The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 17

THE JOURNAL Sports ROYALS C3 COLLEGE BASKETBALL C4 GOLF C5 HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER Opportunity knocked in Fortuitous bounce helps Central beat South By ARNE GREEN The Salina Journal Salina Central kept the pressure on Salina South through most of their inaugural intracity soccer game Thursday, but needed a fortuitous bounce and an alert midfielder to make it pay. The Mustangs, who boasted a majority of the starters from last year's combined team, converted a first- half corner Salina South 0 kick, then held on the rest of the Salina Central 1 way for a 1-01-70 League victory over the South at Bill Burke Park. "They gave us a real good game," Central coach Brian Berner, who also coached the combined team last year, said of South. "They played with a lot of heart. What they lack in soccer knowledge and experience, they make up for with pure desire.

"They're going to cause people a lot of problems because of their quickness. We just got very fortunate on a rebound." Central, now 2-0 and 1-0 in the league, dominated in the midfield but had few clean shots on goal until they broke through in the 28th minute. Soni Resales' corner kick from the left side bounced loose near the front of the net, where senior midfielder Lindsay Burger jumped on it and knocked it past South goalkeeper Maegan Trafton from point-blank range. "I saw that Maegan didn't have a hold of it and bobbled it a little, so I decided to go in," said Burger, who was set up near the back of the penalty area. "I didn't really hit it that hard.

"I was playing midfield, so my job was back door, but I saw the loose ball and went for it." Central finished with 11 shots on goal to five for South, but found little room up front against South's back line of Lori Maynes, Lori Erickson, Joanne Thornburg and Vanessa Fiske. The Associated Press Central's Kate Card (left), Kristen Griffin (center), Amanda Garlow (second from right) and Suzanne Blakely celebrates Lindsay Burger's first-half goal in the Mustangs' 1-0 victory. "I thought for sure we'd have more (goals), but we worked hard for what we did," Burger said. "I expected them to give us a hard game." South (1-1, 0-1 in the 1-70) grew bolder offensively as the game wore on, with four of its shots on goal corning after intermission. But forward Katy Lorson, who scored all three Cougar goals Tuesday in a victory at Hays, did not find many openings against Central's defense.

"What hurt us most is we don't have the experience (of Central)," said South coach J.C. Walsh. "But I thought toward the end of the game we got a little more control of the ball and got a couple of opportunities. "I don't want to say we were intimidated, but I thought as the game got longer and longer we started to realize what we needed to do to get the ball on goal. I think we learned a lot and next time we'll play them even tougher." Central came close again in the 65th minute when Burger crossed the ball from the right wing with forwards Kristen Griffin and Ayse Monguoglu converging near the goal mouth.

But Trafton pounced on the loose ball before either player could get a foot to it. "Maybe we could have generated a few more opportunities," Berner said. "You can tell we've been practicing on a smaller field, because when we got on this big field we didn't know what to do. "I thought for the second game in a row our defense was good. We've got girls who can play in the back." TUSBL HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL SE-Saline takes it to Mustangs After narrowly edging out Central in game 1, the Trojans hammer Mustangs in game 2 By LARRY MOR1TZ The Salina Journal Southeast of Saline spent nine innings living on the edge during Thursday night's opener with Salina Central, then left little doubt about the outcome of game two.

The Trojans picked up a doubleheader sweep in contrasting fashion at Dean Evans Stadium, going extra innings for a 76 victory, then bolting to a big lead early in a 13-1, run-rule win in the second contest. Southeast improved to 2-1 with the victories, while the games marked the season opener for Central. "The first game was a big win for us," Southeast coach Dee Kolzow said. "But we talked afterwards about not being satisfied with just one win. We thought we would find out how good a team we are in that second game." It was a night of frustration for Central coach Bill Bartow, whose team rallied in the opener from one-run deficits in both the seventh and eighth innings, getting two-out base hits in both instances.

