Lead Weight in Stomach May Negate Fish Record

A lead weight found in the stomach of a largemouth bass hooked in Miramar reservoir might keep the fish and the woman who caught it out of the record books.

Sandy DeFresco, who caught the 21-pound 10-ounce bass March 14, recently gave the fish to taxidermist Jamie Lyons to prepare for display.

Lyons opened the fish Friday and found a 2-pound 8 3/4-ounce lead weight in its stomach.

If the lead weight is discounted, the weight of DeFresco’s catch would be 19-1, big for a bass, but less than the state-record catch of 21 pounds 3 1/5 ounces caught by Ray Easley of Fullerton at Lake Casitas in 1980.

State Department of Fish and Game biologist Larry Bottroff said if the weight was ingested by the fish, it still might qualify as a state record. Whether the fish qualifies will be determined by the Fish and Game Department after consultations with Bottroff. No timetable was set for the finding.

Bottroff said it was unlikely that anyone slid the weight down the fish’s throat, and DeFresco said, “I can’t explain the lead weight.”

BASEBALL

San Diego State scored nine runs in the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday night to beat Brigham Young, 14-10, in the first game of a Western Athletic Conference doubleheader at SDSU. The second game was late Saturday night.

The Aztecs (18-12-1, 1-2) sent 10 men to the plate in the seventh. Steve Montejano led off the inning with a single and finished it with a grand slam.

UC San Diego produced 27 runs and 28 hits in two victories that covered 14 innings. UCSD beat Occidental, 6-2, in the first game, and defeated the Masters College, 21-3, in the second at UCSD. The game was called after Masters batted in the fifth because of an NCAA rule that stops the game when a team leads by more then 12 runs after five innings.

U.S. International University rallied for five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Iowa, 8-7, in the second game of a doubleheader at Players’ Field. Iowa won the first game, 6-2. USIU is 12-20-1, Iowa 6-7.

Point Loma Nazarene College dropped both games of a doubleheader to Christ College in Irvine. The Pointers generated just four hits in losing the first game, 16-1. In the second, Point Loma committed 10 errors in an 11-8 loss. Point Loma is 7-20.

VOLLEYBALL

The San Diego-based U.S. women’s Olympic team defeated Cuba, 11-15, 15-12, 15-13, 8-15, 15-11, in Montreal to win the Canada Cup championship.

Setter Laurel Kessel, a 34-year-old veteran who attended Crawford High School, was named the tournament’s most valuable player, and 18-year-old U.S. outside hitter Keba Phipps made the all-tournament team.

TENNIS

Dave Stewart and Chris Smith each won two matches as the University of San Diego defeated Auburn, 5-4, in the Blue-Gray national collegiate tournament in Montgomery, Ala.