This is David Denenberg reporting live from Matador Field as the UNLV Rebels visit CSUN.

5:34

The game has gone final as Jolicoeur recorded his second save of the season and the Matadors go on to win 5-1.  Live coverage will be offered for tomorrow’s game starting in approximately the sixth inning.

5:31

Jolicoeur has allowed a base hit to begin the ninth inning as the matadors lead 5-1.

5:22

Simis rocked a RBI double to give the Matadors a 5-1 lead here in the bottom of the eighth with two outs.   The side is retired as we enter the top of the ninth inning with Jolicoeur coming in attempting to record a save for CSUN.

5:20

Dabbs has laid down a bunt to reach first base.  Simis is now up.  Dabbs recorded his first steal of the season as he’s safe at second base.  There are two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

5:19

Hannick has gone down swinging as Jason Dabbs is up to bat with two outs here in the bottom of the eighth.

5:17

Todd Eskelin has grounded out, bringing Hannick to the plate for CSUN with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning.

5:14

Jolicoeur has gotten through the inning, giving up no hits or runs as CSUN leads the game 4-1 here in the bottom of the eighth inning.

5:09

Jimmy Jolicoeur is now on the mound for the Matadors as he enters this gme with a ERA of 7.88 and a 2-3 record.  Jolicoeur will be looking to improve on his poor performance last Friday against the UCSB Gauchos in which he gave up five earned runs in two innings of work.

5:05

Hutchison has gotten the rebels into the eighth inning but the damage is done as CSUN scored two runs on one hit in the bottom of the seventh inning to increase their lead to 4-1.

5:00

UNLV is sending a new pitcher into the game as Matt Hutchison makes his way to the mound.

4:59

Cates is safe at second with his third stolen base of the year.  Pineda has walked now to bring up D’Anna for the Matadors with two outs.

4:58

Cates connected on a base hit that scored both Dabbs and Simis to make this game 4-1 in favor of the Matadors.

4:56

TS Reed has struck out which brings Cates to the plate with two outs and runners in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh inning.

4:54

Belanger has hit a sac bunt to put Matador runners on second and third base with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning.

4:51

Simis has been hit by a pitch which brings C.J. Belanger to the plate with runners on first and second base and no outs here in the bottom of the seventh as the Matadors lead this game by a score of 2-1.

4:50

Dabbs is on first safely with a base hit.  Simis is now coming to bat with no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

4:45

After a double play, Gorski is through the top of the seventh bringing Dabbs to the plate for the Matadors with second baseman Tommy Simis on deck.  The matadors are winning 2-1.

4:42

Gorski is back on the bag for the matadors as the first Rebel batter has flied out to mark the first out of the top of the seventh inning.

4:39

Gorski is through the top of the sixth and the Matadors have gone down in order in the home half of the inning as this game enters the seventh inning with the Matadors leading 2-1.

4:27

Continuing to tinker with his pitching staff Head Coach Steve Rousey has brought freshman Justen Gorski into the game here in the sixth inning.  Tate lasted two innings and netted two strikeouts and gave up one earned run on three hits.

4:27

We’re headed to the fifth inning here at Matador Field as Pineda has flied out to end the fifth inning with the Matadors up 2-1 on the visiting UNLV Rebels.

4:25

Cates is up to bat for the Matadors in bottom of the fifth inning with two outs.  He has hit a standup double to bring Pineda up to bat.

4:21

Davin Tate has recorded his second strikeout of the day and has retired the side to bring this game to the bottom of the fifth with outfielder Jeff Pruitt up to bat for the Matadors.

4:12

second baseman Bryan Resnick has kept this Rebel rally going with a base hit .  The Rebels now have runners on first and second and catcher Chad Claus is up to bat here in the top of the fifth.

4:10

Rebels first baseman Brian Gilbertson has scored a run here in the top of the fifth as his team now trails the Matadors 2-1.

4:07

The Rebels have recordded their first hit of the game as they have a man on second no outs here in the top of the fifth.

3:59

Eskelin has gone down swinging as Hannick is up to bat with one out in the bottom of the fourth.  Hannick has singled as Dabbs is at the plate.

3:56

Tate is through the inning as the Rebels haven’t gotten a hit yet with this game entering the bottom of the fourth inning nd Todd Eskelin up to bat.

