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Show 8 FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2012 THE SIGNPOST continued Notations from page 6 Softball continued from page 6 ninth win on the season, bringing her record to 9-6. The Wolf Pack had six hits and two errors to the Wildcats' five hits and one error. The second game proved less effective for the Wildcats. After a single run scored in the first inning by UNR, WSU couldn't fight back UNR then went on to score five runs in the third inning. WSU countered that with one run. The scored remained the same until the top of the seventh inning when Sam Puzey of UNR hit a home run over center field. WSU had two errors in the second game where UNR had none. WSU had seven hits to UNR's nine. Freshman pitcher Morgan Allaband started on the mound for the Wildcats in the second game and had 4 strikeouts. Allaband's record is 1-7. "Our defense played really well today," James-Dixon said. "There was a few times they were hitting the gaps, and we adjusted and made those plays for our pitcher when she needed it." Johnson agreed with James-Dixon that the Wildcats' defense played well. "We were aggressive on defensive," Johnson said. "We played the ball well. Our outfielders didn't make any mistakes, and they threw the ball where they were supposed to." The team struggled with bunting the ball today, Johnson said. "We are going to work on bunting," she said. "We tried to bunt the wrong pitches. When we got the bunt down, it went really well, but whenever one in the ball park knew we were bunting, we had a little bit of trouble with it." WSU starts conference play Saturday against Northern Colorado University. James-Dixon said the team is ready for conference play. "We have been waiting for this all year," James-Dixon said. "We are excited because we are ready. We are going to lay off the pitches that aren't ours and crush the ones that come into our zone." Johnson agreed that the team is in a good place to win and that her goal is to take third in conference play. "I think we are in a good spot to win," Johnson said. "I think we can take our conference games if we hit and we pitch well, we will be in a good spot." Comment on this story at PHOTOS BY BRYAN BUTTERFIELD I THE SIGNPOST Top: Weber State University's Erika James-Dixon cheers on her teammates. Left: Asst. Coach Nikki Palmer congratulates second baseman Symbree Minniear on her first hit of the day. WSU won 5-3 and lost 7-1 against University of Nevada Reno Thursday afternoon. wsusignpost. corn. NEW FITNESS CENTERS Stromberg Arena Expansion coming to campus! Wildcat Village Fitness Center Davis Campus Fitness Center ATTEND A SESSION SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS We'll feed you PIZZA! Monday April 2, 12:30-1:30pm Davis Campus, 2nd floor "The Haven", across from Bookstore Monday April 2, 7-8pm Swenson 80 Tuesday April 3, 12-fpm Shepherd Union Lair dering, not confirmed project STUDENTS, LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD! There are several facility projects occurring at Weber State University that will impact Campus Recreation Fitness programs and equipment. Attend an input session to learn more about these projects, and to share your ideas on types of fitness equipment and Tuesday April 3, 4-5pm Davis Campus, Room 114 Wednesday April 4, 12-fpm Shepherd Union Lair Monday April 9, 6-7pm Wildcat Village Building 1 2nd Floor Lobby PLEASE RSillerel•fti. weber.edu4ampusrec At bottom of page click which meeting you will attend programming you would like to see at Weber State University. Weber State University Campus Recreation is supported by student fees. cage near the locker room taking swings till late in the game. In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Dodgers were trailing 4-3, and legendary Dodger's announcer Vin Scully said in his broadcast that Gibson wouldn't "be there tonight" for LA. This pushed Gibson over the edge. He had a trainer tell the coaches on the bench that he was going to get ready to pinch-hit for LA. To make things even more dramatic, Oakland brought on Dennis Eckersley, one of the best closers in history, to try and shut down the Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, Mike Davis was up to bat for the Dodgers. Davis had struggled in the playoffs and was only batting .190, but he was able to draw a walk opening the door for a walk-off home run. Throughout the inning and while Davis was batting LA's manager, Tommy Lasorda kept Gibson out of sight because he said he figured that Eckersley would pitch to Davis differently than if he knew Gibson was on deck. With Davis on first base and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Gibson limped to the batter's box. As Davis headed to first base, Gibson stepped out of the dugout. Dodger Stadium erupted with cheers as Scully announced, "And here comes Gibson!" Gibson hobbled to the box. His leg injuries prevented him from solidly planting his feet, and he had to adopt an awkward looking swing, but Gibson said when he heard the crowd cheer for him, adrenaline raced through his body. Gibson fouled off the first two fastballs Eckersley fired at him. The next pitch was a sinker, and Gibson hit a roller down the first base line, which barely rolled foul. The pain he was in was evident as he tried to hobble down the first base line before the ball rolled foul. A few pitches later, the count was at 3 2, and Gibson said after the game he knew what the next pitch would be. He readied himself for a backdoor slider. The fans in the stadium were on edge as they waited for the next pitch. Eckersley delivered a backdoor slider, just as Gibson had predicted. Gibson connected with the ball over the plate and sent it flying towards the right field fence. The crowd went nuts as Gibson slowly hobbled around the bases while fanatically fist pumping. Scully recaps the events by saying, "In a year that seemed so improbable, the impossible has happened." The Dodgers would go on to win the World Series 4-1, and Gibson's home run has gone down as one of the most iconic moments in MLB history. - Comment on this column at wsusignpost.co ►n. |