St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 14

MAR 1 9 2001 ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH SPORTS MONDAY, MARCH 19, 2001 STLtoday.com 'raiOlEPSIIlWlES GOLF! Woods, Irwin record big victories Mideast Regional OEMSON (21-101 Forns 3-9 1-2 8, Glenney 1-4 2-2 4, Batth 3-8 2-4 8, Gaines 3-5 0-0 7, Floyd 11-20 0-0 24, Slosser 1-6 0-2 2, Scott 3 6 1-2 7, Queen 0-1 0-0 0, Aderhold 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 26-63 6-12 62. XAVlDt (30-2) Phillips 1-3 10-10 12, Levandus-ky 6-12 2-2 19, Tuukkanen 5-9 4-5 14, Piipari 5-6 0.0 13, Part 0-1 0-0 0, Waugh 4-4 1-2 13, Kreager 1-2 0-0 2, Hall 1-3 0-0 2, Bell 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 24-41 17-19 77.

Halftime Xavier 49, Clemson 27. 3-point goals Clemson 4-19 (Floyd 2-6, Gaines 1-3, Foms 1-6, Glenney 0-1, Queen 0-1, Adernold 0-2), Xavier 12-18 (Levandusky 5-10, Waugh 4 4, Piipari 3-3, Parr 0-1). Fouled out Batth. Rebounds Clemson 25 (Batth 6), Xavier 34 (Phillips 7). Assists-Clemson 15 (Glenney 4), Xavier 22 (Parr 7).

Total fouls Clemson 15, Xavier 12. A 6,548. i rN The Associated Press No more talk about a slump, just more stories about the amaz ing feats of Tiger Woods. Erratic with his driver to the very end, Woods recovered with two brilliant shots that set up birdies, including a 15-footer on the final hole to beat hard-charg ing Phil Mickelson by 1 stroke and win the Bay Hill Invitational on Sunday in Orlando, Fla. "It's always nice to win," Woods said.

"It was not a pretty round of golf, but I got the ball in the hole. I was able to get some wonderful breaks down the stretch." Woods closed with a 3-under 69 and became only the second player to repeat as Bay Hill champion. More important, it was his first victory of the year in seven tournaments, the longest he ever has gone without winning to start a season. Mickelson had a 6-under 66, making back-to-back birdies to take the lead from Woods and then hanging on with a 60-yard pitch shot to within a couple of inches to save par on the 18th hole. Woods, who finished at 15-under 273, earned $630,000 for his 25th career victory in just his 96th start on the PGA Tour.

"I felt like I did what I needed to do to ultimately win," Mickel son said. "Tiger just did the same." The victory was extra sweet for Woods because of his victim Mickelson, who rallied to beat him in the Tour Championship last November and denied Woods didn't slow Irwin, who started with a 1 -stoke lead. With an eagle on the par-5 fourth hole and five birdies in the round, Irwin finished with a 10-under 206 total. Doyle, who started the day a stroke off of the lead, had two eagles and two bogeys in a back-and-forth round. In the end, however, he couldn't make up enough ground and settled for a 69 and a 211 total.

Jack Nicklaus, who was one stroke back of Irwin along with five others to start the day, shot a 71 to finish at 213. LPGA: Annika Sorenstam, her birdie touch in hiding most of the way, beat Se Ri Pak with a string of pars and a strong finish to win her second straight tournament by 2 shots over the relentless Korean in the Standard Register Ping in Pheonix. Pak, who began the round 3 shots behind, shot 5-under-par 67 to Sorenstam's 68. But Sorenstam opened such a big lead on Friday when she became the first woman to shoot 59 in a tournament that she was able to prevail down the stretch with course management and a cool head. Her second title of 2001 and the 25th of her career capped the best two-week stretch in LPGA history and allowed her to avoid losing a tournament in which she set the low-round record.

