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10 Pietro makes BRYAN JOHNSTON Staff Writer For any athlete coming in as a freshman, making the team is an achievement and getting the chance to play once in a while is something to be proud of Coming in and starting right from the beginning is accomplished once in a while, but to start as a major factor is something few athletes can do. The USC Lady Gamecock softball team has one of the gifted athletes in their starting line-up day in and day out. As a true freshman from Compton Plains, N.J., Kim Pietro has played solid defense all season long. But by improving tremendously at the plate, she has become yet another of the many feared players on Coach Joyce Compton's team. But it wasn't like this at the beginning of the year. In the early stages of the season, Pietro didn't bat much due to her struggles with the bat. But lately, she has been swinging the hot stick, and Compton has rewarded her with trips to the plate. So what did she work on between the beginning of the season and the latter to make the turnaround? It was definitely my mental game," she said. "Tve picked up my confidence level." "She struggled early on, but she's get the capabilities to be a good offensive player," Compton said. "As of late, offensively she's doing what we had Labonte b ASSOCIATED PRESS TRINITY, N.C. ? Terry Labonte will be the center of attention this weekend as the NASCAR Winston Cup community salutes him for starting a record 514 consecutive races. He's just thankful he made it past No. 123. Most racers have at least one brush with serious injury during their careers, and 39-year-old Labonte is no exception. What makes him unique on stock car racing's premier circuit is that he has been able to drive on ? and on and on i :_i.~ i.i 31 aiiu uu ? sucugiii uiwj uie iwuru uuutta for longevity. When Labonte takes the green flag Sunday for the Goody's 500 at Martinsville, Va., it will give him one more consecutive start than the 513 Richard Petty compiled from 1971 to 1989. Labonte's streak began in January 1979, but it nearly ended on Nov. 21, 1982, at Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway. "If that wouldn't have been the last race of the year, that would have been the end of the streak," Labonte said. Even now, the memories of that day are so powerful that Labonte shifts uncomfortably in the large chair in his office, takes a deep breath and exhales slowly before recounting the crash. "It was a big wreck," he said softly. On that day, Darrell Waltrip was putting the finishing touches on a victory over Bobby Allison in the season points hatilp T .ahnnte wnnld wind lin third, his best finish to that point in the driver standings. Tim Richmond won the race in | J CONCERT jc DANCE CLUbV j KSjS! 3 A LIVE IN ?with spc THE ROO ^ Doors Open at 7:00 PM j Showtime at 9:00 PM j 18 or older admitted A t Tickets: $14 Advance/ $16 door Q1 ; ?'rrnt-TTfA'^Uiiii i I uai>i>i itivi\i\i DAY ? { THE TIM I $12 '"Advance !sho^ime | $15 attheDoof |<18oro|de y |i| TiTy wmmarniunE ?major conta hoped she wouldVe done. She's hitting the ball hard and making some pretty consistent contact." "I think my game has improved a lot since the start," Retro said. 1 started out a little rough. . | h| I've been getting j|M| a lot of extra work in before and after I practice, which I I really think I I benefited from." I All of the hard I work is beginning I A. rc o _ r MHgs' '^HRIV to pay on. oo iur this season, she is L^MMSHL^I batting .340 with Pletro 26 RBI, a slugging percentage of .491 and an on-base percentage of .417. The surge at the plate has overshadowed her performance in the field. In the 34 games she has started, she hasn't committed a single error. "Kim is a real solid-defensive outfielder with an excellent arm," Compton said. "That is probably the best part of her game. She's an anchor to our defense, which was what we looked for: a solid center fielder." Making the transition from high school to big-time college softball is usually challenging^ and Retro wasn't immune. "I struggled a little bit with my swing more so than the pitching," she lecomes N dominating fashion, leading 92 of the 119 laps. On lap 94, Labcnte was running third. "Something happened to the car as I went