The Daily Advertiser from Lafayette, Louisiana • 23

Baseball 2D 1V Finer points 40 I 1 NBA playoffs 5D StortsMonday Finally picked Chns Weinke goes to Carolina. Page 6D ul mm 2D SECTION www.acddiananow.com The Daily Advertiser April 23, 2001 Addison homer lifts Lady Cajuns to sweep ft Sports On the Run Heavyweight scramble down on herself all weekend, because she knew she would get her chance. What a way to cap the weekend." Junior right fielder Missy Martin went 3-forl with a home run and two RBIs to lead the Lady Cajuns (36-7, 12-0 Sun Belt Confer along with 16 left on base. In the second game. UL jumped out to a 30 lead keyed by Heather Bertrand's solo homer.

But WKU (18-28, 1-11 SBC) fought back with a three-run bomb by Shanon Searle. Jill Robertson came home on an errant throw by the WKU catcher in the fifth to briefly put the Lady Cajuns back in front. Lady Cajun center fielder Jerie Alexander went 3-for-4 with two runs scored in the game, and Mower and Martin each added two hits. WKU shortstop Sara Alanis, meanwhile, set a Hilltopper record with four hits. But WKU once again came through in the sixth when pinch runner Angie Head got home after two wild pitches.

urday, broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run single that plated Jill Robertson and Jerie Alexander. After Martin singled and Jana Mower walked, Summar Lapeyrouse laced a two-run single to make it 5-1. Lapeyrouse generated the next run by purposely getting in a run down, which allowed Mower to steal home. Carrie Vernon finished the scoring with an RBI single to right. The offense made a winner out of Melissa Coronado (27-6), but she did give up a season-high 11 hits and four runs.

Nevertheless, the right-hander is now just one victory away from tying Cheryl Longeway for fifth on the all-time Lady Cajun list for wins in a season. The two teams combined for 22 hits, BOWLING GREEN, Ky. Junior shortstop Alana Addison hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth, as Louisiana's Lady Cajun softball team escaped with a 6-4 victory Sunday over Western Kentucky at the WKU Softball Field. The junior All-American also had two hits and two RBIs in the first game, as the Lady Cajuns pulled away with a 9-4 win in the opener. The three hits were the only tallies on the weekend for Addison, who actually saw her batting average dip 30 points.

While she is "only" hitting .413, it was the clutch hits that had her coaches raving. "She is just a gamer," Lady Cajun coach Stefni Lotief said. "She never got Alana Addison ence) in the opener. The Lady Cajuns put game one away thanks to a six-run third inning, in which six straight Lady Cajuns reached base safely. Addison, who was held hitless Sat- Hasim Rahman's knockout of Lennox Lewis throws boxing world on its ear.

Please see Rahman, Page 3D Deuce wants 22 Jersey number next item on McAllister agenda College Baseball Privateers take game from UL Dan McDonald Staff Sports Writer NEW ORLEANS With the wind blowing straight out to left field, all Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun baseball team needed Sunday afternoon was a couple of deep fly balls in order to make history New Orleans pitcher Tom Lipari didn't let it happen. Lipari wrapped up an injury W9 -wm i plagued week with a gutty four- hit performance, allowing the host Privateers to take a 3-2 victory over the Cajuns and salvage one win in their key Sun Belt Conference series. The Cajun bats had come up big in providing 94 and 7-4 victories on Friday and Saturday, but Lipari retired 15 of the last 16 batters he faced after Jams Larry's leadoff homer in the fifth inning had cut an early NEW ORLEANS (AP) -Deuce McAllister met his new coach, and now the New Orleans Saints' No. 1 draft pick wants to meet Fred Thomas. Thomas, a cornerback for the Saints, wears No.

22, the number McAllister wore at Mississippi, and it's the number he hopes to wear in the NFL. "I guess I'll have to buy it," McAllister said. That appeared to be the only worry McAllister had as he got his first look at his new team. Certainly competing with Ricky Williams, the running back that New Orleans traded seven draft picks for, didn't bother him. "I'm a competitor," McAllister said.