Dottie Pepper (67) and Yu Ping Lin (70) tied for third at 275, with Dorothy Delasin (68) and Akiko Fukushima (69) at 276. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Tiger Woods reacts to the birdie putt on the 18th hole that put him 1 stroke past Phil Mickelson to win the Bay Hill Invitational. COLORADO 98, SIENA 78 SIENA 124-61 Baker 6-15 0-2 16, Basko 5-6 0-2 10, Jansone 7-11 2-2 16, McKissack 3-10 2- 2 11, Anderson 4-9 0-0 9, Spremullo 2-5 0-0 5, Franciamore 0-0 0-0 0, Loeliger 1-2 0-0 3, Gigi 0- 0 0-0 0, Leduc 1-1 0-0 2, Marchino 0-0 0-0 0, Johnston 2-5 0-0 4, McGonagle 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 32- 65 4-8 78. COLORADO 122-81 Bohman 8-10 1-1 17, Wirt 1- 5 0-0 2, Hartshorn 4-6 0-0 8, Roulier 4-4 0-0 10, Nightingale 4-7 9-10 18, Fagan 2-5 0-0 5, Koechlin 5-6 2-2 13, Lappe 1-2 0-0 2, Delepine 0-1 0-0 0, Scott 3-6 0-1 6, Spencer 0-0 0-0 0, Bjorklund 6-7 5-5 17, Carmann 0-1 0-0 0.

Totals 38-60 17-19 98. Halftime Colorado 46, Siena 36. VANDERBILT 83, IDAHO STATE 57 IDAHO ST. 125-51 Nelson 4-8 0-0 11, Carver 4-14 0-0 8, Toner 1-6 1-2 3, Urbanski 7-10 0-0 20, Je. Griffin 1-2 0-0 2, Law 4-4 1-3 9, Ja.

Griffin 0-0 0-0 0, Banks 0-2 0-0 0, Perrigan 1-10-0 2, Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Skow 0- 0 1-2 1, Sowder 0-1 0-0 0, Whitley 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 22-49 4-9 57. VANDERBILT 122-91 Klimesova 5 11 7-8 17, Benningfield 4-6 0-0 8, Anderson 7-8 4-6 18, McElhiney 3-4 2-2 8, Danker 8-13 2-2 25, Kork-ko 0-0 0-0 0, Sutton 0-0 0-0 0, Torres 0-0 0-0 0, Ferragamo 0-0 0-0 0, Colli 1-10-0 3, Hager 1-3 1- 2 4, Munch 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-46 16-20 83. Halftime Vanderbilt 46, Idaho St.

29. IOWA 89, OREGON 82 IOWA (21-9) Magner 1-3 4-4 7, Lillis 3-11 3-4 9, Peterson 7-9 5-8 19, Meder 7-16 7-8 25, Con-suegra 5-11 2-2 13, Watson 0-2 0-1 0, Berdo 3- 8 2-2 10, Bullock 3-4 0-0 6, McCann 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-64 23-29 89. OREGON 117-12) Dion 6-14 4-4 16, Wolvert 8-13 1-2 18, Mowe 6-9 5-8 17, Craighead 4-22 0-0 11, Edwards 3-6 0-0 8, Shreve 1-2 0-0 2, Fredrick 0-0 0-0 0, Unaka 1-3 0-0 2, Meharry 3- 6 2-3 8. Totals 32-75 12-17 82.

Halftime Iowa 39-35. End of Regulation 74-74. ARKANSAS 68, BAYLOR 59 BAYLOR: Fox 2-9 1-2 5, Crockrom 8-16 3-4 19, Arnold 2-5 1-2 5, Collins 0-2 2-2 2, Lambert 4- 17 7-1 16, Stratton 4-9 0-1 10, Akromis 0-0 0-0 0, Richards 0-1 0-0 0, McCormack 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 21-60 14-21 59. ARKANSAS: Christon 4-10 0-2 9, Harper 0-1 0-0 0, Bragg 6-9 4-6 16, Wright 5-13 3-5 13, Willits 4-13 2-2 13, Lewis 0-6 0-5 0, Cherry 3-8 4-6 10, Rhodes 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 1-3 5-6 7, Oakley 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals 23-63 18-27 68. Halftime Baylor 33-28. DUKE 96, WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE 63 DUKE 129-3) Parent 4-4 0-0 8, Matyasovsky 2- 4 0-0 4, Mosch 2-5 2-2 6, Beard 9-12 4-5 22, Schweitzer 7-11 2-3 17, Craig 8-9 l-2 2-4 0-0 4, West 2-5 0-0 5, Tillis 2-6 2-2 6, White 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 40-62 1 1-14 96. WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE 119-111 Luchsinger 3-6 2- 2 8, Viall 1-6 0-0 2, Stoltenberg 3-4 0-0 9, Wil-hite 8-18 4-5 24, Tamm 0-3 9-10 9, Klaas 1-5 0-0 3, Smith 0-9 0-0 0, Kaufmann 2-4 0-0 4, Fletcher 0-2 0-2 0, Gregory 1-2 0-0 2, Wenzel 0-1 0-0 0, Jonason 1-3 0-0 2.

