The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 173

jj yj 2 TODAYS GAMES Lions winning, 49ers losing Page 2C FORI Sports A.M. 2C Outdoors 12C Scoreboard 13C SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1991 Twin homers sink Braves 5-2 John Bibb -1 "Greg had the big home run tonight In the playoffs. It was Pagliarulo one night somebody else another night It feels good." Ron Gant singled in Atlanta's first run In the sixth, but Sid Bream took a called third strike with runners on second and third. Mark Guthrie relieved after Morris walked the first two batters In the eighth, got NL batting champ Terry Pendleton to bounce into a double play but walked David Justice. Rick Aguilera allowed Gant's second RBI single his third hit then got Bream on a flyout and finished for the save.

Leibrandt 15-13 during the sea son, gave up harmless singles in each of the first two innings. He walked Dan Gladden on four pitches with two outs in the third and Gladden stole second. Knoblauch, one of the top rookies in the American League, singled in the run the first of his three hits but was tagged out in a rundown after trying for second. Leibrandt 0-1 in the 1985 Series for Kansas City, got Into more trouble in the fifth, when the bottom of the Twins' order finished him off. Hrbek, the No.

7 hitter, led off with a double and Scott Lelus' single put runners on first and third. Gagne, who hit eight home runs during the season and three in the 1987 postseason, then lined an 0-1 pitch 357 feet Into the left-field seats, setting off an eruption of hanky waving and hoots in the dome. Jim Clancy relieved and quickly got in trouble, too. Gladden reached on an error by second baseman Jeff Treadway and Knoblauch walked. Puckett's fly sent Gladden to third, Knobluch stole second and Chili Davis was walked Intentionally to load the bases.

But Gladden strayed off third on Brian Harper's fly to left and had to go back to the base before heading home. He was thrown out easily, Brian Hunter to Pendleton to Greg Olson. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The Minnesota Twins, bringing the World Series back to their high-de-cible dome, beat the Atlanta Braves 5-2 in last night's opener behind Greg Gagne's three-run homer and Kent Hrbek's 440-foot solo shot Rookie Chuck Knoblauch's RBI single gave the Twins the lead in the first Inning and Gagne's home run made it 4-0 in the fifth, chasing Braves starter Charlie Leibrandt Hrbek's upper-deck shot In the sixth provided the final run for Jack Morris, who Increased his World Series record to 3-0 by allowing five hits In seven-plus Innings. "Somebody different is doing it for us every game," said Hrbek. tonight: Game 2 jit Minneapolis KV: Channel 5.

When: Pregame: 7 p.m. Game: 7:30 p.m. Pitchers: Atlanta: Glavine (20-11) Minnesota: Tapani (16-9) World Series report, 4C. mm Edges Georgia 27-25 A -V Southeastern Conference I Vanderbilt on 6-7C. Tennessee on 8C I SEC report on 9C.

I Vols try to pick up the pieces BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Alabama's six-peat over Tennessee here yesterday has cast a shadowy perspective on the Volunteers' 1991 football season. Two weeks ago some polLsters were hinting national championship for the undefeated Volunteers. Now, after falling to stymie Alabama's second-half surge, Tennessee once again has fizzled In Its effort to erase the goose egg In Its re-cept zero-for-six spin against Bama. Accordingly, the battered 4-2 Vols are back to square one and vowing to regroup in pursuit of their first goal of this campaign.

That goal, says Tennessee skipper Johnny Majors, "is to have a winning season." Please don't laugh, certainly not aloud, and for sure not In Majors' presence. He's been espousing the difficulty of UTs schedule for months, and points to the stunner at Dudley Field yesterday to support his warning: "Take nothing for granted, folks. We know the remainder of our schedule is rugged. You don't have to look past last fall to realize just that. We have to play Memphis State, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Vanderbilt between now and December.

"In case somebody has forgotten, we had to come from behind to win those last three a year ago, and we didn't have those other two toughles on the schedule." Vandy defeated Georgia yesterday while Memphis State beat Mississippi State 28-23. Majors also is well aware of the Alabama whammy, and in the Immediacy of the post-game review after the 24-19 defeat, he Is just like the rest of us. He's uncertain if the defeat might lead to a Vol collapse. "The task at hand is to take advantage of this week's open date, regroup and get on with trying to prepare for the next game with Memphis State in Knoxville. We have no control over anybody other than ourselves.

