Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 9

Mattoon (111.) Journal Gazette Wednesday, March 5, 1995 Bo know retirement B2 S6)rfi Bears trade Armstrong B3 Records B4 Beals pitcMes imo-Mtteir for Wave "Tom shut down a pretty good offensive team, Jack-ley said. "St. Anthony is one of the better small schools on our schedule. He had a rocky game last week, so I was -rom ap- glad to see him lomBeais come back and pitch the way he i 1 2 four times up. They both only had one hit, but they had good plate appearances." Mattoon evened its record up at 3-3 and Jackley was pleased with his team's performance.

"St. Anthony is always a good team year in and year out," Jack-ley said. "To beat them is definitely a good feather in our caps." Mattoon plays its first home game of the season at 4:30 p.m. Thursday against Stewardson- UCLA looking to start new NCAA championship streak with future stars did." Mattoon scored one run in the first inning and that turned out to be more than enough with Beals pitching. Jared Brown added a two-run single to put Mattoon up 4-0 and ackley was also pleased with the hitting of Doug Arthur and Blake Kearney.

"We had a couple of key hits in the game," Jackley said. "Jared Brown's hit broke the game open and Blake Kearney and Doug Arthur both hit the ball hard all I Illini Caravan coming April 25 The 1995 Fighting DJini Heritage Caravan will make a stop in Mattoon April 25. c- The 22-city tour of Illinois, In: diana and Missouri will continue with a 5:30 p.m. reception at Bonkers Pub Grub. The Mattoon Caravan is hosted by the University of Illinois administrators, coaches and student-athletes.

Among the scheduled guests are head basketball coach Lou Henson, assistant football coach O'Neill Gilbert and assistant swimming coach Mona Nyheim. The cost of the event is $7.50. Tickets can be purchased from John Dye at 235-1776. The deadline for registration is April 21. A press conference for local media members will be conducted at 5 p.m.

Media members are invited to stay for the program. "We're excited to get back on the road and bring Fighting Illini athletics across the state," Illinois Athletics Director Ron Guenther said in a release. "Our mission is to build championship-caliber programs and facilities and we need the support of the entire state to achieve our objectives. We feel we have an excellent coaching staff ready to deliver Fighting Illini athletic and academic success into the 21st century. We're also excited about celebrating the 100th anniversary of athletics in the Big Ten Conference and our own proud Illini heritage." Illinois fields 17 different athletic teams in men's and women's sports and has nearly 500 student-athletes on scholarship, Foj more information contact John Dye at 235-1776 or Dave Johnson, UI sports information at 333-1391.

Boston Marathon Mattoon's Rick Shull has qual-ified for the next two Boston Marathons. He will compete in the April 17 marathon and then run in the 100th running of the Boston Marathon next year. The 28-year-old Shull qualified for the 26.2 mile marathon by placing 60th at the St. Louis Marathon in October. "I guess the prestige makes it exciting," Shull said.

"It's one of the oldest marathons and you have to qualify to run in it. Not just anybody can get in." Shull said he is looking to come up with a personal-best performance. "I really don't know what to expect," Shull said. Tm hoping to run my best time of 3:07." Track finished CHARLESTON Lanes were marked Monday and Eastern's new blue track at O'Brien Stadium is ready for business. Continued on B3 AP Photo 'UCLA'Bruins Basketball star Ed O'Bannon signs autographs as hearidlteimmates arrive at Los AngeTes International Airport Tuesday.

Strasburg. Mattoon Beals, Ely, If Arthur, dh Smyser, Brown, 1b Kearney, 2b Paulson, cf Totals 2B-Walk. Mattoon 102 210 St Anthony 000 000 Pitcher IP Beals, 7 0 0 ABRHBI 27 6 6 6 06-6-0 0-0-0-3 EH BB SO 0 4 6 ally showed that we are the UCLA basketball team, and that's the greatest feeling in the world." Ed O'Bannon, Edney and George Zidek are graduating, but the Bruins return an impressive lineup that will try to extend a 19-game winning streak. "They pushed us all season to the point where it was in our heads to not quit, to not give up," Dollar said. "I also had that instinct where we're never out of it and it's never over.

"This is a very special season. It's going to be one that I'm always going to hold close to my heart." for us. He's a kid who got better as the year went on, but he's also the kid who had the most to gain, too. At the beginning of the year he wasn't one of our best football players. At the end of the year I can honestly say he was as good as anyone we had upfront.