But the Mustangs were never in the second contest after Southeast jumped out to a 7-0 lead after one-and-a-half innings. "For awhile there it looked like neither team wanted to win that first game," Bartow said. "But I was pleased with the way our kids came through with big hits when we needed them. We were down a run in two different innings and came back to get it tied. "Losing that game might have taken something out of us in that second game, but it was base on balls that really hurt us." Bartow used four pitchers in the second game, who combined to give up eight hits and eight walks.

Six of the Southeast runners who reached via a base on balls eventually came around to score. The Trojans losses Thursday night may actually outweigh thptwo victories. Before the final pitch was thrown, Kolzow had sent two of his players to the hospital with what could be serious injuries. Southeast sophomore Chad Leister left the opener after running out a groundout in the third inning. Kolzow said early indications are that Leister had a muscle torn away from a bone on his hip.

Trojan pitcher-outfielder Dustin Forsberg, one of only two seniors on the Southeast roster, left the stadium after two innings of game two. Forsberg injured his wrist sliding into second base and was headed to the hospital for X-rays. Southeast's other senior, Thomas Stein, See SE-SALINE, Page C5 Cagerz look to fill some needs Hughes expects from 40 to 60 players to attend two-day gamp By HAROLD BECHARD The ournal Athleticism, quickness and the ability to defend. Those are three traits the Kansas Cagerz will be search- ng for this weekend when they open their second-annual free-agent camp at Muir Gymnasium. Cagerz head coach Tom Hughes expects between 40 and 60 players to be on hand when the two-day camp opens at 9 a.m.

Saturday on the Kansas Wesleyan campus. Hughes said Thursday that 82 players have registered for the camp, but only 20 have paid. He expects the final number to be somewhere in the middle. "We're expecting several guys who were here last year to come in and give it another shot," Hughes said. "We're going to have everything from (NCAA) Division I players to Division II to NA1A.

We'll also have some guys with professional experience." The free agent camp is expected to feature such current and former Division I players such as Cory Jenkins (Northern Iowa), Roy Spears (Hous- JUCO BASKETBALL Cagerz Camp CAGERZ FREE-AGENT CAMP MUIR GYMNASIUM, SAUNA (Open to public, space limited) Saturday, April 1 9 a.m. Individual testing. 10 a.m. Session with director of US- BL officials. 10:15 a.m.

Break down into teams; walk through offense. 10:30 a.m. First-round scrimmages. 11:45 a.m.-noon Free throws. 1 p.m.

Mini clinics. 1:15 p.m. 1:25 p.m. 5-on-O team offense. 1:35 p.m.

Second-round scrimmages. 4 p.m. First day ends. Sunday, April 2 9a.m.—Free throws. 9:30 a.m.

Individual testing. 10 a.m. 3-on-3 games. 10:30 a.m.-noon Third-round scrimmages. 1 p.m.

Mini clinics. 1:15 p.m. 1:25 p.m. Fourth-round scrimmages. 2:30 p.m.

Scrimmage for players invited by coaching staff. 4 p.m. Camp ends. ton), B.J. Williams (Kansas), possibly Darin Williams (Wichita State) and Derek Ziegler (Cleveland State), the younger brother of former K-State assistant coach Ernie Ziegler.

There's also the possibility of former Wichita Heights prep star Cortex Barnes to make an appearance. San Angelo State, a Division II program in Texas, is expected to send its top two players Cameron Henderson and Terry See CAGERZ, Page C5 Hobson leaving Barton County Women's basketball coach joins program at Hastings, Neb. By The Salina Journal GREAT BEND Tony Hobson, who led Barton County to a fifth-place finish in the National Junior College Athletic Association Women's Tournament earlier this month, has resigned to become associate head coach of the women's basketball program at Hastings College Hobson, who coached Barton County for three seasons, will serve under Hastings coach Ken Rhodus next season, then will take over as head coach for the 2001-2002 season when Rhodus retires. Hobson will be only the second coach in Hastings history. Rhodus started the program in 1977 and has been the head coach all 24 years.

