Sioux City Journal from Sioux City, Iowa • 20

2 The Sioux City Journal, Saturday, July 26, 1997 Gamble is likely to start for East Stamps honor coaches from page B1 1 lA i r. it1. I I e. j7 r- 1 a in rM the seventh inning to overcome West 4-3 in their district opener. East then blanked fourth-ranked Heelan 3-0 in the district final to earn a top seed in the regionals.

"I think the game with West was a real eye-opener for the girls," said Zyzda, who has guided the Raiders to a 32-9 record. "It came into a reality that the season could be ending real soon. "We all know anything can happen during tourney time. Spencer's had a good softball tradition for the past 10 years or so." Spencer got past Denison-Schleswig in its first district game, but fell 7-2 to Fort Dodge in the district championship, from which both teams advance. All three of East's pitchers saw action in the district tournament, but Jakki Gamble will likely get the start in tonight's contest.

Gamble got the win in relief of Desiree Kvidera against West, while freshman-to-be Rachel Browm shut down Heelan. Gamble (14-7) has a 0.73 ERA, while Kvidera (16-2) carries a 1.18 ERA. Brown has not allowed a run in 18 innings of work. "Jakki came in well against West and I feel she is able to hit her corners," said Zyzda. "They all have their strengths they bring to pitching for us." Katie Cunningham, unavailable for the first game against East, took the loss for Spencer in the district finals, allowing 10 hits, two walks and striking out five.

Heather Johnson also throws for the Tigers, who have a 17-17 record. Cunningham also bats clean-up for Spencer, behind third baseman Sara Hornby. Jill Simmons leads East with a .408 average, 17 doubles and 45 RBIs. Molli Laing, who bats third in the order, just ahead of Simmons, is next with a .381 average that includes three hits in two post-season games. No.

9 hitter Kristi Baxter came through with a two-run double against Heelan and the bottom of the order was also an important factor in the comeback against West. "I think the girls are handling the pressure well," commented Zyzda. "They're picking each other up and playing with a lot of spirit and I'd like to see that continue." Probable Sioux City lineups East Jessie Benson, dh. J.J. Benson, ss, Molli Laing, 2b.

Jill Simmons, Slet Miller, Jakki Gamble, p. .309, 14-7; Erica Carper, rt, Me Ian Ernst, cf, Knsti Baxter, 1b, JuNe Koenigs, 3b. Heelan Jamie Dardis. 1b, Emilia Krueger, ss, Jill Dardis, 3b, Jacque LaFleur, cf. Mandi Blatchford, rt.

Jessica Hooks, 8th grade, dh, Kristin Ammons, c. Janef Moody, Ashley Black, 2b, Cindy Dykstra. p. 30-2. Former pro football players Gale Sayers, Joe Namath and Bart Starr and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue (from left) look over poster-sized illustrations of new stamps honoring legendary foot- ball coaches George Halas, Paul "Bear" Bryant, Vince Lombardi and Glenn "Pop" Warner on first day of issue for the stamps, (AP photo) said.

"We were getting kids on base and in scoring position, but you have to get those timely hits." Sophomore first baseman Jamie Dardis is leading Heelan with a .421 batting average and 34 RBIs. Two more state tournament veterans, senior Jill Dardis and junior Jacque LaFleur. are hitting .330 and .336, respectively. Cindy Dykstra has handled the bulk of the pitching duties for the CrusAlers piling up a 30-2 record with a paltry 0.65 earned run average. "Cindy's throwing well," noted Dardis, adding that this week's soaring temperatures shouldn't affect his team.

Ve kind of like the heat. "This is Cindy Dykstra weather. She likes to throw when its hot, so the rest of us will put up with it." Fort Dodge posted a 10-10 record in the tough Central Iowa Metropolitan League, including six losses to 9th-ranked Ankeny and lOth-ranked Urbandale. The Dodgers of Coach Bruce Hartley have won their last nine games. Senior Andrea Holft and freshman Suzanne Stripling have split the pitching duties for Fort Dodge this season.

