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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1998)
lesday • April ] '^HA^ednesday • April 1, 1998 i The Battalion EH mm EH HE 'qLJJ | IGGIE ORTS IEFS Veteran McGuire provides steady senior leadership for youth Esters’ speed will carry A&M into future It I 2-incti closed-ceil foam linet open-cell cushion ling time from staff and wire reports Mesa notches round victory Texas A&M’s Rafael Mesa ad- d to the second round of the Oaks International tennis tour- ment Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-4 win er Wade Maguire at the River ks Country Club. k Mesa, a freshman from Key ^yne, Fla., is currently ranked 8 nationally by the Rolex Colie- Rankings, while Maguire, who its from Atlanta, Ga., is ranked No. L4 in the world by the ATP rankings. In the second round, de Mesa 1 face third-seeded Sargis jrgsian, who captured the NCAA ngles championship and Ail- nerican honors in 1995 while at izona State. Sargsian is ranked d|;74 in the world by the ATP Jes sweep Big player honors xas A&M’s Shuon Madden and ica Rebolledo have been ed the Big 12 Conference Ten- layers of the Week for the week ng March 29, the league office unced Tuesday. adden, a freshman from Mia- la. (Sunset High), is currently a 10-match winning streak and defeated as an Aggie. Madden built a Big 12 best 4-0 record at |3 singles for the No. 19-ranked es and holds a 10-0 overall rd in dual match play, ebolledo, a senior from Lima, i, She is currently 9-0 in league 8jy. The Aggies’ leading singles win ery with a 21-4 overall record, Re- » do has tallied a 16-3 record in match play. She is just two wins Mof tying the school record forca- ■ singles wins. She holds a 90-33 Eiffeer singles mark to rank No. 3 be- Nancy Dingwall and Lynn Staley. By Robert Hollier Staff writer On a good team, there are the players who put up the great num bers and lead the team in many sta tistical categories. Then there are the players who make the sacrifices and do all the little things necessary that go unnoticed to help the team win. This describes the role of Texas A&M senior catcher and co-captain Marianne McGuire. Playing in arguably the most phys ically demanding position on the di amond, McGuire said she would not want to play any other position. “I love being a catcher because I love being in control,” McGuire said. “As a catcher, you’re a part of every play, and you get to take charge on the field.” Freshman pitcher Kristina Gan- dara said working with McGuire has been a great learning experience. "I feel very comfortable when I’m pitching and she’s behind the plate,” Gandara said. “She knows all of the pitchers so well even though we’re all so different and have different styles.” “She also calls a great game,” Gandara added. “When we get into trouble, she helps keep our confi dence up and keeps us motivated.” Freshman pitcher Amy Vining agreed adding that McGuire has taught her and the other young pitchers how to do ® 5 deal with certain situations that occur during a game. “She’s helped me so much in so many dif ferent ways,” Vining || said. “She tells me how to deal with all kinds of problems that happen when I’m pitching. She tells us we can do it. She is such a big leader on the team.” McGuire said being a team leader is something she enjoys, and she loves the responsibility. “I love having people look up to me when they need help,” she said. “I hold that responsibility very im portant to me, and I’m always hon ored when a teammate asks for my help. I love to talk and help people.” With that kind of attitude to wards speaking out, McGuire cer tainly has chosen the right career goal when she graduates. “After I graduate, I really want to become a motivation al speaker,” McGuire said. “I re ally love to talk in front of groups, even though sometimes I can be the biggest cornball.” Although McGuire has no plans to coach softball after she grad uates, she said she loves the game and wishes it was not her last year to play. Please see McGuire on Page 8. By Philip W. Peter Staff writer In softball, a team cannot gen erate runs if it does not get runners into scoring position. So when Texas A&M Coach Jo Evans looks out of the dugout and sees outfielder Tiffany Esters on first base, Evans knows that when the pitch is on its way to the catcher, Esters will attempt to “I always feel like she can get a steal on any catcher. A&M embarrasses UTSA, 18-4 By Travis Harsch Staff writer Texas A&M was out for