3:54

Third baseman Jason Dabbs has committed a fielding error to allow a Rebel on base with two outs here in the top of the fourth.

3:52

Hannick has thrown out his second would-be base stealer here in the top of the fourth to get the Matadors the first out of the inning as the matadors lead 2-0.

3:49

Davin Tate has been put in the game here in the top of the fourth for the Matadors presumably to get him some work on the mound before the Cal Poly series this weekend.

3:43

After a Pineda strikeout Cates was caught trying to steal second.  There are two outs in the bottom of the third and first baseman Dominic D’Anna is up to bat.

3:40

Cates is on base as the Rebels committed a fielding error allowing him to reach.  outfielder Ryan Pineda is now at the plate with no outs in the bottom of the third.

3:36

Wright netted his fourth strikeout of the day as the Rebels got no hits and had a runner thrown out at second by Chris Hannick.  It’s now the bottom of the third inning and Richard Cates is coming to bat.  The score is still 2-0 Matadors.

3:33

Westley Wright has gone two strong innings thus far for the Matadors striking out three batters and giving up no hits.  There is currently one out in the top of the third and Wright has given up a walk.

3:28

Todd Eskelin ripped a triple and then after a double from Chris Hannick was able to easily score and make this game 2-0 in favour of the Matadors.

After splitting a pair of matches last weekend in the Bay area, the No. 3 Matadors men’s volleyball team return home Wednesday night to face No. 2 Pepperdine. A win against the Waves will keep CSUN’s conference title hopes alive.

‘We got to hope for some teams to beat other teams (Pepperdine and UC Irvine) and for us to win out,’ junior Mike Gaudino said.

The game will not only feature two of the best teams in the country, but also four of the best players in the country. Senior All-Americans Eric Vance (CSUN) and Paul Carroll (Pepperdine) have won four of the 11 National-Player-of-Week honors that have been handed so far this season. Also, Matador freshman Matt Stork and Wave sophomore Kasey Crider are No. 1 and 2 respectively in assists per set nationwide.

‘Carroll is a big key to the game,’ Vance said. ‘He is obviously their best player and an All-American so he is key to stop, but also, you can’t overlook everyone else because the rest of the team is filled with really good players.’

The Matadors are two games behind the Waves in the loss column with five matches left in the regular season.

Should they not host the playoffs, this week will mark the last two home games of 2009 for CSUN. They would also be the last two games at the Matadome for Vance.

‘We are always gunning for the wins, but it’s a big night, especially for Eric,’ sophomore Tanner Nua said. ‘He is going to be pumped and we are going to be pumped for him so we want him to go out with a big bang this year.’

Date: Wednesday
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: The Matadome, Northridge
Series: Pepperdine leads CSUN 46-18
Last meeting: Feb. 25, CSUN 3 @ Pepperdine 2
Interesting fact: The top seven teams in the Bison/AVCA division I-II Men’s Coaches poll are from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Pepperdine’s No. 2 and CSUN is No. 3.

Matador to watch:

Eric Vance, outside hitter, senior’

Following Friday’s game against USC, there probably won’t be anymore home games for Vance and his brilliant All-American career. A couple of weeks ago Vance went over the 400-kill mark for the second consecutive year. In 2009, he has compiled 449 and needs 11 more to eclipse his season career-high of 459, which he set as a junior. He also has a team-high 47 service aces this season.

Wave to watch:

Paul Carroll, opposite hitter, senior

The 6-foot-9 All-American leads the nation in kills per set this season at 6.03. Carroll is also the Waves’ dig leader, averaging 2.30 per set. Last week against two nationally-ranked top-10 teams, he combined to pound out 40 kills and 13 digs. The Australia native has been named National Player of the Week twice this season. His teammate, Kasey Crider, received the same honor this week.

That’s what he said

Tanner Nua, CSUN opposite hitter
On the Matadors’ game plan against Pepperdine:

‘It’s going to be a big challenge. Carroll’s an All-American hitter and an excellent player so we need to play our game and put up a solid two-man or three-man block. If we can do that, we shouldn’t have a problem winning.’

