The Independent-Record from Helena, Montana • 9

I 4 i The Independent Record, Helena, Sunday, August 13, 1989 1 inrodl irfls stowpoftslh rflkolQ when it competes in four tournaments, beginning iT with tho nutinnaic Dallas on Au0. 25. ana carrying when it competes in four tournaments, beginning with the nationals Dallas on Aug55, ana carrying around the country, the arc of the ball is changing RlVcllSbOWlinS 3S- the-nations-favorite game from fast and straight to high and slow. Slowpitch softball has become the preferred sport of players who once got their kicks swinging away at baseballs or playing such other high-intensity games as football and basketball. Softball participation has been estimated at one of every six Americans, around 40,000,000, which rivals bowling as the nations favorite game to play.

from division and regional playoffs that are currently underway. In fastpitch the pitcher will dominate the ball-game. He and the catcher have a good time, but everybody else just stands around. So slowpitch becomes a lot less boring game for those wanting to SuperiorApollo, a major class mens team Simsbury, Conn. Frank Lateano, a team co-sponsor, credits success this season to making the right from a pool of players after several other sponsors folded, helping to overtake perennial of Ohio.

through to the USSSAs World Series in Omaha, in the same stadium used for the College Baseball World Series. If popularity could be plotted on a graph, fastpitch would be heading down, while slowpitch would be skyrocketing up. Harry Marsh, editor of the USSSAs official newspaper The Slo-Pitch Game, said the turning point was 1960, when slowpitch overtook fastpitch in popularity. We experienced a better than 10 percent growth each year for the past 10 years. It took 15 years for our association to reach 50,000 teams.

Over the next five years, we got our next 50,000 teams to go over 100,000 teams, Marsh said. Fastpitch was the dominate game, but now (More on SOFTBALL, page 4B) from his choices major leader Steles Grafton, We made some nice selections, and the chemistry just worked, said Lateano, sounding like the general manager of any major sports team. You can have a dozen Mickey Mantles and still not win. Lateanos team dresses in red, white, and navy blue, we are the All-American team. SUPERIORAPOLLO WILL HAVE ample opportunity to prove its top ranking later this month' play, said McNew, a one-time fastpitch pitching ace and member of the USSSAs Hall of Fame for his umpiring.

THE TEAMS MCNEW WATCHES over include such top Class mens teams as Walls Sports of Springfield, currently ranked No. 1 in the world, MVP Sports of Arlington, and Oil of Everett; the Fairlawn Bandits, a womens Class from Warwick, R.I., ranked No. 11 in the 7 world; and the top-ranked team in all of softball, IN SLOWPITCH, EVERYONE IS involved in the game. Everyone hits, fields and throws. Its a total team effort, said Dean McNew, New England director and international vice president of the United States Slo-Pitch Softball Association.

The game draws everyone from kids to recovered heart attack victims, attracted to the softball field like brightly-dressed moths to a light. The USSSA has 23 world championships covering its different classifications, with many of the teams emerging Homaneski enjoys his first season Medicine Hat's Lionel Roberts steals second in the second inning while Helena Brewer second baseman Troy Haugen falls over him. Roberts advanced to third as the ball sailed into the outfield. (Staff photo by Julie Tranmer) 1 By DAVID LESNICK IR Sports Writer wning a professional baseball team has turned out to be everything that Ron Romaneski had hoped it would be. Its been exciting, exhilarating and quite an experience for the first-year owner.

Its even been more than that in some instances, he said. LIKE WHEN ERIC Patton, the Helena Brewers 22-year-old pitcher from Mission Viejo, was married this summer. Romaneski and his daughter had to help with the majority of the local arrangements. They were married at the Colonial Inn, he said. You dont count on doing those kind of things when you buy a baseball team.

But all in all, its been a fun-filled time for the man from Yakima, who now calls Helena home. The community has been real supportive, he said. On (More ROMANESKI, page 4B) FeweFS sflp Jfaiys, 52 Ron Romaneski sits in the press box overlooking Kindrick Legion Field, home of the Helena Brewers. (Staff photo by Gene Fischer) PGA Championship: rain, rain go away Whites high bounding grounder to the shortstop scored OLeary, giving the Brewers a 2-1 lead. Reed Charpias soft liner into left field scored Dodson from third, as the Brewers threatened to break the game wide open.

