DON McCORMACK
Paying another visit to the variety store...
Miller’s time, redux
During his high school days at Jefferson, Adam Miller made a habit out of mowing down opposing hitters.
Fast forward a few years, and the son of Ted and Sharon Miller of Rock Creek is doing it again, this time at the collegiate level.
Miller, the Star Beacon Ashtabula County Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007 as a junior and senior at Jefferson, has become a cornerstone on the mound at Angelo State University. ASU is located in San Angelo, Texas, the center of a West Texas community of 100,000.
A Division II university, ASU is a member of the Texas Tech University system. It has an enrollment of 6,387 and a campus spread across 268 acres. The school was founded in 1928.
The 6-foot-5, 195-pound junior right-hander is 1-1 with a team-best 2.95 earned run average for coach Kevin Brooks’ Rams.
Miller was recently honored as the Diamond Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week two weeks ago.
He earned the win for the Rams during a recent victory at Northeastern State University, located in Tahlequah, Okla. In that contest, Miller tossed five scoreless innings in relief as ASU rallied for a 6-5 win in the second game of a doubleheader. Miller gave just one hit and had a strikeout as the Grayson County Community College transfer picked up his first win as a Ram.
Miller went to ASU after spending a year at Grayson County Community College. He is majoring in kinesiology.
Still going strong
Two opponents up, two opponents down for Tom Church and the rest of the Saint Joseph’s College men’s basketball squad at the Division II national tournament.
Church, the lead assistant coach for the Pumas, saw his squad defeat Kentucky Wesleyan on its own floor Saturday night, 72-70, then rallied for another nailbiting win, a 78-76 triumph against Grand Valley State on Sunday night.
Now, Church and the rest of the Pumas (19-11) advance to the Elite 8, where they will tangle with Quincy University tonight at 8 for the Midwest Regional Championship, also at Owensboro.
The winner of tonight’s game will represent the Midwest Region in the NCAA Elite 8 in Springfield, Mass. next week.
Church, the son of Tom and Jan Church, was the Star Beacon Ashtabula County Player of the Year as a senior at Conneaut in the 1997-98 season before moving on to a four-year career at Ashland University.
Spring stuff
Coaches of respective high school spring sports teams are reminded that the deadline to have your squad’s fact sheet back in our hands is Saturday.
Sheets can be faxed to us at 998-7938.
Calling all parents
A reminder, if you have a son or daughter playing a spring sport at the collegiate level, please let me know. You are asked to take a moment and drop me a line at the email address listed at the end of this column and let me know.
McCormack is the sports editor of the Star Beacon. Reach him at donmac@suite224.net.