into turn nine," he said. "Riverside had just a giant, long back straightaway, so of course, I was moving real good. And as I went into the turn, the car didn't turn. Nothing. "You talk about panic. I hit the end of the wall ? head-on." His No. 44 Buick slammed into the tip of the concrete retaining wall with such force that the car cartwheeled through the air into the infield, violently spewing parts everywhere. Was Labonte knocked unconscious? "Was I ever," he said. Labonte was rushed to Riverside Community Hospital, where he underwent surgery for severe facial lacerations. Doctors also discovered he had a broken left leg, a broken right foot, several broken ribs and a broken nose. "I remember when I got to the hospital they said that it was my lucky day, that they had the best plastic surgeon in California on duty that day. "Somehow, I didn't feel all that lucky." Seeing the wreckage later only made him feel worse. Tve never seen a car wreck so bad," he said. "You could have sat in the driver's seat and touched the left front tire. The motor was back under the dash. The steering wheel collapsed down around the steering column, and I hit the end of the steering column right smack on my face." Needless to say, had a race been scheduled the following week, Labonte SPECIAL <ALEt and the >H1NE m ind m CONCERT 7"V; icial guests? M r DOCTORS I Doors Open at 7: RETRO/DISCO . Ch ?timI at o-nr DANCE PARTY Showtime at 9.0C FTER CONCERT 18 or older admit UNTIL2:00AM -Tickets: $12 Advs HHpaaapHBHHmaHHvyOTMaiHBapBi !) IMERL LIVE ? (at CI HrvArc Hnan of EL/V/VI vJ V/^VII Ml Tickets: $14/ for more infor en at 7:00 PM ?^clwrglbj at 9:00 PM r (803)561 ribution for ( said. "I changed a couple of things in my stance and my swing. But for me, it was more of a personal transition that I made with a little help from the coaches." While she attended Pequannock Township High School, she racked up an impressive list of honors. She earned All-America accolades in 1994 and was a first-team All-Conference selection from 1992-95. She was also a firstteam All-State selection in 1994 and 1995 and was named the team MVP in 1994 and 1995. With a list like that, it is no wonder so many schools were recruiting her. Pietro considered Penn State, UConn and Hofetra before deciding on playing for the Lady Gamecocks. "I knew that after this trip here I was pretty set that this is where I wanted to be," Retro said. "I wanted to play for Coach Compton. I didn't want to play anywhere else." As talented as she is on the field, r>* _ j __ _ i il . r rieiro nas on-tne-neiu taienis xew people know about. Besides being able to play softball, "Petey" (a team nickname due to confusion with pronouncing her last name) is able to play the piano, trumpet and saxophone. She also enjoys performing and writing music. "My first love is music. Performing arts is something that I really wanted to go into. But I had to choose between fASCAR's would have been in no condition to participate. 1 didn t even get released rrom the hospital until the next Saturday," he said. "And then after I got home, it was another three or four weeks before I could even tzy to drive a street car. I was messed up pretty good." In the 13-plus seasons since then, Labonte hasn't missed a beat. The only time he came close was in the spring of 1987, when he broke his shoulder at Darlington, S.C. At the next two stops, Labonte was able to qualify the car and start the races, then got relief help from Brett Bodine. These days, the driver who has become known as Iron Man tries to downplay his record-breaking accomplishment. "Everybody has, from time to time, driven when they were hurt or didn't feel good or whatever," he said. "But then again, I'm also sure everybody's gone to work and done their job when they didn't feel good or whatever. So if s kind of the same deal. "I kind of just look at this streak as just really a number that I got to by going out every Sunday and trying to do my job, trying to do the best that I could. And all of a sudden, it's turned into a whole lot of races in a row." In recognition of his achievement, Labonte threw out the first pitch Tuesday at a Baltimore Orioles game, where he got to meet Cal Ripken, baseball's Iron Man. NASCAR officials have reserved 30 