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Stick his name up there with the Wichita State pitchers who marched into Reynolds Stadium and tamed the Oklahoma State mashers. Pat Cedeno and David Haas did it in NCAA regionals in the 1980s. Aaron Shafer updated the list with Saturday's five-hitter in a 5-3 win over OSU.

"That was something special," WSU coach Gene Stephenson said.

WSU needs one more win to advance to a super regional, one it could host if No. 4 national seed Florida State is eliminated today in the Tallahassee Regional. The Seminoles are in the losers bracket and must win three games to advance.

OSU is in the same spot. The top-seeded Cowboys (43-17) play TCU at 1 p.m. today in an elimination game. The Cowboys are short on pitching after No. 1 starter Andrew Oliver was declared ineligible.

The second-seeded Shockers (46-15) play the TCU-OSU winner at 7 tonight. The Shockers, as the regional's unbeaten team, must lose twice to be eliminated.

Oak Hill Academy basketball coach Steve Smith was tidying up his office recently, some normal spring cleaning, when he stopped at a small plant that needed watering. Moving it closer, Smith turned the plant around and stared at the exposed signature on its base:

mb-easy

As in Michael Beasley, who, no matter where he goes, always seems to leave a mark.

"We still find his name on things," Smith said. "It was always stuff like that. He never did anything destructive. He was just a big kid. I got mad at him, and told him there were times to play and times to work.

"But I really liked being around him."

The end of the fourth inning was probably a good time for an on-field promotion featuring Wingnuts manager Kash Beauchamp kicking a football.

Wichita had just left the bases loaded and any outlet for Beauchamp to release some frustration was a good one.

Beauchamp didn't get rid of all his frustration, though. He was hanging onto five more innings of it after the Wingnuts left nine men on base in Sioux City's 6-0 win on Saturday at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

"Same (stuff), different day," Beauchamp said. "Guys better start figuring out how to get runs in, that's all I've got to say. I'm not going to look at this (stuff) all year, I can promise you that, as far as getting guys in scoring position and we can't hit a groundball."

The Wingnuts have struggled in clutch situations during the five games of the ongoing seven-game homestand. They've been bailed out by strong starting pitching, the occasional key hit or mistakes by the other team. Saturday, Wichita was the beneficiary of none of those.

The Detroit Red Wings wrecked the Pittsburgh Penguins' home-ice advantage and gave themselves a shot to hoist the Stanley Cup in Hockeytown.

Jiri Hudler snapped a third-period tie for the Red Wings, who rallied from an early deficit to beat the Penguins 2-1 Saturday night and grab a 3-1 lead in the finals.

Detroit will get the first of three potential chances to win the Cup back home in Game 5 on Monday night.

The Penguins were 9-0 in the Igloo during the postseason and hadn't lost at home since falling in a shootout to San Jose on Feb. 24 -- a span of 17 games. Now they will have to figure out how to win at Joe Louis Arena to force the series back to Pittsburgh for Game 6.

That'll be a tough task indeed considering they couldn't even score a goal in two games there to open the series.

The chanting in and of itself didn't mean much; in fact, it probably struck many as a bit sophomoric. And there's certainly nothing original about people in an arena chanting, "Beat L.A.! Beat L.A."

What gave it context Friday night was that the men proclaiming they were ready for the Los Angeles Lakers were the Boston Celtics, a newly earned silver trophy in their midst. Already, it was like old times, like the best of times.

Lakers-Celtics is the Yankees-Red Sox, the Duke-North Carolina, the Michigan-Ohio State of professional basketball. The Celtics have won 16 NBA championships, the Lakers have won 14 -- which means those two clubs have won nearly half of the league's 61 titles. Neither invented the game, but both defined it, refined it, made it relevant.

Between 1959 (when the Lakers still played in Minneapolis) and 1987, the Lakers and Celtics played each other 10 times in the NBA Finals. The Celtics, with Red Auerbach and Bill Russell leading the way, won the first eight. The Lakers, with Magic Johnson lashing back, won the last two.

They are the pillars on which the league rests, and getting them to meet in the finals for the first time in 21 years is a godsend for the league and its television partners after years of declining interest.

With the Wingnuts' offense enduring a recent dry spell, the pitching staff has shown itself capable of letting the hitters off the hook.

Wichita delivered a pair of clutch hits in the seventh but struggled again with missed opportunities. Those didn't matter, as Justin Young delivered the Wingnuts' second straight dominant pitching performance.