One of the most exciting games the Northridge community ever watched was between its underdog Matadors and basketball powerhouse Memphis in the first round of the NCAA Tournament two weeks ago. Even though the Matadors lost, they played inspiringly and students of the commuting state institution were finally locked in emotion, cheering for their school.’ That a first round game accomplished such a feat tells us all one thing: March Madness is superior to the NBA playoffs.’

We’re down to the Final Four.’ The NCAA offers some of the most exciting games that are available to watch.’ With the exception of the Super Bowl, March Madness attracts more viewers than any other postseason.’ College basketball tends to be far more entertaining to watch than the NBA Playoffs.’

For one, fans get far more involved.’ Most college basketball fans fill out a bracket for the NCAA tournament.’ Every sports enthusiast seems to think they can predict who will win each game.’ It draws them in.’ The brackets are a fun way to see how wrong we all are ‘hellip; Damn you, Louisville.’

The emotions in these games are higher than in most of the NBA Playoffs as well.’ One big reason is the fact that the NCAA Tournament is more intense in the way that, if you lose one game, your season is over. In contrast, every round of the NBA Playoffs is a series.’ One-game eliminations increase the chance of a top-ranked team getting upset in the first round ‘hellip; Damn you Wake Forest.

Also, there are many players at the college level who you will likely never hear from again.’ These athletes will never be MVPs, wear a championship ring, or even get a chance to sit on the bench of an NBA team.’ A college championship has even avoided the grasp of some of the NBA’s greatest players, especially since the NBA used to take all the potential college talent away by drafting high school kids.’ This tournament is the high point of many players’ athletic career and they have more at stake than professionals.

Also, college basketball has a single champion. In college football, there is no playoff system.’ Instead, bowl games are organized through the BCS rankings.’ This has led to arguments that sometimes more than one team is worthy of being called a national champion. Despite starting off with 64 teams in the first round, March Madness always comes down to just one team.’

The NBA Playoffs are usually anticlimactic. Often times, top-seeded teams don’t even make it to the conference finals. The reason for this is the NBA not using a reseeding system, the way the NHL does.’ In the Stanley Cup playoffs, the team with the highest seed is always playing the lowest seed available. This prevents the teams with the best records from playing each other in the early rounds.’

The NBA also has had problems retaining its audience in the later rounds of the playoffs because some of the top teams are eliminated in the semifinals. Ratings for the NBA Finals are usually low unless an audience-drawing team ‘- let’s say the Lakers ‘- is playing. This could all be avoided with reseeding. That way, big-market teams wouldn’t get eliminated too soon.

Now, this isn’t to say college basketball is better than professional. Of course not. Games in the NBA have more scoring, less turnovers and more spectacular plays.’ However, the emotion in college basketball is severely unmatched by its professional counterpart. Fans are far more involved in March Madness than they are in the NBA Playoffs. It’s just plain better. There will be two amazing games in this Final Four, even though my bracket is useless now ‘hellip; Damn you, Michigan State; damn you, Villanova; and damn you, Pac -10, for completely disappearing.

‘

The Associated Students Elections Committee approved bans on e-mail distribution via university resources and the Students for Change slate’s campaign stickers Monday during a formal complaint meeting.

The committee also found that an error in voter guides placed at polling stations during the general election had no significant impact on the outcome of the elections.

Mayra Pop, campaign manager of Students for Change, expressed concern with e-mails sent by Edward Kaiping, former candidate for at-large senator, to CSUN student e-mail accounts in support of presidential candidate Andrew Collard and the A-Team slate.

Pop said the e-mails, sent to political science majors through a list serve e-mail address, were against university policy and violated the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) which gives students the right to consent the disclosure of educational records.

Pop noted in her written complaint, ‘If the university did not approve the disclosure of the information, A-Team’s actions can very well be in violation of FERPA, the Family and Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which state that ’schools may disclose’ discretionary information not anyone else.’

In response Kaiping said, ‘She accused me of violating federal law which I think is inappropriate.’

After hearing from both parties and Steve Deluca, network advisor for A.S., four of five committee members voted to ban e-mails distributed via university resources during elections. One member abstained.

‘My biggest concern is the fact that we don’t know where they got these e-mail addresses,’ Pop said. ‘We’d really like to know where they got this information.’

Kaiping said he received consent by A.S. Director of Elections Mazen Hafez to send a mass e-mail to students. He added that he used the political science list serve address he received department information from to send the e-mail.

