Friday

May 8, 1998

Payne

Visger

Baseball, bats and brotherhood

By MARK AVILA
HORNET STAFF WRITER

Josh Payne and Shawn Visger have been friends since their days in River Park Little League. They remained close as they progressed through each level of play, eventually earning positions on the Sacramento State baseball team.

"Growing up, I know that all we did is live and breathe baseball," Payne said. "If we did anything it was always a pickup game, and now being here playing along side of him (Visger) is a treasure especially because it's my last year."

The two became close when their fathers were roommates and Payne and Visger were able to live in the same household. Their fathers taught them valuable lessons, like the sacrifice and dedication it takes to be an athlete.

"They used to preach to us day in and day out, all little things counted, the way we carried ourselves, if we hung our head, all our actions on the field," said Visger, whose father, Bob, is the strength coach for the Hornet football team.

"His dad and my dad just respected the game."

After graduating from Sacramento High, Payne and Visger opted to attend Cosumnes River College in South Sacramento.

But it was in high school, under the coaching of Kent Pickery, that they were taught the nuances of the game.

"He really introduced us to the finer parts of baseball," said Payne, captain of the Hornet squad. "He was real good teacher of the fundamentals."

Payne, a physical education major now in his senior year, was the first to transfer to CSUS, fulfilling the duo's dream of playing Division I ball.

The hometown university was a place where he had grown up watching baseball, so putting on a Hornet uniform was a natural fit.

"It was great to play in my hometown at a field that I had watched a lot of great players growing up," Payne said. "I can remember seeing the games from the parking structure."

Both Payne and Visger have been in the lineup at designated hitter, which is where Shawn, a communications major in his junior year, started the season. However, an early season injury to his back has forced Visger to sit out most of the 1998 campaign.

"It's hard not to be in there, especially on days like this," said Visger, referring to a late April thrashing of causeway rival UC Davis.

"As far as the team goes we're losing a key player in the lineup," said Payne, confirming the camaraderie between the two, which has grown after over a decade of rising through the ranks together.

"It's a privilege to be able to play the game," Payne said. "As you get older you start to appreciate the things you've been taught."

Know that the 1998 season is coming to an end, Payne, who has had a stellar year at the plate with 16 home runs, is looking to continue his baseball career in the coaching ranks.

"You get to this point and you realize that your days of baseball might be over soon and you want to give back what you've learned," Payne said. "I've been fortunate to learn some really valuable things and it's my job to give back to somebody else, essentially to give back to the game."

Visger added: "When you've been around the game for so long, you just want to stay close to it for as long as you can. When you go to college everybody goes their separate ways even your best friends that you hardly even have contact with anymore.

"Josh and I are the last two dying soldiers that have stuck together."

To be, or not to be:
Life in the Big Sky

By DEVIN BLANKENSHIP
SENIOR STAFF WRITER

A solid foundation is essential in building any type of structure. Build a good foundation and the structure will be strong; build a bad one, and the structure will collapse.

The same can be said for Sacramento State, which is in the middle of rebuilding its athletic program.

Faced with budget constraints, limited fan attendance and a scarcity of wins for the major sports programs, Judith Davidson, the ninth athletic director in Sac State's history, is trying to build a program that will become an attraction for the entire Sacramento area, not just for CSUS students.

The former associate director at the University of Minnesota, Davidson is in her second year at CSUS.

"We are trying to develop a sense of community and identity amongst fans," said Davidson.

"We want students to feel that they really are a part of this campus and that we can provide a fun and traditional part of college life. Collegiate sports are special events that are different from anything else, because of the students."

This year has been a difficult one for the image of the program. Because of a lack of victories from the university's most visible sports -- football and men's basketball each won only one game during the 1997-98 season -- Sac State athletics have received a less-than-stellar reputation throughout the area.

However, with Big Sky championships in women's volleyball, men's tennis, and golf, the year has been one of Sac State's better campaigns since moving up to Division I.

For the athletic program to succeed, though, football and basketball must become much more competitive, which explains Davidson's desire to build them right. Hiring well-respected coaches and recruiting mostly freshman instead of junior college transfers, both programs are taking their lumps now to build powerhouses down the line.

"A big reason I took this job was because of Judith Davidson," said men's basketball coach Tom Abatemarco in a recent interview.

"I believed in her and she believed in me. She is a tremendous administrator, and I think she has great visions for this school. Her vision is right for what we need here."

It is that drive to make Sac State better which keeps Davidson going, as she is faced with obstacles on a daily basis.

