigh-in or $7 on Thursday.

For details, call T.J. Layery at 762-5645. Horner Ryan will have extra innings a notice of appeal was filed with the Illinois Appellate Court by Cubs' attorneys. Many Chicago residents rejoiced at Curry's decision, but Cubs general manager Dallas Green said he was "very, very disappointed" with the ruling. IN EXHIBITION games Monday: Astros 6, Red Sox 5 Nolan Ryan allowed only one hit and struck out seven in six scoreless innings as the Houston Astros defeated the Boston Red Sox in Winter Haven, Fla.

Jerry Mumphrey led Houston's 14-hit attack with his first preseason homer, connecting on Boston relief ace Bob Stanley's first pitch in the eighth. After Ryan left, Dave Smith yielded a 2-run homer to Jeff Newman in the seventh. Phillies 5, Tigers 4 Luis Aguayo capped a 3-run eighth inning with a game-winning single as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Detroit Tigers in Clearwater, Fla. With the Phillies trailing 4-2, Juan Samuel doubled and Von Hayes singled off loser Willie Hernandez. Mike Schmidt walked, then John Wockenfuss tied it with a 2-run pinch single.

Aguayo drove in Schmidt. Tiger Jack Morris gave up four hits in seven innings. Pat Zachry got the win. Expos 5, Yankees 3 Hubie Brooks singled home the tying run and Terry Francona followed with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning as the Montreal Expos defeated the New York Yankees in West Palm Beach, Fla. Phil Niekro, the New York starter, allowed only two hits in five innings, one of them a second-inning solo home run to Herm Winningham.

Expo Bill Gullickson, who allowed seven hits, went six innings. Rangers 2, Orioles 1 Dave Rozema pitched five scoreless innings, and Ned Yost had three hits and drove in both runs off Scott McGregor as the Texas Rangers defeated the Baltimore Orioles in Miami. Wayne Gross homered for Baltimore, which has lost six of its last seven games. Pirates 10, Royals 1 Outfielder Doug Frobel's 3-run homer helped power Pittsburgh over the Kansas City Royals at Fort Myers, Fla. The Pirates, who scored four first-inning runs off lefthander Larry Gura, collected 13 hits.

Righthander Lee Tunnell worked six innings for the Pirates, allowing three hits. Jim Morrison and Tim Foli had three hits for the Pirates, and rookie Joe Orsulak had two doubles. Blue Jays 5, White Sox 1 Lloyd Moseby, Willie Aikens and Ron Shepherd hit solo home runs as the Toronto Blue i LUBE, OIL Which Bernazard will it be is what Tribe wants to know Lye-; Neal Heaton marked improvement Julio Franco each got two hits, but Franco's batting averge fell just below .500 to ,489 on 23-for-47. NOTEBOOK Trade rumor of the moment: Toronto, seeking a left-handed hitting outfielder, is said to be offering hard-throwing righthander Tom Henke for Mel Hall. The consensus was that nobody on the squad could beat Dwlghl Taylor, Nixon and Carmelo Castillo in a foot race of 75 yards.

Each had his backers, but Nixon blew his two rivals away, with Taylor finishing a distant second. One man who had the winner was Corrales. Being a Cy Young Award winner is one thing, but what really turns Rick Sul-cllffe on is hitting. "I'm 4-for-5 so far this spring," he said Monday, "and don't forget the two RBI." With three more spring exhibition games left at their home park in Mesa, the Cubs can reach the astounding attendance total of 100,000. So far, they have drawn 82,169 for 13 dates.

By contrast, the Indians have attracted 37,040 for 1 1 games at Hi Corbett Field. The Cubs' Cleveland connection: Sutcliffe 25 IP, 2.52 ERA; Dennis Eckersley 8 IP, 5.62 ERA; George Frazler 8 IP, 1. 12 ERA; Lary Sorensen 10 IP, 1.80 ERA; Tom Veryzer .400 (2-for-5). The Indians' new organist, chosen by competitive audition, is Rick DePerro, 22, a singersongwriter from Brecksville who has his own band. The last last time an organist played for Tribe games was 1979.

