The Daily Oklahoman from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma • 35

THE DAILY OKLAHOMAN FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2003 5-C SPORTS Sibling rivalry spills over into ASCS racing tonight A State Fair Speedway What: American Sprint Car Series, pro stocks and factory stocks When: Gates open at 5 p.m., races begin at 7. Tickets: adults, citizens, children (ages 12-15) children (ages, 6-11) 5 and younger, free. little sister beats big brother tonight? "He probably won't talk to me for awhile," Stephanie said. "But he'll get over it." RedHawks snapshot Portland 6 RedHawks 5 (second game late) Story line: PORTLAND, Ore. In the first game of a doubleheader, the RedHawks' five-game winning streak came to an end, even though they scored four runs on six hits in the final (seventh) inning.

The Hawks and Beavers played another seven-inning game that began late Thursday and ended early today. Star of the game: RedHawks designated hitter Ryan Ludwick reached base three times in four trips, including a solo home run and run-scoring single. Other star: Portland center fielder Jermaine Clark, who started the season with the RedHawks, had a single and triple in four at bats. Unsung hero: Portland designated hitter Mario Valdez had two doubles in three at bats. Turning point of the game: Though the Hawks scored four times and had six hits in their final at bat, Portland had taken a 6-1 lead with three runs on five hits in the sixth inning.

Key Stat: The RedHawks had runners on first and second when the game ended. They had seven baserunners in the seventh inning. Noteworthy: Former Westmoore ace Jamey Wright, signed to a RedHawks contract early this week, is scheduled to make his Hawks debut Saturday night at Tacoma. BY BOB HERSOM Jose Virgil of Oklahoma State makes it to second base against Baylor's Trevor Mote in the 2001 Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City. Spare parts PCL SCOREBOARD place Cowboys haven't played since their dramatic Sunday rally that produced a series win over Missouri.

Now they're on the road for the final two weekends of the Big 12 season, starting with this matchup against second-place Nebraska With pitching suddenly a concern, OSU coach Tom Holliday has promised a shakeup in his rotation, yet no details. That won't affect ace Scott Baker, who is coming off back-to-back complete game wins The Cornhuskers have won nine of the last 10 meetings with OSU Husker first baseman Matt Hopper leads the Big 12 with 17 home runs and 50 RBIs. More power comes from outfielder Curtis Ledbetter, who has 12 homers and 42 RBIs Nebraska pitchers rank second in the conference with a combined 3.49 ERA, led by ace Aaron Marsden's 2.39 mark. Meanwhile, the Cowboys rank second in the league with a .323 batting average. On deck: The Cowboys play their final home games against Southern at 6 p.m.

Tuesday and Wednesday, then head to Texas Tech to finish the regular season. BY JOHN HELSLEY Oklahoma State at Nebraska When: 6:35 p.m. Saturday, 2:05 p.m. Sunday and 1 :05 p.m. Monday.

Where: Hawks Field at Haymarket Park, Lincoln. Rankings: OSU (30-18 overall, 12-9 Big 12) is not ranked; Nebraska (36-13, 15-6) is No. 8 in Baseball America and ESPNSports Weekly and No. 10 in Collegiate Baseball. Radio: KSPI 93.7 FM.

Pitching: OSU: Saturday Scott Baker (RH, 9-4, 3.20 ERA); Sunday Spencer Grogan (LH 3-4, 5.23 ERA); Monday Joe Weaver (RH 3-5, 5.54 ERA). Nebraska: Saturday Aaron Marsden (LH, 6-2, 2.39 ERA); Sunday Quinton Robertson (RH, 7-1 3.92 ERA); Monday Phil Shirek (RH, 4-1 2.83 ERA). Scouting report: Due to final exams, this series was pushed back a day and now concludes Monday OSU is offering a live pay-per-view webcast of all three games at its website, www.okstate.com The fifth- 17 15 .531 19 15 559 By Josh Ward Staff Writer American Sprint Car Series national driver Zach Chappell can still hear the taunts when he would get beat by his sister, Stephanie Chappell. And Stephanie, an ASCS regional driver, can still hear Zach telling her to be careful with the motor she borrowed from him two weeks ago. Welcome to the world of Chappell Racing.

Based out of the northeastern Oklahoma town of Talala it's a true family affair where tough competition is tempered by unconditional support. These days, the brother-sister rivalry isn't revisited as often as it was a few years ago, when the pair raced Micro Sprints against each other when they were in their early teens. The two went head-to-head at Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa in March, but Stephanie said she was a little out of practice and failed to race the way she wanted. Tonight's ASCS race at State Fair Speedway will be the second time this season the two will face each other. Zach said he's looking forward to a race where both he and his sister are at their best.

