South Florida Sun Sentinel du lieu suivant : Fort Lauderdale, Florida • Page 33

Friday, February 5, 1988 7C UM BASEBALL ROSTER More works 'hard to-slip to schedule No. Player Yr. Hometown 2 Jose Trujillo 2B Jr. Bayamon, Puerto Rico John Viera OF Jr. "Miami 6 Jorge Robles SS Sr.

Bayamon, Puerto Rico 7 Doug DeKock Sr. Oskaloosa, iowa 8 Rob Word 3B Jr. N. Rchlnd Hills, Texas 9 Chris Hirsch So. Palm Beach Gardens 10 Bob Hernandez OF So.

Hollywood TT Mike Tosar OF Fr. Miami 12 Mike Fiore OF Sr, Coral Gables 14 Darrell Sparkman 3B So. Danville. Calif. 16 Chris Anderson 3B Fr.

Palos Verdes Estates TT Will Vespe "OF I Jr. Haddonfield. N.J. 19 Stanley Palm IF So. Willemstad, Curacao 21 Jim Delia Guardia So.

Roslyn, Pa. 22 Oscar Munoz Fr. Miami 23 Ray Noriega OF Fr. Miami 27 JoeGrahe Jr. Lake Park 28 Henry Hernandez 1B Jr.

Miami 30 Steffen Majer Sr. Poland, Ohio 31 JeffKeitges 1B-3B So. Sacramento, Calif. 32 Steve Tucker So. Sarasota 33 Steve Jasinski Jr.

Manville. N.J. 34 Dan Kitchton So. Maineville, Ohio 35 Kurt Knudsen Jr. Sacramento, Calif.

36 Dan Bruckner Sr. Man. Beach, Calif. 37 Greg Knowles Fr. Plantation 39 Pete Joseph Sr.

Morton Grove, III. 40 Albert Pacheco Jr. Hialeah 44 Frank Dominguez I IR I I Sr. I Miami By RANDALL MELL Staff Writer CORAL GABLES Last season Mike Fiore slipped into a college baseball blind spot, a career-stifling black hole in the eyes of Major League Baseball scouts. It didn't matter how many big hits and big plays the Hurricanes' leading hitter made.

Pro scouts didn't seem to notice. A team-leading .423 batting av- erage wasn't enough nor was his .519 average with runners in scoring position or his team-leading 58 RBI. Those numbers are made more impressive when one considers it was a down year at UM and many pitchers tried to pitch around Fiore. His 45 walks were second best for the Hurricanes. Somehow, however, Fiore's sea-.

son was obscured by what scouts perceived as weaknesses. The rap is he's too slow for an outfielder, his defensive skills are -average, and he doesn't hit with enough power to make up for those deficiencies. And so nobody select- ed him in last June's draft Fiore was disappointed and confused, but he wasted little time brooding. The former Coral Gables High star packed his bags and joined UM coach Ron Fraser on Team USA for last summer's Pan-American Games. A generous selection by Fraser? Hardly.

Fiore vented his post-draft NFL SCOUTING COMBINE lejuines clouid mystery of No.l said. "He's strong academically. He's very special. Guys like him don't come along often." Fiore is closing in on several UM career records. By season's end, he should have records for hits and total bases.

He also could have records for runs scored, doubles and RBI. He needs 20 hits, 91 total bases, 62 runs scored, 16 doubles and 83 RBI to claim those marks. "Making it to the College World Series is my No. 1 goal," Fiore said. "It's hard to say you're going to hit .423 again.

I may not be in the same situations. I want to do whatever I can do to help us make it to the College World Series." Fiore has good power and respectable speed. He's a line-drive hitter who had seven homers last season while stealing 25 bases. "He's the man," said senior catcher Frank Dominguez. "No matter how well he's doing, he always wants to achieve more.

Hopefully, it will rub off on some of our younger guys." Collegiate Baseball hasn't overlooked Fiore. The publication named him to its preseason All-America team. "I don't expect anything," Fiore said about next June's draft. "I think I've made great strides and I think I'm ready to move on. I know I'm not ready to stop playing baseball when my college career ends." MAZDA her escape routine at 1 8.

