Jacksonville State baseball players pitch a different 'save'

When a would-be thief attempted to snatch a purse from 69-year-old Kay Fletcher -- with Fletcher still attached to it -- he got far more than he bargained for.

Fletcher's screams were heard by members of the Jacksonville State University baseball team, which was staying at the same motel in Orange City, Florida, while on a recent trip to play Stetson University.

Junior catcher Travis Suereth, senior shortstop Andrew Tarver and freshman outfielder Matt Ruckdeschel burst out of the team manager's room where they had been playing cards and chased down the bad guy.

Their pursuit persuaded him to stop dragging poor Fletcher along, and it wasn't long before they caught the thief. They group-tackled the thief and held onto him while waiting for police to arrive. Teammates Scott Smith, a sophomore catcher, and Ben Phillips, a sophomore outfielder, also helped contain the suspect and calm the victim.

"I believe in angels, and I told them they were angels on assignment that night," Fletcher told The Anniston Star. "You talk about action. They went beyond the call of duty. That's the team spirit we need around this country."

Suereth, whose parents are both former police officers, shook it off as no big deal.

"I'm just glad I was there at the right time," Suereth said. "I'm just glad I was able to help somebody. (The potential danger) didn't really cross my mind. I heard somebody yell for help and my first instinct was to go."

A 'grand' win

Margie Wright, head softball coach at California State University, Fresno, earned her 1,000th win last month, becoming the first NCAA Division I softball coach in history to post 1,000 fastpitch wins.

The 10th-ranked Bulldogs swept Tennessee Technological University in a nonconference doubleheader, 4-0 and 2-1, to give Wright win Nos. 999 and 1,000 in front of 1,687 fans at Fresno State's Bulldog Diamond.

"In my mind, this is an example of a lot of people being able to work together over a long period of time," Wright said after the win. "The games were tight, and there was so much emotion. I know I keep saying this all of the time, but I'm just grateful for these players and the others here watching. You can't make an accomplishment like this without them."

Not long after her 1,000th win, Wright announced that she would be partnering with the Central California Blood Center to help build "The Donor Team."

Wright is trying to recruit donors for the second annual Jenny Eller Blood Drive Challenge, which honors the memory of Eller, a softball standout who suffered from leukemia.

"On this team, everyone's a winner because everyone saves a life," Wright said.

Sportsmanship day features fellows choice

One of the highlights of National Sportsmanship Day, celebrated last month with a variety of programs across the nation, was the selection of Sports Ethics Fellows by the Institute for International Sport.

The Institute selects the fellows to recognize individuals who consistently demonstrate an interest in promoting the ideals of ethics and fair play in sport and society.

Those selected this year included Tony Sellitto, head men's basketball coach at Hawaii Pacific University; Suzanne Helfant, head women's basketball coach at Kenyon College; Phil Ness, head men's basketball coach at Allegheny College; David Robinson, a former basketball standout at the U.S. Naval Academy; and Doris Burke, a Providence College hall of famer and current ESPN college basketball analyst.

Number crunching

Looking back

One of the most memorable performances in Women's Final Four history occurred April 4, 1993, in Atlanta when Texas Tech's Sheryl Swoopes scored, scored and scored some more in the Red Raiders' 84-82 championship-game win over Ohio State.

The national player of the year lit up the Buckeyes for a championship-game record 47 points a little more than 24 hours after pouring in 31 points in Texas Tech's 60-46 semifinal win over top-ranked Vanderbilt.

In all, Swoopes set Women's Final Four records for most points (78), most field goals made (27) and most field goals attempted (48), all of which still stand.

Ohio State almost overcame Swoopes' effort, rallying to take the lead with about eight minutes to play, but Swoopes scored 11 points in the final five minutes to keep the Buckeyes at bay. Ohio State coach Nancy Darsch said of Swoopes: "You don't really appreciate her until you have to stop her."

As good as Swoopes was in that game, her 47 points is not a single-game record in the Division I Women's Basketball Championship. That honor goes to Drake's Lorri Bauman, who hit the half-century mark in a regional final against Maryland in 1982.