SOUTHEAST NIGHT AT BUSCH; FOR ONE WOULD-BE PITCHER, IT WAS A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

Some 1,100 Cardinal fans from Southeast Missouri gathered at Sverdrup Terrace before the start of Southeast Night at Busch Stadium.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Clay Mothershead stood on the mound at Busch Stadium, eyeing the catcher. He shook off one signal, shook off another and nodded at the third. He wound up and the ball flew the 60-feet-six-inches into the catcher's glove.

It was the honorary first pitch of the Cardinals game against the Cleveland Inddians.

"It looked awesome from the pitcher's mound," said Mothershead, a 13-year-old from Scott City who was among the 1,600 people at Saturday's game for Southeast Night at Busch Stadium.

Mothershead was lucky enough to have the winning tickets in a drawing to throw the first pitch, along with Southeast Missouri University President Dr. Ken Dobbins.

Southeast Night at Busch Stadium, sponsored by Southeast Missouri State University and the Southeast Misourian newspaper brought a contingent of Southeast Missourians to the St. Louis Stadium for the game and a pre-game party.

They were there to cheer the home team, but no one seemed to mind that the Indians beat the Cardinals 4-2.

"I practiced at throwing the ball," said Mothershead, who added he was happy his pitch made it into the catcher's mitt.

Dobbins pitch, on the other hand fell a few feet short.

"Evidently I should have been practicing more than I did," Dobbins said.

While Dobbins was a little disappointed with his big-league pitching debut, he was pleased with everything else about the evening.

"Everyone had a great time at the barbecue," Dobbins said about the pre-game party.

"The weather is wonderful. It's a great night for a ball game," he said.

In addition to ball-throwing duties for Mothershead and Dobbins, eight people had been chosen to go down on the field for batting practice before the game.

Judy Buck, Jimmy Vizcarra, Barb Kinsey, Dan Chandler, Tiffany Jenkins, Barry Cordes, Bob Fox and Samantha Welter got to see the Cardinal players up close and personal.

It was the first time Vizcarra had been on a major league ball field.

"It was neat seeing the players up close," he said. "Some were bigger than I thought they'd be and some were smaller."

Vizcarra and the others had hoped to get Mark McGwire's autograph , but the home run hitter wasn't on the field.

Instead they all got baseballs autographed by Placido Polanco.

"He's a good player, but he's not Big Mac," Vizcarra said.

Mothershead had also wanted McGwire's autograph, but he couldn't have been prouder of the ball he was clutching as he left the field. It was the ball he pitched from the Busch Stadium pitcher's mound, which he got to keep.

"I'm going to put it up in my room so everyone can see it," he said.