She had MAZDA ijiilii see a good pitcher every three games or so. In the Pan-Am Games, you saw a good pitcher every night. The Cubans could play top minor league ball and some could make the majors." Fiore hopes his international experience can help the 'Canes improve on a disappointing 1987 season. The 5-foot-10, 189-pound senior leads UM in its season opener at 7:30 p.m. today against Mercer at Mark Light Stadium.

It's the first of 48 home games in UM's 60-game schedule. It's the first step, Fiore hopes, on a road back to the College World Series. Fiore was a standout freshman on UM's 1985 national championship team. Last year, he endured one of UM's poorest seasons. But last season is actually a tribute to Fraser's program.

Most college baseball teams would consider a 35-24-1 record and 15th straight regional berth a success. At UM, the record was unimpressive, and the two losses and immediate elimination from the regional was embarrassing. "It was a disappointing finish," Fiore said. "We didn't play well together, and we didn't make great plays when we needed great plays. We played as a bunch of individuals." Fiore is one of eight returning defensive starters.

"He's a great hitter," Fraser Trish Johnson of Wales shows FROM PAGE 1C Putting practice pays off for Rizzo at Mazda Classic was there, it snowed. So Pelz sent one of his practice putters home with her. "It has two posts sticking out of the face, so if you dont hit a perfect Eutt, you're going to shank the all," Rizzo said. "I've got trails going all over my carpet, but my stroke is much better. I'm hitting the ball on the sweet spot" Rizzo, a top amateur who has struggled to live up to her reputation in five years on the tour, has a new attitude to go along with her new practice tool With the help of two of the tour's most successful players last year, leading money winner Ayako Oka-moto and Jane Geddes, Rizzo is beginning to master the mental aspects of the game.

"People have been telling me for years that I've got the talent to be a great player out here. Now I'm starting to believe it," Rizzo said. "Jane Geddes taught me that to be a great player, you've got to think you're a great player. I'm starting to feel that way now. She's made me believe in myself.

"I'm also thinking more on the course. I have a game plan now. I used to just go out there and play without any sort of plan for each hole. Now I study each hole and decide the best way to approach it" Feb. 5-7, Mercer; Feb.

12-13, South Florida; Feb. 14, Seton Hall; Feb. 16, Eckerd; Feb. 17. Barry; Feb.

20-21, at Florida; Feb. 23-24, Wake Forest; Feb. 27-28, Texas; March 1, St. Thomas; March 4-5, Maine; March 6, Fw.jue; March 8, Navy; March 10, Georgetown; March 11-12, Southern Illinois; March 13-14, Creighton; March 17, St. Francis; March 18-20, Maine; March 22-23, Rutgers; March 24, Air Force; March 25-27, Michigan State; March 30, McNeese State; April 1-2, Florida; April 5, Niagara; April 6, at Florida International; april 8-10, at Florida State; April 13, Florida Atlantic; April 15-16, Tulane; April 19-20, at South Florida; April 22-23, Florida International; April 26, Tampa; April 29-30, Stanford; May 1, Stanford; May 6-8, Florida State; May 13-16, at Maine; April 26, regional.

frustrations on hanging curves and crippled fastballs. He led USA's silver medal effort with a .444 batting average. He also led the team in a pre-Pan Am Games tour with a .398 average, a feat accomplished against the world's best amateur, pitchers. "I think I showed I can play at a level beyond college baseball," Fiore said. "In college you might who have the fourth pick, are reportedly considering drafting Sharpe or Miami safety Bennie Blades if either is available.

"I'd like to play in Tampa," Sharpe said. "They're young guys, and it's warm down there." Representatives of all 28 teams voted Tuesday night to bar the media from watching workouts at the Hoosier Dome. "We pay nearly $20,000 a team to get this information and the media pay nothing," Young said. More than 300 players are invited to the combine, with more than 400 NFL personnel on hand. Players go through physical exams and answer questionnaires the first two days.

Skill tests at the Hoosier Dome are broken down by position. Linemen and kickers worked out Thursday; tight ends, defensive backs and linebackers work out today; quarterbacks, running backs and receivers work out Saturday. Miami and Oklahoma had the most players invited to the combine, 15 each. Melvin Bratton, recovering from an injured knee, was the only Hurricane who turned down the invitation. Those attending are Tol-bert Bain, Bennie and Brian Blades, Selwyn Brown, Greg Cox, Darrell Fullington, Charles Henry, Derwin Jones, George Mira Matt Patchan, Brett Per-riman, Alfredo Roberts, Dan Stubbs and Warren Williams.