I told the team I share their sorrow In this defeat. But I also told them I appreciated their spunk in making a game of It after having not played well in the third quarter. "But this one is gone and we must put it behind us. I believe firmly this squad has the stuff to recover." Majors praised Alabama, pointing out he considers it to be the best defensive team UT has played this season, "and their improvement on offense is remarkable." Tennessee may trace Its sixth straight loss to Bama to its poor third-quarter performance. The Vols could neither generate an attack against the Tide nor stall Bama's rejuventated offense.

It was a game In which either team that gave up a touchdown was in a difficult spot. As has happened time and again in this historic southern football classic, kicking played a key role in the outcome. Ahead 6-3, the Vols missed a field goal and Bama quickly moved 70 yards to register the game's first touchdown. Tennessee's next possession was a three-rush-and-punt stint. The punt was a beauty, carrying 51 yards.

Unfortunately for the Vols, Chris Anderson's return covered 56 yards to Tennessee's 15. Another TD came in quick order and the touchdown dam was cracked. It was 24-6 when the Vols picked up a pair of late fourth-quarter touchdowns, but by then the damage was done and it was time to be thinking about Memphis State in two weeks and beyond. By LARRY WOODY Smrfj Wnler Yesterday at Dudley Field, the Bone buried the Bulldogs. Vanderbilt chugging out of the I-pone for 376 yards and three touchdowns, upset 17th-ranked Georgia 57-25 before a rollicking homecoming crowd of 34,248.

The victory, Vanderbllt's first over Georgia in 18 years, didn't easily. Bulldogs' freshman placekicker Canon Parkman missed not one but wo chances to win the game with ess than two minutes left Parkman nissed a 48-yard field goal, but got second chance when Vanderbilt umped off-sides. Georgia reloaded its Kanon and lred again from closer range, but he 43-yard mulligan also fell short vith 1:27 left "Time stood still," declared Van-ierbilt center Kevin Brothen. Vanderbilt Coach Gerry DiNar-io, whose 2-5 team had lost three this season by eight points, "There wasn't a person here vho didn't say, 'Well, the same old hing's gonna happen "To be perfectly honest I was hinking that It (losing) was not to happen. I felt pretty good ibout the first one (field goal at-empt).

Now, the second time I was i little more concerned." Yesterday's win represented Di-ardo's first SEC win in four games ind only Vandy's fifth conference victory in six years. Vandy, 2-5 verall and 1-3 in the SEC, has four tames left beginning at Mississippi on Saturday. "We're not giving up on a winning season," said senior tailback Corey Harris, who rushed for a career-high 169 yards, Including a game-turning 51-yard touchdown dash. "A winning season was our goal at the start of the year and it's still our goal." Georgia, now 5-2 overall and 3-2 in the SEC, appeared on its way to an early rout The Dawgs opened the game with an 80-yard march capped by a one-yard Eric Zeier touchdown dive, then Intercepted a VU pass. Garrison Hearst then scored untouched to five Georgia a 14-0 lead.

Vandy got a 40-yard Jeff Owen field goal and a 14-yard TD run from Sam Chalmers to slice the lead tol7-10athalftime. Owen nailed a career-best 50-yard field goal to start the second half, and Alan Young's fumble recovery stalled a Georgia drive at the Vandy 28. Five plays later, on third and three, Harris scooped up a backfleld fumble on first bounce and galloped away to give Vandy its first lead, 20-17. Quarterback Marcus Wilson extended the margin to 27-17 with a six-yard carry in the fourth. The Dawgs fought back with a touchdown pass and two-point conversion with 3:37 to play.

One of the defensive plays of the game was made by safety Aaron Smith on Georiga's final drive. Smith jarred loose a pass that would have given Georgia a first down on the Vanderbilt 20. Instead it forced the Bulldogs to try their errant field goals. V'' Sam Parrish Statt Vanderbilt running back Corey Harris gets tangled up with defender John Allen of Georgia. Bama makes it six straight over UT MTSU falls 39-10 at Florida State 'ft TALLAHASSEE, State quarterback Casey Weldon made key conversions time and again yesterday to pull the No.

1-ranked 1 Seminoles past stubborn Middle Ten-. nessee State 33-10. 2 Weldon, a Heisman Trophy candi-date, hit 20 of 33 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns as the Semi-'noles ran their record to 7-0 "Credit Middle Tennessee State for this game," said Florida State Coach i. Bobby Bowden. "They really took it .9 Rorlda State scored on its first two possession to take a 10-0 lead, but i MTSU fought back and.

trailed by 20-lOathalftlme. "I couldn't be prouder of the way our guys stayed In the fight," MTSU 'Coach Boots Donnelly said, r' Story on 5C. its first two possessions of the second half and later left itself open for assault with a pair of major breakdowns. To its credit Alabama seized each orange-coated opportunity. After its only legitimate touchdown drive of the day, an 11-play, 80-yard ground assault directed by substitute quarterback Jay Barker, Alabama used a 56-yard punt return by Chris Anderson and an interception by Antonio Langham to set up short drives and pad the lead to 24-6 with 6:21 remaining.