Young pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings and Byron Embry survived a tenuous ninth to notch the save in Wichita's 3-2 win over Sioux City on Friday at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

"We haven't been able to bring guys in all the time, but we have been able to get a few guys in in some clutch situations and get the lead," Wichita third baseman Michael Thompson said. "Our pitching staff has been throwing the ball real well the last few games. It allows our offense to just need a couple runs to win."

Following Brad Davis' complete-game victory over Sioux City on Thursday, Young did his damage by keeping the ball down in the strike zone, producing numerous groundouts. After walking leadoff hitter and former Wichita State player Nick McCoola to start the game, Young induced a double play grounder from Sam Walker.

Texas Christian starter Tyler Lockwood is conservative with his pitches and his words.

So conservative, in fact, he declined to talk to the media after Thursday's practice session and nobody in purple acted surprised.

"He's been here almost two years now and he and I have probably said 100 words total to each other," TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said. "He's a very low-maintenance player."

Teammates are happy to talk for him.

Lockwood, a sophomore from Sugar Land, Texas, helped rescue TCU's season when its starting rotation threatened to crumble. He moved from long relief after throwing 4 2/3 shutout innings at Wichita State on March 15.

Though the Wingnuts had a 7-2 home record entering Thursday's game against Sioux Falls, five of the wins had come by three runs or fewer, leading manager Kash Beauchamp to conclude that hardly any lead was safe.

Against the Canaries, even the slimmest advantage was in good hands with Brad Davis. The Wichita starting pitcher took a shutout into the ninth, pitching the Wingnuts' first complete game in a 5-1 victory at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Wichita took two of three games in the series.

Davis, Wichita's opening day starter, was in control from the start. He didn't walk a batter and went to two three-ball counts. He struck out seven, allowed three hits and didn't allow a run until Beau Torbert struck him for a solo home run with one out in the ninth.

"He's like an artist," Beauchamp said. "When he's on, that's what you're going to get. It's hard to describe that outing right there -- you don't see outings like that in independent ball very often."

Davis followed the plan of Gustavo Mata, who won the opening game of the series and kept the Canaries at bay by keeping it simple -- just throw strikes. Before Torbert's home run, only Grant Richardson, who doubled with two outs in the second, reached scoring position.

If hitting is contagious, the antidote is strikeouts.

No. 21 Wichita State enters NCAA regional play on its highest-scoring roll of the season. Not coincidentally, the Shockers cut down on their strikeouts significantly in recent games.

"All year we've been talking about having quality (at-bats)," WSU first baseman Tyler Hill said. "That just means hitting the ball hard or going deep in the count, or getting a base hit or a walk."

When the Shockers do those things, they can use their speed to force defenses and pitchers into mistakes. Walking quickly back to the dugout after a strikeout doesn't count. Avoiding that long, lonely walk gets tougher against postseason pitching, starting Friday against No. 18 TCU.

The Shockers, winners of six straight and eight of 10, should be in the right frame of mind to face quality arms.

In the Wingnuts' 20-game history, it has become clear that on the independent baseball level, games are just as easily lost as they are won.

Wichita lost one Wednesday. The Wingnuts outhit Sioux Falls and had more flash with two long home runs, but they couldn't overcome poor pitching and defense in the Canaries' 7-4 win at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

The Wingnuts fell to 7-2 at home. In many of those wins, they took advantage of opponents' mistakes and compounded them with timely hitting, solid defense and strong starting pitching.

Wichita failed to muster those components Tuesday and starting pitcher Demetri White handed the Canaries an early lead with his lack of control.

Sioux Falls scored four runs in the third inning on one hit, a Beau Torbert RBI single to make it 3-0. By then, the damage had been done mostly by White, who walked four in the inning, one to drive in a run, and committed a fielding error that led to two unearned runs.

Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins found their offense right where they left it -- home in the Igloo.

Crosby scored Pittsburgh's first two goals of the Stanley Cup finals, beating previously perfect goalie Chris Osgood, and the Penguins made this a series with a 3-2 victory Wednesday night.

The Red Wings still lead 2-1 after two shutout wins at home. Game 4 will be Saturday night, again in Pittsburgh, before the series shifts back to Detroit for a now necessary fifth game.

