Seminole grad has shot at making Blue Jays roster

By DAVE THEALL

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 12, 2000

A Seminole High graduate is making a strong bid for a place on the 25-man roster of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Clayton Andrews, a left-handed pitcher who was the Blue Jays' third-round draft pick in 1996, has worked his way up the organization ladder from Medicine Hat in the Pioneer League to Class A Hagerstown, Double-A Knoxville and Triple-A Syracuse.

Last Sunday he got the start at Toronto's SkyDome against the Cleveland Indians and proved effective in his three innings of work, giving up only two hits and one run with no walks and one strikeout.

"It was definitely a good outing for me, especially being a little nervous pitching in the SkyDome for the first time," said Andrews, 21, who would have been a senior for the Florida Gators had he accepted a scholarship offer coming out of high school. "That outing helped my confidence; anytime I do well helps me in my attempt to make the roster this season. I got ahead in the count against the Indians and threw a lot of strikes. Cleveland has an all-star lineup."

Andrews had another strong outing in Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Pirates. He pitched four innings, giving up four hits, a walk and one earned run while striking out three.

Andrews, who had a team-leading 10 wins and 93 strikeouts at Knoxville last year, feels he has a shot at a roster spot with the Blue Jays this year, but could be sent to Syracuse for more seasoning.

"It's one of the two," he said. "I only had three starts at Syracuse last year and if I go back there, I'll be better prepared to come back up. I'm still only 21."

COLLEGE BASEBALL: Third baseman Corey Slavik (Boca Ciega) has been on a tear at 20th-ranked Wake Forest this season.

In Wednesday's 8-1 loss to East Carolina, getting two hits in four trips to the plate actually lowered his team-leading batting average. It's now "down" to .532.

Slavik boosted his average at last weekend's Hormel Classic at the Metrodome in Minneapolis by going 7-for-12 for the winning Demon Deacons. In a 13-6 win over Minnesota for the title, he went 3-for-5, including a triple, drove in six runs and scored three.

Slavik leads the 11-4 Demon Deacons in six other offensive categories: hits (33), runs (24), homers (5), runs batted in (28), total bases (56) and slugging percentage (.903).

Only a junior, Slavik already has been named Atlantic Coast Conference player of the week twice this season. That's after opening the season slowly by going 1-for-11.

Wake Forest coach George Greer said Slavik is a complete player.

"Corey's got all the tools," Greer said in a phone interview. "He's a clutch hitter, a tough out, and an acrobatic defensive player at third. He's terrific; I can't say enough about him."

Greer acknowledged that Slavik would be a prime candidate for June's Major League Baseball draft.

Last summer Slavik honed his skills in the wooden-bat, collegiate Cape Cod League playing for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.

Ben Elbe, a 1999 graduate of Largo, pitched 22/3 innings in relief for Wake Forest in the loss to East Carolina. He gave up one run on two hits to lower his ERA to 2.45.

Wake, winner of the ACC tournament in 1998 and '99, hosts No. 1-ranked Florida State on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in a major faceoff.

At Gainesville, relief pitcher Aaron Sobieraj (Dunedin) played the role of hero on Wednesday, hitting a fence-clearing home run in the bottom of the 10th innng to give the Gators a 13-12 win over Louisville.

BASKETBALL WRAPUP: Dain Brown (Boca Ciega) ended his season at South Carolina-Aiken on a high note, scoring 14 points in a 66-63 upset win over Division II 12th-ranked Georgia State. Brown, who played two years at Santa Fe Community College, led the 13-12 Pacers in scoring this season with a 14.4 average. He hit .446 percent of his shots from the field, including .419 (62-of-148) from three-point range. Brown has another year of eligibility.

Holly Holland (East Lake) scored 17 points for Alabama-Birmingham in a 73-70 loss to Tulane in the final of the Conference USA tournament. On the season, co-captain Holland averaged 10 points, 3.2 rebounds and a team-leading 3.1 assists. With a 19-12 record, the Blazers are hoping for an NCAA tournament at-large bid. Selections will be announced on ESPN at 5:15 p.m. today.

SWIMMING: Heather Weil (Northeast) won the 500 and mile freestyle for Wright State in the Midwest Conference Championships at Cleveland and took second in the 200 butterfly. A freshman, Weil was named conference newcomer of the year. She's a member of the West Florida Lightning Aquatics Club.

Freshman Melissa Smith (Keswick Christian) took two firsts and a third for Gardner-Webb University in the Southern States Conference Championships at Davidson, N.C. She won the 500 free in 5:03.03 and the 1,650 free in 17:28.42. Her third was in the 400 IM, which she covered in 4:39.15.

Smith was named to the all-conference first team and is ranked first in the 1,650 free and second in the 500 free in NCAA Division II.

This weekend she is competing in the Division II national championships at Buffalo, N.Y.

At Stevens Institute of Technology, Katie Stoddard (Boca Ciega) won the 50-yard butterfly in a recent 143-99 win over Manhattanville College.

WRESTLING: Jared Frayer (Countryside) sustained consecutive losses in last week's Big 12 Conference Championships. In both 149-pound matches, he lost to wrestlers from Nebraska and Missouri he had beaten earlier in the season. Still, his NCAA ranking has earned him a return trip to the NCAA tournament, which will be held next weekend at St. Louis.

Former Cougars teammate Andy Medders, wrestling for Cumberland College, reached the finals of the NAIA national championships and finished runner-up at 125 pounds. He won the state high school 112-pound title last year.

At Brown, two-time state champion Clint Frease (Countryside) suffered a shoulder injury in his opening match this season and was lost for the year. He's in rehabilitation.

PRO FOOTBALL: Offensive lineman Kipp Vickers (Tarpon Springs/Miami) has left the Washington Redskins to sign with the Baltimore Ravens. His teammates will be starting center Jeff Mitchell (Countryside/Florida) and former Bucs quarterback Trent Dilfer.

Sporting News projects defensive end Darren Howard (Boca Ciega/Kansas State) as a first-round draft pick of the Detroit Lions.

Wide receiver Chris Daniels (Clearwater/Purdue), an Associated Press third-team selection, had a great performance in the NFL combine at Indianapolis last month, according to his uncle, Clearwater assistant coach Rick Rodriguez. The Oakland Raiders, Colts and Bucs have shown the most interest in Daniels, Rodriguez said.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.