revenge. The UT-San Antonio Roadrunners were out of luck. The Aggies made up for a 3-1 loss on St. Patrick's Day in San An tonio by turning three big innings into a 18-4 win that was called on the mercy rule after seven innings at Olsen Field. “They embarrassed us when we were over there in San Antonio, and we came out wanting to beat them really badly today,” A&M shortstop Steve Scarborough said. A&M won its sixth straight game by getting 19 hits and three home runs. “ It was a good offensive day for us, and we really needed one of those,” A&M coach Mark Johnson said. A&M got an early start as Steve Scarborough hit a pitch well over the left field fence to give A&M a 1 - 0 lead in the first inning. “He gave me a good pitch to hit and I hit it,” Scarborough said. “I guess I’m get ting in a groove.” A Roadrun- ner error, wild pitch and passed ball helped out the A&M cause in the second, as the Aggies sent eight men to the plate and scored four runs on three hits. Jeff Juarez literally got the Road- runners on the board in the third with a shot that bounced off the scoreboard in left-centerfield to make the score 5-2. The score didn’t stay that way for long, though, as Pat Malone hit a two-run homer. A&M then got four Johnson extra runs on four more hits to make the score 11 -2. A Roadrunner homer in the top of the fourth cut the lead to 11-3. It would stay there until A&M scored seven runs in the fifth inning to make the score 18-3. The rally included a homer for John Scheschuk, marking the fifth straight game he has gone deep. In the top of the sixth, the Road- runners got an RBI single to make the score 18-4, as Courtney Weller took the mound in relief of Chance Caple. Caple went five innings and gave up three runs on six hits. Chris Ful- bright closed out the seventh and the game for A&M. The Aggies will take on Iowa State in Ames this weekend for a three-games series if weather per mits. The series will bd the home opener for the Cyclones whose games have been called off due to the weather. Jo Evans A&M Softball Coach steal second base. And, as has been the case 94 percent of the time this season, when the dust clears, A&M will have a runner in scoring position. Esters, a freshman from Burleson, Texas, leads A&M with 16 steals on 17 attempts, and Evans said, because of her technique, she is never afraid to send Esters stealing. “She’s a great base-stealer,” Evans said. “She gets a good jump and a good finish. She really slides well. I always feel like she can get a steal on any catcher, and we’ve been real aggressive. We send her every time.” But Esters said she does not concentrate on getting steals be cause she has confidence in her teammates. “I’ve never really stolen a lot of bases,” Esters said, “but Coach (Evans) has given me a lot of chances, and I’ve just been able to take advantage of it when she gives me the steal sign. 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Web site: www.dcccd.edu know that when I don’t steal though, whoever is up behind me is going to move me around anyway.” As a catcher, A&M senior Mary McGuire, who played under-18 summer softball with Esters, is more impressed with her work eth ic than her speed. “When I was playing with her, she was kind of scared of the ball,” McGuire said. “Now, what can I say? She’s leading the team in almost every category. She’s the most ag gressive, all-out, go-hard-all-the- time player we have. She always goes full-force after the ball.” Senior outfielder Tanya Klecker also said that Esters work ethic IS her defining characteristic. “She works really, really hard,” Klecker said. “When you tell her something she has done wrong, she tries to do it better, and she is a quick learner. She really tries hard. She just has so much heart.” What Esters has had to learn this season is not only how to adjust to a new school in a new town with new teammates but how to adjust to a new position as well. “She came to us as an infielder,” Evans said. "Now she is playing in the outfield so she has a lot to learn. She needs to work on her fundamentals, but she brings raw talent. She’s got a lot of power packed in a small frame.” Evans said Esters has been a welcome addition to the team, and when she is play ing aggressively and with confidence, the team has a higher chance of post ing a win. “She’s a big part of our team,” Evans said. “When she gets her confidence up, she can really set the tone for our team. When she gets rolling, she definitely holds her own.” >• f