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Byron Embry enters a baseball game accompanied by the eerie chimes of the song "Rest in Peace" -- the theme song of the professional wrestler known as "The Undertaker."

Embry wears his hat low, throws in the upper 90s and treats every save as if it were his most important one yet.

The Wingnuts closer has all the components of a dominant ninth-inning pitcher.

"The intimidation thing is not an act," Embry said. "I want every hitter, every fan, everybody in the ballpark to know that when I come in the ballgame, it's over. Everybody drive home safely, buckle up. It's over."

He has the closer's act down, and his performance has backed up his bravado. In 12 seasons in the minor leagues and independent ball, Embry, 31, has racked up more than 11 strikeouts per nine innings.

Three good starting pitchers can carry a college baseball team in May and June. This is the time No. 22 Wichita State has been pointing to with Rob Musgrave, Aaron Shafer and Anthony Capra lined up.

Experienced, talented and durable. Even when the Shockers slumped, the prospect of rolling out those three in a conference tournament or regional kept hopes high. The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament begins Wednesday, and a first-round bye could allow the Shockers to win it without going past their third starter.

Musgrave and Shafer followed that formula perfectly with complete-game victories in the final regular-season series against Bradley. Capra, despite giving up one earned run in six innings, was again disappointed with his performance on the final day of a Missouri Valley Conference series.

"Just not a great day, overall," Capra said after Saturday's 21-5 win over Bradley. "Honestly, this is about the fourth week in a row that I've left the field disappointed. I wasn't really on my game and giving the team all I could."

Capra's recent performances haven't been disasters, but they haven't been nearly as dominant as earlier in the season.

Valley Tournament Pairings

At Eck Stadium

Seeds in parenthesis

Wednesday's Games

WSU Baseball Statistics (41-15)

Batters

Reds 6, Indians 4 -- With two well-timed swings, Cincinnati's Adam Dunn and Joey Votto gave untouchable Cliff Lee his comeuppance.

Dunn homered for the fourth straight game, and Votto finished off Lee with the first pinch-hit homer of his career as the Reds swept the three-game series.

• Lee (6-1) came into the game on an amazing run, having allowed only four earned runs and one homer all season.

Astros 5, Rangers 4 -- Brandon Backe pitched into the seventh inning, and Miguel Tejada had three hits for Houston.

• Backe (3-5) retired the first nine batters of the game and didn't give up a run until allowing consecutive homers to Milton Bradley and David Murphy in the seventh.

Wednesday

Game 1 -- No. 4 Northern Iowa (29-22) vs. No. 5 Southern Illinois (32-21), 11 a.m.

Game 2 -- No. 3 Creighton (35-19) vs. No. 6 Bradley (26-26), 3 p.m.

Game 3 -- Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 7 p.m.

Thursday

Wichita State's Mica Land finished her Missouri Valley Conference track career with a weekend to remember in Carbondale, Ill.

In less than 24 hours, the senior from Andover won the 3,000-meter steeplechase, the 1,500-meter and the 5,000-meter races. She pulled it off during a whirlwind tour that started with Friday's graduation ceremonies in Wichita and ended with the award for the MVC meet's most valuable women's athlete.

WSU coach Marc Burns said Land is the first person in her family to graduate from college. The rest of the team left earlier in the week for Carbondale. Land stayed behind.

"It was really important to her to walk" at graduation, Burns said. "She's a senior, and I was confident she could handle it."

Land flew to St. Louis late Friday night, where Burns picked her up and drove two hours to Carbondale. She performed as expected in the steeplechase Saturday and won it for the second straight season with a time of 10 minutes, 25.96 seconds.

Crestview CC South

Tom Harrington, No. 3 (151 yds.), 8-iron. Witnesses: Carol Harrington, John Dieker, Sue Dieker.

Auburn Hills

Noreen Carrocci, No. 7 (82 yds.), 8-iron. Witness: Mark Greenlee.

Call it Burnside and Salome, part two.

From 2001 to 2005, Brad Burnside and Matt Salome contributed to four straight City League Championships for the Southeast boys golf team.

Before the two came along, the Buffaloes had won one league title the previous 20 years.

While watching their brothers rack up trophies and earn state accolades, younger brothers Grant Burnside and Taylor Salome learned what it took to be a championship caliber golfer.

"For those four years, they were always solid," Grant Burnside said. "Being a lot younger, I really looked up to those guys."

The Eagle track honor roll lists the top three times, distances and heights, regardless of class. Then the remaining class leaders, not covered in the top three, are listed. Even if a team goes to an out-of-town meet, it is the responsibility of coaches to report statistics (1-800-825-6397 or 316-268-6252.) Coaches may also e-mail results to stats@varsitykansas.com. This form is online at VarsityKansas.com. The Eagle thanks Carol Swenson for his assistance in compiling this honor roll. (xx) indicates school's not a KSHSAA member and won't compete at the May 23-24 state meet.

Boys

100 meters

Saturday's Results

Baylor 13, Texas Tech 3

Missouri 22, Nebraska 9

Kansas State 5, Kansas 4

What if you gave a concert and the crowd refused to watch?

It's not as far-fetched as it seems. As more and more concertgoers fiddle with cell phone cameras and fidget with BlackBerries, some people say mobile technology is ruining the concert experience.

"It's extraordinarily irritating," says Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame. "All these people holding up these horrid little squares of bright light."

"It's like they're not even there," says jazz guitarist Bill Frisell. "It's like, 'Why don't you put that away and listen to the music?' "

"It drives me crazy," says singer Steve Earle. "They have their use, but there's definitely a price to pay."

TODAY Wichita Community Children's Choir Spring Concerts, conducted by Mark Bartel with pianist James Knight, 8 p.m. today, Sebits Auditorium, Friends University. Tickets $5. Information, 316-295-5570.

Jesse's Gnu Canoe, concert, 8-10 p.m. today, Blank Page Gallery, 917 W. Douglas. Free. Information, 316-393-2202.

TUE. Poetry Aloud, read your own work or that of a poet you admire, 7-9 p.m. Tue., Zoomdweebie's Tea Bar, 3010 E. Central. Free. Information, 316-440-4202.

WED. Senior Wednesday, "Surviving Disaster -- Greensburg," program, refreshments and open galleries, 10 a.m. Wed., Ulrich Museum of Art, WSU. Free. Information, 316-978-3664.

Senior Wednesday, program by author, poet and playwright Chinyere Grace Okafor, 1:30 p.m. Wed., Kansas African American Museum, 601 N. Water. Free. Information, 316-262-7651.

The disco-ball trophy that goes to the winner of "Dancing with the Stars" is big, glittery and, some would say, oh so tacky. But right about now it's looking like a thing of dazzling beauty to Kristi Yamaguchi, who would love to put it on display in her Alamo, Calif., home.

"It might clash with the furniture a little bit," she admits. "Think about it, though: It would be a great conversation piece."

But first, Yamaguchi and her partner, Mark Ballas, need to prevail in the finals of the popular reality show, which get under way tonight. Having consistently displayed a technical superiority since Week 1, they go into the showdown as clear favorites.

Yamaguchi's rivals for the trophy are football star Jason Taylor (teamed with Edyta Sliwinska) and film actor Cristian de la Fuente (teamed with Cheryl Burke), and she's keenly aware that she has a chance to become the show's first female champ since soap star Kelly Monaco captured the title in Season 1.

"That just gives me more motivation to generate some girl power out there and get people to believe it can be done," says the Olympic figure-skating gold medalist. "Isn't it about time a woman won it?"