Kaiping said his use of the list serve was in good taste and, ‘it’s just that my rivals hadn’t come up with it first.’

Malik Basurto, a former presidential candidate, filed the second complaint heard by the committee. The complaint resulted in a unanimous vote approving a ban on campaign stickers used by the Students for Change slate since they were not approved through the Matador Involvement Center.

The complaint charged Students for Change with unethical conduct due to Abel Pacheco wearing his slate T-shirt on March 24 in the Grand Salon during a senate meeting where students were present. Basurto wasn’t present to speak in favor of his complaint.

Admitting to the claim, Pacheco said, ‘I didn’t complain. I didn’t hesitate to take it off.’

The written complaint also claimed that Students for Change strategically placed campaign stickers in areas considered off limits in the A.S. elections code.

Pacheco said close to 6,000 stickers were distributed to the student population and his slate informed students of when and where it was appropriate to put the stickers.

‘The burden falls on the accusers,’ said Pacheco, referring to the claim that students may have placed the stickers on trashcans and napkin dispensers in areas designated off limits.

‘I don’t think we should be accountable for what our supporters did,’ elected-senator Eboni Blanche, added to the discussion.

‘We did our very best to control it,’ Pacheco said. ‘I can’t say we need to be held accountable for it if every slate isn’t held accountable.’

Former senate candidate Armond Ohanian from the A-Team slate filed the final complaint heard by the committee.

Ohanian’s complaint stated that the voter guides placed in the polling booths incorrectly listed his candidate information under College of Humanities instead of Heath ‘amp; Human Development, the college he was running for.

Ohanian wasn’t present at the meeting to speak on behalf of his complaint. Instead, Audrey Younna, A-Team campaign manager and director of S.P.A.C.E, spoke on his behalf.

His complaint said Blanche won ‘by a very close margin’ which should make a run-off election mandatory.

Blanche said the complaint was filed on Friday. However, Ohanian approached Blanche on Tuesday notifying her of the mishap.

‘Why wait until Friday if there was really an issue with it?’ Blanche said.

‘

‘

‘

A year has passed since CSUN senior Clifton Hibbert Jr. was fatally shot in downtown Los Angeles.

As Hibbert and his friend Kenneth Patterson walked down the 4000 block of S. Figueroa St., they were shot from behind. To date the murders remain unsolved.

To mark the anniversary, family and friends canvassed the neighborhood last Sunday where the murders took place and urged those with any information to come forward.

‘That was my baby boy that got murdered on the street,’ said Hibbert’s mother Donna Brown.

‘ Hibbert was 22 at the time of his death.

Brown said that there are too many senseless killings in the community and no one is taking a stand.

‘My heart is breaking people, we have to do something. I miss my son’hellip;every day I wake up and I don’t see Cliff,’ she said.

President of the Los Angeles Civil Rights Association Eddie Jones said he still gets chills when he thinks about what happened to Hibbert, who was just weeks away from graduating.

‘Somebody saw something and someone knows the truth,’ said Jones, who participated in the event. ‘We are tired of unsolved murders.’

Collin Williams joined the door-to-door appeal to see if anyone had information about his close friends murder.

‘We want to bring awareness to the neighborhood that it’s not a problem to speak up on this injustice and that there are outlets you can contact other than the police,’ said Williams.

Cliff was a very loving person he was a leader and he had goals, said Hibbert’s sister Ayanna Parker.

‘He had dreams and someone decided to cut those dreams short. We cannot become immune to unsolved crimes,’ said Parker.

People have information but out of concern for their safety they would rather not come forward, said author Earl Ofari Hutchinson at the event.

‘We’re here to send the message that if you commit a murder, you are going to have to pay the price,’ said Hutchinson.

‘ Junior kinesiology major Uyi Igodan was one of the last people to see Hibbert alive.

‘We went to the same party and then he left to go to the city, I didn’t hear him or see him after that,’ said Igodan, who participated in the event.

‘I cannot comment on how his mother must feel,’ said Jones as he wrapped his arm around Brown’s shoulders. ‘We support her and we will continue to support her until we get these killers off the streets.’

For more information visit www.justiceforcliff.com

Another Associated Students election has come, but not completely left us yet.

