The Herald from Jasper, Indiana • 28

Page 28 sports The Herald, Monday, April 4, 1994 Cards down the Reds on half-hearted opening day Rolen starts spring in Class A SPARTANBURG, S.C. Jasper native Scott Rolen has completed spring training with the Philadelphia Phillies and has been assigned to Class A Spartanburg, SC. Spartanburg received its roster South Atlantic League, will open with an exhibition game against Greenville on Tuesday. On Thursday, the Phillies begin the regular season by traveling to Fayetteville, N.C. Saturday marks the home opener for Spartanburg.

They are scheduled to face Greensboro, N.C. innings. "I'm just frustrated, I'm not Superman." He had one consolation: Schott doesn't consider it a loss. She didn't even consider it a game. There was no bunting, no fanfare, none of the usual window dressing that goes with opening day.

New NL president Len Coleman threw out the ceremonial first pitch, but that was it. Combined with the small crowd, the showcase opener felt more like some nondescript game in the middle of the season. It's exactly what Schott wanted, but the players weren't thrilled. "It didn't seem like opening night at all," Tewksbury said. "Part of that I think is because it was a night game, and part of that was the way that Marge treated it like she didn't want it to be the opening game.

It was kind of anuclimactic." CINCINNATI (AP) Marge Schott tried to keep opening day on hold. Ray Lankford got it going with a bang. Lankford led off the new season with a homer a rare feat in the major leagues and had three hits as the St Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-4 Sunday night in front of a half-filled stadium and a fuming owner. "I was just anxious to get going," Lankford said. Everyone was except Schott.

The first Sunday night opener on ESPN sent baseball into a new era new divisions, a new playoff format, new television contract Overshadowed by another aggravation from the Reds' owner. She snubbed the opener after learning a business group couldn't put together a traditional pre-game parade because it was Easter. She instead designated to- from the Philadelphia front office I Saturday afternoon. I Spartanburg, which plays in the He became the first batter in eight years to make a home run the first hit of a new season. Boston's Dwight Evans homered on the first pitch from Detroit's Jack Morris in 1986.

"When your leadoff hitter puts you out in front 1-0, that's a nice feeling," manager Joe Torre said. The Cardinals felt good about everything except Schott's it-doesn't-exist approach. Bob Tewksbury pitched six innings on a 39-degree night and had the pivotal hit. He doubled home two runs in the fourth off Jose Rijo to put the Cardinals ahead to stay 5-3. Rijo, who led the National League in strikeouts last season and was second in earned run average, called it part of an off night.

"I'm not disappointed at all," said Rijo, who gave up nine hits and six runs (four earned) in five for the first time: do something good with the country watching. "When I was in here stretching I started thinking about being the first batter of '94," Lankford said. "I wanted to do something. I couldn't have asked for anything better than that to open the season." day's game as the opener and saved all the pageantry for it. Players on both teams thought it detracted from the atmosphere only 32,803 tickets were sold, the smallest opener in Riverfront Stadium's 24 years.

Lankford had another thought in mind when be came to the plate Tar Heel's Smith hits trey at buzzer for title Br JHLj I if iSH i a wtKKf I RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Seven-tenths of a second was all North Carolina's Charlotte Smith needed to change her legacy from a brawler to the owner of the greatest shot in the history of Tar Heel women's basketball. 'Maybe now people will remember me for something else besides the fight," Smith said after she stunned Louisiana Tech with a 3-pointer at the buzzer in Sunday's NCAA championship game. The basket, just Smith's ninth 3-pointer of the season, gave the Tar Heels a 60-59 victory and their first national title. It came exactly two weeks after Smith, North Carolina's top re-bounder and No.

2 scorer, was ejected from the Tar Heels' second-round East Region game for punching Old Dominion's Beth McGowan. The ejection also meant Smith had to sit out North Carolina's next game, a victory over Vanderbilt in the regional semifinals. Even before her dramatic shot, Smith had a huge impact on the championship game. The 6-foot junior forward scored 19 of her 20 points in the second half She also set a championship game record by grabbing 23 rebounds and was named the oustanding player of the Final Four. "A few years ago, we were taking our lumps from everybody," coach Sylvia Hatchell said, "and that's helped to make us a better team." Louisiana Tech (31-4) saw its 25-game winning streak end and settled for its third runner-up finish.