Holft, a left-hander who faced Heelan in the regional tournament last year, posted a 15-8 record, while the right-handed Stripling went 13-8. "Our pitchers have both been throwing real well and our hitters have been putting the bat on the ball," said Harltey. "We made a couple of little mistakes in our district games, but when you're hitting that well you can make a few defensive mistakes. "Of course, as we get farther down the tournament trail we hope not to make those mistakes." Catcher Mandi Pilcher leads the Dodgers with a .350 average and four home runs, freshman shortstop Lindsay Sampson is batting .320 and senior outfielder Amber Casotti is also hitting .320. Much has changed since East and Spencer met on the Softball diamond earlier in the summer, including the impact the outcome of the game will have on both teams.

East handled the Tigers rather easily back on June 6 at the Estherville-Lincoln Central tournament, picking up a 10-3 decision, one of its seven straight wins to open the season. "That was only our fourth game of the season, so you can't put a lot of stock in that," said East Coach Jamie "Zyzda. "And, one of their pitchers was at the state tennis tournament." The Raiders almost didn't make it this far, needing a two-out rally in sweeps Red Sox, 5 4, 8-5 ROUNDUP kLL Anaheim By Associated Press BOSTON Darrii Erstad tripled and scored on Tim Salmon's sacrifice fly to break a ninth-inning tie Friday as the Anaheim Angels completed a day-night doubleheader sweep with an 8-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox. In the first game, Chuck Finley won his sixth consecutive decision to beat Boston 5-4 and tie Nolan Ryan atop the Angels' career list with 138 victories. Anaheim took a 5-1 lead in the fourth inning of the nightcap before the Red Sox rallied to tie it.

It was still 5-5 in the ninth when Erstad led off with a triple. Dave Hollins' fly to right was not deep enough to score the run. Jim Edmonds, who was 2-for-3 in the second game and 5-for-7 on the day, was walked intentionally. Salmon followed with a fly ball deep enough to center to allow Erstad to score easily. Garret Anderson then touched Tim Wakefield (4-12) for a two-run homer to make it 8-5.

Mike Holtz (3-2), the fourth Anaheim pitcher, earned the victory with 1 Vi innings of no-hit relief. Troy Percival pitched the ninth for his 14th save. In his much-anticipated major league debut, Red Sox starter Brian Brooks will pitch for X's tonight Nilsson, who has. hit three of his 16 homers in the 'past two games, added a two-run shot off Glenn Dishman in the eighth. Karl (5-10), pitching in Tiger Stadium for the first time in his career, won his third straight start after losing his previous five decisions.

Mariners 8, Yankees 1 NEW YORK Ken Griffey first home run in 15 games, a three-run shot, capped a six-run fourth inning that sent the Seattle Mariners to an 8-1 win over the New York Yankees. Griffey, who had been stuck on homer No. 30 since July 5, ended his longest homerless drought this season with a shot off David Wells (10-5). Griffey had gone 59 at-bats since his last homer. Jamie Moyer (11-3) held the Yankees to seven hits in 7 Vi innings, his longest outing this year.

Blue Jays 2, Royals 1 TORONTO Alex Gonzalez homered and the Toronto Blue Jays won their fourth straight game, 2-1 over the Kansas City Royals. Toronto has been outhit in all four of its victories. Kansas City had 10 hits to the Blue Jays' five. The Blue Jays won their fifth in a row at SkyDome, matching their best Breeze soccer OMAHA A tumultuous season for the Sioux City Breeze drew to a close with a 5-3 USISL Premier League Central Division playoff loss to Omaha here Friday night. The United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues post-season game was tied 3-3 in the late going when Sioux City defender Prince Peters was red-carded and ejected from the game, leaving the Breeze a man short for the crucial final minutes.

Omaha took advantage almost immediately as Jamie Harris booted in his second goal of the game, to go along with two assists, at the 85-minute mark. Danny Herrera added a late goal for the Flames, taking a rebound off the pipe and kicking it into the net. Sioux City, which finished strong after Brad Smith took over the coaching reins when Salty Markham resigned in midseason, got on the board with a goal by Brian Hagan just 5:45 into the game. Harris tied it for Omaha at 14:54 and assisted on a goal by Matt Kile wins No. 14; Astros top Expos streak of the season, and reached the .500 mark (49-49) for the first time since June 1.

