• BYU douses Hawai‘i • Alomar to retire? • Wie keeps rally going BYU douses Hawai‘i ASSOCIATED PRESS HONOLULU — Hawai‘i’s men’s volleyball team had its worst hitting night of the season, falling to host BYU on Friday, 30-28, 30-19,
• BYU douses Hawai‘i
• Alomar to retire?
• Wie keeps rally going
BYU douses Hawai‘i
ASSOCIATED PRESS
HONOLULU — Hawai‘i’s men’s volleyball team had its worst hitting night of the season, falling to host BYU on Friday, 30-28, 30-19, 30-26.
The Warriors hit a collective .082 with 30 kills and 23 hitting errors on 85 swings. BYU posted a .296 team hitting percentage.
Pedro Azenha managed to put away 10 kills for the Warriors, but hit just .115 on the night. He was outdone by the Cougars’ Ivan Perez, who spanked down a match-high 18 kills.
The Warriors were ranked No. 3 in the nation entering the match and BYU was ranked sixth.
Hawai‘i is 13-5 on the season and 9-4 in the Moutain Pacific Sports Federation. BYU is 13-7 and 8-5.
The Warriors and Cougars face off again Saturday night in Provo, Utah.
Alomar to retire?
Roger Clemens left his start early because of an injury, and so did Jake Peavy. While they expect to be back by opening day, Roberto Alomar might be calling it quits way before that.
Alomar went home after playing only one inning Friday night and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays said they would have an announcement concerning his future Saturday, leading to speculation that the 12-time All-Star was planning to retire.
Alomar made two errors at second base and struck out looking in his only at-bat during a 5-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, his first game since March 10 because of a back sprain. Tampa Bay manager Lou Piniella said Alomar told him he was having trouble seeing.
“Robbie and I talked during the ballgame,” Devil Rays general manager Chuck LaMar said. “Health-wise has been a real concern this year and I am sure we will have a statement and Robbie will tomorrow about his future with us.”
Prior to the game, Alomar was smiling and very talkative in the clubhouse, but he left the ballpark before the end of the fifth inning. Team spokesman Rick Vaughn said Alomar came out because he wasn’t feeling well and then went home.
LaMar was asked if Alomar had already left Tampa Bay’s spring training camp.
“No, absolutely not,” LaMar said.
Contacted by The Associated Press on Friday night, Alomar’s agent, Jaime Torres, declined to comment.
Trying to reach 3,000 hits and end his stellar career on a high note after a swift decline the past three seasons, Alomar agreed to a $600,000, one-year contract with the Devil Rays in January. The team penciled him in as the everyday second baseman and No. 2 hitter.
A 10-time Gold Glove winner and career .300 hitter, the 37-year-old Alomar is 276 hits shy of 3,000. He was an All-Star for 11 consecutive seasons from 1991-01, but has struggled while batting .266, .258 and .263 the past three years.
Wie keeps rally going
The 15-year-old Wie rallied in the second round to run her string of consecutive cuts made to 11. The long-hitting teen, who last missed a cut in August 2003, appeared to be in jeopardy of another early exit when she bogeyed the first hole.
But she recovered with an eagle and five birdies to get back in the hunt for her first LPGA title.
Wie had her best finish against professional competition three weeks ago with a tie for second in her native Hawaii.
Sorenstam, the circuit’s player of the year from 2001-04, has a three-tournament winning streak, including her season debut in Mexico City, and has won five of the last seven she’s entered.
But she might have her work cut out against Ochoa, another former University of Arizona player capable of scoring bursts that rival Sorenstam’s.
Ochoa won her first two LPGA titles last year, finished third on the money list with $1.45 million, and set tour season records for birdies (442), rounds under par (75) and rounds in the 60s (51).
