Great Falls Tribune from Great Falls, Montana • Page 15

Sports Pioneer League statistics 2C 0 Golf roundup, Sportscope 3C NFL roundup 4C The Baseball Page 5C Greet Fab Tribune Saturday, August 24, 1991 Dodgers weep reeMins Brewers Zammarchi's big game helps extend Great Falls' lead -v" i 1 if 7 i 1 mw fmrnmrn i iu ff i i 1 1 i iwniiipiwnn )ISTRIBflp5 7 S-5 I I sk I The shortstop then threw wildly home for another error. Meanwhile, Dodgers pitchers Mike Walkden, Jason Broyles and Todd Williams were getting the job done. The 18-year-old Walkden left in the fourth inning, having reached his 75-pitch limit. He allowed just one earned run while striking out five. Broyles (2-0) got the victory with two innings of scoreless relief.

Williams picked up a save (No. 8) with 3(6 innings of mopup duty. The Dodgers are in Medicine Hat over the weekend for three games in two days. The teams play a double-header Saturday night (5 p.m. start) and a single game Sunday night before traveling to Helena for a key two-game set in Helena next Monday and Tuesday.

"They're must-win games," said Zammarchi, "because Helena's probably going to win their games." The way the Brewers played at Legion Park, that has to be considered an unlikely prospect. But Helena could bounce back, just as the Dodgers have after a poor 2-5 road trip. "We'll just keep after it," said Rhodes. That's what the Dodgers seem to be able to do this summer. Although the team lacks any flashy "can't-miss" hopefuls in the mold of former Great Falls stars Jose Of-ferman and Mike Busch, they have something going for them.

"It's called chemistry," said Dodgers manager Glenn Hoffman. "They all do their little jobs. That's what it takes." Left-hander Jacob Botts and righty Jose Parra will work the twin-bill Saturday night in Medicine Hat By SCOTT MANSCH Trlbunt Sports Writer Erik Zammarchi drove in four runs, including two with a third-inning triple that put the Dodgers ahead to stay, as Great Falls completed a sweep of the Helena Brewers with an 8-2 victory Friday night at Legion Park. The victory, before a season-high crowd of 3,638, increased the Dodgers' advantage to 1V4 games over the second-place Brewers. It was Great Falls' third in as many games during the three-game series, which attracted 9,400 fans to the ballpark.

"We've got to credit our pitchers for holding them down," said Zammarchi, whose triple to the base of the right-center field wall was the hardest-hit ball of the game. The Dodgers needed little else, thanks to the generous Brewers. Helena pitchers had a miserable time throwing strikes, walking 9 hitters in the first six innings. The Brewers committed three errors, too, to contribute to a generally lackluster effort by the Helena club. "There's not much to say," said Helena coach Dusty Rhodes.

"We had to really go to get back into it when we were 3V4 games down (last week). I guess that took a lot out of us." The Dodgers scored single runs in the first and second. Zammarchi's key hit provided the lead. Helena's inept pitching performance padded the advantage in the fourth, when three straight walks and a sloppy, double error by Brewers shortstop Eric Whitford allowed two more runs to score. With the bases loaded, Whitford booted Ken Huckaby's grounder.

Si I slides In safely under the tag of Helena's Chris Wheat for a stolen Trlbunt Photo by Stuart S. Whit base Friday night. Two Dodgers named All-Stars By The Associated Press BILLINGS Four members of the Idaho Falls Braves and three Helena Brewers are among those chosen for the Pioneer League All-Star Team, league president Ralph Nelles announced Friday. Idaho Falls players Dario Paulino, Tony Graffagnino, Kevin Grijak and Brad Woodall are included on the 12-member team. Helena has Andy Fairman, Jeff Cirillo and Tyrone Hill on the all-star roster.

CP. Carey of Billings was listed as the manager of the all-star team. In statistics current through Aug. 22, Paulino was the league's sixth-best batter with a .353 average. Graffagnino was eighth with a .349 average.

Grijak was tied for the league lead in home runs with 10, and was second with 58 RBI's. He had a .340 batting average. Woodall, a pitcher, leads the league in saves with 11. Fairman was second in the league's batting stats, with .368 average, and third in RBI's with 57. Cirillo was tied for the lead in home runs with 10 and fifth in batting with a .357 average.

Jake Botts, Great Falls Tyrone Hill, Helena Brad Woodall, Idaho Falls Ken Huckaby, Great Falls 1 Andy Fairman, Helena 2B Dario Paulino, Idaho Falls 3B Jeff Cirillo, Helena SS Tony Graffagnino, Idaho Falls OF Rick Hirtensteiner, Salt Lake OF Kevin Grijak, Helena OF Terrell Lowery, Butte DH D.J. Boston, Medicine Hat JUST PASSING THROUGH: Bill Cralb (right) and Sue Easier, visiting all 178 professional ballparks In North America this summer, watched the Great Falls Dodgers defeat Helena Friday. Legion Park was No. 1 50 for traveling fans. Probation officer investigating Rose Business associate involved with a gambling case 'Potential' excites DM coach Read Dodgers' outfielder Patrick Reed J' A LA.

Trlbunt Photo by Stuart S. Whlta around a guy or two guys." Read says he's counting on the defense to anchor the team. Montana was tops in the league against the run for the second straight year in 1990, but was vulnerable to the big pass. Read hopes a deeper, more experienced secondary will help plug that hole this year. The Grizzlies also will start three three-year lettermen on the defensive line and two three-year lettermen at linebacker.