Twins 5, Orioles 2 MINNEAPOLIS Brad Radke won his 10th consecutive start with his second straight complete game, getting two solo homers from Paul Molitor and a two-run shot from Terry Steinbach as the Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-2. Radke (14-5) became the first Minnesota pitcher to win 10 straight starts and moved within two victories of Scott Erickson's Twins-record 12-game winning streak in 1991. The 24-year-old righthander wasn't as sharp as he has been, allowing solo homers to Brady Anderson and Rafael Palmeiro. Rangers 8, White Sox 5 CHICAGO Dean Palmer singl-ed in the go-ahead run in the eighth and pinch-hitter Mike Simms followed with a homer as the Texas Rangers snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Chicago White Sox 8-5. Juan Gonzalez doubled to start the eighth off Jaime Navarro (8-9), who failed to collect his 100th career victory.

season ends Cushing at 38:07, giving the hosts a 2-1 edge at the intermission. The Breeze, who finished with a 8-9 division record, regained the lead with goals by Alex Vasquez at 63:21 and Hakeem Koroma at 74:05. Omaha (10-7) tied the game 3-3 as Billy Duranzo took an assist from Harris and found the net at 81:25. Sioux City goalkeeper Chris Robinson faced 16 shots and made 10 saves. The Breeze launched 12 shots, but eight of them were warded off by the Omaha goalkeeper and another hit the pole.

The Flames advanced to the Central Division championship match Saturday night against Des Moines, a 4-0 winner over regular season champion Lincoln. Scoring summary First ha 1, Sioux City Brian Hagan (Alex Vasquez) 5:45: 2, Omaha Jamie Harris (Steve Bumeau) 3, Omaha Matt Cushing (Jamie Harris) 38:07. Second hat 4. Sioux City Alex Vasquez (Bobby James) 5, Sioux City Hakeem Koroma (Prince Peters) 6, Omaha Billy Duranzo (Jamie Harris) 7, Omaha Jamie Harris (Kyle Komacz) 8. Omaha Danny Herrera (Unassisted) 00.

Vondrak stroked a double and a single and Ryan Quinn swatted a pair of singles. South Sioux City will play in the Area 3 championship at Wayne Sunday night at 8 o'clock against the team advancing out of the losers bracket. South Sioux City 1 1 Blair 1 South Sioux City ...300 53 -11 14 2 Blair 000 01 1 3 1 Jessie Kemperi and Ryan Quinn; Brett Brown, Joe Kunes (3) and Brian Brown. Sioux City's 11 hits, including a double. Tim Jackson Colby Lessman, Adam Stevens and Nick Ellwanger all added singles for the Saints.

Sioux City, which improved to 14-8 overall, took a 1-0 lead in the series. Game two is at 7:30 p.m. Monday in Sioux Center. Saint 7, Sioux Center 0 Sioux Center 000 000 0 0 2 1 Sioux City 011 041 7 11 0 Mike Peuse, Jerry Krebes (5) and Mike Domiok; Dave Rossman and Colby Lessman, Rose mowed through the Angels in the first inning with two strikeouts and a groundout before coming off the field to a standing ovation. Athletics 2, Indians 1 CLEVELAND Jose Canseco's 458-foot home run with one out in the ninth inning gave the Oakland Athletics a 2-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Canseco hit a 3-2 pitch from Mike Jackson (2-2) over the center-field fence for his 21st home run. It was the first homer allowed by Jackson in 54 appearances since last Sept. 8. Aaron Small (7-4) pitched one scoreless inning for the win and Billy Taylor worked a perfect ninth for his 19th save. Brewers 6, Tigers 1 DETROIT Dave Nilsson hit two home runs and Scott Karl pitched seven solid innings as the Milwaukee Brewers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 6-1 win over the Detroit Tigers.

Nilsson, Jeromy Burnitz and Gerald Williams all homered in the fourth inning off Scott Sanders. the Chicago Cubs 9-3. Castillo (7-9) won for the first time with the Rockies. His first start for Colorado also came against the Cubs, and he got a no-decision at Wrigley Field. Dodgers 8, Phillies 1 LOS ANGELES Mike Piazza homered and drove in four runs in his return from a four-game absence, leading Chan Ho Park and the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Philadelphia Phillies 8-1.

