Sports digest 4/19/02

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SOUTHEAST SOFTBALL TEAM PICKS UP OVC ROAD WIN

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Kelly Birk sparked Southeast Missouri State University's softball team to a 4-0 Ohio Valley Conference win over Eastern Illinois University on Thursday.

Birk, a freshman who has come on strong recently, had another solid pitching performance with a four-hit shutout of the Panthers and helped her own cause at the plate. Her first-inning double drove home Stacy DeClue and Courtney Eklund to open up a 2-0 lead.

The Otahkians (10-22, 7-10) avoided a season sweep by Eastern Illinois (14-17, 6-8) and, more importantly, vaulted into fourth in the OVC standings to keep their conference tournament hopes alive.

Southeast's Brooke Nett, Jennifer Cobin and Katie Cerneka stroked two hits each to lead the nine-hit offense.

Southeast track teams gear up for Indiana State

After a strong performance in last week's Mississippi State Invitational, Southeast Missouri State University's men's and women's track teams will compete Saturday in the Pace Setter Invitational at Indiana State.

Top teams at the meet will include Marquette, Eastern Illinois, Southern Illinois-Carbondale, Indiana State and Southeast Missouri.

Several Southeast athletes are on the verge of at least provisionally qualifying for the NCAA championships. Jaret Willi cleared 17-feet in the pole vault last week which was just short of the qualifying height of 17-2. Laura VanHoevelaak in the 400-meter hurdles, Shelton Scott in the triple jump and Heather Jenkins in the discus are all closing in on qualifying performances.

Jay Heddell has already provisionally qualified in the shot put.

Southeast team signs Francis Howell pitcher

Southeast has signed Brad Bumpus, a right-handed pitcher from Francis Howell High School in suburban St. Louis.

Bumpus is 3-0 in his senior season with the Knights and has three saves and struck out 24 batters while walking only two. He leads his team with a 0.76 ERA.

Bumpus is one of two recruits signed by the Indians for next season. Nathan Baker, a pitcher from Kennett High School, signed in the fall during the early signing period.

ELSEWHERE

BASKETBALL

Sue Bird is the likely top pick, but the Washington Mystics may walk away the biggest winners at the WNBA draft today.

Bird, the national player of the year who led undefeated Connecticut to the NCAA title, is expected to be selected first by the last-place Seattle Storm. The Mystics have the third and fourth picks.

Colleges

Richmond's John Beilein was hired as basketball coach at West Virginia, a few days after the school's first choice resigned a week after accepting the job.

Last week, WVU thought they had its man in Bowling Green's Dan Dakich, but he discovered problems he wanted addressed and ended up returning to his former job.

Beilein was 100-53 in five seasons at Richmond, with the Spiders going 22-14 this past season. WVU was 8-20 overall, the worst in school history, and 1-15 in the Big East.

Golf

A week after fading at muscled-up Augusta National, Davis Love III shot a 9-under 62 on to take the first-round lead in the WorldCom Classic at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Love, seeking his fifth victory in the event, had his best score in 56 career rounds at Harbour Town. He chipped in twice and made six birdie putts of 15 feet or more, finishing a stroke off the course record set by David Frost in 1994.

Cristie Kerr and Sara Sanders, both winless on the LPGA Tour, shot 6-under 66s to share the first-round lead in the Longs Drugs Challenge at Lincoln, Calif.

After opening with a three-putt bogey, Kerr birdied five of the next eight holes on the Twelve Bridges course. She finished with a seven birdies, and hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation.

Running

A woman running in the Boston Marathon to raise money for cancer patients died two days after collapsing during the race, the second fatality in the event's 106-year history.

Cynthia Lucero, 28, was one of 150 runners in Monday's race who were raising money for the Massachusetts chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

According to a friend, Carole Slipowitz, Lucero stopped near Cleveland Circle, not far from the finish line, saying she felt dehydrated. She grew wobbly-kneed and fainted. She died late Wednesday.

"At this point, it is impossible to say why she died," Dr. Marvin Adner, the marathon medical director, said.

-- From staff, wire reports