Totals 20-63 15-19 63. Halftime Duke 45-28. SOUTHWEST MISSOURI STATE 89, TOLEDO 71 TOLEDO 12K) Herron 7-15 6-7 20, Carter 6- 13 7-9 21, Blessing 3-6 0-1 6, Risinger 1-8 0-0 3, Davis 4-8 0-0 8, Brazzle 2-3 2-2 7, Miller 0-2 0-0 0, Walker 0-2 0-0 0, Chastang 1-1 0-0 2, Kahle 2-3 0-0 4, Hills 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 15-19 71. SMSU 126-5) Deer 8-13 0-0 21, Rante 1-9 2-4 4, Stiles 5-12 2-2 13, Mitchem 13-20 12-12 40, Campbell 0-0 6-6 6, Vincente 2-2 1-3 5, Busbey 0- 2 0-0 0, Hohenberger 0-0 0-0 0, Cavey 0-3 0-0 0.

Totals 29-61 23-27 89. Halftime Toledo 32, SW Missouri St. 31. 3- Point goals Toledo 4-11 (Carter 2-4, Brazzle 1- 1, Risinger 1-3, Miller 0-1, Davis 0-2), SW Missouri St. 8-16 (Deer 5-8, Mitchem 2-7, Stiles 1- 1).

Fouled out Brazzle. Rebounds Toledo 32 (Carter 10), SW Missouri St. 38 (Mitchem 8). AssistsToledo 10 (Risinger 3), SW Missouri St. 20 (Vincente 5).

Total fouls Toledo 22, SW Missouri St. 17. A NA. RUTGERS 80, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 43 S.F.

AUSTIN (26-7) Dilworth 1-5 1-1 3, Rater 3- 6 0-0 6, J.Guild 2-4 0-0 6, Winters 0-5 0-0 0, Wright 2-10 3-4 9, N.Guild 0-0 0-0 0, Prater 4- 12 2-3 10, Brown 1-3 0-0 2, Grant 2-4 0-0 4, Collins 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 16-52 6-8 43. RUTGERS 123-71 Miles 6-13 0-0 12, Cunningham 2-4 1-2 5, Boonen 0-2 0-0 0, Washington 7- 14 2-2 19, Pointer 6-9 0-1 12, Jett 2-2 0-0 6, Horton 0-0 0-0 0, McCullouch 0-0 0-1 0, Ndiaye 0-1 1-2 1, Sutton-Brown 10-12 5-5 25. Totals 33- 57 9-13 80. Halftime Rutgers 37, Stephen F.

Austin 12. OKLAHOMA 70, ORAL ROBERTS 64 ORAL ROBERTS (20-11) Kelley 1-5 0-0 2, Whit-taker 0-1 0-0 0, Bolovinos 4-10 3-5 11, Brady 3- 4 1-2 10, Ragan 5-11 2-3 14, Williston 6-8 4- 4 19, N'Dri 0-2 0-0 0, Replogle 1-3 0-0 2, Mims 1-1 0-0 2, McKenzie 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 23-49 10-14 64. OKLAHOMA 127-51 Hill 8-12 0-1 16, Dales 6-10 2- 6 16, Talbert 2-3 3-6 7, Hardeman 1-6 3-4 6, Caufield 0-3 1-31, Taylor 0-1 0-2 0, Seeley 4-7 0-0 10, Ross 4-8 4-4 14. Totals 25-50 13-26 70.