Piazza hit a three-run homer as he came back from a strained hamstring. Eric Karros also homered and drove in four runs, and Park doubled and singled to become the first Dodgers pitcher to get two hits in a game this year. Pirates 5, Giants 2 SAN FRANCISCO Jason Schmidt pitched seven strong innings and Kevin Polcovich homered and scored three times as Pittsburgh snapped a three-game losing streak. Schmidt (5-6) allowed two runs one earned while striking out six and walking four. Loser Kirk Rueter (7-5) allowed five runs in 5 1-3 innings.

SAN DIEGO Carl Everett hit a two-out, two-run single in the eighth inning as New York beat San Diego, snapping the Padres' winning streak at five. The Mets' three-run eighth included two errors by two-time NL Gold Glove third baseman Ken Caminiti and two straight two-out walks by reliever Tim Worrell (3-7). The Mets won for the eighth time in nine games. ml rj ROUNDUP bl end of the first half. Tony Shaver, the losing pitcher, gave up eight runs and 10 hits in four innings, walking four.

X's AND OH's: "Hot" was not enough to describe the conditions at Lewis and Clark Park on Friday. Perhaps searing or unbearable would be better words. The temperature at game time was 93 degrees, with a heat index of 1 12. Despite that fact, the announced attendance was 3,205 Duluth-Superior was trying to bounce back from an 18-6 loss at Sioux Falls on Thursday. Chris Powell was 3-for-6 with six RBIs and three runs scored for the Yellowbirds, while Sean Heam had four hits in six trips, driving in four.

Brian Traxler, a former Los Angeles Dodgers farmhand, made his debut with Sioux Falls, going Two of the Northern League's top three home run hitters played in Friday's game. Mike Meggers of Duluth-Superior, acquired in a recent trade with Winnipeg, leads the league with 19 round-trippers, while Sioux City's Kevin Garner is tied with former major leaguer Daryl Motley with 17 homers. Meggers also leads the league in RBIs with 65.... Nolan Lane, one of five Explorers who will play in the Northern League All-Star game, extending his hitting streak to 10 games on Friday. Lane, a fifth-year X's veteran, is 20 of 43 (.465) with six home runs, three doubles, 1 8 RBIs and 1 1 runs scored in that Allen Halley, who was on the Explorers' early season roster but never played a game for Sioux City, will pitch for Duluth-Superior in the final game of the three-game series Sunday.

Halley, a righthander, is 1-2 with a 5.45 ERA in 10 Kevin Gamer did his best Bo Jackson impression after striking out in the sixth inning Friday. The muscular designated hitter snapped his bat over his leg orj the way back to the dugout. SIOUX CITY 9, DULUTH 2 DULUTH-SUPERIOR ab I SIOUX CITY ab Cox 4 Matos ss 4 bi 2 2 0 Arnold 3 Briiey .....4 Johnson .....4 1 1 0 0 2 3 Floras ss 1 0 Perez rl ...4 2 Gamer dh 3 1 Pinoni 1b ....5 1 Lane 3 0 Miranda rl 1 0 Cannaday 4 1 Slaylon 0 0 0 KopaczSb 4 0 Meggers If 4 1 Shanahan 3b .4 Jensen 4 1 1 1 0 Texidor rf 3 Mitterwald 3 Rodriguez 2b 3 KlinerSb 2 1 Total- .12 I 7 1 Total (14 Duluth-Superior Sloui City 010 000 100- 2 30) 201 00- LOB Duluth-Superior 4. Sioux City 8 DP- Sioux City 2. 2B- Jensen (1 3).

Cox (7), Kopact (9) 38 Matos (1). HH -Meggers (19), Pinoni (10), Cannaday (3) SB Lane (23). SF -Gamer. IP ER BB SO Duluth-Superior Shaver (L 48) 4 10 I I 3 4 Weaver 2 3 1112 Klutlle 1 10 0 11 Glron 1 0 0 0 0 1 Sioux City Shoemaker 7 7 2 2 1 3 Porin 1 0 0 0 0 1 Cerbone I 0 0 0 0 1 frompageB1 of the first. Angelo Cox laced a double down the left field line and scored on a base hit by Danny Perez, who broke out of a recent slump with a fine offensive outing.