Angel Diaz was sent to first after a poor pitch hit his helmet to load the bases. Joe Roebucks grounder to third scored White, but Diaz was thrown out at second and Roebuck beat the throw at first. Catcher Bob Kappessar struck out to end the inning. Medicine Hat responded with a run in the top of the fifth. With one out, Juan Jaime walked as did Drew Rooney after Andrzejewski ran the count full.

Blue Jay-third baseman Andy Carlton doubled home Jaime to make the score 4-2. Patton came in and struck out Jeff Irish, walked Lionel Roberts to load the bases, and struck out Heckel to end the inning. Patton record seven strikeouts in the game, allowed only one hit and walked just one. The Billings Mustangs come to Helena tomorrow for three games to complete Helenas five-game home stand. The Brewers then travel to Great Falls to play five games in three days in a battle between the Northern Divisions top two clubs.

Reid holds a 3-shot lead; thunderstorms delay play By DAVID CAMPBELL IR Sports Writer The Helena Brewers used a four-run fourth inning to storm past visiting Medicine Hat 5-2 night at Kindrick Legion Field. The win avenged last nights loss to the Blue Jays. In 10 games this season, the teams have split 5-5. We have not played real well against them (the Blue Jays) and they always seem ready for us, commented manager Dusty Rhodes after the game. The win gives Helena a 28-22 record for the season and second place in the Northern Division, 12 games behind league-leading Great Falls, which lost to Billings 9-5.

The Blue Jays are 17-35. Starting pitcher Joe A to Andrzejewski threw alot of pitches according to Rhodes, in hurling four and one-third innings. A to ran the count full seven times and walked seven Blue Jay. batters but also struck out five batters. Relief pitcher Eric Patton snulfed a Blue Jay rally in the fifth inning, striking out Wally Heckel with the bases loaded for the third out.

He completed the game for his fourth victory of the season and did a great job for us," in Rhodes estimation. Five consecutive singles, a hit batsman and a fielders choice gave the Brewers a commanding 4-1 lead in the decisive fourth inning. Rhodes noted, We made only one error (defensively) and we got the hits when we needed, them. After Reggie Brown grounded out to lead off the inning, Troy Haugen, Troy OLeary and Bo Dodson all singled, with Dodson collecting an RBI when Haugen scored as both runners advanced a base on the throw to the plate. With OLeary on third and Dodson on second, Darrin Saturday was not a good one for the old-timers, as the hopes of Tom Watson, and Arnold Palmer faded before the storm arrived and Jack Nicklaus didnt gain any ground.

Watson all but putted himself out of a chance to become just the fifth man to score a career sweep of golfs Grand Slam events the Masters, U.S. and British Opens. He needs only this title to join Gene Sara-zen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win all four, but fell seven shots behind Reid. Palmer, who also lacks a only PGA title to complete a Grand Slam, continued to struggle after his opening-round 68 awakened some old echoes. He blew to a 40 on the front nine and was 17 shots behind Reid.

Nicklaus played the front nine in 1-under-par 35 but was eight shots behind Reid. Watson, three shots back when play started, ran afoul of a balky putter. He missed four putts of 4 feet or less in a string of five holes, stumbled to a 38 over the front nine and was seven shots back with nine holes to go. Reid played the front side in 2-under-par 34 and reached the turn with a 45-hole total of 167, 13 under par. HAWTHORN WOODS, II.

(AP) Mike Reid put in only a half day Saturday, but it Was enough to add another shot to his lead at the storm-disrupted 71st PGA National Championship. This is real country club golf, isnt it? Reid said after a thunderstorm halted play for the day in mid-afternoon, just after he had completed the front nine with a three-shot lead. Play nine holes and go in and have a hamburger. But Saturdays half-day will make for a full Sunday Reid and 38 others will have to finish third-round play before beginning the final 18 holes. Reid, who has led or shared the lead all the way, started the day ahead by two shots and picked up another on the front nine before rain, wind and lightning began to lash the Kemper Lakes Golf Club in suburban Chica- JHe went in, had his hamburger and waited around for three hours before play was declared over at 6:20 p.m., CDT.

