OMAHA, Neb.: This fall, Kent State’s baseball team will see a tangible result of its first trip to the College World Series.
KSU president Lester Lefton said Saturday he’s signed the paperwork for the installation of lights at Schoonover Stadium. Lefton estimated the expenditure at $500,000 to $1 million.
“It’s something that’s long been needed,” Lefton said during Kent State’s opening 8-1 loss to Arkansas at TD Ameritrade Park. “It’s the first of a series of installments of our investment in baseball. We’re clearly showing we’ve got a national-caliber team, a national-caliber coach, and we need to have national-caliber facilities. We’re part of the way there; we’re going to go the rest of the way.”
Schoonover Stadium underwent $4 million in renovations between 2005 and 2007. As for what “the rest of the way” means, Lefton said Director of Athletics Joel Nielsen and baseball coach Scott Stricklin should come up with “a series of strategic things we should be doing for us to continue to come back here every year.”
“He called me when we were on the field celebrating at Oregon,” Stricklin said. “When the president calls, you pick it up.
“We’ve got some things to do at Kent State, some things to build. That’s what we’ve talked about from Day One that I’ve been here. It’s been eight years. We want to continue to build and get bigger and better. Just because we’re here doesn’t mean we’re going to stop.”
Nielsen said schools do not get a share of revenue like in the NCAA basketball tournament. But the university will receive some money from merchandise sales.
“I’m real curious to see next quarter’s report,” Nielsen said. “The guys on the radio were doing a snapshot of these tents and they said the two biggest sellers were Stony Brook and Kent State.”
Lefton said lights should help Stricklin in recruiting and scheduling.
“We’ve got some very strong supporters of baseball, of coach Stricklin and our team and I’m going to try to reprioritize some internal resources to get this done as a vote of confidence and a thank you to make it easier for the coach to recruit,” Lefton said. “Win, lose or draw today, getting here is very important. It shows we’ve got the stuff to compete at a national level.”
Bagoly’s mother dies
The “CM” sticker worn by Kent State players on their caps and helmets was in memory of Jason Bagoly’s mother Cheryl McHenry, who passed away unexpectedly Thursday night. A junior catcher from Austintown Fitch, Bagoly elected to stay with the team because funeral arrangements have not been finalized.
“We all feel awful for Jason,” Stricklin said. “We gave him the option if he wanted to fly home, but most of his family’s here and his second family, his team, is here.”
Bagoly was on deck to bat in the ninth inning when the game ended on George Roberts’ double-play grounder to short and T.J. Sutton’s groundout.
“He’s going to get an at-bat for sure on Monday. He’s been a great hitter for us,” Stricklin said of Bagoly, hitting .264. “Our prayers are with his family and our thoughts are with him. He’s gotten a lot of hugs from our kids the last couple days. We love him to death and he loves us back because he wants to stay with us.”
Toasting Cribbs
Lisa Skulina didn’t think she could afford a trip to the College World Series. A 49-year-old single working mother, she wanted to follow her son Tyler, a Walsh Jesuit product who pitches third in Kent State’s starting rotation. Then about 10:45 p.m. Thursday, she got a call from Josh Cribbs’ assistant. Two spots on the bus chartered by the Browns receiver had become available, the $150 price tag also covering a hotel room and game ticket. Lisa Skulina and her 24-year-old daughter Amanda had to be ready to board the bus at 7:30 Friday morning.
Lisa and Amanda Skulina were among a crowd of more than 400 KSU fans that packed the second floor of the Old Mattress Factory Bar and Grille for an alumni reception before Saturday’s game. Many wore “Flash Mob” T-shirts with “Team Cribbs” on the back, given to those on the bus. Cribbs didn’t make the journey, which took 16 hours, including two food stops, but climbed aboard to give a pre-trip speech and shook everyone’s hands before it left. The former KSU quarterback flew in Saturday evening. Also in attendance was Ben Curtis, the 2003 British Open champion from Stow.
Joe Chaffin, 19, and Cory Carney, 19, both of Creston and Norwayne High School, were among those who survived the bus ride, arriving at 11:30 p.m. Friday.
“It was rowdy times 10,” Carney said.
“I slept in 20-minute naps,” Chaffin said. “There weren’t very many dull moments.”
Chaffin has been amazed at the television cameras following them, including ESPN.
“Everyone comes up and says, ‘Were you on the Cribbs’ bus? We’re famous,” Chaffin said.
KSU graduates Liz Sauer, 26, and her friend Mandy Grodin, 33, thought about driving from Cleveland before buying tickets on the bus. Sauer is one of four members of the athletic department grounds crew.
“It was a party,” Grodin said. “Iowa was very long.”
’92 reunion
Several members of the 1992 Golden Flashes baseball team were among those at the reception. They played with Stricklin, an All-Mid-American Conference catcher in 1992 and ’93.
“We all knew Scott was building the program the last couple years, especially last year beating Texas,” said Sean Freeman, a former KSU first baseman from Ashtabula, in reference to the 2011 NCAA Tournament. “I’m happy and exhilarated. But surprised? Not really.”