The Grizzlies have one of the tougher schedules in the league three of their last four games are on the road. a 2 ceivers who specialize in short patterns and screens. Running the show will be junior quarterback Brad Lebo, a 6-foot-4, 210-pounder who served as Bennett's understudy the past three years. Lebo wasn't a permanent bench-warmer; last year he passed for 477 yards and two touchdowns. "He's breaking into his first time starting, but I feel like he's as ready as a guy could be to do that," Read says of Lebo.

Lebo has a seasoned supporting cast that features running backs Tony Rice and Marc Monestime, who combined for 798 yards and seven touchdowns last year; wide receivers Shannon Cabunoc (49 catches, 573 yards, five touchdowns) and Billy Cockhill (23 catches, 309 yards, six touchdowns); and a solid offensive line led by center Chad Germer, a 6-6 Vi, 282-pound senior who was all-Big Sky second team as a junior. Read says a big "if' for the offense is how well it can adjust to a new quarterback and new assistant coaches. "If going to be a challenge for us," he says. "How soon that settles down and becomes workable remains to be seen. I hope not very long." Defensively, Montana returns 13 starters, although none stands out as a recognized star.

Read says thafs O.K. with him. "In the past, we've been led defensively by a guy or two," he says. "I'm not sure we can say that this year. In a lot of ways I like that better than building a defense directly on Rose's case but routinely follows up any allegations against a client.

"The first thing that we would do would be to set about to independently verify any information that we've been given, and then based upon that we would determine how to proceed from there," he said. Robert C. Brichler, assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, said it would be Cole's responsibility to notify the court of any violation. If there is one, Rose could be sent back to prison, Brech-lersaid.

But depending on the results of the investigation, Cole said he would not necessarily be reporting to the court. Rose says he knows "I have to watch who I hang around with. "If a guy is on parole, I don't think I can hang around with him," he said. "If I get into a situation where I start to do something, I would check that out with my people to see if everything is kosher." Rose described himself Friday as someone "just trying to go on with (his) life and do everything by the numbers." Garcia charged that his gambling case was due to bad feelings between him and former Virginia Gov. Charles Robb.

A federal grand jury in Norfolk, is investigating a secretly made tape of a phone call Involving Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder that wound up in Robb's office. Garcia's name surfaced in the political scandal two months ago when a tape of one of his conversations also popped up in the investigation. By The Associated Press BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. Pete Rose's connection to a Virginia developer whose company pleaded guilty in a gambling case was under scrutiny Friday by his probation officer.

Rose, banned from baseball two years ago, has moved to nearby Boca Raton and has discussed the possibility of opening a steakhouse at Lighthouse Square Marina, a proposed waterfront project owned by Edward S. Garcia Sr. U.S. Probation Officer John Cole in Cincinnati, who is handling Rose's case, said he routinely investigates allegations against clients to determine whether they violate terms of their probation. Baseball's all-time hit leader was released from prison Jan.

7 after serving five months for filing false income tax returns after he was accused of failing to report $25,133 in gambling winnings in 1985 and 1987. Under conditions of his one-year probation, he is not allowed to "associate with any person convicted of a felony unless granted permission to do so by the probation officer." Garcia has not been convicted of a felony. But in exchange for dismissal of gambling charges in 1989, his Big Wheel Inc. pleaded guilty to a felony count and paid the maximum $20,000 fine, said T.O. Rainey, the prosecutor in the Virginia case.

Garcia was accused of conspiring to run an illegal gambling operation using electronic poker machines. His court record has been expunged, but the conviction against his company stands. By The Associated Press MISSOULA For Montana's football team, this is the "non" year no stars, no names and no championship expectations. So why does coach Don Read sound so optimistic? Fifth In a series "Our 'potential' is good," says Read. "You almost hate to use that word; coaches get fired for using that word.

But we have a chance to be real good. Just how soon is really hard to know." The Grizzlies are coming off a disappointing year, in which they finished 4-4 in the Big Sky Conference (7-4 overall) after being the odds-on-favorite to win it. All-time passing leader Grady Bennett and two star receivers graduated, and Read's entire offensive coaching staff moved on to other jobs during the off-season. Big Sky coaches have picked Montana to finish in the middle of the pack this year, behind contenders Idaho, Nevada and Boise State. But the Grizzlies are stocked with veterans, return starters at nearly every position, and, this year aren't burdened by being pre-season favorites.

"This year the idea is to play as hard as we can and see where it all ends up," Read said. "I don't think the pressure is there, from inside or out" As usual, Montana's offense is built around Read's "controlled passing game," with four wide re Pirates get back on winning track. Blue Jays rally to keep lead in East. Piniella says he'll still argue his point, Please see page 5C Rose told The Palm Beach Post for Friday's editions that he was aware of the charges Garcia faced. "I don't think that would have anything to do with somebody who did something years ago although I really didn't check into he said of the effects on his probation.

Garcia denied any impropriety in his dealings with Rose. "I resent the fact that somebody tries to portray us as some type of criminals," he said Friday. "My heart goes out to Mr. Rose if he has to contend with this." Rose said he has talked to Garcia two or three times on the phone, had lunch with him and went to a bank meeting with him once. "Thafs the extent of my contact," he said.

"I'm not in business with Eddie." Cole said he could not comment.