The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 02, 1996, Page 8, Image 8
Umpire's de
ASSOCIATED PRESS
On a day when it dearly wanted to
celebrate, baseball mourned instead for
i beloved figure.
The death of umpire John McSherry,
vho collapsed Monday while calling balls
in/l cfrilroe in tVio fircf innincr nf thp
Expos-Reds game in Cincinnati, cast a
pall over what many had counted on to
oe a warm breath of life after a long, cold
winter and two strike-shortened seasons.
The game, which under a more
traditional baseball calendar would have
oeen the first of the season, was postponed
until Tuesday
McShenys death from an apparent
heart attack was the most tragic event
of a day when snow and rain forced
postponement of three other games, and
fans from the Deep South to the East
River shivered in their seats.
A storm that dumped up to 7 inches
i
South Carolir
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SIX MILE, S.C. ? Jim Hefner's perfect
pitch ended a perfectly awful time for
his familv
Hefner's finances have Men off since
he and his wife were laid off almost
simultaneously in 1991, causing them
to fall behind on their bills. Just when
he found work as a setup operator at a
Mauldin Hitachi plant, his wife had a
heart attack.
For months, Hefner says he's been
besieged with creditor calls wanting the
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TURN!
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Serving Injured Victii
Columbia Green
252-9000 235-4
1-800-833-h
Q&A Q: What do the foil
Jennifer Morrison - USC student
Robyn Kelly - USC student Jennifer Wu
Michael Boone - USC student Joseph Hell
A: They are all recipients of a prest
scholarship or fellowship!
Q; How can you add your name to
AI Find out by attending an Inforir
about the criteria and applicatioi
U.S. citizens for the following a
Fulbright Grant
Tuesday, April 2 at 4 p.m
Harper College 107
50th Anniversary Celebn
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Grants are available to graduatir
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tuition waivers. The grant is vali
Following the information sessi<
invited to attend the 50th Anniv
Fulbright Reception in the Gr
Goldwater Scholarship
Attention Sophomores ar
Thursday, April 4 at 4 p.i
Harper College 107
Rising sophomores and juniors j
natural sciences, mathematics, o
earn a graduate degree in these 1
research and/oi college-level tea
this $7,000 scholarship. Applica
and research experience.
For More Information
The Office of Fellowships and 5
Harper College 301/303. 777-$
ath casts sh
of snow on the Cleveland area caused a
day's delay in the opener for the Yankees
and Indians at Jacobs Field, where a 3foot-high
snowman in an Indians' cap
patrolled the third-base line. Cold rain
and wet grounds did in Kansas City at
Baltimore and Colorado at Philadelphia.
It was a stormy start to a spring of
promise and hope.
Although professional baseball
officially opened its 128th season Sunday
night with its earliest ever game, a 3-2
victory by Seattle over the Chicago White
Sox in 12 innings, Monday was opening
day, with nine games scheduled and
sellouts abounding.
It seemed the perfect setting for
baseball and its fans to start to patch
up their differences apd resume a sporting
love affair. For the first time in three
seasons, no threats of labor strife loomed,
and there were rich promises of recordchasing
years by the game's new legion
la native gee
back payments on his car, his land, his
mobile home. Bankruptcy was a certainty
when Hefner got a certified letter that
didn't contain a bill.
It said he'd been chosen to participate
in The Gillette Strike Zone Challenge
and that he could win $25,000 if he could
throw a strike from the pitcher's mound
before a spring training baseball game
in Florida.
Hefner hadn't thrown anything in
20 years, but was willing to try. He went
to Wal-Mart and bought a baseball target
The first few tosses wound up in the
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lowing people have in common?
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igous national
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lation Session and learn more
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ation at 4:30 p.m.
ig seniors and graduate students
study to be carried out in a
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proposed. Fluency in the host
lg background in American
host country is a necessity,
t of travel to and from the U.S.
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Lied at $22,000.
Dn, students and faculty are
ersary Celebration of
essette Room.
id Juniors!
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pursuing bachelors degrees in
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idling are eligible to apply for
nts should have a strong GPA
iummer Programs is located in
>58
adow on op
of superstars.
But those visions vanished quickly
in Riverfront Stadium, where McSherry
was behind the plate seven pitches into
the first inning of the first game.
With temperatures in the 30s and
Rondell White, the Expos' No. 3 hitter,
at bat against Pete Schourek, McSherry
walked away from the plate and motioned
to the other umpires before collapsing
on the warning track in front of a tunnel
near the backstop. Emergency workers
rushed to his side and tried to revive
him.
But the 328-pound McSherry never
regained consciousness. He was
pronounced dead about an hour later at
the University of Cincinnati Hospital.
"He probably bad a massive coronary,"
said Richard Jolson, one of the Reds'
doctors.