Halftime Oklahoma 31, Oral Roberts 29. STANFORD 76, GEORGE WASHINGTON 51 STANFORD (19-10) Powell 7-10 2-2 19, Izidor 3- 6 1-2 8, Dimson 2-3 2-2 6, Moos 2-3 1-2 5, Yamasaki 3-5 1-1 9, Trotter 2-5 0-0 4, Bonner 0- 1 0-0 0, Denny 0-0 0-0 0, Donaphin 1-3 4-6 6, St. Clair 1-5 2-2 5, Enghusen 7-9 0-3 14. Totals 28-50 13-20 76. GEORGE WASHINGTON 122-101 Lawrence 4-14 2-2 10, Vishniakova 3-10 2-2 8, Oha 2-6 2-4 6, Alexander 4-12 2-2 10, Davidson 0-9 0-0 0, Tipps 0-0 0-0 0, Witherspoon 0-2 0-0 0, Darling 1- 2 0-0 2, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Reid 3-7 2-2 11, Carlson 0-1 0-0 0, Dubovcova 1-5 2-2 4.

Totals 18-68 12-14 51. Halftime Stanford 38-7. 50-and-over circuit. Irwin, who broke a tie with Lee Trevino for the victory lead, shot a 7-under-par 65 to finish 5 strokes ahead of Tom Watson and Allen Doyle. The day got off to a delayed start because of fog blanketing the Coyote Creek course but it CBILSHOITO Matheny finds silver lining in Ankiel's wild performance A.J Cardinals outfielder Ray Lankford can't reach a fly ball hit by Florida's Andy Fox, who got a double on the play.

Midwest Regional MWft STATE 85, FLOHM STATE 70 FUMDA ST. 119-121 Springle 4-8 0-0 9, Traylor 4-8 2-3 10, Torres 2-6 4-5 8, Vujas 7-13 1-2 15, Wyckoff 3-13 1-2 8, Whiting 4-11 1-1 11, Hof-mann 2-5 0-0 6, Fuchs 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 0-0 1-2 1, Beal 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 27-66 10-15 70. MM ST. (27-51 Haugen 3-7 0-0 9, Wilson 4-10 3-7 13, Gahan 4-6 4-5 14, Welle 11-19 4-4 26, Taylor 7-13 3-4 22, Cipinyte 0-0 1-2 1, Junod 0-2 0-0 0, Bordewyk 0-0 0-0 0, Robson 0- 1 0-0 0, Cizek 0-1 0-0 0.

Totals 29-59 15-22 85. Halftime Iowa St. 37-31. 3-Point goals Florida St. 6-18 (Hofmann 2-3, Whiting 2-6, Springle 1- 1, Wyckoff 1-5, Beal 0-1, Traylor 0-2), Iowa St.

12-27 (Taylor 5-10, Haugen 3-7, Gahan 2-2, Wilson 2-5, Welle 0-1, Junod 0-1, Robson 0-1). Fouled out Traylor. Rebounds Florida St. 35 (Torres 12), Iowa St. 39 (Welle 13).

Assists Florida St. 17 (Wyckoff 5), Iowa St. 21 (Wilson 6). Total fouls Florida St. 20, Iowa St.

17. A U.756. Saturday's Summaries CONNECTICUT 101, LONG ISUNO 29 LONG BUND 116-151 Dudley 1-15 3-5 5, Winston 0 2 0-0 0, Brookes 1-6 0-0 3, Stec 0-6 0-0 0, MacMillan 6-25 1-1 15, Rosado 2-7 0-0 4, Harwood 0-1 0-0 0, Wright 0-1 2-2 2, Moro 0-0 0-0 0, Myers 0-1 0-0 0, Garcia 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 10-65 6-8 29. CONNECTICUT (29-2) Jones 5-12 0-0 11, Cash 6-9 0-0 12, Schumacher 2-4 0-0 4, Taurasi 5-7 0- 0 12, Bird 5-8 0-0 13, Conlon 3-8 0-0 7, Czel 3-4 0-0 8, Valley 4-8 2-2 11, Johnson 3-7 0-0 7, Williams 6-6 0-0 12, Rigby 2-3 0-2 4.

Totals 44-76 2-4 101. Halftime Connecticut 49, Long Island 19. COLORADO STATE S3, MARYLAND 69 COLORADO ST. 125-61 Augspurger 2-7 2-2 6, Gorton 4-9 4-4 12, Haanen 7-8 1-2 21, Strecker 3-5 0-1 6, English 3-7 7-8 16, Ferrucho 0-0 2-2 2, Borton 1-1 0-0 2, Narkiewicz 1-2 0-0 2, Campbell 5-7 0-0 15, Jenkins 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 26- 46 17-21 83.

