Grigsby is Doing Just Great

San Diego State pitcher/designated hitter Benjie Grigsby, a transfer from Lassen Community College, already is being called “The Great Grigsby” by the SDSU sports information department.

So far, the name fits.

He has done little wrong since becoming an Aztec. In 11 appearances, he is 5-0 with two saves and a 0.68 ERA. In 26 1/3 innings, he has struck out 46 batters and allowed only 12 hits and two earned runs. Opposing hitters are batting only .140 against him.

Dave Kuhn, SDSU baseball sports information director, said Grigsby’s feats have gotten the attention of professional scouts.

“They’re always asking about him, hoping he’ll come in and pitch,” Kuhn said. “As soon as he comes in, four or five radar guns come out.”

The guns have been clocking Grigsby between 82 and 86 m.p.h.

Grigsby hasn’t fared too badly at the plate either. In 12 at-bats, he has reached base eight times--five on walks and three on base hits, two of them triples. Grigsby also has scored five runs and driven in one.

French connection: Last weekend’s University of San Diego men’s tennis tournament was sponsored by the same people who fund the French Open--Banque Nationale de Paris.

Is USD men’s tennis so desperate it has to go halfway around the world to get a sponsor?

Not really. Mike Reid, assistant coach, has a student whose father, Pablo Becker, is the regional vice president of BNP.

Becker got BNP to chip in $1,500 to pay for T-shirts, trophies for team and individual awards, balls and umpiring.

Until Becker came along, USD Coach Ed Collins never had a sponsor, nor did he solicit one.

“I went after one this year and everybody else said no,” Collins said.

Entry fees helped put on the event during its first five years. This year, the $1,000 in entry fees went directly into Collins’ travel expenses budget.

“That budget helps us compete on the national level,” Collins said.

By the way, USD won its tournament for the sixth straight year. However, for the sixth straight year, the Toreros beat an unranked team, Pacific, in the finals.

The numbers add up: It was only 10 months ago that SDSU’s Chris Numbers was lying on the ground unconscious at the Western Athletic Conference team tennis finals against New Mexico. While going for a shot, Numbers broke his kneecap sliding into a courtside bench support.

Numbers continued playing but blacked out a couple points later. SDSU had to forfeit the deciding doubles match. It cost the Aztecs an NCAA tournament berth.

But Numbers and the SDSU men’s team have recovered. SDSU is off to an 8-1 start. Numbers, a sophomore from Valhalla High, is 8-1 at No. 3 and No. 4 singles and 17-3 at No. 1 doubles with Jeff Belloli.

It took Numbers four months to recover from his broken kneecap. But SDSU Coach Hugh Bream said the comeback is not just of the physical variety.

“Chris was known for losing his poise on the court last year,” Bream said. “He was wanting to win so badly he couldn’t control himself. I think it’s a problem with most juniors. But Chris has gained a lot of mental toughness and composure this year. He’s playing the best tennis I’ve ever seen him play.”

Another comeback: Point Loma Nazarene tennis player Kim Wright can identify with Numbers. She also suffered a knee injury during a match last year.

Wright, a senior from Coto de Caza, was on the way to being 4-0 as PLNC’s No. 1 singles player when her knee gave out. As Wright charged the net, her opponent from Cal State Long Beach hit a ball at her. When Wright tried to avoid the ball, her knee collapsed.

“It was pretty gruesome, but she didn’t black out,” PLNC Coach Rich Hills said.

After undergoing extensive rehabilitation, Wright has come back to post a 7-2 record at No. 3 singles this season. But Hills said Wright is not all the way back yet.

“Physically she’s close, but mentally she’s not quite there,” he said.