Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 49

iputsburgl) JJost-lfuictlc 1 ft Real estate, classified inside i ft Sports North A -7' 11 '''i'' PG North: Thursday, May 26, 1988 21 1 i willing to fly the coop for pro baseball ii f-4 tea (by MIKe WnltQ Post-Gawtte Sports Writer College It's parties, it's frieBds, it's good times, it's freewheeling fun. For Dan Kite, "college is something I love to death," he said. V-1 i But Kite is willing to leave college Professional base-. bill' jbeckpns.f Kite is only a junior at Louisiana State juniors are eligible for the major-league draft. This year's draft takes place Wednesday, and Kite, ajight-hand-ed pitcher, is" high the list of some major-league teams.

LSU coaeft'Skip Bertman said Kite, vJkhS former Shaler High SchwsUr, wflt gi anywhere from the end of first round to early in the third has gotten phone calls from a number of scouts who, are telling him the -tr "They have spoken to Dan and he has been out to eat with some of the scents," BertnHB told, "They're all 1 checking and cross-checking on Kite said, Tve talked to quite a few scouts. I've filled out a ton of What the scouts want to know most is will Kite, sign or will he go back to LSU for another year and re-enter the draft next I "It looks like I'm probably going to go," Kite said over the telephone from LSU earlier this week. "I'm ready to go on to pro ball and give it a shot I've been waiting for the chance and I'm going to jump into it "Ever, since? high school, I've been looking forward to the end of my junior year here. Three years I've been here. I've nicked up pretty much and learned a lot." It would be easy for Kite to want another year at LSU.

He has enjoyed three successful seasons with the Tigers, compiling a 22-11 record'. He pitched in the College World Series twice and this year was a preseason All-American in Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Magazine. There is more that could sway him back to LSU, He pitched for the average. In 101 innings, he gave up 82 hits, struck out 97, but walked 76. He also had 13 wild pitches.

"I thought I was going to do a lot better," Kite said. "But our hitting was pretty poor sometimes." One of Kite's losses was to Vanderbilt, despite pitching a two-hitter. Kite was 7-3 as a freshman with a 3.18 ERA and 8-3 last year with a 3.30 ERA. What the major-league scouts like most about Kite is his size (6 feet 3, 205 pounds) and his fastball, which has been clocked at 90 mph. But Kite lost some speed from his fastball at one point this season.

"This year I kind of changed my windup a little bit," Kite said. "It was getting more and more frustrating to me because I wasn't throwing as hard. So I talked to some people and changed some things and I started throwing in the 90s like I was before. The last couple of games I was up in the 90s." Kite finished the season on a high note when he pitched a complete game in a 7-3 victory over Georgia in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament. LSU lost the next game and was knocked out of the tournament.

The Tigers did not receive an at-large bid to the NCAA regionals and finished with a 37-21 record. "There was good news and bad news with Dan this year," Bertman said. "The bad news was that he wasn't throwing the ball as hard as he did last year and last summer in the Cape Cod league. He was cutting his fastball and taking away some velocity. But the good news was that there was nothing wrong with his arm.

He was just trying to make sure he was throwing strikes to win games. Therefore, he was taking a litle speed off. "The scouts like him because he throws two different breaking balls, two different fastballs and he has a great competitive attitude." Kite wants to earn a degree someday in business management. But someday can wait for a while. "My parents want me to go pro almost as much as I want to," Kite said.

and pitched in the College World price," Kite said. "I just want the average amount for the round that I'm drafted in. If a team won't give me that, then I have a chance to come back and make the Olympics and I have another year of school left on a scholarship." The Olympics weighed heavily boost PIAA Restating their WPIAL DASEDALL AAA PLAYOFFS NA loses a close one to Blackhawk Biitles Dudeck, Knoch's 7 3 I I A v'4 7 I is. In 1 1 I I 1 te mm University, Shaler's Dan Kite was 22-1 the reasons he wasn't drafted out of high school was he already had signed with LSU. Kite said the Pirates and Cincin- nati are two of the teams that have showed the most interest.

"I'm not the kind of guy who's i looking for some outrageous case Crouch look to AAA state champion in the javelin. I 1 -A Series twice. on Kite's mind a few months ago. "But not now," Kite said. "Now that it's getting close to the I'm looking forward to playing pro ball." Kite was a little disappointed with his junior season, though.

