Great Falls Tribune from Great Falls, Montana • Page 9

o) jo) Protaaalonal radae. 23 MalorlMgiMtMNabaH 33 Offthtbandi 33 Pro goH, tennis. 43, Great Falls Tritxjne Monday, July 11, 1988 Foster whips Fimgeir for 139ponimd tide If Foster loses Saturday, he would meet "most worthy opponent" Fin-, ger again on Sunday, with the winner making the He advanced to the finals with wins over Chris Byrd of Flint, and Skipper Kelp of Colorado Springs, Colo. In other action Sunday, Ed Hopson became the 125-pound champion by beating Carl Daniels in a battle of St. Louis buddies.

The 5-foot-4 Hopson, who turned 17 June 30, won a 3-2 decision over Daniels, who is also 17. Both boxers, who work out togethers, will be high school seniors in the fall. However, national champion Kelcie Banks was selected to box Hopson in Las Vegas. In the super heavyweight final, U.S. champion Robert Salters, 247 pounds, of Fort Hood, Texas, got up from a first-round knockdown and scored a 4-1 decision over Riddick Bowe, 231, of Brooklyn, N.Y, Salters and Bowe will meet again in the Olympic Box-Offs.

In two 3-2 decisions, Arthur Johnson beat Chris Carrillo for the 112-pound title and Roy Jones outpointed U.S. champion Frank Liles for the 156-pound championship. Alfred Cole, 24, of Fort Hood, who upset U.S. champion Andrew Maynard in the quarterfinals here, won the 178-pound title with a 5-0 verdict over Bomani Parker, 20, of Richmond, Calif. The other most worthy opponents selected were: Eric Griffin, 106; Carrillo, 112; Michael Collins, 119; Brendan Walker, 132; Gerry Payne, 147; Liles, 156; William Guthrie, 165; Andrew Maynard, 178; and Michael Bent, 201.

Special to the Tribune CONCORD, Calif. Great Falls native Todd Foster, scoring heavily with body punches, registered a unanimous three-round decision Sunday over Lavell Finger of St. Louis to claim the 139-pound championship at the U.S. Olympic boxing trials. Not only did Foster add another national championship to a collection that includes the U.S., the Golden Gloves and the Sports Festival, he was named the outstanding boxer at the trials.

The impressive victory advances Foster to this weekend's Olympic Box-Offs in Las Vegas, where he will again fight Finger. A 1985 graduate of CM. Russell High School, Foster punished Finger with a steady barrage of body shots in earning his decision on Sunday. The two went toe-to-toe for virtually the entire three minutes of the final round, bringing the crowd of 2,700 to its feet. "My game plan was to go to the body and stick to it," the 20-year-old Foster said.

"I had to wear him down. He is a good fighter." Foster praised his opponent, saying "it's a credit to him that he fought his best fight (of the three losses he's absorbed against Foster). He fought well, but it wasn't good enough. I went into thering with the idea that nobody was going to beat me. And nobody did." With a victory Saturday, Foster will automatically become one of the 12 weight-class members of the U.S.

team that will compete in this year's Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. -x I I i i Pkoto i. Great Falls boxer Todd Foster raises his arms in victory after defeating Lavell Finger, of Louis for the 139-pound championship at the U.S. Olympic trials Sunday. wmmmmKmmm it HUjuMjAbmiii fHiiniililffliii hi Dodgers hold off Jays GREAT FALLS (I) Rl Oferman sff Carr 3b Still streaking MED.

HAT (S) abrltbl Rollins ss 4 10 0 Jones 2b 2 2 0 0 Gianelli dh 5 14 2 Mendez rl 5 0 2 0 Guorache dh 5 0 11 Jaime 4)21 Ollbrlslb 4 0 11 Scolt II 3 0 0 0 Smith cf 3 0 10 Totall 34 10 5 4 0 0 0 4 0 0 2 3 2 0 0 2 100 3 2 10 3 12 2 4 0 2 1 3 10 0 4 13 0 JO I 7 I Brooks If Karros lb Morrow rl Boddie dh Huebnerc Pve2b Carroll cl Totall Medicine Hal 100 211 ft tyy Great Falls 011 OH Rollins 2, Villa, Scott, Oterman, Karros. DP-Medlcine Hat 1, Great Falls 1. LOB Medicine Hat 9, Great Falls 7. 2B Huebner, Olibris, Carroll, Gianelli, Guar-ache, Mendez. 3B Gianelli.

SB Morrow 2, Scott, Olibris, Carroll. SF Corr. Jones, Oterman. ER SO IP 4 4 4 2 2 Med Hal Placeres Villa Toronto Wengert Castillo Dawson dropped just beyond the infield. But the team displayed its usual solid defense, and the relief pitching -of Dave Dawson and Cam Biberdorf kept the Jays scoreless the last three innings.