Nolan Lane and Aaron Cannaday added RBI singles in the first. Lane kept alive a lOgame hitting streak, tacking on his 23rd stolen base of the season. Scott Pinoni, one of the hottest-hitting X's, clubbed a two-run homer over the left field wall in the bottom of the third. For Pinoni, it was the 10th round-tripper of the season and his third in as many games, running his RBI total to 58, second in the Northern League. Explorers catcher Cannaday, who singled home Kevin Gamer in the first, sent a 410-foot blast over the center field wall two batters later, extending the X's lead to 6-1.

Shoemaker gave up a solo homer to Mike Meggers in the second. Meggers, the Northern League leader in homers and RBIs, left the yard for the 19th time, a towering shot to left field. Josh Kliner started the Sioux City fourth with a line drive single to right, while Cox followed with his second base hit of the night. Perez dropped an RBI single to center, sending Cox to third and setting the table for Kevin Garner, who lifted a sacrifice fly to right. The X's scored their ninth run in the sixth when Julius Matos legged out a triple to right field and came home on Perez's third RBI single of the contest.

"I came up with guys in good position, so I was just looking for something to hit in the air," said Perez, who sat out the last two games after being hit in the ribs by a pitch on Monday. "I was just not doing certain things I should have been doing the last few games." Dulutfi got its second run off Shoemaker in the seventh. Jeff Jensen and Jose Texidor stroked back-to-back singles, Jensen scoring from third when Bryan Mitterwald hit into a double play. The Explorers have now beaten Duluth-Superior four straight times at Lewis and Clark Park. Sioux City swept the Dukes June 6-8, but lost two crucial games at Duluth neat the SSC Legion pounds Blair By Associated Press HOUSTON Darryl Kile won his seventh straight decision, pitching the Houston Astros to their seventh consecutive victory Friday, 5-2 over the Montreal Expos.

Kile (14-3) lowered his ERA to 1.94, allowing only one earned run in his fifth complete game. He matched Atlanta's Greg Maddux for the most wins in the NL, giving up seven hits, striking out eight and walking one. The Astros last won seven in a row from June 29-July 5, 1996. The team record is 10 in a row, accomplished three times and most recently in 1989. Braves 7, Reds 3 CINCINNATI Jeff Blauser hit Atlanta's ninth grand slam, matching the National League record, and the Braves ruined Jack McKeon's return to managing by beating the Cincinnati Reds 7-3.

McKeon, out of managing since 1990, replaced Ray Knight earlier Friday as the fading Reds decided to change directions (see separate story). Cincinnati has lost six of seven to fall out of contention in the NL Central. Marlins 5, Cardinals 4 ST. LOUIS Rookie Livan Hernandez won his fourth straight start and Charles Johnson had a two-run home run and three RBIs as the Florida Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4.

Hernandez, a 22-year-old Cuban defector who signed with the Marlins in January 1996, didn't seem bothered by the 99-degree heat at game time as he allowed five hits and two runs in 62A innings. Rockies 9, Cubs 3 DENVER Frank Castillo beat the team that traded him July 15, pitching the Colorado Rockies past WAYNE, Neb. The South Sioux City Legion baseball team advanced to the championship game of the Area 3 district tournament by whalloping Blair 1 1-1 in five innings here Friday night. Nate Keselring led the South Sioux Legion onslaught, going 4-for-4 at the plate with three singles, a double and three runs scored. Teammate Dustin Richmond had a single, double and two RBIs, while Justin Saints rout Sioux Center Dave Rossman twirled a two-hit shutout to lead the Sioux City Saints to a 7-0 amateur baseball tournament win over Sioux Center Friday night at Headid Park.

Clint Schonrock powered the Saints offensively with a three-run homer in the fifth inning. Sioux City took a 2-0 lead with single runs in the second and third innings, then put the finishing touches on with four more in the fifth. Dave Markowsky belted four of WP- Shaver..