The Penguins improved to 9-0 at home in the playoffs and have won 17 straight there, dating to a loss to San Jose on Feb. 24. Pittsburgh's previous game in front of the home crowd was a 6-0 blitz in the clinching Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals against Philadelphia.

Marc-Andre Fleury, who hasn't been beaten at home in 19 straight games, made 32 saves. He allowed Johan Franzen's power-play goal with 5:12 left in the second period that cut Pittsburgh's lead to 2-1 and Mikael Samuelsson's tally in the third that got Detroit back within one.

Yasmani Grandal's tie-breaking RBI single in the eighth helped top-seeded Miami defeat Missouri 6-5 on Saturday in the Coral Gables, Fla., Regional.

The victory assures Miami (50-8) a berth in the championship game today.

Blake Tekotte and Ryan Jackson each hit two-run home runs helping the Hurricanes build a 5-0 lead after three innings.

The Tigers (39-21) came back with a three-run fifth and Steve Gray's two-run home run off Miami reliever Kyle Bellamy in the eighth.

Mississippi 14, Bethune-Cookman 1 -- Michael Guerrero homered twice in one inning and Mississippi eliminated Bethune-Cookman.

Manny Ramirez connected for career homer No. 500 on Saturday night, hitting a drive off Baltimore Orioles right-hander Chad Bradford to become the 24th major leaguer to reach the milestone and help the Boston Red Sox to a 6-3 victory.

Ramirez drove the first pitch into the seats in right-center in the seventh inning. The Red Sox star watched the flight of the ball, then took off around the bases.

"As soon as I hit it, I knew it was gone," Ramirez said. "So I was happy to move on."

Ramirez was slow reaching the milestone. He hit No. 496 on April 19 and had only three in 34 games before Saturday.

This one, however, was worth the wait.

Daniel Bibona allowed four hits over eight innings, allowing just one baserunner after the third, and Ollie Linton hit a tie-breaking homer in the fifth as UC Irvine edged Nebraska 3-2 in the Lincoln Regional on Saturday.

The Anteaters (40-16) now await the winner of this afternoon's elimination game between the host Cornhuskers (41-15-1) and Oral Roberts (47-13). Irvine can wrap up the regional with a win tonight.

Oral Roberts 8, E. Illinois 7 (10) --Brendan Duffy's two-out RBI single in the top of the 10th helped Oral Roberts eliminate Eastern Illinois.

Eastern Illinois (27-30) scored in the bottom of the ninth to force the extra inning, with Brett Nommensen coming home on Carlos Luna's wild pitch.

Houston Regional

LSU's outgoing athletic director and former national championship baseball coach Skip Bertman was hospitalized Saturday with what doctors believed were early signs of a heart attack.

LSU sports spokesman Herb Vincent said the 70-year-old Bertman was resting comfortably after doctors placed a stent in one of the main arteries carrying blood from the heart.

Bertman was on campus earlier Saturday working in his office and began to feel discomfort after driving home to get ready for LSU's NCAA regional game against Southern Mississippi on Saturday night, which LSU won 13-4.

"He wasn't feeling well, so he just decided to go to the hospital," Vincent said.

Bertman's wife, Sandy, drove him to the hospital and notified LSU athletics officials of her husband's condition later Saturday night.