MARYLAND 117-12) Warley 9-14 3-3 21, Harrell 3-5 0-0 6, Strickland 5-17 2-2 15, Razor 3-12 1- 2 7, Wimbush 3-3 0-0 6, Daniels 3-5 0-0 7, Jenkins 1-4 0-0 3, Melbourne 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 28-61 8-9 69. Halftime Colorado St. 39, Maryland 35. TEXAS CHRISTIAN 77, PENN STATE 75 TCU 125-71 Thomas 4-7 1-2 9, Payne 5-11 2-2 15, Safaritova 9-15 2-2 21, Porter 1-6 0-0 2, Sutton 4-7 0-1 12, Nix 0-1 0-0 0, Evans 3-7 4-6 10, Shaw 3-4 0-0 6, Clayton 1-1 0-0 2.

Totals 30-59 9-13 77. PENN STATE 119-10) Shepherd 7-16 1-2 20, Walseth 6-15 9-10 21, Barnes 3-11 1-2 7, Maz-zante 4-13 0-0 9, Luke 3-6 0-0 9, Carr 0-2 0-0 0, Brungo 3-9 0-0 7, Upshaw 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 27- 74 11-14 75. Halftime TCU 42, Penn St. 37.

LOUISIANA TECH 84, GEORGIA STATE 48 GEORGIA STATE (24-71 McElrath 6-18 2-2 17, Coates 1-5 1-2 3, Rogers 0-2 0-2 0, Maddox 0-2 0- 0 0, Miller 0-2 3-4 3, Edwards 5-9 2-2 13, Tis-dale 3-5 2-3 8, Hines 1-2 0-0 2, Doherty 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 16-47 12-17 48. LA. TECH 119-10) Walker 1-6 0-0 2, Ford 4-4 2- 4 10, T.Lewis 7-10 3-3 17, Lassiter 4-8 2-2 13, Perry 1-5 3-4 6, O.Lewis 2-2 1-2 5, McClain 1- 5 2-2 4, Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Obaze 4-9 2-4 10, Bibbs 8-17 1-2 17. Totals 32-67 16-23 84.

Halftime Louisiana Tech 41, Georgia St. 25. MICHIGAN 81, VIRGINIA 71 VmeiNIA: Mitchelson 1-2 0-0 2, Lias 2-4 2-2 6, LaRue 10-27 1-2 24, Quarles 8-29 0-0 19, Prillaman 2-3 0-0 6, Dickson 5-9 2-2 14, Whitak-er 0-3 0-0 0, Kravchenko 0-2 0-0 0, Crosswhite 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-80 5-6 71. MICHIGAN: Goodlow 4-10 0-0 9, Gandy 1-3 3- 4 5, Bies 5-9 5-6 15, Thorius 1-7 3-3 5, Ingram 10-16 3-4 27, Smith 9-10 2-4 20.

Totals 30-55 16-21 81. Halftime Virginia 33-22. Regulation 64-64. NOTRE DAME 98, ALCORN ST. 49 ALCORN STATE: 0-6 4-6 4, Wellington 2-5 0-0 4, Wood 4-24 1-3 9, Reed 3-10 0-0 9, Turk 0-1 2- 2 2, Levy 0-1 0-0 0, Coleman 5-12 0-0 15, Fa-deyi 0-3 2-2 2, McGee 1-9 1-2 4.

Totals 15-71 10-15 49. NOTRE DAME: Haney 7-13 0-2 14, Siemon 6-10 1-2 13, Riley 6-6 4-4 16, Ratay 4-6 2-2 13, Ivey 2-8 4-4 9, Severe 2-3 0-1 4, Joyce 2-7 0-0 5, Swanson 1-1 2-2 4, Hernandez 2-4 0-1 4, Barksdale 3-6 4-6 10, Dunbar 1-1 2-4 4, Leahy 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 36-66 21-30 98. Halftime Notre Dame 47, Alcorn St. 23.

Mizzou Tigers pull off stunning i upset over host worm I Continued from Bl The crowd of 5,000 booed and on i 11 yelled a BuUdog mascot Hairy Shook tliS Oversized head and spiked collar as Georgia was beaten at home for the first time this season. The Lady Dogs, a Fi- nal Four contender in 1999, lost for only the third time at Stege- man Coliseum in the 20 years of the tournament For the first time since 1994, when the tournament expended to 64 teams, a lOth-seeded team advancedtotheSweetl6. "No one thought it WOUld hap- pen," MU's Natalie Bright said. "But we weren't taking anything. We came together and they were falling apart and fighting with each other." Georgia boasts tWO Of the COUn- try's top players in seniors Kelly and Coco Miller.