"A lot of schools looked at him but the thing was we had six other tackles who signed. It's like "how many good players can they Said EIU offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Clancy Barone: "He was as good of a freshman as I've seen on film." Barone's earlier contacts with Bevino could help now in drawing prep school players, who would bring college-like experience to Eastern with five years to play four eligibility remaining. Milford Academy was 8-5 last season facing junior varsity teams from programs like Navy, EFFINGHAM Tom Beals may have made Mattoon baseball coach Mark Jackley second guess himself for the future. Beals pitched a complete-game no-hitter Tuesday, as Mattoon beat Effingham St. Anthony 6-0.

"I've been reluctant to pitch him because he's our shortstop," Jackley said. "But after (Tuesday) I may have to go away from that a little bit." Beals struck out six batters, while walking four. Lakers split with Rend Lake INA Coach Gene Creek thought his Lake Land baseball team was in for a long day. As it turns out, itcould've been a lot worse. Lake Land split a double-header with Rend Lake, winning the first game 14-2 and dropping the second contest 3-1.

"The first game was a big one for us," Creek said. "Darin Miller led off the game with a single and Alexander Colon then had a double to put runners on second and third with no outs. They're No. 1 pitcher then struck out our next three batters to get out of it1. "I knew we were facing a tough pitcher and I thought to myself what a scoring opportunity we passed up.

But we came right back and scored five runs in the second inning." The game was never in doubt. Miller, who went 4-for-5 with four runs scored and five RBIs, hit his first home run of the season, a two-run shot that put Lake Land up 8-2. "That was a big hit," Creek said. "It sort of finished them off and we felt like we could breathe a lot easier." Chris Klaska pitched a complete game to improve his record to 3-0. He allowed one earned run on six hits.

"It's important that he gets in a groove," Creek said. "He's the ace of our staff and he's been stepping forward and proving that lately." Lake Land couldn't get much going in the second game. "We were very impressive with our bats in the first game against their No. 1 pitcher," Creek said. "But in the second game they threw their No.

3 pitcher at us and we were only able to get five hits. That happens. It's just part of the game and something you have to live with." Lake Land stands at 18-9 on the season heading into its 1 p.m. doubleheader today at Parkland College. First gams LakaLand ABRHBI Miller, 3b 5 3 4 5 Colon.cf 5 2 3 1 Foreman, 1b 5 12 3 Benhoff.dh 5 0 2 2 Pullen.rf 4 0 0 0 Allen, 2b 4 10 0 Short, If 3 110 3 3 2 2 valdes.ss 3 3 3 1 Totals 37141714 2B-C6bn, Foreman, Valdes, 3B-Ortega 2.

HR-Mlller. Lake Land 050 045 014-17-1 Rend Lake 001 010 02-6-2 Pitcher IP ER, BB SO Klaska(3-0) 7 6 2 1 7 6 Second game LakaLand AB Miller, 3b 2 Valdes, ss 3 Foreman, 1b 3 Benhoff.dh 2 3 Short, If 3 Allen, 2b 3 3 Cuffle.c 3 Totals 25 RHBI 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 5 0 2B-Benhoff Lake Land 000 001 01-5-2 Rend Lake 000 111 3-8-1 Pitcher IP ER BB SO Colon(2-1)6 8 3 2 3 5 LOS ANGELES (AP) Ed O'Bannon was expected to deliver a national championship to UCLA and he did. Now, the Bruins are looking to add a few more NCAA titles with new stars like Toby Bailey and Cameron Dollar. O'Bannon led the Bruins to their first national title in 20 years Monday night with 30 points and 17 rebounds in an 89-78 victory over Arkansas. But it was Bailey, the freshman who had 26 points, and Dollar, the sophomore who replaced injured team leader Tyus Edney, who have UCLA thinking about next year's Final Four.

"I guess you could call it a new UCLA," Dollar said. Added Charles O'Bannon, Ed's brother: "Now the North Carolinas, the Dukes, the Ken-tuckys still have a long way to reach all the national titles that UCLA has accomplished. We're just pushing it further and further away." The Bruins have a record 11 championships. Kentucky and Indiana are second with five eachy- a i'S 'V The team returned to Los An-geleson Tuesday afternoon to 1 the wild cheers of 500 fans at International Airport. After a brief celebration with the crowd, the Bruins left by bus with a police escort for their campus.