Jayhawk League

Schedule

June

Today--Newton County at Nevada, 2 p.m.; Denver at Hays (DH), 6 p.m.; Joplin at Chillicothe, 6:30 p.m.; Monday--Denver at Hays, 4:30 p.m.; Wichita Braves at El Dorado, 7 p.m.; Tuesday--Junction City at El Dorado, 7 p.m.; Ozark Generals at Nevada, 7 p.m.; Wednesday--Joplin at Springfield, 6:30 p.m.; Junction City at El Dorado, 7 p.m.; Newton at Derby, 7 p.m.; Hays at Liberal, 7 p.m.; Thursday--Derby at Junction City, 7 p.m.; Nevada at Joplin, 7 p.m.; Newton at El Dorado, 7 p.m.; Friday--El Dorado at Liberal, 7 p.m.; Dodge City at Nevada, 7 p.m.; Hays at Joplin, 7 p.m.; Saturday--El Dorado at Liberal, 7 p.m.; Dodge City at Nevada, 7 p.m.; Hays at Joplin, 7 p.m.; Wichita Wheatkings at Derby, 7 p.m.; 8--El Dorado at Liberal, 7 p.m.; Dodge City at Nevada, 2 p.m.; Hays at Joplin, 7 p.m.; 9--El Dorado at Derby, 7 p.m.; Dodge City at Joplin, 7 p.m.; 10--El Dorado at Derby, 7 p.m.; Dodge City at Joplin, 7 p.m.; Hays at Nevada, 7 p.m.; 11--El Dorado at Derby, 7 p.m.; Dodge City at Joplin, 7 p.m.; 12--Derby at Joplin, 7 p.m.; Nevada at Newton County, 7 p.m.; Hays at Junction City, 7 p.m.; 13--Dodge City at El Dorado, 7 p.m.; Liberal at Hays, 7 p.m.; Nevada at Derby, 7 p.m.; 14--Dodge City at El Dorado, 7 p.m.; Liberal at Hays, 7 p.m.; Nevada at Derby, 7 p.m.; 15--Dodge City at El Dorado, 1 p.m.; Liberal at Hays, 7 p.m.; Nevada at Derby, 7 p.m.; 16--Nevada at Joplin, 7 p.m.; 17--El Dorado at Joplin, 7 p.m.; Liberal at Dodge City, 7 p.m.; Derby at Hays, 7 p.m.; Nevada at Ozark Generals, 7 p.m.; 18--El Dorado at Joplin, 7 p.m.; Liberal at Dodge City, Derby at Hays, 7 p.m.; 19--El Dorado at Joplin, 7 p.m.; Liberal at Dodge City, Derby at Hays, 7 p.m.; Springfield at Nevada, 7 p.m.; 20--El Dorado at Nevada, 7 p.m.; Derby at Liberal, 7 p.m.; Joplin at Hays, 7 p.m.; 21--El Dorado at Nevada, 7 p.m.; Derby at Liberal, 7 p.m.; Joplin at Hays, 7 p.m.; 22--El Dorado at Nevada, 2 p.m.; Derby at Liberal, 7 p.m.; Joplin at Hays, 7 p.m.; 23--Joplin at Liberal, 7 p.m.; Wichita Blackhawks at El Dorado, 7 p.m.; 24--Joplin at Liberal, 7 p.m.; Nevada at Dodge City, 7 p.m. ; El Dorado at Newton, 7 p.m.; Hays at Salina, 7 p.m.; 25--Joplin at Liberal, 7 p.m.; Nevada at Dodge City, 7 p.m.; Junction City at Hays, 7 p.m.; 26--Nevada at Dodge City, 7 p.m.; Derby at Joplin, 7 p.m.; El Dorado at Junction City, 7 p.m.; 27--Hays at El Dorado, 7 p.m.; Nevada at Liberal, 7 p.m.; Derby at Dodge City, 7 p.m.; 28--Hays at El Dorado, 7 p.m.; Nevada at Liberal, 7 p.m.; Derby at Dodge City, 7 p.m.; KC Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Joplin, 7 p.m.; 29--Hays at El Dorado, 1 p.m.; Nevada at Liberal, 7 p.m.; Derby at Dodge City, 7 p.m.; 30--Derby at Joplin, 7 p.m.; El Dorado at Junction City, 7 p.m.

July

Root, root, rooting for the home team is especially rewarding this season.

In one of those trends that defy explanation, home-field advantage is a big factor in the major leagues this season -- a really big factor, in fact. Just ask the Cubs or the Red Sox, the Braves or the Diamondbacks.

Home teams entered the weekend with a .577 winning percentage, with only seven of the 30 teams under .500 in their home park. That percentage was in the .550-.555 range in each of the last three seasons, and was barely .530 in 2004.

What gives?

"I just cannot give you an answer to that question," Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said last week. "I can't even make one up."

Somehow, those involved lost track of their triple-play ball. John Bowker entrusted the souvenir ball to bullpen catcher Taira Uematsu, also the translator for Keiichi Yabu.

But, as it turns out, Uematsu had no idea that ball was the special one and he played catch with it -- thus the ball got mixed up with all the others.

"I tried," Bowker said with a grin. This one will have to stay in their memories and on the highlight reels.

The San Francisco Giants turned a triple play in the eighth inning of their 7-3, 13-inning loss to the San Diego Padres on Friday night, the second in the majors this year.

Yabu had just entered with runners on first and second and got Kevin Kouzmanoff to hit the first pitch and ground into the Giants' first triple play since June 14, 1999, on his first pitch.