In 1995, CSUS students passed a referendum financially supporting the athletic department and keeping the football team from extinction. Still, even with the students help, almost all CSUS sports are underfunded when compared to other Big Sky schools, and the department as a whole faces a $250,000 deficit this year.

The well-publicized financial problems, and the lack of success in football and basketball have led many to question whether Sacramento State should have made the move to Division I.

Combine that with the success of UC Davis -- a Division II school just across the causeway -- and the rumblings of a serious error on the part of the CSUS administration become even louder. But Davidson says there is no question that the university made the best move.

"It was the right decision," said the former Iowa field-hockey coach. "You want to compete against the best. We are a very large institution, one of the largest in the Big Sky, and we should be competing against like universities.

"Although we may not have equal resources, we are where we are, and we are still growing. The challenge is building a program."

There have been signs of late that the community has begun to embrace the athletic department. Last semester, through donations, CSUS was able to bring in Dick Vitale to speak at the tip-off dinner for the basketball program. Then this spring, the football team completed a weight training facility rivaling any other in the Big Sky, also because of community donations and efforts.

It is these little steps which Davidson hopes will eventually lead all CSUS sports to become perennial contenders in the conference.

"I'm a competitor," Davidson said. "What I'd like is for us to be at the top in every sport every year. That's probably not going to happen. But I believe that we can be in the top three in the Big Sky on a regular basis. That is a realistic goal."

With an aggressive marketing plan involving more media coverage for the major sports, and by making all events free to students, the athletic department's emphasis next year is on attracting people to events.

A new ticket program will be introduced for the football team in which students or organizations can sell ticket packages for home games and receive money for their efforts. This is an attempt to improve attendance, which has been low for a school the size of CSUS.

"I believe that once we establish ourselves, people will want to be identified with CSUS. We need students to return, and part of that is winning. Their attendance at athletic events will come back to them in ways they can't imagine. It will ultimately benefit them," said Davidson.

For those who work around her, it is Davidson's work ethic which leads them to believe that she will succeed.

"She's working real hard," said Debbie Colberg, head coach of the women's volleyball team.

"Judith has a good grasp of what she needs to do and how to accomplish it. It's hard for people to evaluate what she's doing because we can't follow her around constantly. But I think that we needed someone to put in a lot of time and hours, and she's doing that so far."

As the school year comes to a close, Davidson's vision for the university remains unchanged from when she first arrived. Despite the school's struggles to become a major player in college athletics, the foundation for future success has hopefully been laid correctly.

Only time will tell whether the program will topple over, or rise above the clouds.

"It's like a business, and we are in the start-up phase of a major enterprise," said Davidson. "It takes time for the results to come to fruition.

"But ultimately I believe our success will create a better environment on the campus, a greater identity with the school, it will bring greater national visibility, and will improve and enhance the degrees of our alumni and students."

Senior athletes Elorduy, Beatty win awards

Senior baseball player Dan Elorduy and senior women's volleyball player Shannon Beatty were named male and female Hornet Bookstore Athletes of the Year at a reception Tuesday.

Beatty, a pre-physical major with a 3.55 grade point average, earned All Big Sky Conference honors this season, leading the Hornets to Big Sky season and tournament titles.

The outside hitter, who had 19 kills in the championship match, was also named to the All Big Sky academic team. The Hornets were invited to the NCAA Division I tournament for the first time this season.

Elorduy, a management major with a 3.297 GPA, is fourth in the Big West Conference in home runs with 14. Elorduy had multi-homer games four times, and in a series with the University of Nevada-Reno drove home 14 runs in 14 at-bats.

The Hornets are currently in second place in the Big West North Division, and travel to New Mexico State today for their last regular-season series. Sac State will begin the Big West Tournament next Thursday.

Softball splits twinbill with 49ers

LONG BEACH -- Despite a pair of outstanding pitching performances from Amy Barker and Kelly Lovato, the Sacramento State softball team split a doubleheader with Big West Conference rivals Long Beach State Monday.

Lovato scattered five hits in six innings of work in the first game, but was outdueled by 49ers pitcher Kristi Fox, who held the Hornets (15-16, 25-23) to just two hits.

Barker picked up the Hornets with a gem in the second game, holding the 49ers to just five hits over eight innings, striking out four.

The Hornets scored two runs in the eighth inning to win it. Nanci Block and Londyn Ray each scored, and Robin Jury had a run-scoring single.

Stacey Himes had two hits in the doubleheader to spark the Hornets.