Florida is represented by Ker-win Bell, Henry Brown, Walter Odom, Bobby dims and Jarvis Williams. Attending from Florida State are Pat Carter, Herb Gainer, Martin Mayhew, Paul McGowan and Danny McManus. "It gives players an opportunity to make a further impression. It's all a part of a puzzle we're putting together." It's late Thursday afternoon and Roberts is seated in the Union Station lobby. It's a room overflowing with talent.

Notre Dame's Heisman Trophy-winner, Tim Brown, is sipping a Pepsi Florida's Kerwin Bell has been cornered by one of many agents who have set up shop on lobby couches. Florida State's Pat Carter, a tight end who will likely serve as a yardstick upon whom scouts will measure tight ends like Roberts, is reading a newspaper. "This is it," Roberts said. "Tomorrow we get down to business. Running, catching passes, that's what I'm looking forward to." Today will mark Roberts' and Williams final day.

It's showtime in front of scouts, coaches and personnel directors from the 28 teams. Both players will run the 40-yard dash, bench press 225 pounds as many times as they can and run agility drills. The talent has been divided into three groups for workouts at the Hoosier Dome. Linemen and kickers worked out Thursday. Tight ends, defensive backs and linebackers work out today.

Quarterbacks, receivers and running backs work out Saturday. "I never expected to see so many defensive backs," Williams said. "I guess we'll see who's who at the Hoosier Dome." By RANDALL MELL Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS Tim Brown and Sterling Sharpe won't be comparing their skills in this week's NFL scouting combine. Brown, the Heisman Trophy winner from Notre Dame, and Sharpe, an All-American from South Caro-- Una, are regarded as the best receivers in the draft. The Atlanta Falcons were ex-.

pected to make Brown the first pick, but there's mounting speculation they may choose Sharpe. A duel of potential No. 1 picks had been expected. Neither, however, will be going through a full workout. Brown, with a slightly pulled groin muscle, says he has nothing to prove.

"I'll take the physical and run the 40-yard dash, but that's all I'm doing," Brown said after he regis-, tered for the combine Thursday. "I don't want to injure myself, and there's nothing I really have to gain." Sharpe bruised his ribs in the Senior Bowl, forcing him to limit his combine participation to physical exams. "I can't breathe hard or even laugh," Sharpe said. "I'm disappointed because I was looking forward to seeing how everybody's work habits stacked up." New York Giants General Manager George Young said Brown's limited workout could hurt his standing. "Someone else may rise up and capture the imagination," Young said.

"Nobody's a lock. I can honestly say I don't know who the No. 1 pick's going to be or even the top few." The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, MAZDA NOTEBOOK Postlewait up, down, finishes up By ROBES PATTON Staff Writer BOCA RATON Kathy Postlewait's opening round of the Mazda Classic at Stonebridge was as up and down as the stock market. On a course she described as a "bear," the defending champion rallied with bullish back-to-back birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 to offset a bogey on No.

15. She then got up and down for par from under the lip of a bunker on No. 18 to close out a 2-under-par 70, three strokes behind leader Patti Rizzo. The scrambling par on No. 18 closed out a "rollercoaster" round that included six birdies and four bogeys.

Postlewait's worst hole was No. 15 where she hit a poor tee shot, was forced to take an unplayable lie after her second shot and then hit to 3 feet. But she followed that with birdie putts of 9 and 7 feet. Her longest birdie putt of the day was a downhill 15-footer on No. 4.

"When I hit it close, I hit it real close," Postlewait said. On No. 2 she hit to within 18 inches, and on No. 12 she hit the pin with her approach shot and sank a 2-footer for birdie. Postlewait's 70 was three shots better than her opening-round 73 last year.

She rallied with a 69 in the final round and defeated Betsy King in a playoff for her first victory in five years and only the second of her 14-year career. That victory provides Postlewait with additional confidence on a course she says doesn't fit her game. "The difference is attitude," she said. "Last year I might have been a little more scared of water, hazards, Postlewait's victory last year led to her best season. She won $152,922 and was 13th on the money list.