Five of six Big 12 teams won Friday in NCAA regional openers.

Texas was the only loser, falling to St. John's.

In another stunner, host Florida State was shut out by Bucknell. The winner of the Tallahassee regional will face the winner of the Oklahoma State regional.

The Big 12 winners were: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Missouri and Texas A&M.

Coral Gables Regional

Cary, N.C.

Friday

North Carolina-Wilmington 5, Elon 2

North Carolina 16, Mount St. Mary's, Md. 8

Today

It can't be argued that the Wingnuts are better off without Dustan Mohr. He brought to the team a component that is nearly impossible to replace: multiple years of major league experience and production.

Add to that the fact that, at 31, Mohr is still in his prime, and his departure represents a big blow to the Wingnuts' offense.

But it's hard to argue with the results since Mohr's contract was purchased by the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday. The Wingnuts went 3-1 in their first four games without Mohr, one of the team's home run threats. Since his departure manager Kash Beauchamp's brand of small ball has become more prevalent.

"I wish Dustan was still here because he's got that presence," Beauchamp said. "Every time he steps to the plate he has that presence that he could leave the yard. We really don't have that other than (Michael) Thompson. Dustan -- I would take him back."

Mohr was mostly a one-dimensional hitter, but that dimension -- power -- is something the Wingnuts now lack. He wasn't one to lay down a sacrifice bunt or hit-and-run or look to move a runner over with a groundball to the right side. If Mohr came up with a runner on base, he was looking to drive the run home.

When: 7 tonight

Where: Lawrence-Dumont Stadium

Records: Sioux Falls 10-8; Wichita 12-8

Starting pitchers: Sioux Falls, RH Travis Kane (1-0, 2.51 ERA); Wichita, LH Brad Davis (2-2, 3.75)

Radio: KGSO, 1410-AM

Oklahoma State's pitching plans were thrown out of whack when left-hander Andrew Oliver was declared ineligible on Friday.

That news, released Saturday, robbed top-seeded OSU of its ace to face WSU's left-handed dominant lineup. The Cowboys now must battle out of the losers bracket short one pitcher.

With Oliver out for unspecified eligibility issues, the Cowboys went with right-hander Tyler Blandford.

"I knew I was going to throw at one point this weekend," Blandford said. "When I found out, it didn't bother me at all. It just gave me some extra motivation."

In a news release, OSU said Oliver, a sophomore, is ineligible for an indefinite time. The school would not comment further. Kevin Klintworth, associate athletic director for media relations, told the Associated Press that Oliver's situation would not cause OSU to forfeit any games.

A four-run deficit in the first inning didn't bother anybody in the TCU dugout on Saturday afternoon.

Not in a hitter's park like Reynolds Stadium and not facing a tiring pitching staff. The Horned Frogs recovered from a near-disaster in the first to eliminate Western Kentucky with a 10-5 victory. TCU (44-18) advances to today's 1 p.m. game against the Wichita State-Oklahoma State loser.

"In this ballpark, a four-run lead is like a two-run lead," TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said.

TCU starter Sean Hoelscher walked the first three batters he faced. Then he gave up a grand slam to Western Kentucky DH Chad Cregar to end his afternoon after 19 pitches.

But the Hilltoppers (33-27) didn't score again until the seventh. TCU freshman Trent Appleby held Western Kentucky to four hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings.

Wichita State's Mica Land chopped 11 seconds off her personal best in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Saturday at the NCAA Midwest Regional and qualified for the national meet.

Land, a senior from Andover, finished fourth in the race in 10 minutes, 14.90 seconds. Jenny Barringer of Colorado won in 9:44.46.

Land was the only Shocker to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships during the final day of regional competition in Lincoln, Neb. The top five finishers in each event move on to the national meet. Competitors who finish sixth or lower will be considered for at-large bids.

WSU hurdler Jennifer Snyder finished sixth in the 400 hurdles. Kansas' Ashley Brown was third and Sha'Ray Butler was fourth.

KU sprinter Nickesha Anderson qualified in both the 100 and 200, finishing third in the 100 (11.41) and second in the 200 (22.68) --one-hundredth of a second behind winner Porscha Lucas of Texas A&M.