The identical twins yelled at each other and banged their hands on the floor after missed shots. Coach Andy Landers took Coco out of the game for seven minutes in the second half because of poor shooting. "Those girls are on ESPN commercials," Bright said. "Are they going to make a Missouri commercial? No." The nationally televised game was introduced as "Georgia and the Miller twins take on Missouri," said Barr, a sophomore. "Well this (win) says respect" The Millers, who combine to average 31 points a game, scored just 21 Sunday and were a combined 10 of 31 from the floor.

Georgia's Deanna Nolan scored 22 and Tawana McDonald added 16. Lassiter led MU with 22 points and made six steals. Williams scored 19. Barr and Bright had 12 ech. "Missouri never crumbled or a chance to become the first player in 50 years with 10 victories.

"It was nice to sneak one out on him," Woods said. Senior PGA Tour Hale Irwin became the Senior PGA Tour's career victory leader, winning the Siebel Classic in San Jose, for his 30th title on the THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Russa said. But, he said, "It looked like he warmed up in a hurry." Catcher Mike Matheny has been with Ankiel during every early-morning workout this spring and has caught both his games. "I knew there was going to be a time where he doesn't feel quite as good," Matheny said. "He has to learn what he needs to do to get himself back into the right frame of mine and focused on executing pitches." General manager Walt Jocketty said he had an uneasy feeling Sunday.

First, he wondered if the rain delay had affected Ankiel's routine. Second, he thought Ankiel had looked like he was struggling in warming up. "He just didn't look good at all," Jocketty said. "We'll sit down and see what the next step is." Whatever that next step is, Duncan said, there would be no back-field subterfuge. When Ankiel next pitches, he will pitch in a big-league game.

"You can't overcome all of that stuff back on Field Six," Duncan said. "The only way you're going to deal with it is right out there on the mound in a game. "It's not easy for him, because he's got a lot of pride. But this is a tough kid. And he's dealing with it as well as anybody could deal with it What day I don't know, but we will pitch him again." Ankiel showered, dressed and left without comment well before the end of the game.

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tMe, scene. Oeakw add one exlia j'i'iljMlWirif-. By Rick Hummel Of the Post-Dispatch JUPITER, Fla. Taken in raw form, Cardinals catcher Mike Matheny's view that he was encouraged by Rick Ankiel's performance on Sunday seems out of touch with what happened. But Matheny patiently explained why he honestly felt that way after Ankiel had walked eight of the 13 hitters to face him in a 1 Va-inning stint against Florida on Sunday.

Matheny said he was encouraged that Ankiel got back on form after he had walked the first five men to face him. He ended that inning by getting a short fly ball and two strikeouts. Red flags will go up, teeth will be gnashed and there will be wails of anguish from Cardinals fans. Referring to the last item, Matheny said, "I hope he doesn't listen to them because he needs to be responsible for himself and for what's going to make him better." It was noted to Matheny that Ankiel had been making good progress lately and Matheny insisted, "He still is. Today was a good sign.

He had adversity and still kept pitching. "Last time things went so smooth it was encouraging to see a Utile adversity and for him to keep his composure. I knew there were going to be times when it wasn't going to be perfect. But I don't think he had a wild pitch. It should have been called a passed ball (on Matheny).

"It might not look like it to you or in the box score but I know what I saw. If some people aren't going to understand that then that's their decision. "I hope he doesn't care what anybody else thinks. I'm concerned about him, not them." Center fielder Jim Edmonds said he thought Ankiel was rushing his pitches. "I'm not a pitch $1000 SIGN ON BONUS Convenient Food Mart COME JOIN OUR SHIFT MANAGERS All Shifts Must be at least 18 years old Comprehensive benefits including: Medical Insurance Paid Vacation Dental Insurance Paid Training Retirement Plan Monthly Bonus Tuition Assistance Holiday Pay Promotions Only From Within Drue-tree Work Ptoce Equal Opportunity Employer $23,000 to $29,000 Annual Compensation A l.i.l Al.ii mm ing coach and I'm not going to pretend I am," Edmonds said.