minutes before the start of Sunday's Martinsville race to pay tribute to EVENTS 4DAR r#l LIVE IN CONCERT 00 PM i Trtri Mn p.? it?r ~1 iurwuM?uc 1 PM PARTY AFTER ted CONCERT UNTIL ince/$15door 4:00AM E HAGGARD IN CONCERT laracters of Greenville) 7:00 PM Showtime at 8:30 PM advance/ $16 Door 18 or older I TICKFT OUTLETS: 11IHIIVI R * -' m ? , f phone Manifest Discs ? and Tapes 0977 Papa Jazz ' Record Shoppe PIIMRipn> \H?mMin Vl;TflNVi UUkSUUaAKlAKlBi iamecocks that and softball, and softball was my first priority. That (performing music) is something people don't really know about me because I really don't have that opportunity down here to hiake time for both." Pietro considers the biggest thrill in her sports career beating the No. 1 ranked Arizona earlier this year on March 22,1-0. To be part of that was a great thing, ana we really proven a lot to ourselves, Pietro said. As far as dealing with her career after softball is over, she sounds like the typical college student. She has no idea what she wants to do. Tm not going to stay down here. I don't know what I want to do occupationally-wise. I definitely want to do something in athletics," Pietro said. "All I really know is that I won't be in New Jersey." The one thing that stands out about Pietro is her unselfish attitude. Every question asked about individual goals or accomplishments somehow turned into talking about her teammates and incorporating a "team" attitude into the conversation. With this there is no 1' in team" attitude, the Lady Gamecocks have a great player with a great attitude. The best part of the deal is that shell be around for three more years. Iron Man Labonte's record. NASCAR also plans to have Labonte ride around the track in a convertible and greet fans. "We're not going to ask him to run the fence line around the place like Cal did when he broke the record," NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett said. A logical question at this stage is how long Labonte can continue. "You look at the guys in racing, at least the guys who are winning races, and they're probably from 38 to 45 years old with the exception of two guys?Jeff Gordon (24) and my brother, Bobby (31)," he said. "This is a sport here that you don't have to be a big strong guy, you know, try to knock somebody down every play. Experience in our sport is much more iT 4-U-i?lr trAiii* r%^troirtnl LiiipWl l/CLLLL, X vli-LLLEVj UllOll JUUJ. Uliy ail*CU ability would be in other sports." Three years ago, the 5-foot-8,180pound Labonte began going to a gym regularly, a routine he continues to this day. Labonte, the 1984 Winston Cup champion, is currently in the most productive stretch of his professional career. Seven of his 17 victories have come since he joined Hendrick Motorsports at the start of the 1994 season, and he is third in this year's driver standings after last Sunday's victory at North Wilkesboro. "I want to win another championship, and I think fm with a team that's capable of doing it" he said. "As a matter of fact. I know I'm with a team that's capable of doing it." I DAILY EVI CALEND I CLOSED (except for sp Available for private part I BAR COUR1 ? / ~T in* \C. I UI UIUC Za Z/* Free Admission All Nic * Free Pool & $1.50 Lite rST SPECIAL IVI I 4 m Featurinq a Great Vai I ff W and Regional Live Iff ^ (seeschedule uji! rock 93.5 i ^kcollege r wight Iifam 0sx I" ?fetfo/ disc : ^ aiybi SPORTS BRIEFS Assoc BASKETBALL DALLAS -The Dallas Mavericks have been sold to a group led by Ross Perot Jr., according to news reports. The Dallas Morning News, television station KDFW and radio station KLJF reported that Mavericks owner Don Carter had reached an agreement to sell the club to the Dallas developer for $125 million. The reports, each citing liniHpntifipH snnrpps aniH that flarfpr plans to retain 20 percent interest in the club and had returned an eightr figure "earnest money" check for a reported $10 million to Thomas Hicks, Perots reported competition in bidding for the team. Carter paid $12 million to the NBA for the franchise in 1979. NEW YORK ?Juwan Howard of the Bullets is the NBA Player of the Week, averaging 26.5 points, 11.3 ' rebounds and six assists as Washington went 4-0 for the week. He shot .533 (40-for-75) from the field and .839 (26-for-31) from