Wichita State pitcher Rob Musgrave gave up four home runs and felt good about his day. Welcome to Reynolds Stadium, where the wind blows and baseballs fly over the fences with alarming ease. Second-seeded Wichita State homered twice, and Musgrave didn't give up much else in an 8-5 win over third-seeded TCU in the opening game of the Stillwater Regional on Friday afternoon.

"8-5 is probably a pretty low-scoring game here," Musgrave said. "Here, you know it's going to be a high-scoring game."

The Shockers (46-15) play at 7 tonight. TCU (43-18) plays in an elimination game today.

Musgrave, who allowed two home runs in his 14 regular-season starts, never lost control of the game despite the four solo shots. He didn't walk a batter and allowed multiple runners on twice. Mix in eight strikeouts, keyed by a nasty changeup and curve, and the Horned Frogs never got much momentum.

"We gave them a lot of easy outs, and that's a credit to Musgrave," TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said.

STILLWATER, Okla. _ Wichita State knows respect is light for many of its hitters.

Before the Shockers left Wichita, an article questioning their hitting found its way to the locker room bulletin board. Coach Gene Stephenson made that issue his key talking point in Thursday's press conference.

For one game, at least, that issue doesn't seem as valid. Third baseman Conor Gillaspie singled twice _ a quiet day for him _ and the hitters behind him came through.

Cleanup hitter Clinton McKeever went 3 for 4 with a three-run homer. No. 5 hitter Dusty Coleman went 2 for 4 with a bloop double in the second and a much harder hit one in the eighth.

"Hitting the ball hard today, that gives me a lot of confidence," McKeever said. "I feel good swinging it right now and hopefully that will continue."

Bucknell is everybody's second-favorite team in the NCAA field.

Top-seeded Oklahoma State handled fourth-seeded Western Kentucky 5-3 on Friday night at Reynolds Stadium. The crowd, packed into the cozy park on a steamy night, saved some of its biggest cheers for Tallahassee Regional scores. Fourth-seeded Bucknell defeated host Florida State 7-0, which means OSU and Wichita State fans are allowed to dream just a little about an upset that would move the super regional to the Midwest.

Just a little, however. One of those top seeds is going to lose tonight when they play in the winners bracket final. Florida State remains alive and playing at home.

"Everyone wanted to see Florida State lose," OSU left fielder Neil Medchill said. "We heard that and it gave us a little spark."

Friday's WSU-TCU game featured six home runs on a hot, windy afternoon. The ball didn't carry as well at night. Oklahoma State (43-16), by far the regional's heaviest hitters, mashed only one. Instead, they relied on pitching, defense and timely hitting to handle the Hilltoppers.

Wichita State freshman Brett Trudo finished third in the javelin at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet Friday in Lincoln, Neb.

Trudo was sixth heading into his final throw, then he uncorked a toss of 226 feet, 11 inches. Texas Tech's Mike Cast won the event with a throw of 230-6. WSU's Kyle Becker placed fourth at 225-1. Both Shocker athletes qualified for the NCAA Championships. The top five finishers in each event automatically qualify for the national meet, which begins June 11 in Des Moines.

Kansas State's Scott Sellers took third in the high jump, clearing 7-3 ¼.

K-State's Loren Groves won the women's hammer throw with a best effort of 207-4. Her teammate Laci Heller also qualified for the national meet with a fourth-place finish.

Kansas senior Crystal Manning finished third in the long jump with a leap of 20-6.

Wichita State and TCU meet for the fourth time this season today. Players from both teams played can-you-top-this with their devaluation of the first three.

"They were probably frozen to death when they played (in Wichita)," WSU third baseman Conor Gillaspie said. "They're going to be a different team."

It was mid-March. It was cold. The Horned Frogs lost all three. They barely remember anything significant about the weekend.

"For us, we're a totally different team than we were then," TCU center fielder Clint Arnold said.

For example, right fielder Chris Ellington got three at-bats in the series. Now he is TCU's RBI-leader with 52. Steve Ellington (no relation) started one game of the series in left. He has started all but three since. Tyler Lockwood moved from the bullpen to the Friday starter.

No. 1 Oklahoma State

Record: 42-16

Coach: Frank Anderson, five seasons, 197-106

Last NCAA appearance: 2007

Last CWS appearance: 1999

Regional schedule

At Cary, N.C.

Today

Game 1 -- North Carolina Wilmington (42-15-1) vs. Elon (43-16), 1 p.m.