"It just looks like he's a little quick. "You wish him the best. It's going to be tough. It's not going to be an easy thing. A lot of times he'll go out there and he throws fine but when something goes wrong, he's going to start thinking.

That" just natural. "But everybody here is in his corner. He doesn't have to worry about that. You just try to do everything you can do get him through it. "He's a 21-year-old kid.

And he's got a long life ahead of him. If he goes through this for a little period, I don't think it's going to kill him." After AnkieFs five walks in the first, J. Waszgis hit a short fly to center field. After first baseman Mark McGwire cut off the ball near the mound, he said something to Ankiel as he walked back to his position. McGwire said, "I just told him to breathe.

When things happen, no matter what you're doing pitching, hitting you've got to breathe once in a while. Take a deep breath and go right after the guy." Second baseman Fernando Vina, starting for the first time March 6, grounded out twice in two at-bats but reported no problems with his left heel, which had troubled him. Rookie third baseman Albert Pujols had two hits in three at-bats, including his third double in two days. "He was one of the best players on the field today," manager Tony La Russa said. "Again." Driven ASPIRING IMMEDIATE OPENINGS FOR 35 FULL-TIME VAN OPERATORS Bi-State Development Agency is rapidly expanding its CaD-A-Ride Van Service to better serve St.

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But that topic is for later. "Not now," Duncan said. "Not yet Not today." After the game, Duncan sat on his locker room stool and smiled faintly. He knew what the topic of conversation would be. "I think I need a beer for this," he said, kid-dingly, as he headed for the refrigerator.

"The only concern right now," Duncan said, "is the point of time where we are in spring training. For him to be as ready to start the season as we would like him to be we're a little short on time." After getting two quick strikes on the leadoff hitter, Ankiel walked the first five Marlins he faced, forcing in two runs. He finally retired a batter on a short fly to center and struck out the seventh and eighth hitters on called third-strike curveballs. In his second inning, he got his third strikeout but walked three more hitters and allowed a single. He threw 43 pitches, 24 balls, in the first inning.

His ball-strike ratio was 12-11 in the second before minor-league righthander Corey Award was summoned to replace him. "This is a work in progress," La irfl iilS 'O -i MOZOU 78 GEORGU 65 Unrau 35 3-7 2-4 3-11 3 2 8 j--328-20 2-4 2-7 1 322 Williams 36 7-20 4-5 4-8 1 2 19 Barr 33 2-6 8-10 0-3 4 0 12 Franklin 34 1-4 0-0 1-4313 Smith 8 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 2 2 Bright 21 4-6 3-4 0-1 1 3 12 J- Totals 200 2646 19-27 10-34 14 13 78 PercentageS: nJM. 3.Point .368 (Lassiter 4-7, Williams 1-4, Barr 1-3, Bright 1-2, woiford n. Teamrebound 6. Blocked shots: 2.

TumoverS: 13' stealS: Georgia Rl "to o-t a pf Pt Nolan 36 8-16 4-7 1-5 2 5 22 briggans 26 0-1 0-0 1-5200 7-8 2-4 4-7 2 5 16 k. Miner 38 5-16 1-2 2-5 9 4 11 czfo 0 mo 0 i Brown 16 2-5 0-0 0-1204 ti1 A s5 Percentages: 3-Point 286 (Nolan 1Z- K- Miller -2- c- Team reboundS: 3 Blocked shotS: 7 Turnovers: 19. steals: 8. mioi 35 43 78 33 32 -65 Technical fouls: None. Officials: Melissa Barlc- w.Angela Lewis, Tommy Salerno.

panicked and were very consistent," Landers said. "We opened the second half with three con secutive turnovers and never re covered. Our turnovers and their steals were huge." Missouri's defense was patient as Georgia's 6-foot-4 center McDonald helped under the basket The Lady Dogs cut the lead to 57-52 with 5:22 left As they closed the gap, Landers called a timeout He and his coaching staff talked a semicircle. The Geor gia players looked at each other and the floor. The Tigers, meanwhile, wove their hands around each other and leaned into the huddle.

They talked, Stein said, of believing and attacking. "I thought they thought we were going to come in and just lay down to them," Lassiter said, "because they were Georgia and we were a 10 seed. But we had the attitude that we were coming in to beM Georgia.".