Dawson picked up his first victory of the season with two hitless innings of relief work, then Biberdorf earned his league-high sixth save with a scoreless ninth inning. Bill Wengert made his first start for Great Falls after eight relief appearances, filling in for Jeff Hartsock, who will hurl tonight in the series finale at 7:30. Wengert went four innings and left with a 4-2 lead. Jeff Castillo wasn't too sharp in two innings of relief, so pitching coach Goose Gregson brought in Dawson to hold the lead. The 20-year-old right-hander lowered his ERA to about 1.50 by retiring six straight batters.

Centerfielder Donnie Carroll led the Great Falls attack with two singles and a He also stole his fifth base of the season, one of four thefts by the Dodgers. Medicine Hat batters fanned six times, bringing their total to an amazing 220 in 21 games. The Dodgers, by comparison, have struck out just 93 times in 20 games. GEORGE GEISE Tribune Sports Editor The Medicine Hat Blue Jays are getting better. They're still not very good, but the Jays are a better baseball team than they were two weeks ago, which must please manager Rocket Wheeler.

The last time the Jays appeared at Legion Park, back on June 28, they were embarrassed 16-0 by the Great Falls Dodgers for their ninth straight loss without a victory. Since then, Medicine Hat has picked up its. first triumph of the Pioneer League season a 5-0 verdict over Billings along with 11 defeats, the most recent an 8-5 loss to the Dodgers Sunday afternoon. But at least the outcome was in doubt most of the game, In fact, if Ray Gianelli had received any offensive support, the Jays might have left Legion Park with their second victory of the summer. Gianelli, the designated hitter, smashed two singles, a double and a triple to become the first hitter to get four hits in a single game off the Dodgers' pitching staff this season.

Gianelli drove in two runs and scored one, but the Jays left nine runners stranded and played their usual shaky defense, committing I Biberdort s.e BK Placeres, Castillo. 3:07. A 1,421. four errors. Medicine Hat starting pitcher Ben Placeres, who owns the club's lone victory, hurled four respectable innings, yielding just three hits.

But errors, four walks and some timely Great Falls hitting produced a 4-2 lead. Eric Boddie and Ernie Carr each drove in two runs for the Dodgers, who won their sixth straight game despite a rather lethargic offensive performance. Three of the Dodgers' seven hits were infield singles and two other hits Were pop-ups that c. 3 ci Baseball's best hitters turn feeble at All-Star time f3 i 1 14 ii CINCINNATI (AP) From Joe DiMaggio to Don Mat tingly, baseball's biggest hitters usually do little to turn the All-Star Game into an offensive showcase. Wade Boggs, Cal Ripken, Ryne Sandberg and Andre Dawson are among the finest in the game now.

They suddenly tum feeble at All-Star time. Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Eddie Mathews and Roy Campanella, all of them Hall of Famers, felt the same futility before. Pete Rose, a future Hall of Famer and the all-time hits leader, hit just .212 in 16 All-Star Games. If good pitching stops good hitting, it has never been more apparent than In recent All-Star Games. Particularly last year when, in the Year of the Home Run, the National League stumbled to a 2-0 victory in 13 innings.

Consider that the American League has managed a puny five runs on 23 hits in the last four games, while the NL has only 13 runs on 30 hits. Since 1969, only once has either team scored more than seven runs in a game, that in 1983 when the AL won 13-3. "It's always tough to hit against major-league pitching, especially in the All-Star Game," said DiMaggio, who went just 9-for-40 in those events. "You only see a pitcher once, and you probably haven't seen him before. You just try to swing right and hope to get lucky." DiMaggio was one of several Hall of Famers at Sunday's Old-Timers game at Riverfront Stadium.

The 59th All-Star Game will be played Tuesday night in Cincinnati as part of the city's bicentennial celebration. "I never hit very well in All-Star Games," said Mathews, who went 2-for-25 with home runs off Whitey Ford and Early Wynn. "But I treated those like exhibition games. I wasn't really bearing down." Aaron was a paltry 13-for-66, Mantle slumped at 10-for-43 and Campanella went 2-for-20. Rod Carew, a great contact hitter, struggled at 5-for-31.

the same perspective when you get up there. Your adrenaline is flowing and you try to key down." "I remember my first at-bat in an All-Star Game. I got up in the ninth inning against Bruce Sutter. All I had heard about was his split-finger fastball," Parrish said. "I had never seen one.