"This will be the first time I get to race her hard," Zach said. "I like to race her, but she's hard to pass." The brotherly challenges, Stephanie said, began early this week. "He's already pushing me," said Stephanie, a freshman at Northwestern State University in Alva, as she prepared for final exams. "It's nice. It keeps me on my toes, and it keeps him on his toes." Zach, 20, won the 2001 ASCS national championship and is currently third in the point standings.

Stephanie, 19, races the Sooner Region to keep her racing skills sharp. Once Stephanie completes her education, her plans are to join Zach and her father crew chief David Chappell on the national circuit. Stephanie is 13th in the Sooner Region point standings following a slow start to the season but did capture a fifth-place finish in Lawton last weekend. "She can get a top-five (point standing finish) in the Sooner easily," Zach said. "She's just that consistent." Zach said the fans gets a bigger charge out of the sibling rivalry than the Chappells do.

The pair has nothing but compliments for the other's skills as a racer. "She's smooth," Zach said of his sister. "If anyone ever watched her with the steering wheel you'd see how smooth she is. She races me harder than anyone else." Said Stephanie: "If I'm doing something wrong, Zach's like a coach, so he can tell me what I'm doing wrong." But what happens if the PACIFIC CONFERENCE Northern Division 21 12 347 acorifi inesl Edmonton Southern Division David Dollar, owner of the Axciom Computer Associates Chevrolet Silverado that has consecutive wins on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, said his team will be not be allowed to alter the nose configuration of the 2003 model in an effort to provide the truck more down force. Down force helps the truck take turns at higher speeds.

Dollar said he hopes NASCAR will allow them to add a IVi-inch extension to the bottom of the 2003 nose configuration sometime in the near future. However, Chevrolet has agreed to allow the Hennessey-based Morgan Dollar Motorsports and other Chevrolet teams to use the 2002 model nose configuration on larger tracks such as Texas Motor Speedway and Lowe's Motorspeedway. Dollar said he is disappointed in NASCAR's decision but understands the rationale since his Chevrolet has won the last two races. However, both wins were on short tracks, where down force was not an issue due to greatly reduced track speeds. "I understand where they're coming from," said Dollar.

"If they let us change, the average fan wouldn't understand where they're coming from." The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series resumes May 16 with the Hardee's 200 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. For the first time in the 12-year history of the American Sprint Car Series, the circuit will stage a non-winged sprint car race Saturday night on the Creek County Speedway quarter-mile. Creek County Speedway is in Sapulpa. Racers from national and Sooner Region will race. Zach Chappell is one of a few drivers in the region with non-wing experience.

He had a pair of strong finishes in non-wing races in Florida during the 2002 season. "The top wing catches you, so without a wing you have to rely on your tire spin," Chappell said. "You've got to be on top of the steering wheel." The winner of Saturday's wingless race will pocket $2,000. For ticket information and directions to Creek County Speedway, call (918) 247-6675 or (918) 838-3777. ill it Colo-ado Sp-ings New O-leans lto at Nashville.

1st game lto at Nashville. 2nd game it Lolo ado of inqs Virgil: Emergence big boost for OSU From Page 1-C considering he's the son of former major leaguer Ozzie Virgil Jr. But his time at OSU has seen a transformation. Virgil's defensive progression has been so dramatic that he's now the Cowboys' center fielder. While he once pondered a promising football future, he's all ballplayer now.

And when 15 seniors moved on from last year's team, Cowboys coach Tom Holliday knew it was time to turn the team over to Virgil. "Virg's junior year, we had a lot of seniors," said Holliday. "They stepped up a little bit and he stepped down a little bit. Some guys in this world today, they don't want to carry the captain image. "But after the season, I explained what I wanted and he said, 'Coach, let me lead this And he has, whether bashing balls into the gaps, or over the fence, or taking extra bases, or simply striking a pose as proof of confidence.

OSU assistant Robbie Wine saw a quality the Cowboys were missing when he found Virgil playing at Phoenix College Yeah, Virgil could hit, batting .435 with nine homers his only year there. But there was something more. "You sit around at times over a cup of coffee and say, 'Guys, we need a certain said Holliday. "We went to look for a personality that was a warrior type, who could maybe walk on the field and lead by example. "Well, Rob went to Arizona, saw Virg and said, 'What about this His family background intrigued me.

And his football background gave him a toughness. Everything I wanted, Jose Virgil had." Virgil had everything, except a glove, or so the story goes. "I actually had a glove," said Virgil, "but it was just rags basically." Borrowed rags at that. "Going into junior college, I was a catcher," like his father, Virgil said. "But after the fall, I told the coach I wasn't going to catch any more, because I felt it was draining me for the games and taking away my speed.

"So I moved to the outfield, borrowed somebody's glove and forgot to give it back." The Cowboys liked Virgil for his bat and his speed, the latter an attraction to college football recruiters as well. COLLEGE BASEBALL Oklahoma at Kansas State When: 7 p.m. today, 2 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday Where: Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kan.