the freethrow line. FOOTBALL DENVER ? John Elway, the aging master of the miracle comeback, signed a new five-vear. $29.5 million contract, guaranteeing he will end his career with the Broncos. Elway, 36 in June, is entering his 14th NFL season. Last season, he threw for 3,970 yards with 26 touchdowns and 14 interceptions as Denver went 8-8. MARTINEZ, Calif. ? Ken Behring is being sued by a former employee who said the Seattle Seahawks owner assaulted her twice in January and sexual harassment was pervasive in the office. Patricia Parker, who managed finances for several of his companies, filed the civil suit in Contra Costa County Superior Court. A spokeswoman for Behring said he denied the allegations. Parker, who resigned March 1, claimed she was required to hide Behring's sexual liaisons from his wife. OLYMPICS PHOENIX ? Gea Johnson, a 1990 NCAA heptathlon champion at Arizona State, filed a $12 million lawsuit against track and field's international ruling body, seeking to overturn a four-year drug suspension. U.S. District Judge Earl Carroll granted Johnson, 27, a 10-day preliminary injunction that allows her to compete this weekend to qualify for the Olympics. Johnson was banned by the International Amateur Athletic Federation in December 1994 after testing positive for synthetic steroids. Johnson maintains she never used steroids and flawed testing ENTS iCri AR' I fVl 01 ies (561-9977) | ^S^n5lGHT| HI r admitted) I | PI I |ht Bring Your CDs I H \aia'ii nu.. ^ I ?! I t7iftibii Icq St night v riety of National ??^ Entertainment on left) 18 or older admitted I I ^ m DJ Dancing ..n?;i Q.nn AM I I Ul llll J.UU /-VIVI * Admission $3/ $5 | : jj^^jjj' DJ Dancing I | until 4:00 AM I | In I ? Admission $5.00 | |mtSM m 21 or older admitted DJ Dancing to | Top 40 Favorites f| from the 70s & '80s ? Admission $5.00 . [SOBHi ; Thursday, April 18,1996 iated Press resulted in the sample being mishandled Her ban has been upheld three times in the past 15 months, most recently during a federation appeal hearing in December. GYMNASTICS SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico ? Belarus' Ivan Ivankov and Vitaly Scherbo finished in the top five spots in five of the six apparatuses in the men's competition at the World Gymnastics Championships. Americans Chainey Umphrey and Bill Roth finished a respectable 11th and 12th place, respectively, in the high bar, while Stephen McCain advanced in the floor exercise with a 13th-place finish. Chris LaMorte tied for third in the rings with a 9.650 score. At the completion of preliminaries, Italy's Yuri Chechi finished first in rings with a 9.750 score while Russia's Alexei Voroapev led the floor exercise competition at 9.687. In the pommel horse, North Korea's Gil Su Pae led the way at 9.837 while teammate Hon-Chul Yeo tV?o vault at Q 719 FIGURE SKATING COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. ? The U.S. Figure Skating Association will no longer give media credentials to Christine Brennan of The Washington Post because of her "personal opinions" on the sport. George Solomon, sports editor of the Post, called the USFSA's decision "unfair and unprofessional." Solomon said executive director Jerry Lace indicated the USFSA would consider the newspaper's appeal. Brennan recently wrote the book "Inside Edge," discussing such issues in figure skating as homosexuality, overDeanng parents and the Nancy Kerrigan-Tonya Harding saga ? subjects detailed in a number of publications. TENNIS TOKYO ?Ninth-seeded Byron Black of Zimbabwe, a finalist two days earlier in the Indian Open, was eliminated in the first round of the Japan Open by Richey Reneberg, 63,6-0, while No. 11 David Prinosil of Germany ousted Australian Sandcn Stolle, 6-1,6-4. In women's action, top-seeded Kimiko Date was a 6-3,6-1 victor over Japanese compatriot Rika Hiraki, and fourth-seeded Ai Sugiyama beat Hong Kong's Tang Min 6-1,6-4. BARCELONA, Spain (AP) ? Third-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia lost to Jordi Burillo of Spain 3-6,6-1,7-6, while unseeded Spaniard Carlos Mqya upset fifth-seeded Mark Rosset of Switzerland, 6-1,64 in the second round of the $132,000 Conde de Godo tournament. HECK IT OUR! OOTIi IVERACE INI ? PECIAL ON DAY imoM of the MWECOCK APRIL 22