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Show Weather Hampers T-Birds' Baseball Practice It must be baseball time that is if the snow storm early this week is any Indication. The College of Southern Utah Thunderbirds, independent in the four year ranks after winning the Jntermountain Collegiate Athletic Conference championship, champion-ship, defeating the defending National Junior College Athletic Association champions, Phoenix Junior College, and playing in the national finals last year, are chomping at the bit in anticipation antici-pation of the upcoming season. It isn't far away and the Thunderbirds Thun-derbirds have taken every opportunity oppor-tunity to get out-of-doors to prepare pre-pare for the season. Weather has not cooperated however, and the T-Birds have been out on a limited li-mited basis. Nevertheless they will open the 1964 season Friday and Saturday, March 14 and 15 when they travel tra-vel to Las Vegas, Nev., to take on the Rebeb of Nevada Southern. According to Coach Cleo Petty the T-Birds will play a 29 game schedule that will take them into four states during the three-month three-month season. Coach Petty said that in many respects the 1964 team will be stronger than the Regional champs of last year. However, pitching remains the number one question and will be one of the determining factors In the team's outcome this season. sea-son. Kent Smith of Cedar City and Son Sudbury, Magna, are two right handers that will be returning return-ing for this season's action. "We will have more experience" experi-ence" he said, "and will rely a good deal on returning lettermen including Smith, Sudbury on the mound; Reed Backus and Roger Halladay, infielders and both of Provo: Dennis Slack, Cedar City, a catcher; John Paez, Salt Lake City, in the outfield and Neil Petty, catcher and infielder from Cedar City who played three years ago and has now returned from an LDS Mission. At the present time 15 men are working out daily and three others oth-ers are expected to join the club next week. They are Larry Smith, Cedar City pitcher; Bob Lee, Hurricane, pitcher; Rex Wright, Provo, Infielder; In-fielder; Tony Stillnovich, Infielder, Infield-er, Bingham; John Johnson, infielder, in-fielder, Bingham; Steve Judd, outfield, Cedar City; Jack Dix, outfield, Salt Lake City; Tom Malm, Granger, outfield and Henry Lavlt of New Jersey, outfield. out-field. Expected to Join the club this coming week are lettermen John Paez; Hank Halverson. a pitcher from Las Vegas, Nev., and Mike Erllng, a left-hander from Henderson, Hen-derson, Nev. Both Larr" SrpJth and Fr!,n will be trying out tvr the pitch- Ing staff and both throw from (the port side . I Local fans will have their first opportunity to see the Thunder-i Thunder-i birds In action when they meet Weber State College of Ogden j.--- double header en March 13. |