THE BATTALION Page 15
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1981 9
New kids 'will be the key to Ags’SWC title hopes
Handy fit
"Peteini
son Sqm,
on
week and
ir weeks,
Texas A&M baseball coach Tom Chandler,
ft, congratulates pitcher Rick Luecken after
a victory last season. Luecken and the Aggies
returned to the field last week to begin spring
Photo by Pat O'Malley
workouts before opening the season Feb. 27
against Northeast Louisiana at Pat Olsen
Field.
louston crushes Mavs by 48
United Press International
HOUSTON — Moses Malone and
Willoughby each scored 21
iints and the Houston Rockets held
c 1979se* P Dallas Mavericks to the lowest
lie sameb N totals of the season enroute to a
aid Wcdi^H win Wednesday night,
orrectap The Mavericks’ 68 points eclipsed
ent Tltf* e ' r previous season low of 73
ablv-suslii a ' nst Philadelphia while their
waiffill dht-point output in -the third quar-
he spokes rwas a l so a season low in the NBA.
etroithad previously held Dallas to
»e points in a quarter.
Malone’s 13 points in the third
•purs stage
quarter keyed a 38-8 outburst by the
Rockets as they blew the game wide
open, taking an 88-47 lead into the
fourth quarter.
Willoughby, acquired Nov. 28,
from Cleveland, had 12 first half
points and added nine more during
the Rockets third quarter explosion
for a season-high 21 points.
Rudy Tomjanovieh had 16 points,
Calvin Murphy added 15 and Robert
Reid scored 14 for Houston, which
remained in second place in the
Western Conference’s Midwest Di
vision. They are now 26-29 on the
year.
•s!
jr advsne^
be berf
int piW
7:30 PM
844
r
even-minute
ally for win
United Press International
DENVER — George Gervin hit a
■foot jump shot with 25 seconds to
ay and then added two clinching
% throws with seven seconds left
the San Antonio Spurs rallied in
*final quarter for a 135-132 victory
w Denver Wednesday.
Gervin ended with 37 points. The
uggetsled 122-113 with seven mi-
( -te left, but San Antonio went
ead 125-124 with 4:37 to go and
dead seesawed after that.
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MSC TOWN HALL Presents:
BeAVMaNiA
Monday, Feb. 16, 1981
Rudder Auditorium
7:00 p.m.
Ticket Prices:
Zone 1 $9.75
Zone 2 $9.00
Zone 3 $8.25
By RICHARD OLIVER
Sports Editor
Rain may fall and winter may still
linger in these here parts, but a taste
of sunshine and summer can still be
found on the Texas A&M campus.
Across the railroad tracks at Pat
Olsen Field, the participants of Sum
mer’s Game are waking up from their
hibernation, and none too soon.
The Game of course is baseball,
and the Texas A&M Aggies began
practicing last week for the 1981 sea
son, which begins Feb. 27.
The season brings new faces and
new hopes, and for Head Aggie
Coach Tom Chandler, his 24th sea
son coaching the Aggies may be one
to remember.
Last spring, he watched as his
young “Freshman Wonders’’ —
Robert Slavens, David Flores and
Rick Luecken — racked up over 25
wins between them in the 52 games
played as the Aggies surprised many
while exceeding preseason expecta
tions. Texas A&M finished the 1980
season 36-10, only one-half game be
hind the Texas Longhorns.
In the rain-plagued SWC post
season tournament held in College
Station in May, however, the bubble
collapsed and the Aggies dropped
two straight games to Arkansas, 19-
10, and Texas Tech, 6-4.
Texas went on to take that cham
pionship.
Despite the loss of team leader
Twig Little and fellow Aggies Randy
WoodrulF, Simon Glenn, Mike Hur
dle and Harry Francis, the 1981 sea
son is full of promise.
Little and Francis were drafted by
the pros, and Woodruff, Glenn and
Hurdle were lost to graduation. Re
cruiting, though, may have turned
up some excellent replacements.
The infield of Woodruff, Francis
and Little provided the big plays
when needed last year, and those
shoes will be hard to fill. That trio
plus first baseman Rodney Hodde
came within one percentage point of
setting a SWC record in fielding per
centage last year.
“So far, so good,’’ said Chandler
Wednesday. “The weather has been
good thus far, so we’ve gotten a lot of
work in. We’ve worked on condition
ing, a batting program, and other
things. We ll have a little more speed
than in recent years, but we ll lack
the power that we’ve had.’’
At first base, Hodde’s perform
ance will play a large part in the Ags’
championship hopes. Last year he
ended the season in a miserable
slump before picking up a bit in the
post-season tournament. But a stint
in an Alaskan summer league has
helped him come back stronger, and
he will undoubtedly be the team
leader.
J.P. Bramhall, a late-season
catalyst for the Aggies, returns in left
field, and sophomore Joey Szekely
will once again be behind the plate
after a season of sharing the duties
with since-graduated Doug Teague.
Sophomore Bobby Beach, a con
sistent line drive hitter from Corpus
Christi, will most likely once again
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see action in the outfield and as de
signated hitter.
It is the returning experience on
the mound that will he the key to the
entire 1981 campaign for Texas
A&M.
Most of the pressure lies in the
hands of 6-8 sophomore Slavens,
who posted an amazing 11-0 record
last spring while allowing only 2.37
runs a game. The right-hander spent
the summer in the Central Illinois
Collegiate League, and worked on
his delivery and control. After a year
Billy Cannon
of experience, he may be one of the
finest pitchers in the SWC.
Also keying the mound staff will be
Leucken, who compiled a 9-3 ledger
last season and a mere 2.00 ERA, but
ended the season struggling a bit.
Flores was 5-3, but proved to be a
stopper when he was needed on the
mound, plus he added some depth at
first base by spelling Hodde occa
sionally.
“Our pitching has been impress
ive so far,” said Chandler. “Slavens,
Leucken and Flores will be back.
and Rerry Swanson’s arm is coming
along. ”
Swanson, a highly recruited junior
from Las Vegas, was red-shirted last
year because of arm troubles, and his
return may also be a factor.
“It’s all going to depend on how
our new kids come along,” Chandler
stressed.
Those “new kids” include Billy
Cannon Jr., Grant Priess, Terry
Lawrence and Clint Heard.
Cannon, who played tight end for
the 1980 Texas A&M football team,
will probably get the starting nod at
shortstop, although he and Brad
Hisle are scrapping for the job cur
rently.
Priess and Lawrence, both trans
fers from Blinn Junior College, will
also probably get starting nods when
the season begins against Northeast
Louisiana in a doubleheader Feb. 27
at Olsen Field.
Priess plays third base and Lawr
ence center field.
“I’m anxious to see what the kids
can do,” said Chandler. “I’m always
anxious for the season to start.”
The coach said he expects Arkan
sas and defending champion Texas to
scrap it out once again for the cham
pionship, with the Aggies silently
trying to recreate a Cinderella story
and fight for a berth in the post
season tournament at Texas’ Disch-
Faulk Field in May.
MSC Outdoor
Recreation
Seminar: Places To Go In Texas
Thursday, February 5
7:30 p.m. Rudder 510
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