ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 27, 1996 TAG: 9603270067
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AND STAFF REPORTS
Eric Owens, a former Ferrum College standout, was one of two players the Cincinnati Reds sent to the minor leagues Tuesday to reach their 25-man roster limit.
Owens was optioned to Indianapolis of the Class AAA American Association, and fellow infielder Roberto Mejia was assigned to the Reds' minor-league camp.
Ray Knight, Cincinnati's manager, said he wanted to keep Owens and outfielder Steve Gibralter. But there was room for only one, and Knight decided he needed another outfielder.
``I feel more comfortable in the infield,'' Knight said. ``In the outfield, I just feel questions.''
With third baseman Chris Sabo apparently recovered from a pulled hamstring, Owens became the one to go. Knight said he had a tough time making the final move because he thought Owens deserved to be on the Reds' roster.
``If there's any player here that epitomizes what the Reds are all about coming up through the minor-league system ... He plays the game totally the way it's supposed to be played,'' he said. ``I told Eric he'd be back here shortly.''
Owens, 25, batted .314 with 12 homers, 63 RBI and 33 steals last season with Indianapolis. He also went 2-for-2 with a game-winning RBI in a brief stint with Cincinnati.
* The New York Yankees placed infielder Tony Fernandez on the 60-day disabled list because of a broken right elbow expected to sidelined him for several months.
Fernandez, playing second base, was injured Sunday while diving for a line drive off the bat of Houston's James Mouton in the fourth inning.
X-rays, taken at St.Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, Fla., revealed a fracture that will require surgery.
* The Seattle Mariners won't begin the season with Luis Polonia in left field or Chris Bosio in their starting rotation.
Polonia, who played for the New York Yankees and Atlanta last season, was released from his minor-league contract. Polonia, who would have been paid $750,000 if he made the team, failed to win the starting left-field job in competition with Darren Bragg, who has had a strong spring at the plate.
Bosio, a 10-game winner last season, was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of an ailing right knee. He underwent off-season knee surgery. Bosio, in the final season of a four-year, $16 million contract, will be eligible to come off the disabled list April 9.
TENNIS Davenport, Graf advance at Lipton
Lindsay Davenport, who nearly beat Steffi Graf this month, will get another shot Thursday.
Davenport and Graf set up their rematch with quarterfinal victories at the Lipton Championships in Key Biscayne, Fla.
Graf, seeking her fifth Lipton title, beat No.5 Kimiko Date 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. Davenport eliminated No.3 Anke Huber with stunning ease, 6-0, 6-1.
In a semifinal in Indian Wells, Calif., less than two weeks ago, Graf beat Davenport 6-7, 7-6, 6-4.
In men's singles, won by a U.S. player every year since Ivan Lendl took the 1989 title, Americans earned six of the eight quarterfinal berths.
Defending champion Andre Agassi advanced by beating Canada's Sebastien Lareau 6-4, 6-4. It was third-seeded Agassi's first straight-sets victory in three matches in the tournament.
Second-seeded Pete Sampras eliminated No.16 Todd Martin 6-3, 6-4. Also advancing were unseeded Americans Vince Spadea and Michael Joyce, along with No. 4 Michael Chang, No. 6 Goran Ivanisevic, No. 7 Jim Courier and No. 15 Arnaud Boetsch.
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP British swimmer Mark Foster sets a world-best timeby CNBTuesday in the 50-meter butterfly in Cardiff, Wales. His time of
24.07 seconds was two-tenths of a second better than the previous
mark. The 50 is not an Olympic or world championship distance, so
the time is not recognized as a world record.