Hobson, who played two seasons at Barton County, will leave on alma mater for another. He played at Hastings during the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons after graduating from Barton County. "There are several factors of why I'm leaving Barton to go to Hastings," Hobson said in a press release from the school Thursday. "The first is my desire to coach at a four-year school and not have the year- by-year turnaround of athletes It's a chance to coach kids for four years instead of one or two. "Another factor was the fact that Hastings in the process of building an $8 millions basketball facility.

It will be ready the first year I'm head coach. "Financially, the college is in a very stable position, so that was a factor. It was a pay increase, and it's closer to home. It's 55 miles from parents, who live near Superior, Nebraska," he said. Hobson, who also coached at Cloud County for six seasons, compiled a 78-22 record at Barton County, including a 34-4 mark this past season.

The Cougars upset No. 1-ranked and previously unbeaten Seward County in the Region 6 championship game at the Bicentennial Center, then went 31 in the NJCAA Tournament at the BiCenter. "It wasn't an easy decision because at Barton we have better fan support, better boosters and more interest from the community, but I hope to change that at Hastings," Hobson said. "I really appreciate all the support that's been given to our women's program in general and to me and my family. That's the hardest thing for me to leave But 1 feel comfortable leaving now because the program is in a lot better shape now than when I came." Barton County athletic director Neil Elliott said a search for Hobson's replacement has begun.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Agbayani lifts Mets with 'sayonara' shot Part-timer, who is slated for the minors, gives Mets win with 11th inning grand slam By BEN WALKER The Associated Press The Associated Press Pinch-hitter Benny Agbayani connects for a grand slam in the top of the 11th inning to give the Mets a 5-1 win. TOKYO Because of Benny Agbayani, the New York Mets are taking back more than kimonos, Pokemon cards and pearls from Japan. Agbayani, ticketed for the minors in 10 days, made the most of his only at-bat at the Tokyo Dome. He lined a pinch-hit grand slam in the llth inning Thursday night and the Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 5-1 for a season-opening split. "I'm glad he was here today, that's for sure," Mets manager Bobby Valentine said.

"Benny's a big boy, and baseball's a game that's not always fair." In Japan, home runs that end the game are called "sayonara" shots. Because he connected with two outs in the top half of the inning, Agbayani's blow did not qualify for that title, not that it mattered to him. Mets Cubs (11) 1 "I can just do what I get a chance to do," Agbayani said. An hour later, the park was being prepared for Friday night's opener between the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants and Hiroshima Carp. The major league baseball logo behind home plate was being scraped off a crew of 14 working with wire brushes needed four hours to do it.

The glow of success of this two-game series, however, was bound to last a lot longer. It might even encourage other international trips, albeit ones without Mark McGwire, whose opposition led to the St. Louis Cardinals turning down this tour. The Americans got what they wanted a chance to go global with their game. The Japanese got what they wanted a chance to see stars such as Sammy Sosa and Mike Piazza in a real game.

And the Cubs and Mets got what they wanted a split on the road, so to speak. "I'm sure I speak for the entire team in saying we had a great time," Piazza said. "It was a great event." During their week abroad, the Mets and Cubs had an opportunity to mix and mingle with all things Japanese. Players saw the Imperial Palace, tasted Kobe beef, shopped in the Ginza district, rode the Marunouchi subway line and talked "besuboru" to the local fans. Sosa met Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako, and visited the U.S.

Embassy with Piazza. "You have to live it yourself," Cubs manager Don Baylor said. "You have to see the culture and their love of the game. These are some of the memories they'll bring home." He then added, "Everyone in the lock- See METS, Page C5 SUGGESTIONS? CALL BOB DAVIDSON, SPORTS EDITOR, AT 823-6363 OR 1-800-827-6363 OR E-MAIL AT.