The Times from Munster, Indiana • 9

I mm mm' i Inside: Scoreboard SECTION Page 2 Baseball roundup Page 4 Prep sports Page 5 The Times, Sunday, April 16, 1989 Reuss herls Sox toy Oakland Scouts ILL. 1 7 jf -v jjr By JOHN O'MALLEY Times Sports Writer CHICAGO Even though White Sox starting pitcher Jerry Reuss never really found the spot Saturday, he still managed to share the spotlight Reuss (2-1) pitched six solid innings of five-hit ball and recorded his first victory ever against Oakland, and the 213th of his career, as the White Sox beat the Athletics 7-4, before 15,748 fans at Comiskey Park. "I did okay, but I couldn't get the ball where I wanted it all the time," Reuss said. "I didn't get hurt with a bad pitch, with the exception of the ball (Oakland's Dave) Henderson hit." The centerfielder cracked a two-run homer in the sixth inning. "I would have preferred to keep the ball down a little more," Reuss explained, "but you're going to have days like that." Reuss' performance, however, suited Sox skipper JeffTorborg just fine.

"He did a super job," Torborg said. "He battled the whole game today. He didn't feel real comfortable the whole game, but he is definitely one of the better competitors on the squad." The Sox staked Reuss to an early 5-0 lead, hitting the defending American League-champion A's with a five-spot in the second inning, before adding another run in the third for a 6-0 advantage. Chicago's Billy Joe Robidoux walked with one out to start the second-inning uprising. Then, after Daryl Boston grounded out with Robidoux moving to second, Oakland shortstop Mike Gallego bobbled Steve Lyons' grounder, opening the flood gates.

Sox third baseman Eddie Williams, who had three hits on the day, then drilled a single to right, scoring Robidoux before Ozzie Guillen's infield hit scored Lyons. Dave Gallagher followed and belted a 1-2 pitch from Oakland's Bob Welch (2-1) into the left field seats for a three-run homer and a 5-0 Sox cushion. Although all of the runs were unearned because of Gallego's error, the damage had been done. AP Laserphoto Sox second baseman Steve Lyons after being forced out in the first inning Saturday when I caught that one I knew it was gone," said Gallagher, of his first homer of the year and the sixth of his career. "After hitting it I knew it was my sixth.

The reason I knew that was because you know what you've got when you don't have a lot." See SOX, Page E-4 couldn't get out to catch the flare. "It's strange how this game works. When they talk about a game of inches holy smokes! was that ever one." But on a day that the Sox were playing without some of their heavyweights (Dan Pasqua, Carlton Fisk and Greg Walker are all out with injuries) Chicago still generated some power. "I don't catch too many pitches, but Thorn wood sweeps pair from TF South By MIKE CLARK Times Sports Writer SOUTH HOLLAND -Thornwood's pitchers are not drawing much attention individually this spring. But collectively, the Thunderbird hurlers are definitely getting the job done.

Ed Young, Fred.Schuerg, Craig Gronowski and Jon Dunlop took turns shutting down TF South Saturday, as the Thunderbirds won 4-0 and 2-0. The shutouts were the second and third of the season for Thornwood, which has allowed just 13 runs en route to an 8-1 start. TF South has lost three straight to fall to 7-6. "We don't have any kids who throw 95 mph," said Thornwood coach John Dunlop. "We don't have anybody like (Andrew's Jason) Zimbauer," he said, referring to the Chicago area's premier prep pitching prospect.

What the Thunderbirds do have is six pitchers with good control and an AP Laserphoto Masters champion Nick Faldo European golfers are taking charge HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. Nick Faldo's triumph in the Masters was another indication of the still growing strength of European golf and a further sign that dominance of the game is swinging away from the Americans and toward the Europeans "We're slowly proving what we're made of," said Faldo, who won the 1987 British Open and lost the 1988 U.S. Open in a playoff. "The world of international golf is very strong now," said Faldo, a member of both the European and American tours. "Our tour (the European tour) has advanced tremendously.

The standards definitely have been raised." They have been raised to the point that the European stars are now in the position to pick and choose their spots just as the Americans once did. There was a time, not all that long ago, when American stars might take a couple of weeks away from competition in the United States to plunder the European circuit on a more or less routine basis. Example: In the period 1970-83, American players won 12 of 14 British Open titles. Now there is a change. Example: Americans have won none of the last five British Opens.

The major prizes and prestige are now flowing in the opposite direction across the Atlantic. Example: From the inauguration of the tournament through 1979, South African Gary Player was the only non-American to win the Masters. In the decade of the 1980's, Europeans won five of 10 Masters. They do not hesitate to flaunt their major triumphs, nor are they reluctant to declare the dominance perceived in European victories in the last two Ryder Cup matches. "We're better than they are now.