"We've accomplished a lot of goals, but losing like that, it really hurts," said senior guard Pam Thomas, who led the Lady Tech-sters with 15 points. Coach Leon Barmore said the loss was his fault because he failed to assign someone to guard Stephanie Lawrence, freeing her to fire the 30-foot inbounds pass to Smith for the winning shot. Women's NCAA "I Wish we could have won," Barmore said, "but I'll tell you what. I will not allow this team to leave this arena and this town with their heads down." The Lady Techsters held North Carolina to 34.4 percent field-goal shooting, the lowest ever by a winning team in the championship game, and they forced the Tar Heels into 21 turnovers. There were 10 ties and three lead changes before Thomas put Louisiana Tech up 59-57 on a 19-foot jumper from the right wing with 15 seconds left.

North Carolina's Tonya Sampson missed badly on a leaning shot from the free-throw line with five seconds to go. The Tar Heels' Marion Jones and Louisiana Tech's Kendra Neal battled for the rebound until a joint possession was declared with seven-tenths of a second remaining. North Carolina, which was awarded the ball on the alternating possession rule, called a timeout to set up a play. Hatchell wanted Lawrence, who was on the baseline just to the left of the basket, to lob a pass down low into the lane to 6-foot-5 Sylvia Crawley. When Lawrence saw Crawley was covered, she called another timeout.

On the second try, Lawrence looked at Sampson flashing across the line, but she was covered. So she fired a strike to Smith, who was wide open on the right wing after working around a screen by Crawley. "I knew that as soon as I got the ball, it would have to go up," Smith said. "When I shot the ball, I was praying the whole time. And then it was like, 'Oh, God, He answered my "Then the mob got me." While the Tar Heels staged a wild celebration, the Lady Tech- North Carolina's Charlotte Smith celebrates after her 3 pointer at the buzzer lifted the Tar Heels over if Louisiana Tech in the Women's NCAA Final Four title game on Sunday.

Smith, who was named tournament MVP, and her teammates beat the Lady Techsters, 60-59. (AP photo) sters were left to wonder about what could have been. Hatchell had no such second thoughts about using Smith as a 3-point option, even though she made just 6 of 21 from long range with 21 points, but she had just four in the second half. The Tar Heels also got 14 points from Crawley. Vickie Johnson added 12 points for the Lady Techsters and Maqui-sha Walker had 10.

last year and had missed 21 of her previous 29 3-point tries this season. "You've got to get Charlotte the ball. She can produce," Hatchell said. Sampson led North Carolina Strawberry lost and found in another bizarre episode tax problems. Often talking with him, mostly because he has two seasons left on a five-year, $20.25 million contract.

Claire also tried to trade Strawberry and found no takers. Strawberry has played sparingly the last two seasons because of back injuries. He has homered just five times in each of the previous two years. Strawberry had enjoyed a productive spring, even though there were reports linking him to IRS wife Lisa, from whom he is now divorced, and was arrested for threatening her with a gun. Last month, Strawberry's new wife, Charisse, gave birth to a son, Jordan Shay.

Strawberry had two children from his first marriage. During the off-season, -he angered fans in Los Angeles when he professed his indifference to the fires that swept the area, saying, "Let it burn down." Strawberry later apologized. is with his family, Claire said in a statement. "I am not satisfied with the explanation he has given me for his failure to report for the game today." Claire said he would speak to Strawberry today and determine "appropriate disciplinary action." Strawberry, shadowed by personal problems throughout his career, was placed on waivers during the winter, but no clubs took LOS ANGELES (AP) Now that the Los Angeles Dodgers have found Darry Strawberry, they must decide what to do with him. Strawberry failed to show up for an exhibition game Sunday and was AWOL until the Dodgers made an all-day search and located him late at night.

General manager Fred Claire did not say what reason Strawberry gave for his disappearance, but said it was not a good one. "I have spoken to Darry 1 and he enthusiasm about the new priorities in his life, Strawberry had gone l9-for-80 with four homers and 10 RBIs in 24 exhibition games. Since breaking into the majors with the New York Mets in 1983, Strawberry has attracted attention for more than his long home runs. He has fought with teammates and feuded with managers, entered an alcohol rehabilitation clinic, admitted hitting his first.