Similar to past semesters, last week’s A.S. election has left more for us to think about in addition to why we should vote in the first place. This semester’s election has resulted in a glaring mistake, unethical campaign practices and a run-off election.

Even though this time around the malfunction in the election wasn’t due to technical errors, I almost long for the computer glitches of the past in place of what we have to deal with this semester.

During the first day of voting, an omission was found that could not go overlooked. The name of one of the candidates for the senate seat for the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media and Communications (AMC), Julio Palacol, was no where to be found on the ballot.

At the time, the Elections Committee said a special election would be held for the AMC candidates, or they would be added to the ballot if a run-off election were needed.

Hopefully not to many people’s surprise, a run-off election is needed after all. As of the final count, Abel Pacheco and Conor Lansdale of the Students for Change slate won most of the votes, totaling to 1,223. The A-Team, with candidates Andrew Collard and Arthur Keukazian, came in second with 730 votes.

The reason for the run-off was due to the Students for Change not earning 50 percent plus one of the votes to secure a win. With a difference of 493 votes, it still wasn’t enough and we all must endure another week of A.S. elections because either the campaigning to increase the number of students voting wasn’t well executed, or maybe students don’t care as much for the formation of their student government as the candidates would like them to.

Even though the total number of voters increased this semester from 1,700 of last fall to over 2,700 this time around, it seems there weren’t enough votes for one slate to prevail over the other three.

First there was the tie between Adam Haverstock and current A.S. President Miguel Segura last spring, and now there were not enough votes between four slates to secure a win? No matter how many times I have this discussion, all the factors involved with the results of the election leave me skeptical.

One possible explanation could be even though it’s always great for students to be presented with options for who they want to lead their student government, maybe having four slates to choose from were two too many.

Regardless of what the actual reason or reasons are for why the Students for Change slate couldn’t secure a majority of the votes, now more money needs to be allocated for another election. This is money that could have been spent on more vital activities that could benefit CSUN students.

The last debacle of this semester’s A.S. election was the unethical campaign practices of two of the leading slates. Yesterday morning, the Elections Committee heard complaints about e-mails sent to CSUN students on behalf of the A-Team encouraging them to vote and numerous ethical violations on behalf of the Students for Change slate.

The complaint towards the A-Team said the slate used the e-mails for commercial purposes, and in their case, to gain more votes against their opponents. In addition, the question of how they accessed the student’s e-mails arose.

The complaint against the Students for Change slate focused on the slate’s distribution of stickers without informing students they had to remove them before entering buildings on campus, the placement of the stickers in areas on campus with high student traffic, and presidential candidate Abel Pacheco’s violation of the Code on Associated Students Elections with him wearing a campaign t-shirt on the first day of the election to the Senate meeting.

Even though the deliberation resulted in not allowing the Students for Change slate to use stickers for campaigning and the A-Team sending e-mails encouraging students to vote, it still doesn’t take away from the fact that the two leading slates violated the rules. What does that say about their ethics and the lengths they would go to in order to secure their agendas?

The question I pose to all the people that were involved in the A.S. election is: When are we going to have an election where things run as close to smoothly as possible? As a student, I don’t think I’m asking for much. Seeing the elections consistently having problems and now feature candidates who don’t play by the rules, my skepticism for the entire process has risen to a disheartening level.

This is David Denenberg reporting live at Matador Field.

3:31

The game has gone final as Todd Eskelin scored on a wild throw to third to give the Matadors a 3-2 win and also give the Matadors the series against UCSB.   CSUN is now 2-1 in Big West Conference play and 11-14 overall.  Live coverage of the Matadors game on Tuesday against the UNLV Rebels will be available here on the Matador Score.

3:29

The Gauchos are sending in Clayton Edwards in relief of starting pitcher Mike Ford.  Justin DeMarco is at bat trying to take two of three games from UCSB.

3:28

Jason Dabbs is on first base safely after walking.  The Matadors now have runners on first and second base with no outs in the bottom of the ninth as this game is still tied at 2-2.  TS Reed is up to bat.

3:24

Leading off for CSUN Todd Eskelin has dropped down a double to put himself into scoring position with no outs.  Jason Dabbs is now at the plate attempting to win this game for the Matadors.