Game 2 -- North Carolina (46-12) vs. Mount St. Mary's, Md. (21-32), 5 p.m.

Fourteen Wichita State athletes will compete in the NCAA Midwest Regional meet beginning today in Lincoln, Neb.

Pole vaulter Brooke Demo is WSU's highest-ranked female athlete. She is third in the region and 13th nationally with a height of 13 feet, 9 ¼ inches. Jennifer Snyder is ranked seventh in the region in both the 100-meter hurdles (13.51 seconds) and 400 hurdles (59.79).

For the WSU men, freshman Brett Trudo is ranked third regionally and sixth nationally with a javelin throw of 237-7. Pole vaulter Beau Morris is ranked fifth regionally and 17th nationally (17-4 ½).

For the women, Erica Evans (javelin), Erika Kovesi (triple jump), Mica Land (steeplechase, 1,500, 5,000) and Kate Schaake (discus) have also qualified. For the men, Girts Azis (1,500, 800), Kyle Becker (hammer, javelin), Josh Crawford (triple jump), Dane Stember (javelin), Bryan Tapia (discus) and DePaul Brewer (shot put) have qualified.

Athletes must finish in the top five in individual events to qualify for the NCAA Championship in Des Moines beginning June 11. To be considered for an at-large bid, an individual athlete must finish sixth through 12th.

Mathew Goggin kept birdies and mistakes to a minimum on a long Saturday at the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio, shooting a 1-under 71 that was good enough to build a three-shot lead as he tries to win his first PGA Tour event.

Muirfield Village changed its character, but only slightly, thanks to a 2 ½-hour rain delay that led to long shadows late in the third round. What didn't change was the rough and difficult conditions, and Goggin didn't have to do much to keep his lead.

He was at 8-under 208, the highest 54-hole score at Jack Nicklaus' event since Greg Norman won a rain-shortened tournament in 1990 at even-par 216.

Former Masters champion Mike Weir matched the best round of the day, a bogey-free 68 that put him at 5-under 211 and in the final group with Goggin, who has never had a 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour.

Matt Kuchar was among those going backward until holing out with a wedge for eagle on the 15th, following that with a birdie on the 16th and posting a 71 to join the large group in a tie for second.

Sierra Hills

Michael Schuessler, No. 17 (148 yds.) 7-iron. Witness: Jennifer Mallett.

Amy Massaglia, No. 3 (107 yds.) 5-wood. Witness: Mark Massaglia.

Hole in One

Crestview North

Drew Wilson, No. 14 (155 yards), 3-wood. Witnesses: Rigby Carey, Jeff Breault, Mike Osborne.

MacDonald Park

Terry Chesnut, No. 17 (111 yards), 5-rescue. Witnesses: Donna Roth, Carol Keller, Carol Kreager.

The story about the Class 3A softball championship game ("Thomas More tops Independent softball," May 24 Eagle) related a play in which the reporter felt there was a "controversial play." As the umpires working the game, there was no controversy to it.

It was observed by all three umpires on the field, and all three had the same call. The first-base umpire made the call because it was his call. The call he made was correct, immediate and strictly by the rule book. The play had to continue until it was completed, then the rule is used. Between the three of us, there was a total of 76 years of experience. With that much experience, we have seen this situation more than once.

What the reporter should have put in his article was the way we were treated by the Independent fans the remainder of the game. They showed poor sportsmanship and disrespect to the umpires and opposing team and coach, during and after the game. It is too bad that a situation like that had to happen, but rules are rules, and rules are a part of the game. It is the umpires' job to know and enforce these rules.

The Independent girls softball team needs a pat on the back for their hard work, good attitude, and the sportsmanship that they showed. We had several girls apologize for their fans. I give our first-base umpire a pat on the back for having made the correct call and following through with it. He did not deserve the rude and disrespectful remarks that were said to him during and after the game.

CHUCK GIBSON

The Eagle's All-Metro teams recognize the best high school athletes in team sports throughout Sedgwick, Butler and Harvey counties.

Coaches in those counties were asked this month to nominate the best players in those counties they saw this season, including their own players.

The team was selected by reporter Jonathan Long after tabulating nominations, his own evaluations of players and additional input from coaches.

All-league teams listed are selected by the leagues' coaches.

MATT APPLEGATE

CITY LEAGUE

Second Team

Honorable Mention

AV-CTL

The Eagle's All-Metro teams recognize the best high school athletes in team sports throughout Sedgwick, Butler and Harvey counties.