Then, it was out to NBC in Burbank, where the entire team was scheduled to appear on Jay Leno's "Tonight Show." Shortly after Monday night's victory, police in riot gear fired rubber bullets to tame rowdy celebrants pouring into the streets of West wood Village adjacent to the UCLA campus. Fifteen revelers were arrested when a small faction of the mated 4,000 celebrants started bonfires, fired weapons skyward, hurled rocks and bottles at police and overturned a radio station van. The Bruins (31-2) finished the season with the most victories in school history and never fell below seventh in The Associated Press, poll before spending the final three weeks at No. 1. The only losses came against Oregon and California.

To the surprise of many, Dollar proved an able replacement EIU signs By BRIAN NIELSEN StaffWriter CHARLESTON In need of some players, Eastern has gone to a football factory. Milford Academy, a Connecticut preparatory school that has already had 30 players receive college scholarships this year, is sending Eastern a big offensive lineman and maybe a much needed quarterback. Signed is 6-foot-7, 290-pound tackle Jamie Hamilton, who might be a late bloomer other schools missed. Seth Willingham, Milford Academy's 6-foot-4, 205-pound starting quarterback, is scheduled to visit Eastern this weekend and Idaho State the following week. Eastern is looking for someone to back up Pete Mauch, who is the only EIU quarterback on scholarship following Mark Swinning's leaving school last at point guard when Edney's sprained right wrist forced him out of the game after 2V2 minutes.

Dollar started the first seven games of the season opposite Edney, then subbed for him against Southern Cal when Edney missed the second game of his career because of the flu. Dollar had 9 points, five assists and one turnover in 32 minutes in the 73-69 victory. He played four minutes more against Arkansas, with 6 points, eight assists and three turnovers. The SC game, where I stepped in and he wasn't even there, prepared me," he said. The backcourt of Dollar and Bailey broke down the Razor-backs' defense, and in the process, gained valuable experience for next season.

Bailey once again showed he has a knack for coming from way out and slamming down his teammates' missed shots. "I wasn't nervous at all, I was just fired up," Bailey said. "I had heard all the critics say the freshmen didn't show up (against Oklahoma State) and they're going to have to show up for this game. That's what I tried to Freshman J.R. Henderson was the only Bruin who struggled in the title game, getting just 2 points and two rebounds.

He had started 13 straight games at the beginning of the season before settling into the role of UCLA's sixth man. "This was the right season to win it all because people were really dogging us," he said. "People questioned our defense a lot, but I don't think they can question it anymore. There's no more we can prove. We did it all." After two years of bumping chests during pregame introductions, the O'Bannon brothers played their final game together.

Ed and Charles fought through the raucous mob on court to share a tearful embrace. "We looked at each other, and he just lost it," Charles said. "It was a feeling, not like a death, but like a positive going on. Fm left behind and he's going on to bigger things." Seeing Ed cry triggered a few tears in Dollar's eyes. "It's one of those special days when you do something as a team and you love each other as brothers," he said.

"We re- 17 touchdowns the past season. "Seth also ran for five or six touchdowns," Bevino said. "In high school he was an excellent basketball player. I've only seen him play on film and I don't know what kind of a program (Eastern) has there, but I would bet he could play." Eastern is at least interested in Willingham's football abilities and has hopes the quarterback will come along with Hamilton. Hamilton, from South Eas-ton High School in Massachusetts, is the 14th among 16 Milford Academy linemen this season to receive a Division I scholarship.

His once not-so-good stock might be rising. "At Jamie's high school somewhere along the line the philosophy he should not lift weights permeated that program," Bevino said. "His best years are ahead of him. He did a good job 1 1 one player from academy, might get another MM Army and some Ivy League programs. "They play everybody against us," Bevino said.

"They play sophomore, juniors, I imagine they play seniors sometimes. I don't care. I don't care who they play against us. "We're heavily recruited. We go out of our way to help these guys.

When Clancy called we sent them information right away." Texan signs A Texas linebacker has also recently signed with Eastern. Ryan Pace, a 6-3, 220-pounder from Marcus High School, picked Eastern after also being recruited by Gateway Football Conference members Western Illinois and Illinois State as well as North Texas and Texas State, Barone said. "He showed good toughness on film," Barone said. "He was quick and a good athlete." month. The way Milford Academy coach Jeff Bevino talks, Willing-ham could be more than just a leftover from the NCAA's February signing time.

"We've sent four quarterbacks to I-A schools and this year's two quarterbacks are the best ones we've had," the Milford Academy coach said. Willingham, a Columbia, product, completed 87 of 148 passes for 1,187 yards and.