CARY - Even after finishing a practice with temperatures hovering near 100 degrees Friday afternoon, Dave Sappelt says he’s not sweating any more.
“A lot of pressure is off my back,” Sappelt said, referring to his selection by the Cincinnati Reds in the ninth round of baseball’s amateur draft.
Sappelt, an outfielder for Coastal Carolina, will play in today’s series opener in the best-of-3 NCAA super regional against North Carolina at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.
He was one of two former Southern Alamance High School players drafted Friday, joining Chris Dove of Elon University (26th round).
Because of the high draft position, Sappelt, 21, said he expects to forego his senior season and join the Reds - sometime in the next few weeks, depending on how long the Chanticleers’ season lasts. He was picked with the 269th pick overall.
Sappelt said he sensed the Reds were watching him closely since a three-game series in early May at Georgia Tech. “I thought they’d be a player,” Sappelt said.
Sappelt has been an exceptional player at Coastal Carolina. He was named Big South Conference Player of the Year in 2007 and followed that with another strong year. This season, he’s batting .355 with 18 home runs, 24 doubles and 67 RBI in 62 games.
“You have a good season, you’ll get rewarded,” Sappelt said. “It panned out.”
Coming out of high school, Sappelt was on some draft radars but was undrafted. By landing in the top 10 rounds this week, it more than made up for that, he said.
Coastal Carolina assistant coach Brendan Dougherty, a former Elon University assistant, said Sappelt became a hard worker on the team.
“Going to Coastal, it was a great fit for him,” Dougherty said. “He’s grown a lot as a baseball player and as a person.”

thetimesnews.com

UNC-Pembroke will start today at 2 p.m. at the Belk Athletic Complex and continue until 2 p.m. Saturday. The relay supports cancer research. Call (910) 521-3406.
“OLIVER!”: The Lu Mil Vineyard in
Dublin hosts the 7 p.m. performance. The play is a production of the North Carolina Children’s Theatre and Jaenicke Productions. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for children under 12. Call (910) 866-5819 or visit www.lumilvineyard.com
TARHEEL FLY-FISHING FILM FESTIVAL: The March of Dimes fundraiser of fly films and fellowship will be at the
Cameo Art House Theatre. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the show starts at 6. Tickets are $15 at the door. Call 323-5310 or go to www.flytieathon.com.
EXHIBIT: The 19th Annual Sandhills Community College Art Students Exhibit opening and reception will be from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the Hastings Gallery in the Katherine L. Boyd Library at Sandhills Community College in
Southern Pines. The exhibit runs through May 5.
LIVE MUSIC: National acts The Dreaming plays tonight at
Jesters Pub. Mushroom Head plays Saturday. For list of other bands, go to www.jesterspub.com.
NITRO JAM SPRING NATIONALS: The races are at the Rockingham Dragway in
Rockingham through Sunday. Showtimes are 6:30 p.m. Friday and 2 and 6 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday. General admission is $35 today, $40 on Saturday and $35 Sunday. Junior general admission for ages 6 to 12 is $5 for all three days. A three-day pass is $85 for adults and $15 for junior admission. Go to www.ihra.com.
BLUEGRASS: Rhonda Vincent and Grammy nominee Audie Blaylock will be among performers in
Salemburg at the 6th Annual Laurel Lakes Bluegrass Festival from today through Sunday. A three-day pass is $45 at the door or $30 in advance. Daily prices range from $8 to $20. Admission is free for ages 16 and under when accompanied by an adult. Call (919) 422-8413 or go to www.jam-n-bluegrass.com.

fayobserver.com

Posted on: Monday, 14 April 2008, 21:00 CDT
CHICAGO _ The campus of St. Xavier University was like a well-guarded ghost town Monday, its classrooms empty, its dormitories shuttered and its every entrance patrolled by school security officers and Chicago police.
That quiet watchfulness spread to neighboring schools as well, as four high schools and elementary schools located adjacent to St. Xavier’s campus on Chicago’s South Side also called off classes, responding to graffiti threats of violence found last week in a university residence hall.
Following St. Xavier’s lead, four schools adjacent to the university _ Mother McAuley and Brother Rice high schools, Queen of Martyrs and Southwest elementary schools _ closed for the day Monday.
As St. Xavier’s students found alternate housing and wondered when classes would resume, the university’s decision ignited a debate among campus security experts over whether such a drastic measure was justified by anonymous scrawls in a bathroom stall.
At issue is the balance between keeping students safe in the wake of recent campus shootings in Illinois and Virginia, and over-reacting to threats that are often non-specific and untraceable.
Acknowledging that the St. Xavier decision is hard to judge without more details of the school’s deliberations, some experts said closing a campus risks creating more problems down the road. Others, however, said that erring on the side of safety should be the new standard.
Scott Poland, crisis coordinator for Nova Southeastern University in South Florida, says that closing a school should be the last resort. He advocated instead increased security, meetings to put students on alert and ongoing threat assessments.
“We shouldn’t close schools every time there is a threat of violence,” he said. “In fact, in most instances _ say of a bomb threat or something _ you deal with the issue but then return to the operation of the school.”

redorbit.com