Tennessee quarterback Andy Kelly, who got 1 12 of his 229 passing yards in the final six minutes, sandwiched a pair of touchdown drives around a successful onside kick to drag the Vols within five points at the 2:25 mark. By DAVID CLIMER Sports Writer BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Somewhere in the fourth quarter, when the Crimson Tide came rolling in, Tennessee got caught in the wave that has swept over so many Vols through the years. "They overtook us," said UTs Shazzon Bradley. "It just seemed likethey had our number." And that number is now six.

With Tennessee finding novel means of self-destruction in front of a national television audience, Alabama extending its winning streak over the Vols to six games with a 24-19 victory yesterday in what was certainly one of the strangest duels of this classic Southeastern Conference rivalry. Tennessee held the advantage in Alabama had a chance to run the clock out but Siran Stacy fumbled at the UT 35 with 1:29 to play. But the fading clock and Alabama's defense put an end to any real threat of a UT victory, yielding just 12 yards before Kelly was tackled on the game's final play. The loss hit the eighth-ranked Vols right where it hurts in the SEC standings. Tennessee is now 4-2 overall and just 2-2 in the conference as the Vols' dream of a third straight SEC title evaporated.

Alabama, ranked No. 14, improved to 6-1 overall and remained in the SEC title hunt at 3-1, one game back of front-running Florida. Tennessee's 14 fifth-year seniors, meanwhile, have never experienced a victory over Alabama. yardage (UT 376, Alabama 263) and turnovers (UT 2, Alabama 4) but found Itself going belly-up in front of a record crowd (86,293) at Legion Field in the same manner as so many past Vol teams. "People talk about the jinx, and it's hard not to believe it now," said UT offensive guard Tom Myslinski, searching for words amid the frustration.

"I think we're a better team than Alabama. We played down to their level." Sour grapes? Perhaps. But this Big Orange turned sour in the third period. It was then that the Vols' offense, nursing a 6-3 halftime lead, went ultra-conservative and allowed momentum to swing dramatically toward Alabama. Tennessee failed to generate a first down on either of UICfflTCH BOXING FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL BEST ON TV The Saints try to remain unbeaten Mike Tyson's fight against Evander TenneSSCe State rallied from a 27 Hnlvfiolrl nnstnnnad point deficit in the second half only to Friday when the for- mer champ's rib Inju if 1 1 when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at noon on Channel 5.

New Orleans Is 6-0, Tampa Bay is 1-5. Other NFL games today: Oilers at Dolphins, noon, COLLEGE FOOTBALL AP TOP 25 2 Miami 55, Long Beach State 3. Washington 24, 7. California 17 A Michigan 24, Indiana 16 5. Notre Dame at Air Force 9.

Nebraska 38, Kansas State 31 10. Penn State 37, Rutgers 17 SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE 6. Florida 41, Northern Illinois 10 LSU 29, Kentucky 26 Memphis State 28, Mississippi State 23 OHK) VALLEY CONFERENCE Tennessee Tech 32, Austin Peay 7 tJii lose 37-34 to Southeast Missouri State, the Ohio Valley Conference's newest member. The Big Blue fell to 1-6 overall, 1-3 In theOVCOn 5C. MagiC JohnSOn had 16 points and 17 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers held on to beat Joventut Badalona of Spain 116-114 and win the McDonald's Open, which pits an NBA team against the best European pros.

On 5C. WllAT'S UP TODAY Kyle Petty Is on the pole for the AC Delco 500 in Rockingham, N.C., but Dale Earnhardt is on the hot seat. Earnhardt has a slim lead over Ricky Rudd in the Winston Cup points championship race. TV: TNN.1 1:30 a.m. On 3C.

ry was revealed, may be held the week before Tyson is to stand trial on rape charges In Indianapolis. Tyson: "I just want to fight." Holyfield, meanwhile, may look for another opponent. On 3C. Channel Lions at 49ers, 3 p.m., Channel 5. The final round of the Senior PGA Transamerica Championship is on ESPN at 3:30 p.m.

Listings, 13C. TYSON.