Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 27, 1995 TAG: 9505300073
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``I'm hard to play for.''
Evidence suggested otherwise. If anybody was having more fun playing baseball at the NCAA Division III College World Series than Schmidt's Redmen, it was not readily apparent.
Carthage extended its stay in Salem by rallying to beat Eastern Connecticut 12-6 in a losers' bracket game Friday afternoon at steamy Municipal Field.
Schmidt followed his father, Augie III, who coached the Redmen from Kenosha, Wis., to 269 victories in 18 years. The younger Schmidt went on to be the second selection in the 1982 amateur draft. You might figure that such a background would make Schmidt IV a buttoned-down by-the-book kind of coach.
``You should have seen those guys take batting practice after they first got here,'' said John Desper, a City of Salem groundskeeper at the ballpark. ``They're not even like a college team. They're like a fraternity team or something. They came out with their shirts off and wrapped around their heads and had a home run contest.
``Every time one of them hit one out, they'd all start yelling.''
This outfit is as loose as a boxer's front tooth.
``We like to have some fun,'' said outfielder Shorty Flees, the hero of Friday's victory with three hits including a home run and five runs batted in. ``Augie's not hard to play for. He likes to keep us loose.''
Staying loose had to be difficult after losing to in-state rival and defending Series champion Wisconsin-Oshkosh 7-2 in the opening round Thursday. Oshkosh has beaten Carthage four straight years in either the regionals or Series.
``It was an emotional loss for me,'' said first-team All-American catcher John Zuleger, who went 3-for-4 against Eastern Connecticut. ``I only live 20 minutes from Oshkosh.''
Flees' hometown isn't close to much of anything.
``Where he's from, there's nothing out there but a place for the deer and the antelope to play,'' Schmidt said.
``It's out there,'' Flees said.
And the deer and the antelope are as reported. The critters are raised as game stock on the Flees farm outside Rosholt, a burg of 500 souls 41/2 hours north of Chicago.
``Shorty'' was born as Eugene, but not many know him by that name. He got the more familiar handle when he was no more than 4 and was obliged to tote a stool around so he could see over the edge of the table in order to play pool.
The kid was an athlete. At his high school (enrollment 250), he wrestled and was the quarterback of the football team. When he wasn't playing quarterback, he was playing defensive back, place-kicking, punting, and returning kicks and punts.
``I usually never missed a play,'' he said.
Flees didn't start playing baseball until he was 13, and even then he had to be driven 30 minutes to the town of Stevens Point.
He turned out all right nevertheless and is just one hit short of a Carthage record 66 for the season.
Considering that 11 of them are home runs, he's standing rather tall right now.
In Friday's action:
Carthage 12, Eastern Connecticut 6: The Redmen trailed by two runs but came back with 10 runs in the last three innings, including six in the ninth, to eliminate the Warriors.
Shorty Flees and Shannon Blansette combined for eight RBI for Carthage (38-7-1). The Redmen advance to a second-round losers' bracket game at 3:30 p.m. Sunday against the loser of today's Laverne-Marietta game.
William Patterson 16, Courtland State 10: The Red Dragons whittled a 10-run second inning deficit to one before sputtering and the Pioneers (36-8) pulled away to eliminate the New York school.
Everybody in the William Paterson lineup contributed to the 20-hit attack. Cortland State (30-13) was making its first Series appearance. William Paterson plays the loser of today's Methodist-Wisconsin-Oshkosh in a noon Sunday game.
by CNB