Olympian at Driller Park

KIP HARKRIDER During his offseason, Carthage native Kip Harkrider had a hard time making a decision.

His choices: sign with the closer-tohome Shreveport Sports, or sign with the Fort Worth Cats.

"They were both good situations," said Harkrider earlier this week. "I was glad to talk to both of them."

The former U.S. Olympian eventually signed with Fort Worth. And as it turned out, he's going to see plenty of the Sports, too.

The first time the two American Association of Independent Baseball South Division rivals will meet will be right here at Driller Park in an exhibition game this Wednesday, a rare professional baseball night at the old ballpark.

Game time is 6 p.m.

Harkrider will get a little home cooking while he's here. His older brother Tim is the head coach of the Kilgore High School Bulldogs, about to wrap up their third consecutive district championship and begin the Class 4A playoffs.

The Kilgore Chamber of Commerce, which helped put the game together, will run promotions throughout the entire game. Alcoa and the Kilgore News Herald are also sponsors of the contest.

For Harkrider, it was important to get closer to home.

Kip Harkrider (left) with his brother Tim Harkrider at Driller Park. The Cats and Sports play Wednesday. The former University of Texas standout played 54 games last season for the Edinburg Roadrunners, and road-running was exactly what he did. He was at a crossroads in his career when both Fort Worth and Shreveport rang his phone.

"It would have been hard to go wrong (signing with either)," he laughed. "But it sure was good to get back to East Texas."

He said it will be fun playing at Driller Park once again.

"When I was in high school (at Carthage), we were in the district with Kilgore," he recalled. "We used to get to play here once a year. It's quite a place. The people here should be really proud of it."

Harkrider is typically a shortstop, but will likely play second this year with Fort Worth. He batted .347 last year with three home runs and 29 RBI. He was named the Central Baseball League's player of the month in July 2005 - he hit .402 and 15 RBI that month. He also had an 18-game winning streak from July 4-27.

The younger Harkrider (he's 30) was drafted in the fifth round of the 1997 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He's played for various teams since then, including the San Antonio Missions, a AA team.

He had quite a summer in 1996, when he was able to represent the nation in the Olympics in Atlanta. Harkrider was a part of that U.S. team that also included Travis Lee, Troy Glaus, and R.A. Dickey.

At UT, the former Carthage Bulldog was a three-time All-Conference player at shortstop, and named most valuable player of the Southwest Conference in 1996. He was also named an All-American that year.

When the Cats and the Sports meet here this week, Harkrider's counterpart - the Sports' second baseman - will also be familiar with Driller. Brandon Hagood attended elementary and middle school in Kilgore, and played in the Kilgore Boys Baseball Association. His parents, Galin and Galene Hagood, still live here.

"It'll be a good

time," Harkrider said. "We hope to have a big turnout."

The exhibition here will be a preview of the season opener between the teams (on May 11).

Tickets for the game are $4 in advance, and can be purchased at the chamber offices (on Kilgore Street) or at any bank in town. Tickets at the gate will be $5, and children 12 and under will be admitted free. Any KBBA player wearing a uniform will also be admitted free.

Kilgore's Lana Phillips will sing the national anthem, and various other activities planned between innings included a dot race, a dizzy bat race, a uniform race, a mascot race, a rubber chicken race, a water balloon race and even a rendition of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch.

Other sponsors for the event include Patterson Motors, New Generation Farms, Kimray, Express Personnel, Cudd Pressure, Kilgore Ford, Wilbur Yates, Citizens Bank, Oil Masters/ Rig Masters, General Dynamics/ Vertex, and Guaranty Bank.