She also had eight Top-10 finishes. Postlewait knew she would need to capitalize on the near-perfect conditions Thursday. "You feel without the wind blowing you're going to shoot your better rounds because this is a bear when the wind blows," she said. "You have to take advantage of it when you can." Nancy Lopez, who shot 69 and is two shots behind Rizzo, agreed. But looking at the leaderboard early in her round, Lopez "knew I might have some work cut out for me." Postlewait considers playing Stonebridge a chore.

"It still isn't suited to my game, but I'm making an awful lot of birdies out there, so it's something." Trish Johnson of Swansea, Wales, shot 4-under 68 to lead the United Kingdom delegation despite the presence of U.S. Open winner Laura Davies of West Byfleet, England. Davies had a 4-over 76. Lopez, the newest member of the LPGA Hall of Fame, hit the ball well and putted well, but it didnt show up on her scorecard until late in the opening round. Lopez parred the first 12 holes, but birdied three of the last six, including Nos.

17 and 18. Lopez made a 3-foot putt at No. 17 and a 10-footer at No. 18. Lori Garbacz of Boca Raton withdrew with a sore throat 1 aff-'a PROSPECTS I WHAT: $200,000 LPGA tournament.

A 1 "i Staff photoROBERT AZMITIA a 68 to tie for second. CLASSIC Country Club, Boca Raton. Johnson, 22, said. "There weren't too many people watching. I was just out there playing golf.

I just tried to keep the ball in play and make a few putts." A smooth baptism was all but assured after a birdie-birdie start "After the first two holes, I had nothing but positive thoughts," she said. Johnson played on the European Tour last year. After England's Laura Davies won last year's U.S. Open, Johnson decided to try her luck in America. She won the 1S87 LPGA Qualifying School tournament by six strokes.

"When you see what Laura has done over here, it gives you great incentive," Johnson said. "I think you're going to see more and more girls coming over here from the European Tour. I WHEN: Today through Sunday. I WHERE: Stonebridge Golf and I COURSE: 6.368 yards, par 72. I TV: ESPN at 2 p.m.

today, Saturday and Sunday beginning at 12:30 p.m. FIELD: 144 pros will be cut to the top 82 after 36 holes. DEFENDING CHAMPION: Kathy Postlewait (in a playoff over Betsy King). TOP CONTENDERS: Nancy Lopez, Pat Bradley, Jan Stephenson and Laura Davies. TICKETS: $6 today; $10 Saturday and Sunday.

Season passes are FROM PAGE 1C NFL prospects get the once-over several times NFL's ultimate inspection. The workover included: 1. Questionnaires regarding injuries dating to high school. 2. X-rays of virtually everything.

3. Physical exams at six stations which joints and reflexes were tested. 4. Eye tests, blood tests, blood pressure tests. "The doctors whisper and scribble things, and you wonder what the heck they're doing," Roberts said.

"It makes you wonder what they're finding." By early afternoon, both are back at Union Station. Williams naps, Roberts jogs. Both head to a -meeting room for the Wonderlic test at 4 p.m. "It's an aptitude test made up of 50 questions that get progressively more difficult," said Harry Buff-ington, the head of National Foot- ball Scouting. "It tests reading ability." The Journey to the Center of the Athlete also includes a personality test That isn't formal or organized.

It's the judgments made by NFL scouts and coaches in casual conversations. "An important part of the combine is simply meeting and talking to players," New York Giants General Manager George Young said. $15. Okamoto, who practiced for the Mazda with Rizzo but forgot to commit to the tournament, has taught Rizzo how to relax. "She just goes out there and wings it If she hits a tree and the ball comes back onto the fairway, she accepts it as good luck.

If she hits a tree and the ball goes out of bounds, she accepts it as bad luck," Rizzo said. "Once she makes a shot, she forgets about it and goes to her next shot "I used to have a hard time forgetting what was behind me. But I've improved a lot in that area." Perhaps the biggest surprise near the top of the leaderboard was Johnson, a rookie playing her first round on the LPGA Tour. "I thought I might be nervous, but my tee time was so early I was almost half asleep on the first tee,".