McSherry, popular with players,
managers and his fellow umps, had a
; big break fr<
creek. But after three months of practice,
he was able to put the baseball in the
18-by-30-inch target on every other throw.
His confidence was high just days before
the contest when he nailed all three
throws.
Hefner stepped to the mound last
Saturday in Clearwater, Fla., in front
of 7,000 fans at Philadelphia Phillies
spring training game. He eyed the target,
60 feet, 6 inches away, and delivered a
strike so pure it would have made Cy
Young proud.
"I think maybe the good Lord had
my*
Visa U.S.A. Inc. I99S
ening day
history of medical problems. He was
named a crew chief in July 1988, replacing
Lee Weyer, who died of a heart attack
two weeks earlier.
Baseball was played elsewhere
Monday, often in conditions more akin
to football or ice skating.
Owner Ted Turner sported a snapbrimmed
hat as he watched his Atlanta
Braves get their World Series
championship rings, then opening 1996
with a 10-8 victory over San Francisco
in chilly Atlanta.
At Shea Stadium, where a cold wind
whipped the rain, the Mets rallied for a
7-6 victory over St. Louis.
And in Chicago. Rvne Sandbere
returned to a frigid Wrigley Field and
helped the Cubs beat San Diego 5-4 in
10 innings. Sandberg went 0-for-3 with
two walks and handled seven fielding
chances flawlessly in his first game since
June 1994.
Dm baseball
something to do with it. Several people
have been praying for me," Hefner said
Friday.
The weight of the world lifted from
his shoulders, Heftier said.
"It was really terrific because we
absolutely had to have some money come
in because we've been having a whole
lot of trouble," Heftier said.
When gets his bills paid off, Heftier
said he's going to buy his wife a decent
car.
2ause 1
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11
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USC Briefs Staff Reports
BASEBALL
USC's baseball team fell to 1711
this weekend after dropping two j
of three games at Arkansas. j
The highlight of the weekend j
came Sunday as the Gamecocks ;
scored 13 runs on 14 hits in defeating ]
the Razorbacks. Mark Mapes had ]
six RBI on three hits. Ryan Bordenick i
and Ryan Szwejbka also had three- \
hit days.
Starting pitcher Brent Moore |
allowed only three hits and two runs
in six innings. Reliever Chad Hashour ,
a fn oknf AT*m A T*lr QflCQC
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holding the Razorback hitless for
three innings.
The Gamecocks will face in-state
rival Clemson Wednesday at 7 p.m.
at Sarge Frye Field.
TRACK AND riELD
Junior Dawn Ellerbe was named
the Southeastern Conference Female
Indoor Track and Field Athlete of
the Year Monday.
Ellerbe won the SEC, USATF
and NCAA Championships in the
20 lb. weight in three consecutive
weeks this seasons. Her toss of 68'
113/4 is an American record and is
being considered oy Track and Field
News for the world record.
Ellerbe has qualified for the NCAA
Outdoor Championships in the discus,
hammer and shot put. She won the
1995 SEC title in the discus and the
1995 USTAF title in the hammer
with an American record toss of 191'.
GOLF
David Seawell of the men's team
and Siew Ai Lim of the women's team
each rank in the SEC top 10 m stroke
average according to a report released
by the league yesterday.
Seawell, a senior member of the
No. 19 Gamecocks, ranks second in
the SEC with a 71.78 stroke average
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md is just two one-hundreths of a
stroke behind the leader.
Lim, a 1995 first team All\merican,
is eighth in the SEC with
175.90 stroke. The senior has two
op 10 finishes this season, including
i fourth-place finish at the Dick
McGuire Invitational last fall, and
recently led the 20th-ranked Lady
Gamecocks to a third place finish at
the Lady Gamecock Classic.
The Rotary Club of Chapin Sunrise
will sponsor its second annual golf
tournament April 22 at Timberlake
Plantation Golf Course, located on
Amick's Ferry Koad in unapin.
Starting time is 12:30.
The entry fee is $200 for each
four-person team and includes cart
and green fees as well as a free lunch
from 11 a m to noon. All proceeds
will sponsor Rotary projects.
Prizes will be awarded to first
and second place teams, closest to
the pm (four awards) and longest
drive (four awards).
For more information call John
Oswald at 345-1094 or John Winfield
at 345-6181. All entries and fees must
be received by April 12.
SPORT ADMINISTRATION
The Sport Administration Club
will present the first Dr. Guy Lewis
Student Appreciation Award today
to Stephen M. Woods.
Woods will receive the award at
the club's 4 p.m. meeting, to be held
in room 2008 of the Carolina
Coliseum, An adjunct professor at
USC, Woods teaches an accredited
SDorts business course each year.
The award is named after the
chairman of the Sport Administration
department and will be presented
annually to worthy faculty member,
staff member or other individual
associated with the sports
administration program.
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