That's all he threw me, and I didn't have a chance." Boggs will try to improve his l-for-6 effort, Ozzie Smith is only l-for-12 and Ripken is stuck at 2-for-12. Tony Gwynn, the major league batting champion last year at .370, is not on the All-Star team this season. That might be good he's only l-for-8 in those games. "One of the most difficult part is that you've never seen the pitchers, sometimes not even on TV," Gwynn said. "Last year, I came up against Bret Saberhagen in the third inning and he'd been throwing at 90 mph, But he threw me two changeups and a curve." Gwynn, off-balance, grounded out in that pinch-hitting appearance.

Not all the batting aces have looked like jokers in All-Star Games. Willie Mays, Stan Musial and Ted Williams all hit over .300 and Charlie Gehringer, another Hall of Famer, batted .500 for the highest lifetime average in at least five games. Among current players, Dave Winfield is batting .364 with six doubles in 11 All-Star Games. But, he's a rarity. More often, the top hitters wind up like Gwynn.

"By the time the game starts, you're pretty well worn out. There's the workout and then a gala party until 1 of 2 in the morning," Gwynn said. "Then you get up and have another workout at 2:30 for a game that starts at 8." "Then you sign dozens of baseballs, there's a lot of rushing around with the team picture and signing bats for the other players. It's all fun," Gwynn said, "but you're not as ready to hit as you should be." Tribune Flit Photo Rod Carew, a great contact hitter, was just 5-for-31 in major league all-star games. Mattingly knows the frustration.

He is one of top batters in the majors, but is hitless in six at-bats for four All-Star Games. "I hope I'll do better this time," Mattingly said. "I'm representing our team." He isn't the only star who hasn't given a good representation of himself. Parrish and Sandberg are each l-for-10. "It's definitely a challenge," Parrish said.

"It's hard to keep Mm Electrics finish third in Whitefish tournament Legion Park starting at 5. Tribune Photo by Todd Goodrich En route to victory Mike Petrini of Great Falls returns a shot during the Men's Open Doubles finals at the Meadow Lark Open tennis tournament Sunday. Please see results on 2B. 2B Stoats, Hottman, Seefried. Second Gome Electrics 1IHJ7-1I11I Whitefish 0MIM Oil R.C.

Courtright and Newmack; Greenfield and M. Foust; WP Courtright 14-4; LP Greenfield Electrics hitting: Spring 0-1, Wlrtaia 0-3, Steve Rodriguez 0-1, Jodv Staats 4-4, Gary Poiodichuk 1-2, Cooper 0-0, Jason Newmack 2-4, Taule 3-4, Reed 0-0. Pfennings 1-3, Courtright 1-4, Stemple 21. Whitefish hitting: Llndberg 01 Grlllev 0-1. L.

Foust 0-3, Darner 0-3, Walker 1-1, Strunk 1-2, M. Foust 1-2, Anderson 0-2, Greenfield 0-2. 2B Paladlchuk, Pfennings, Stemple. Athletics, who eventually defeated the Kalispell Lakers 4-1 for the tournament title Sunday night. "It was nice to see the kids come back after getting thumped in the morning; it showed a little bit of character," said manager Hugh Smith.

In the third-place game, righthander R.C. Courtright kept the WHITEFISH The Great Falls Electrics showed some resiliency Sunday afternoon, bouncing back from a disappointing loss in the morning to capture third place at the annual Sapa-Johnsrud Memorial baseball tournament. The Electrics took third with a 12-0 triumph over the host Glacier Twins. Great Falls had lost 11-1 in the morning round to the Spokane Twins off-balance and Jody Staats backed him up with a double and three singles. Staats batted .636 for the tournament and catcher Jason Newmack hit .615.

The Electrics, sporting a 20-12 record, play a double-header at Butte Tuesday starting at 4 p.m. The return home Wednesday to face the Glacier Twins in a twin-bill at i First Oomt Electrics IN ON-114 Seokant Athletics Ml 111 1111 Lanalev, Inaersoll (4), Rodrlauez and Mielke; Mllanovich and Dolose; WP Mllanavloch; LP Longley (4-11. Electrics hittlna: Roger Spring 0-1, Allenm Wlrtaia 0-2, Tom Stemole 0-1, Jody Staats 1-1, Gary Paladfchuk 0-1, Cory Taule 0-2, John Reed 0-0, Dusty Pfennings 0-2, Scott Cooper 0-2, Kevin Mielke 1-2, Ron Langley 0-2. Spokane Athletics hitting: Hottman 2-3, Connor 3-4, Slacker 3-4, Doidge 1-2, Seefried 2-4, Finley 0-2, Stelnbaugh 0-2, Mllonovich 0-2. Weldman 0-4..