Sports digest 2/18/02

AREA

Southeast baseball again routed at Oklahoma

NORMAN,Okla. -- Southeast Missouri State University's baseball team was hammered by Oklahoma for the second straight day as the Sooners romped 18-5 Sunday.

The Indians (0-3) dropped all three games of their season-opening series to the Sooners (5-1), including 10-1 on Saturday and 5-4 in 10 innings on Friday.

Southeast hit its first home run of the season, a solo shot by Zach Borowiak in the seventh inning. But entering that frame, the Indians already trailed 18-1.

Oklahoma belted five homers, including Charlie Frasier's third of the year. The Sooners had 19 hits.

The Indians had 12 hits, led by Dave Lawson with three. Borowiak and Tristen McDonald had two each. Borowiak drove in three runs.

Donnie Fuller, a junior-college transfer making his first Southeast appearance, started and took the loss. He allowed seven runs and six hits in three innings.

Buddy Blair (2-0) was the winner. He allowed five hits and one run over the first five innings.

Southeast will play a two-game series at nationally ranked Wichita State this weekend.

Southeast gymnastics last in triangular

DENTON, Texas -- The Southeast gymnastics team finished last during a triangular meet hosted by Texas Women's University Sunday, but the Otahkians had their second-highest score of the season and several impressive individual performances.

Texas Women's won the event with 194.525 points, followed by Air Force (193.275) and Southeast (192.975).

Southeast's Ashley Godwin and Amy Cole tied for first on the uneven bars with 9.900, which equals the second-highest score in that event in school history.

Godwin won the vault (9.750), Michelle Walker tied for first on the floor exercise (9.875) and Walker tied for second on the balance beam (9.800).

The Otahkians will host Texas Women's Saturday night.

Willi, Heddell lead Southeast track team

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Jaret Willi and Jay Heddell both had first-place performances for Southeast's indoor track & field squad during Saturday's USA Open at Southern Illinois University

Willi tied for first in the pole vault by clearing 16 feet 5 1/2 inches. Heddell was first in the shot put (54-8 3/4).

On the women's side, Heather Jenkins was third in the shot put (45-5 1/4), Courtney Haman tied for fifth in the high jump (5-4 1/4) and Sara Kaznica tied for fifth in the pole vault (10-6).

Southeast took only a few athletes to the unscored meet as Southeast's teams prepare for this weekend's Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championships in Charleston, Ill.

ELSEWHERE

Basketball

Scott Skiles was forced out as coach of the Phoenix Suns and replaced by assistant Frank Johnson as the team tried to salvage a disappointing season. The Suns, who have made the playoffs every year since the 1987-88 season, currently are out of postseason contention with a 25-27 record. Kkiles, the NBA's second-youngest coach at 37, led the Suns to a 51-31 mark last season. Suns owner Jerry Colangelo said Skiles was not fired and that he agreed to leave.

Football

The Houston Texans are expected to turn to Jacksonville's first college draft pick ever as their top pick in today's expansion draft. Tony Boselli, the expansion Jaguars No. 1 pick out of Southern Cal in 1995, will probably be called on to help build another expansion team. Houston plans to between 12 and 18 of the 155 available players in the draft.

Tommy Joe Crutcher, a linebacker who helped the Green Bay Packers win three straight NFL titles and the first two Super Bowls, died in his sleep Saturday at McAllen, Texas. Crutcher, who had a nine-year NFL career from 1964-72, was 60.

Soccer

Pre-game violence by rival fans at a soccer match in Buenos Aires, Argentina, left two people dead, one stabbed to death and the other fatally shot. Twelve people also were injured in the hours before the match between Buenos Aires club Independiente and its archrival, Racing Club, in the second round of Argentina's Clausura soccer league.

-- From staff, wire reports