3:21

Cavan has gone down swinging as the Matadors will attempt to win this game in the bottom of the ninth inning.  The score is tied at 2-2 and Todd Eskelin is up to bat.

3:19

Brian Slover continues to cruise here in the ninth inning as he has retired two batters and currently has Ryan Cavan at one ball and two strikes.

3:11

Dominic D’Anna is up to bat with Richard Cates on first base after Ryan Pineda flew out to give the Matadors one out in the bottom of the eighth.  The game is tied 2-2.

3:07

The Matadors have kept the gauchos at bay after turning another double play to bring this game into the bottom of the eighth inning with Richard Cates coming to bat.

3:04

After a Gaucho double, followed by a walk, UCSB has runners on first and second base with no outs here in the eighth inning.

3:01

Matadors Head Coach Steve Rousey has made another pitching change as Brian Slover is pitching for CSUN here in the top of the eighth.

2:53

P.J. Rousey has retired the side with two strikeouts as this game enters the seventh inning stretch tied at 2-2.

2:49

Sure enough Ryan McCarney’s day is over here as P.J. Rousey is entering this game in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out.  The game is still all tied up at 2-2.

2:47

Mullins has gone deep to tie this game back up at 2-2.  Gunnar Terhune is up to bat now and there is bullpen action for the Matadors as P.J. Rousey and Brian Slover are warming up.

2:45

After putting runners on the corners, Matador second baseman Jason Dabbs flew out to end the sixth inning and bring Gauchos catcher Marty Mullins to the plate in the top of the seventh inning.

2:34

The fielding errors don’t seem to be hindering the Matadors today as they have turned a double play to end the top of the sixth inning and go into the home half of the sixth with a 2-1 lead.

2:27

CSUN has gone down in order to end the fifth inning here at Matador Field as the score is still 2-1 in favor of the Matadors.

2:20

McCarney is keeping his strong outing going as the Gauchos reached base on one walk, but flew out on the next play to bring this game to the bottom of the fifth inning with TS Reed coming to bat.

2:15

Jason Dabbs has given the Matadors a 2-1 lead on an RBI double to left field.  Now at bat is Justin DeMarco.

2:14

Todd Eskelin kept his bat alive as he nailed a triple with two outs here in the bottom of the fourth to put himself in scoring position as Jason Dabbs is up to bat now.

2:07

The Gauchos left three men on base as Terhune hit a little pop-up to pitcher Ryan McCarney.  Going into the home half of the fourth inning Dominic D’Anna will be leading off for the Matadors.

2:06

Gunnar Terhune is up for the Gauchos with the bases loaded and two outs.  The score is still knotted up at 1-1 here in the top of the fourth inning.

2:04

The Gauchos have runners on first and second base but their are two outs here in the top of the fourth.

1:55

Pineda struck out to end the third inning.  Leading off for the Gauchos will be Shane Carlson.

1:54

CSUN is still up to bat here in the bottom of third inning with Ryan Pineda at the plate and C.J. Belanger at first base with two outs.

1:43

The Matadors have escaped the top of the third inning after McCarney was able to pick off two Gaucho base runners.  Leading off for the Matadors here in the bottom of the third inning is shortstop TS Reed.

1:39

CSUN pitcher Ryan MCCarney has given up a run off a hit from Gaucho designated hitter Eric Oliver to make this game 1-1.

1:35

The Gauchos have a man on first base and their team’s batting average leader Ryan Cavan coming to the plate with one out here in top of the third inning.

1:30

The game is going into the third inning as the Matadors scored one run on two hits in the bottom of the second inning.

1:29

The Matadors have put up the first run of the game as Jason Dabbs hit a sacrifice bunt to score Dominic D’Anna and make the game 1-0.

1:23

CSUN has put two runners on with no outs as Todd Eskelin is coming to bat here in the bottom of the second.

1:21

The Gauchos have gone down in order here in the top of the second inning.  Matadors first baseman Dominic D’Anna will lead off for CSUN as the score is 0-0.

1:16

On the mound for the Matadors today is Ryan McCarney who is 0-1 on the year with a 5.01 era.

1:16

The Matadors and the Gauchos are still scoreless after Ryan Pineda flew out to center field to end the first inning.

1:14

The game is in the bottom of the first inning and the score is still 0-0.  Richard Cates is up to bat with a man on second and one out.