He was 7-5 with a 3.36 earned run medal count fc Butler's Leatha Dudeck has won three medals track competition. already at state North state track qualifiers BOYS CLASS AAA Knoch Bill Schaeffer run), Pat Phillips (pole vault), Jim Jones (pole vault). Butler Tom Swartout run), Clint Bonetti (shot put), Tom Livermore (pole vault). North Allegheny relay, Jamie Antonson (long jump and triple jump), Kevin Murphy (high jump). BOYS CLASS AA Northgate Rich Rosell (100- and 200-meter dash), Dan Malloy (800-meter run).

Mar Wayne Santom (800-meter run). Quaker Valley Craig Whitlock (long jump). GIRLS CLASS AAA North Allegheny Leah Copley (200-meter dash), Megan McCracken (300-meter hurdles), 400-meter relay, relay (Jodi Rigdon, Jill Kostel, Megan McCracken, Leah Copley), Kelly Ruth (shot put and discus), Vondel Turner (long jump). Knoch Jen Crouch (javelin and shot put). Butler Missy Hiles (javelin), Leatha Dudeck (triple jump and long jump).

GIRLS CLASS AA Quaker Valley Stacy Martin 100- and 200-meter dash). Richland Krlstine Stoehr run), Avery Byrd (discus), relay (Shelly Deiss, Cheryl Rice, Allison Raible, Stoehr). In three years at Louisiana State United States team at the Intercontinental Cup last fall and has a good chance to make the Olympic team. But first-, second- and third-round draft choices can get a nice signing bonus. And like every other kid, Kite always has wanted a chance at the big leagues.

One of Jennifer Crouch is the defending year with 36 feet, 3 inchhes, outdistancing the 35-5 turned in by Blackhawk's Sally Worst and Trin- ity's Holly Scott The long jump could have been hers, too, except she didn't show up for the finals in that, held last' Friday. The competition had started Thursday but was delayed by rain. Dudeck chose not to show up Friday. The long jump title went to North Allegheny's Vondel Turner, whose 17-6 beat Dudeck by four inches and forced her to take the silver medal for the second year in a row. "I thought some people could By Mark Sindler girls from the north suburbs, Butler's Leatha Dudeck and Knoch's Jen Crouch, will go pan-, ning for, precious medals at the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association track and field championships tomorrow and Saturday in Shljfpensburg.

Both have experience in placing in state competition. Dudeck, a senior, placed fifth in both the long and triple jumps last year and was third in the long jump as a Crouch, a junior, is the defending state champion in javelin and was sixth as a freshman. She was fifth In the shot put in 1987. At the WPlALdass AAA championships last Thursday at Baldwin; Dudeck won the triple jump and was second in the long jump. Crouch won the' javelin and finished second in the shot put.

They each qualified for states in both their' events. By her own' standards, Dudeck has struggled this season. Following the completion of Butler's 1987 outdoor' track season, the oval was changed from cinders to a more springy surface. The runway for" the high, long and triple jiimp; went from concrete to a s6fer surface. It was hardadjustment.

for senior Leatha Dudecjc, but one she made Dudeck is one 'of Butler's two entries (Missy Hiles in javelin is the other) competing in the PIAA championships. Dudeck qualified for states with distances that1-. ate significantly lower than She's recorded the past two years, when she also qualified for state competition. Fof instance, Dudeck's best triple jump last year was 38 feet, 2 inches at her. best this year was 37-3.

In the long jump, Dudeck's best two years ago was 18-1, also at states. In '88, she has mustered only 17-2, and that came during last week's WPIAL Gass AAA finals at Baldwin. Seems everything points to the change of the runway. "I don't have td wear ordinary tennis "shoes, anymore. So that's been an adjustment, plus the coaches have been stressing a different training technique? I'm doing more spring work, maybe that has something, to do with it," said Dudeck took the WPIAL triple jump title for the second straight Dudeck said.

"But then once I get there, everyone's jumping two feet better. It pumps you up. The environment out there is neat. I look back to that 38-2 last year; I felt great about that. I soared through it." It was good for only fifth place overall, though.