The revised schedule calls for Reid and 38 others including most of the leaders to return at 7 a.m. to finish what they started Saturday. After that, theyll play the final round. Twenty-seven holes is no big deal, said Mtdlch Hat Halana brhbi ibrhM Hackal 2b 9 0 1 1 Brown 3 0 10 Cedeno 4 0 0 0 Haugtn 3b 4 111 Holtxclaw rf 4 0 10 O'Leary tf 4 110 Rojot lb 3 0 0 0 Dodson lb fill Jaime dh 4 10 0 White dh 4 111 Rooney cf 4 110 Charpia 3b 4 0 11 Carlton 3b 3 0 11 Dial cf 4 0 10 Irish 3 0 0 0 Roebuck rf 2 0 0 1 Williams 0 0 0 0 Kappessar 3 100 Roberts If 2 0 0 0 Totals II 2 4 2 Totals 29 9 I 9 Medicine SOO 110 000-2 Helena 000 400 01k 9 Kappessar, Small, Rojos LOB Medicine Hat 11, Helena 9 SB RobertsO), Brown (4), Kappessar (3) Brown IR HRERBBftO Medicine Hat Small I 9 7 0 9 4 1 3 Kulina 1 0 0 0 0 3 Helena Andrieiewskl 4' 3 2 2 7 9 Patton 4 2 44s 10 0 17 HBP Holtxclaw, Irish by Andrzejewski, Roebuck, Diaz by Small, Irish by Patton Balk Andrzejewski 2. PB Kappessar.

Mike Reid of Provo, Utah, reacts after sinking a putt on the second hole during the third round Saturday. Reid, who was in the last group on the course. My job is just to be ready for it when the bell rings. Play was stopped immediately after Reid, Craig Stadler and Leonard Thompson made the turn. The crowd scattered, well aware that seven amateur golfers in this area have been hospitalized after being struck by lightning in the last three days.

One of the golfers died. Bird: $6 million a season Larry Bird, who missed nearly all of last season after foot surgery, will become the first athlete in any team sport to earn more than $6 million in a single year, sources told the Associated Press Saturday. Bird negotiated the huge sum before undergoing surgery on his feet last October, when he had two years remaining on a five-year contract. He had been earning $1.8 million a year, far less than the $3 million-plus such NBA players as Michael Jordan of Chicago, David Robinson of San Antonio and Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks are expected to earn in a single year over their life of their contracts. No other athletes in team sports are believed to have signed contracts for as much as $3 million in a season.

Ted ay in Cherts State softball tourney The Montana State Class Mens Slowpitch Softball Tournament concludes today with games at the Batch Softball Complex. DreWerS baseball The Helena Brewers host the Billings Mustangs tonight at 7 at Kindrick Legion Field in Pioneer League baseball action. Cockhill, Nybo garner honors for West in Shrine grid game GREAT FALLS (AP) Billy Cockhill led a balanced rushing attack with 89 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown run and O.J. Nybo keyed a strong defensive effort as the West all-stars defeated the East 20-7 in the 43rd annual East-West Shrine football game Saturday night. The victory, coming before about 4,000 fans at Memorial Stadium, snapped a two-year victory streak by the East and narrowed the Wests deficit in the series to 24-19.

Cockhill, the former Helena Capital star, rushed for 89 yards on 10 carries in earning offensive most valuable player honors. He gave the West a 13-0 lead late in the second quarter, capping an 8-play, 68-yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown run. The score came on a fourth-and-7 call. Nybo, who starred at Helena High, was named the games outstanding defensive player. He had eight tackles from his linebacking post.

Cockhills 15-yard TD run, on a pitchout from quarterback Dan Sward of Whitefish, followed by another Ken Conners PAT, extended the West's margin to 14-0 with 1:06 left in the second quarter. On Yugoslavia army drafts Divac viade Divac, who was drafted and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, has been drafted and ordered to active duty for a year with the Yugoslav army. Divac, 21, a high-scoring center on Yugoslavias national team signed a three-year contract with the Lakers on Monday. He was notified Friday that he must report Sept. 19 to a barracks in Trebinje, a garrison town, Yugoslav newspapers reported Saturday.

Divac, who was picked in the first round of June's draft by the Lakers, said he will appeal the draft boards ruling. His military service was postponed, in July to allow him to continue playing for Belgrade Partizan until next summers World Championships, Berger, McEnroe In final Jay Berger upset top-seeded Stefan Edberg 6-4, 6-2 and John McEnroe took another step in his drive to regain the worlds No. 1 ranking by defeating Aaron Krickstein, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) Saturday in the semifinals of the U.S. Hardcourts in Indianapolis. McEnroe, the second seed, plays Berger, seeded No.

5, in today $51,000..