Rankings: OU (19-25 overall, 7-14 Big 12) is unranked. Kansas State (12-34, 2-19) is unranked. Radio: KREF 1400 AM and www. soone rsports. com Today: Mark Roberts (RH, 5-4, 4.39 ERA); Saturday: Casey Brown (RH, 3-1 4.78); Sunday: Buddy Blair (LH, 3-6, 5.80).

Kansas State Today: Brett Bagley (LH, 1-2, 6.39 ERA). Saturday: Jim Ripley (RH, 3-6, 6.16). Sunday: Kevin Melcher(RH, ERA). Scouting report: OU is riding a five-game conference winning streak. Kansas State has lost nine straight and 25 of 27.

Wildcats coach Mike Clark announced his resignation on Monday after 17 years. He will complete the season. During OU's streak, the Sooners are hitting Sooner pitchers have a 2.80 ERA. And the Sooner defense has committed just two errors in 1 99 chances. Kansas State left-hander Brett Bagley, who will start tonight, played for OU as a freshman, then left for junior college.

Bagley is from Catoosa. Since moving into the regular starting lineup, OU sophomore outfielder Greg Kish is hitting .400 (16 for 40) with 7 RBI in 10 games. On deck: OU vs. Texas-Arlington, Wednesday at Mitchell Park. OU at Missouri, May 16-18.

BY GEORGE SCHROEDER Iowa 4, Memphis 0, 1st game Iowa 3, Memphis 2, 9 innings, 2nd game Oklahoma at Portland, ppd. Omaha 10, New Orleans 2 Sacramento at Nashville, rain Colorado Springs 3, Tacoma 1 RedHawks' Next Three Today Oklahoma at Portland, 9:05 p.m. Oklahoma at Tacoma, 3:35 p.n OU outfielder named Academic AlLDistrict Oklahoma softball player Erin Evans was named first-team Academic All-District by the College Sports Information Directors of America on Thursday. Evans is a three-time first team All-Big 12 selection who will graduate with honors from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Special Education. This marks the second consecutive year Evans has earned First-Team Academic All-America honors for District VI.

A four-year starter for Oklahoma in the outfield, Evans has played in 247 games and started in 236. With a career batting average of .330, Evans ranks third in all-time career runs scored, fifth in hits and seventh in RBIs, triples and total bases for the Sooners. FROM STAFF REPORTS "I had always been huge on football. And baseball came second," Virgil said. "But I wanted to see how I could do if I put my mind on just baseball for once.

"I had a good year and after that I said, 'That's it. I'm just going to play Virgil spent his first year at OSU as the designated hitter, then found a home in left field a year ago as a junior, when his leadership values may have first started to surface. After he suffered a season-ending severe ankle sprain in the Oklahoma series, the Cowboys didn't win again and missed the NCAA Tournament. Virgil would seem to be irreplaceable now. He own's two of the Big 12's best hitting streaks this season, one that stretched 17 games, another for 15.

And he's working on yet another, with carrying an 11-game streak to Nebraska. Overall, Virgil has hit safely in 44 of OSU's 48 games. Virgil leads or is tied for the team lead in seven different offensive categories batting average home runs (10), runs (55), hits (78), doubles (21), RBIs (48) and stolen bases (14). And he's been at his best in Big 12 play, batting .440 in conference games. That's just the stat story, which may not compare to Virgil's emotional impact on the Cowboys.

It's hard to say what was bigger on Sunday, his lead-padding homer against Missouri, or the way the Cowboys responded to him enjoying the shot, which drew the ire of the Tigers. "Virg never thinks about the other team," said Holliday. "He never says anything to other team. Missouri was faceless. It wasn't a slap." POINT STANDINGS Super Sprints 1 Mike Peters, 1 2.

Danny Jennings, 1 3. Gary latl, 4, Larry Neighbors, 5, Bruce Jennings, 6. Loyd Clevenger, 1 ,21 7. Jake Martens, 1 ,1 30; 8. McAlister, 9, Randy Dickson, 10, Kevin Pick-id, 920.

A feature wins: Neighbors 2, Peters 2, Flatt 1 Martens Dickson 1 Dennis Park, 1 Championship Sprints 1 Mark Brill, 1 2. Steve Smith, 1 ,200: 3, Terr Holland, 1 ,1 20; 4, Kyle Hacker, 5. Martin Marlow, 6. (tie) Chuck Pott, Stanley Reed 1 8, Ray Chandler, 1 9, (tie) Steve Clemmons, Jerry Morrison, 1 ,040. A feature wins: Hacker 2, Smrth 1 Holland 1 Reed 1 Donald Dukes 1 Lester Decker 1 Sellers 1 Johnson 1 Factory Stocks 1 (tie) Andrew Tillison Tim Allen, 1 3.

