ANKIEL starts for OKC

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- Rick Ankiel pitched to minor league hitters the same way he did to big league batters. <br><br>Ankiel walked six and threw eight pitches to the backstop in three-plus innings last

Wednesday, May 16th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- Rick Ankiel pitched to minor league hitters the same way he did to big league batters.

Ankiel walked six and threw eight pitches to the backstop in three-plus innings last night in his first start for Triple-A Memphis.

The Redbirds were in town to play the Oklahoma RedHawks.

Ankiel was demoted last week to Memphis to regain his control. He struck out three and threw four wild pitches, while allowing three runs and two hits.

He was taken out after walking the first two batters in the fourth inning.

Eight of his nine pitches in the inning were balls, including two to the screen. He wound up throwing 67 pitches, only 28 for strikes.