It's that simple, isn't it?" European Ryder Cup captain Tony Jacklin said before the 1988 British Open. Faldo wore a cap emblazoned with the word "London" and a Union Jack to the Masters presentat.on ceremony last weekend. He was asked to remove it. He did, but the message had been delivered. And there could be a message in make-up of the playing schedules for some major European players.

Participation in important American tournaments once was a goal, a target, for the leading Europeans. There are strong indications that those tournaments now hold much less lure. Seve Ballesteros of Spain, the current British Open champion, chose not to compete in either the 1988 World Series of Golf or the 1989 Tournament ofChampions. Now Faldo is facing some decisions. He has indicated without specifically naming the tournament that he, too, will pass up the Tournament of Champions in 1990.

He said he plans to take a break from golf for the months of January and February. "We may go on safari in Kenya," he said. And he may even skip the season-ending, $2.5 million Nabisco Championships this fall. That tournament, the richest in world golf, falls on the same dates as the Volvo Masters in Spain, in which Faldo is the defending champion. "I haven't yet decided, he said, no matter what I do, someone is going to be Sandy Lyle of Scotland, a former British Open and Masters champion, also is unsure about the American PGA, recognized as one of the world's four major events.

He has told associates he may pass it up to compete in the Benson and Hedges International in England, which has the same dates. Oakland's Tony Phillips upends While "It's amazing how this game goes," Torborg said. "You don't normally run somebody (Lyons was trying to steal second) when it's a 2-2 count you usually wait one more pitch. "I was just hoping an infielder was out of position, and, sure enough, on that little flare that Eddie Williams hit the second baseman went over to cover and here we were running they finished in the top three. "Jokingly, I said 'we're hosts.

Well show up, but we won't compete or anything' Beebe said. "I never really was sure how good the kids are. They really exceeded my expectations today." The Vikings had three first-place finishes, including a pair of frosh-soph relays and Britt King's blazing performance in the 110 high hurdles. H-F ended the afternoon with 92 points. Rock Island, on the strength of ability to keep hitters ofTbalance.

"If you've got kids who throw the ball over the plate and change speeds, you can keep a team down," Dunlop said. TF South was proof of that Saturday. "This is a good ballclub," Rebel coach Bill Anderson said of the Thunderbirds. "They could go all the way. They've got enough good arms and they've got a defense that'll keep them in games." Young (3-0), a junior righthander, worked the first six innings of the opener, allowing all four TF South hits and one walk while striking out two.

Schuerg worked a hitless ninth. Gronowski (3-0), a junior lefthander, allowed five walks and one hit -John Diebel's leadofT single to left-center in the fourth -while fanning two over the first six innings of the nightcap. Dunlop pitched the seventh for a save, striking out two and allowing no hits See THORNWOOD, Page E-6 Calumet City, Pat Rhodes of Gary, Steve Kearney of Chesterton, and Linda Glusac and Julie Smith of Valparaiso. Monday's race fits into Wagner's new strategy of concentrating on major events. "I've toned back on the racing," he said.

"I think you can get carried away with trying to run every weekend. You only get two or three days of training (between races), and that's not doing you any good." Wagner's new outlook has paid dividends off the road as well. See WAGNER, Page 7 J''' Wagner, Elwess set for Boston Marathon By MIKE CLARK Times Sports Writer Hammond runner Jeff Wagner has cut back his racing schedule, putting quality ahead of quantity. On Monday, he will run in the most prestigious road race of all the Boston Marathon. Wagner is one of several Calumet Region runners entered in the 26-mile, 385-yard race, which begins in suburban Hopkinton and concludes in downtown Boston.

SportsChannel will broadcast the race) beginning at 10:45 a.m. Region time. Other local runners who will compete include Nancy Elwess of Times photo by John Bojda DOA: TF North's Paul Mendoza tags out a sliding Steve Ferry of Clark in Saturday's contest TF North won the game. See story on Page E-6. H-Ffs performance pleasing to Beebe four firsts and six seconds, won the invitational with 138 points.

Moline, with seven firsts, finished second with 128. H-F's SICA East rival Thornwood had a pair of first-place finishes on the way to a tie for fourth with Vrest Aurora. King, a Homewood-Flossmoor senior, came in nearly a full second ahead of the second-place finisher in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.19. Earlier in the day, King tied his best-ever time of By MIKE SANSONE Times Sports Writer FLOSSMOOR Coach Dick Beebe is used to playing host for the Homewood-Flossmoor boy3 track invitational, but Saturday he played an additional role. Beebe played the part of the excited coach as his Vikings turned in solid performances throughout the day, en route to a third-place finish.

It was just the second time in 13 years H-F has 14 seconds-flat in a preliminary heat He also took third in the 200 meter run and led off the fourth-place 800 meter relay. "Obviously Britt did a heck of a job, but that didn't surprise me," Beebe said. What did surprise Beebe was his team's depth. Senior Mike Williams took second in the high jump with a 6-7 mark and fourth in the triple jump See H-F, Page E-7.