Wednesday, May 13, 1998

McMurry's home run

Call it life imitating art: McMurry University built it, and now, here they come.

Congratulations to the McMurry baseball team, champions of the American Southwest Conference, for landing a bid to the NCAA Division III tournament. Representing the university and Abilene on a national stage is a notable accomplishment, especially considering McMurry's intercollegiate baseball program is in only its third year of existence.

But McMurry's not just going to the national shootout. It will also be the host site for the West Regional tournament, which begins Thursday at McMurry's 800-seat Walt Driggers Field. Two California schools, California Lutheran and Chapman University, will join Southwestern University from Georgetown and the Indians in the three-day, double-elimination event.

That's quite a coup for coach Lee Driggers' Indians, if you'll pardon the pun, and one that couldn't have been achieved without the beautiful new baseball field, which opened as last year's season was in progress. Chosen because it had the best facilities among the four teams involved, the Abilene university and its baseball players now stand to benefit even more from the national exposure.

Local baseball fans will no doubt want to adopt McMurry as "Abilene's team" this week. The Indians' first game is Thursday at 7 p.m. against Southwestern, following the 3 p.m. opener. Tickets are $5 for a day pass and $10 for a tournament pass. Three games are scheduled Friday, with the championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday. Let's cheer the Indians on!