Kevin Zellers, a former third baseman from Cleveland who now lives in Dallas, has been paying close attention to KSU’s NCAA games on television.
“It’s almost like you’re there with Scott,” Zellers said. “You fully understand what’s going on. When a guy was picked off first base, I knew that was coming.”
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at http://www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.
Source: www.ohio.com
Hot and Humid Weather to Invade Windsor-Essex, Tuesday to Thursday - windsorite.ca
We’re in for a lot of heat in the coming days in Windsor-Essex.
Environment Canada says a very warm air mass is projected to arrive on Monday over southwestern Ontario and make its way across the rest of Southern Ontario through the week.
The heat is expected to intensify and spread over much of Southern Ontario on Tuesday building into a three-day heat episode. Monday’s high temperatures are expected to reach the 30°C or 86°F mark in Windsor. The mercury is anticipated to soar past 35°C or 95°F Tuesday and likely persist through Thursday, affecting Windsor, Essex County and much of Southwestern Ontario to the greater Toronto area.
Elevated humidity levels will combine with the high temperatures to give humidex values of 40°C or 104°F and higher. Night-time temperatures will also remain very warm and are not expected to drop below 22°C or 72°F.
This is expected to make for very uncomfortable conditions and moderate to high readings in the air quality health index.
Source: windsorite.ca
Kent ease to victory - SkySports
The Lions won the toss and decided to bat but they were soon in trouble as they lost Jason Roy for a duck first ball of the innings.
Skipper Rory Hamilton-Brown (7) also fell cheaply as Surrey slumped to 13-2 before Steven Davies steadied the ship with a useful 31 off 27 deliveries.
Davies was eventually run out and when Matthew Spriegel was sent back to the pavilion by Adam Ball (2-23), the visitors were left reeling at 62-5.
But Gary Wilson (53 not out off 43 balls) invigorated the innings after making the most of twice being dropped, the Irishman ably supported by Zafar Ansari (15), as they finished their knock on 116-7.
Kent responded positively in reply, the hosts reaching 40 before Sam Billings (18) was trapped leg before by Jade Dernbach.
Azhar Mahmood Sagar followed soon afterwards but there were to be no further breakthroughs for Surrey, as Key (51 off 46) and Stevens (43 off 25) led the Spitfires home.
Stevens hit four sixes in his knock, the final one of which off the bowling of Ansari secured victory with 22 balls to spare.
Source: www1.skysports.com
Cabbie accused of causing man's death in crash walks free after claiming he had 'sneezing fit' at the wheel - Daily Mail
- Taxi driver said he sneezed seven or eight times which prevented him seeing car in front
By Amy Oliver
|
A taxi driver accused of causing a man's death following a car crash has walked free after claiming he was having a 'sneezing fit'.
Phillip Parker, 38, smashed into Malkit Khatkar's Vauxhall Vectra as he was driving home from work in the early hours of New Year's Day last year.
Mr Khatkar, 70, suffered serious spinal injuries in the accident on the A2 at Wilmington, Kent, before dying two weeks later.
Let off: Phillip Parker, 38, of Chatham, Kent, was left in floods of tears as he was acquitted for causing death by careless driving at Maidstone Crown Court
Mr Parker denied causing death by careless driving, claiming he only hit Mr Khatkar because he sneezed seven or eight times in a row, which prevented him from seeing the car in front.
The taxi driver, of Chatham, Kent, was left in floods of tears as he was acquitted for causing death by careless driving by a jury at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday.
Before the verdict, Anthony Prosser, prosecuting, told the court that Parker was at fault and not driving to the 'standard of a careful and competent driver'.
He said: 'The Crown say if he did have a sneezing fit there was at least 30 seconds of visibility of the car in front and plenty of time to brake and do anything to avoid the rear-end collision.
Tragic: Malkit Khatkar, 70, was initially taken to Darent Valley Hospital in Kent suffering spinal injuries but died two weeks later
'The Vectra was there to be seen on a straight stretch of road. The reality is he drove into the back of the car, causing the collision.'
Mr Prosser added if sneezing did not explain the cause, it could have been lack of concentration or tiredness.
There were no independent witnesses to the crash, which happened at about 5.20am on a long straight stretch of the coast-bound carriageway.
Off-duty PC William Parish arrived on the scene just after the collision on the inside lane.
The Vectra had been struck from the rear and spun around. Mr Khatkar had to be cut out.
He was taken to Darent Valley Hospital, in Dartford, Kent and then transferred to Stoke Mandeville in Aylesbury, Bucks, on January 16.
Parker, who denied the charge, said in a police interview of his sneezing: 'It didn't well up, it just - bang - happened.'
He said in evidence: 'It was just one after another.'
Asked by Mr Prosser how he missed an object in the road directly ahead of him, he replied: 'All I can tell you is I had a sneezing fit and the car was there.
'It looked like it was stationary and I went into the back of it. I did brake.'
Mr Prosser said it was not possible to say how fast Mr Khatkar was travelling and it was possible his car was stationary at the time of the collision.
Mr Parker, who suffered a broken collarbone, said his speed was about 50-60mph. He denied being tired.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
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