"I want to be out there and I want to win, but if the situation calls for us to split time or for one to play less than the other, I'll just go with the flow." Williams, the incumbent, is the starter, coach Jim Haslett said, but the Saints plan to use both running backs. Working out a deal for Williams would mean a $3.5 million hit to the salary cap. general manager Randy Mueller said. "It would be prohibitive," Mueller said. "Even if we were interested we couldn't do it.

We'd have to cut players and it would tear our team apart. We're working on getting better, not worse." In the second day of the draft the Saints added a fullback, a wide receiver, an offensive tackle and a defensive tackle. Torrance "Moran" Norris. a fullback from Kansas, was taken in the fourth round. He provides insurance in case Terelle Smith, a fourth-round pick last year, doesn't recover completely from a herniated disc in his lower back.

"There is some concern," Haslett said. "We reallv won't Associated Press New Orleans Saints first-round draft choice Deuce McAllister signs autographs for fans at Zephyr Field Sunday. McAllister threw out the first pitch for the Zephyrs' Pacific Coast League game against the Iowa Cubs. Scoreboard MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Amencan League Indians 11. Tigers 3 Yankees 4.

Red Sox 3, 10 innings Onoles 10. Devil Rays 8. 11 innings Royals 5. Blue Jays 1 Twins 4. White Sox 2 Rangers 11.

Athletics 2 Manners 5. Angels 0 National League Phillies 3. Braves 2 Expos 6. Marlins 2 Mets 5. Reds 1 Pirates 4.

Cubs 3. 10 innings Giants 6. Brewers 4 Padres 7. Dodgers 6. 11 innings Rockies 2.

Diamondbacks 1 Astros 4, Cardinals 3 NBA PLAYOFFS Knicks 92. Raptors 85 Suns 86, Kings 83 Lakers 106. Trail Blazers 93 Bucks 103, Magic 90 NHL PLAYOFFS Devils 5, Hurricanes 1 Devils win series 4-2 For complete box scores, please see Page 4D BRIEF" Sports Lafayette Lightning opens with a victory LAKE CHARLES -The Lafayette Lightning soccer team opened its inaugural season with a 4-2 victory over the Louisiana Outlaws Saturday in Lake Charles. Beau Brown led Lafayette with two goals while Danny Rebuck and Scott Yerby each added one. Coach and player Chris Veselka had three assists.

Scott Carney had eight saves for the Lightning. Lafayette travels to Dallas Saturday for a game with the West Dallas Kings. Lafayette's first home game will be May 5 vs. the Texas Spurs at Clark Field at 7:30 p.m. St.

Thomas More hosts regional tennis LAFAYETTE St. Thomas More high school will host the Class-4A Regional Tennis Tournament on April 24 and 25. The schools participating are Abbeville, Beau Chene, DeRidder, Eunice, Leesville, Northside, Sam Houston, STM and Zachary. Two singles and three doubles boys and girls from each team will be competing for a position in the State Championship Tournament which will be held on April 30 and May 1 at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. UNO lead to the lone run.

"He's their best," said Cajun head coach Tony Robichaux of the junior Privateer lefthander. 'All we had to do was overcome a two-run deficit and we had six innings to do it. so tip your hat to him. He was better than we were at the plate today" Lipari (6-5) had been scheduled for Friday's game, but was pushed back and then pushed back again because of a bruised finger. "He did a great job." said UNO head coach Randy Bush.

"He's been a bulldog for us. Whether or not he pitches good, he's a guy that you want out there because he really competes." He pitched well on Sunday, allowing two solo home runs and facing only four batters over the minimum after going 0-4 with a 6.82 ERA in his previous four starts. Please see UL on Page 2D Saints Selections Selections made by the New Orleans Saints in the NFL Draft held Saturday and Sunday in New York: 1 (23) Deuce McAllister, it. Mississippi. 3 (70) Sedrick Hodge, lb, North Carolina.

3 (81) Kenny Smith, dt. Alabama. 4 (115) Moran Norns. rb. Kansas.

5 (153) Onome Ojo. wr, UC Davis. 6(185) Mitch White, ot. Oregon State. 7 (221) Ennis Davis, dt.