"Hopefully, I'll jump, if not my all-time best this week, then at least close to it," said Dudeck. Knoch's Crouch, on the other hand, will go into the state javelin finals as the defending champion and the favorite. Last week at the WPIAL Class AAA championships, Crouch threw the javelin 143-7, easily outdistancing Canon-McMillan's Maria Janco's 134-5. The distance automatically qualified Crouch for states. In the shot, Crouch took the silver medal with a mark of 40 feet, one inch, generously ahead of the 36-6 qualifying standard.

Oddly, it hasn't been until now that Crouch has really applied herself in the field. Only now is she gearing up to finish at the top. Crouch says she has been suffering from a chronic back problem that has nagged her all year. "It's always in the back of my mind," Crouch said, "so I haven't thrown as hard I can. It's never stopped me.

I figure that if I lay back during the dual meets, then I can save everything for the big meets." Presumably that means the WPIALs last week and states tomorrow. Last year, Crouch finished as the state's top javelin thrower with a 150-11 distance. "This year, everyone's shooting for Crouch said Knoch coach Fred Bernard. "She's peaking just right. All year she's been throwing just well enough to win; we've been saving her for the state meet.

Then it'll come down to whose day it's going to be." This will be Crouch's third sojourn to Shippensburg. In fact, her last loss in javelin competition occurred at states two years ago. She finished sixth then and has never been second in any of Knoch's dual meets and invitation-als since then. "In track and field, it takes only one throw to beat you," Bernard said. "Jen has to expect that.

I'm consistently reminding her that she's the top cat. And she knows there are kids out there to take the javelin title from her." North Allegheny baseball coach Greg Manesiotis had said hitting would be the key to his team's fortunes in the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs. He was right. The North Allegheny bats went silent in a second-round game against Blackhawk yesterday and NA was knocked out of the playoffs with a 3-2 loss at Brady's Run Park in Beaver County. The Tigers, who had defeated Highlands, 6-1, in the first round of the playoffs, ended the season with a 12-9 record.

Blackhawk pitcher Tom Dickinson limited North Allegheny to only four hits and raised his record to 10-0. He tied for the most wins in the WPIAL during the regular season with a 9-0 record. Dickinson, a Senior, struck out five NA batters and walked two. "He got North Allegheny to hit a lot of groundballs," said Blackhawk coach Jim Wilson, whose team is ranked second in Class AAA by the Post-Gazette. "In fact, only two outs were flyouts to the outfield so that's pretty good." Scott Stipetich started for North Allegheny, but lasted only until the fourth inning.

Blackhawk finished the game with only three hits, but made the most of them. The Cougars took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Greg Gruber walked and later scored on an error by North Allegheny shortstop Don Allen, Blackhawk added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it 3-0. Bill Uber singled, stole second and then scored on Rick Burdine's double. Dickinson smacked a triple to score Burdine. Dickinson now has 28 runs batted in for the season.

North Allegheny got to Dickinson for two runs in the fifth. Todd Bailey doubled and scored on Matt Westwood's double. R.C. Freedman then drove home Westwood with a single. "I'm sure Tom would have rather been up 3-0 than 3-2, but once it got to 3-2 he did bear down," Wilson said.

Dickinson retired North Allegheny in order in the sixth. After two outs in the seventh, Greg Manesiotis Jr. singled, but Dickinson struck out Allen to end the game. Deer Lakes exited from the WPIAL Class AA playoffs with an 11-0 loss to Laurel at Butler's Pullman Park. Laurel scored three runs in the first inning and never looked back.

Laurel added three more runs in the fourth, one in the sixth and four in the seventh. Laurel's Josh Boyd pitched the shutout, scattering six hits, Sfc j. mill beat the 17-2 particularly Vondel, but I talked it over with the coaches after we were checking the honor roll top times and distances in the WPIAL and we didn't think six people would go over 17-2," Dudeck said. "Not to be cocky, but it would have taken about an hour and 15 minutes to get to Baldwin and I didn't want to mess up plans I had made for the prom that same night Nothing, except of course the state finals, is scheduled for tomorrow. "I feel like I'm not in the best of shape, but I'm always saying that," i i I i i IB i a r.t.M..M a.

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