Rodney Emerson, 1 4. Tony Osborn, 1 5. Rickey Daniels, Walker 1. USA Modifieds Tony Anderson, 1 2, Cory Davis, 1 3, Rick Go- Tillison 2, Allen 2, Emerson 1 Osbom 1 4. Alan Oliva, 1 5.

Michael Reed, 1 7. Ron Frair, GYMNASTICS HALL OF FAME WEEKEND Thomas credits success to Conner rivalry corated gymnasts to come out of East Germany, Janz won four gold medals at the '69 European Championships and two golds at the 72 Olympics, Franco Menichelli, Italy: Shoving his way into a sport dominated by the Soviets and Japanese, Menichelli won three medals at the 1 962 and '66 Worlds and live medals at the '60 and '64 Olym- Max Bangerter, Switzerland: The late Bang-erter, former secretary-general of the International Gymnastics Federation, will be inducted posthumously under the category of Lifetime Achievement. Bangerter oversaw the IGF for 22 years. In 1982, the International Olympic Committee honored Bangerter with the Olympic Order. Other awards Norbert Bueche, current secretary-general of the International Gymnastics Federation, will be the first recipient of the Hall of Fame's Order of Merit award.

About the Hall of Fame Founded in 1988 and now located in downtown Oklahoma City, the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame thus far has inducted 38 members from 15 nations, including Nadia Comaneci, Olga Korbut, Mary Lou Retton, Bela Karolyi, Lar-isa Latynina, Bart Conner, Nikolai Andrianov, Boris Shakhlin, Daniela Silivas and Vera Caslavska. The schedule 6:30 today: downtown Renaissance hotel, black-tie induction ceremony lor the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, Today Saturday: Hall of Fame Championships at the Cox Convention Center, 7 p.m. Saturday: Nadia Comaneci International Invitational, featuring US, junior national champion Carly Patterson, 2001 Goodwill Games medalist Hollie Vise, U.S. national team member Nina Kim and 2002 World Championships floor exercise finalist Brenda Magaqa of Mexico. Hall of Fame inductees Kurt Thomas, U.S.: The first American to win a World Championships gold medal, the 1978 floor exercise.

He won two World golds in 79, three U.S. national championships in the all-around and remains the only gymnast to win the Sullivan Award, given to the top amateur athlete in the U.S. Dmitry Bilozerchev, Russia: At the age of 16 in the 1983 World Championships, Bilozerchev won four gold medals. A 1985 automobile crash shattered his leg into 41 pieces, but at the 1987 World Championships he returned to win his second overall world title and three other gold medals. At the 1988 Olympic Games, he won three gold medals and a bronze.

Karin Janz, Germany: One of the most de By Berry Tramel Staff Writer Kurt Thomas attended Indiana State University during the Larry Bird era, when Bird and Magic Johnson ruled college basketball. Thomas knows a rivalry when he sees one. And he saw one up close with fellow gymnast Bart Conner. Twenty-five years ago, Thomas and Conner dominated American gymnastics like no one before or since, and their rivalry comes full circle tonight in downtown Oklahoma City, where Thomas will be inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. Conner, inducted in 1997, will serve as master of ceremonies.

Conner. Thomas was the U.S. all-around champion in 1977-79. Thomas won the NCAA title in 1977 and 1979; Conner won in 1978. Indiana State and Conner's Oklahoma team tied for the '77 NCAA team title; OU won it outright in '78.

"The rivalries now are not even close to what we had," Thomas said. "Now it changes hands quite a bit. Bart would win, or I would win. And the next three or four would be pretty far down." On Thomas' desk today sits a photo of Thomas and Conner as 1975 Pan American Games teammates. "We weren't the best of friends," Thomas said.

"We "I loved it," Thomas said of the rivalry. "Bart made me the gymnast I was. He was one of the driving figures behind my success." Conner, though two years younger, was the dominant U.S. junior gymnast in the early '70s and eventually became the most decorated American male gymnast ever. Thomas calls Conner his "idol." When they first competed in the same event, a junior Olympics competition, Conner won the elite division and "I probably finished last," Thomas said.

Soon enough, though, they were equals, and Thomas more often than not got the best of were rivals. We got along, but we both wanted to beat each other as badly as we could." Thomas was the 1979 Sullivan Award winner, given to the top U.S. amateur athlete. He remains the only gymnast to win the award. Thomas was on the '76 and '80 Olympic teams and in 1992 made a comeback that made him, at age 36, the oldest-ever member of the U.S.

national team. The last seven years, Thomas has run a gymnastics club in Dallas that bears his name. The Kurt Thomas Gymnastics Club often competes against a Norman-based club. Yep, the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy. The rivalry lives..