South-em California. "He's really a talented kid that's only played football for a couple of years and I think he's got unbelievable potential," Mueller said. "Especially in our system." The Saints wrapped up the draft with Ennis Davis, a 6-3. 303-pound defensive tackle from Southern California. With first day picks McAllister, linebacker Sedrick Hodges and defensive tackle Kenny Smith.

Mueller said he was pleased with the draft. "We feel pretty good about our picks." Mueller said. "We had three of our top 33 that we were able to pick yesterday and a couple of guys today that I think we have specific roles for. "I think we have upgraded our speed at every position where we drafted somebody, and that was our goal." know how he is until the pads are on and he's hitting somebody. I was concerned that if he doesn't work out, where do we go? "This is the perfect guy.

He's different from Terrell. He's not as polished as a blocker, but I think he can get to that point because he's a big guy. He's 250 pounds." Norris was the strongest player at this spring's scouting combine, Haslett said. Onome Ojo, a wide receiver from Cal-Davis. was the fifth-round pick.

Ojo is 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, providing the Saints with the big wideout they wanted. Ojo had 33 receptions for 865 yards and 11 touchdowns in his senior season. Ojo averaged 20.3 yards per catch as a junior, 26.2 per catch as a senior. Hamilton wins Talladega 500 down the backstretch (on lap 186)." Stewart said. "Hamilton getting bigger and bigger.

I knew he wasn't going to go away." Hamilton and Stewart battled to the end. with the winner crossing the finish line 0.163 seconds about two car-lengths in front. A five-wide pack of more than 20 cars followed the two leaders, with rookie Kurt Busch hanging on to third, followed bv Mark Martin and Bobby Labonte. It took NASCAR about 30 minutes, using video and the computer scoring to sort out the finishing order behind fifth place. Nemechek was eventually scored in sixth, followed by Johnny Benson.

Earnhardt last-place starter Mike Wallace and Jeff Burton. Marlin. who led four times for a race-high 51 laps, was shuffled all the way back to 23rd. Hamilton, who earned his fourth career win and gave Andy Petree his first victory as a car owner, said, "I got pretty emotional in the race car. I was so tired I couldn't even bring up any tears.

And I thought if I started crying. I wouldn't be able to stand up when I got out of the car. But I could hardly stand up anyway." Nobody was able to dominate, although Sterling Marlin, Dale Earnhardt and Stewart did take turns leading the race for extended periods. In the end, though, it was Hamilton at the front of a long line of cars on the high side of the 2.66-mile oval, that chased down Stewart's Pontiac two laps from the end of the 188-lap event. "I got lucky that Joe was behind me." said Hamilton, whose last victory came in Martinsville.

in April 1998. "I'm not sure we could have won the race without him back there." It was the first NASCAR race without a caution period in nearly two vears and the third-fastest 500-mile race in NASCAR history; with Hamilton averaging 184.003 mph. Stewart, who had led from lap 162. appeared solidly in control until Hamilton suddenly appeared in his mirrors. Stewart, still trying for his first win of the year after leading the series with six last season, tried to block Hamilton, but the challenger was able to slip past as the leaders went into the first turn of lap 187.

"I kept watching the mirror Race is a NASCAR rarity, a caution-free test of talent. TALLADEGA. Ala. (AP) The race was there to win. All Bobby Hamilton needed was a little push.

"I couldn't believe it," Hamilton said Sunday after shooting out of a massive pack two laps from the end to win the caution-free Talladega 500. "I was running maybe fifth or sixth on the outside and I could hold on by myself. To win it, though. I needed some help. It came in the form of Andy Petree Racing teammate Joe Nemechek, who suddenly popped up behind Hamilton's No.

55 Chevrolet and gave him a big push past Tony Stewart. Just like last October 's race at Talladega Superspeedway and the disastrous Daytona 500 in February which included a terrifying 19-car crash and another accident in which NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt was killed this race featured nearly constant two and three-wide racing by most of the 43-car field. Let us know If you have any questions about today's local news stories, please call Sports Editor Bruce Brown at 289-6356. This section was edited and designed by Enc Narcisse. Michael Kneg and Bruce Brown.

Associated Press Talladega 500 winner Bobby Hamilton (top) visits with fellow driver Joe Nemechek after the race..