Coaches in those counties were asked this month to nominate the best players in those counties they saw this season, including their own players.

The team was selected by reporter Joanna Chadwick after tabulating nominations, her own evaluations of players and additional input from coaches.

All-league teams listed are selected by the leagues' coaches.

NIKKI ARMAGOST

CITY LEAGUE

Second team

P--Krystin Lowe, jr., North; Megan Muller, jr., South; Megan Seiwert, sr., Carroll. C--Charlotte Myrtle, jr., Heights. 1B--Kelsey Berlin, fr., Northwest. MI-- Ashley Malone, fr., East; Lindsay Read, sr., Northwest. 3B--Korey Andersen, sr., Heights. OF--Cortney Harp, sr., Heights; Alex Rodriguez, so., Kapaun; Sarah Strickland, sr., Kapaun. U--Katie Thackery, sr., North.

Honorable mention

Baseball

All-Heart of America

First Team

Pitchers--Caleb Hartman, sr., Moundridge; Brian Begnoche, jr., Moundridge; Ted Regehr, sr., Canton-Galva. Catcher--Tate Omli, fr., Ell-Saline. First Base--Bret Middleton, jr., Canton-Galva. Second Base--Logan Rierson, so., Canton-Galva. Third Base--Chad Sundquist, sr., Moundridge. Shortstop--Eric Loganbill, so., Moundridge. Outfielders--Lance Loganbill, so., Moundridge; Lance Nelson, sr., Ell-Saline; Vince Froome, fr., Ell-Saline. Utility--Jake Friesen, so., Inman. Designated Hitter--Matt Waters, fr., Little River.

Second Team

Class 6A

Boys

Team Scores

SM South 48, Olathe South 23, SM East 20, Wichita East 16, Lawrence 15, Blue Valley 14, BV West 14, Wichita Heights 13, Manhattan 13, Maize 11, Derby 10, Leavenworth 10, SM Northwest 9, Wichita Southeast 6, Campus 5, Junction City 4, Wichita Northwest 3, Olathe North 1, Wichita North 1, Lawrence Free State 1, Dodge City 1.

Finals

Saturday's Races

Modifieds, A Feature--1. Brian Franz; 2. Don Renfro; 3. Jason Yager. B Feature--1. Kenny Sweet; 2. Mark Crough; 3. Jason Roe. Heat 1--1. Kirk Coleman; 2. Marc Hurd; 3. Ross Shipman. Heat 2--1. Jason Roe; 2. Patrick McManus; 3. Tyler Davis. Heat 3--1. Kenny Sweet; 2. Brian Casey; 3. Mark Crough. Street Stocks, A Feature--1. D.J. Smith; 2. Beau Davis; 3. Robbie Simmons. Heat 1--1. Robbie Simmons; 2. Beau Davis; 3. D.J. Smith. Heat 2--1. Terry Stubblefield; 2. Ron McCoy; 3. Garth Leep.

Martin Truex Jr. remembered it all. Every minor race, all the hard work tinkering with cars, even the failures were on his mind as he drove toward the finish line with the lead.

Truex spent a lifetime imagining the feeling of winning a Cup race. Now, he was about to live it for real at Dover.

"It's a sweet feeling, man," Truex said.

One year after his first career Cup victory, Truex still thinks often about how much it meant to take the checkered flag so close to his hometown. Right now, the enthusiasm of recalling the win is tempered by a cruel reality for the DEI driver now that he's back this weekend at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.

"It's been a long year since," Truex said on Saturday. "We need to get back into Victory Lane."

Almost all big-time race-car drivers -- almost all wealthy athletes -- love to talk about how they got to where they are by indulging in good old-fashion hard work.

NHRA driver Antron Brown was doing just that Friday at Heartland Park Topeka.

The difference, however, was that Brown was squatting in 90-degree heat next to his top-fuel car with a ratchet in one hand and a stinky pan of recently drained fuel in the other.

Asked whether he thought the NHRA's biggest star, John Force, was over in his pit draining fuel at that moment, Brown said, "Hmm, I don't know what John does over there."

Nor, apparently, does Brown care how others do it. Hard work served him well during his 10 years driving pro-stock motorcycles in the NHRA, it got him his job this year in top fuel, and it helped him become the second-best story in the sport this season.