Bernazard conceded, though he is less willing than Bonds to discuss the mechanics of the problem. "You go out there and do it or you don't," Bernazard said. What Bernazard has been doing, according to Bonds, is "dragging his bat." Not on the ground, but through the hitting area. "We're going to change his stance a little, try a different bat and move it back a little," Bonds said. "If it works, and I believe it will, people will forget about his problems." Bonds promises no quick fixes, though.

"The major part of it will be his willingness to change," Bonds said. This could be Bernazard's only hope, not only for this season as Cleveland's caretaker of second base but for his future in baseball. Whether he succeeds depends on which Bernazard he gives to Bonds. The one who tries to avoid discussing his problem and when cornered, stiffly insisting: "I don't have to worry." Or the one who admits: "I need to make changes." Installed Fret Estimates Call RACB024JAS 1294 GRANT ST. hi iKit a iiirj UU Ml m--'' RCABA015S 1 I Includes: wiring BANK Continued from page Dl to Seattle in the deal that brought Bernazard to Cleveland, Perconte suddenly rediscovered his minor-league hitting prowess, for a .294 average in 1984.

These things happen to Cleveland second basemen. Come to Cleveland and the great become ordinary. Leave Cleveland and the ordinary become great. Corrales demonstrated his confidence that this is happening to Bernazard by giving rookie Cory Snyder a try at second before deciding the rifle-armed rookie was not suited for second or ready to jump from college shortstop to the big leagues. Even third baseman Brook Ja-coby took a turn at second in one COUPON i i i i We'll lubricate your car't chassis, existing grease fittings and drain old oil and add up to quarts of KENDALL 10W30 motor oil.

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"It would take a lot of work before he could play second," Corrales said. "Will you consider it for future seasons?" someone asked Corrales. "Yeah." None of these machinations has escaped Bernazard, his protestations to the contrary. "It's hard not to be aware of it," Bernazard said. He listened when hitting coach Bobby Bonds approached him last week about changing some of the things he is doing with his bat.

"Tony wants to try," Bonds said. "He is not in the business of failing." "I need to make changes," (87-79-81-247), Steve Robinson (76-84-78-238) and Ken Trefzger (84-73-84-241). Eastern Michigan won the team championship with a total of 900, followed by Tennessee-Martin (903) and Western Kentucky (910). The Zips had a total of 927. AKRON U'S men's power volleyball team finished first in a B-division tournament with a victory over Trap's Sports Center of Alliance March 16 in Mansfield.

Members of the team are Marty Adlesic, Rick Brumbaugh, Al Herbert, Jim Park, Bill Lutz and Steve Archual. pitcher Mellix dies Giants of the former Negro Baseball League, giving up one hit and striking out 17. Mellix later played for the Homestead Grays, the Pittsburgh Crawfords, Atlantic City Bachar-achs. Sell Hall's Cuban Giants and the Brooklyn Brown Dodgers of the short-live! U.S. Lcue.

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Saal carded 78-70-72 in the 3-day event. Bob McNiff was the medalist with a total of 218. Other Zip golfers and their scores are as follows: Kurt Ewing (80-79-77-236), Chris Minear Former Negro League Associated Press PITTSBURGH Ralph B. "Lefty" Mellix, who pitched more than 1,500 games for Negro Baseball League teams, including the Youngstown Brown Stars, is dead at age 88. Mellix, who died Saturday in Pittsburgh's Montefiore Hospital after a heart attack, debuted as a pitcher in 1915 for the American 20' line set, AC permit, condensing pad, thermostat, 20' drain, 20' to proper boxes FINANCING AVAILABLE I WINTERIZING SPECIAL I FLUSH FILL LAST WEEK I ramoktv now.

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