Page 14 THE BATTALION THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1981 Flores is Third man’ By RICHARD OLIVER Sports Editor David Flores is a confident player. He is the “third man” of a Texas A&M starting pitching rotation which includes 1980 SWC Newcomer of the Year Robert Slavens and Rick Luecken. The three pitchers combined for 24 wins last season in the Aggies’ Cinderella drive for second place, but most of the glory and attention went to Slavens, 11-1, and Luecken, 9- 5, the freshman pair from Houston. Behind the shadow of those two, Flores awaits his chance this season to prove he can do as good a job. “After playing one year, I think it’s enough to see who your competition is,” he said. “You can pretty much make up your mind whether you can pitch in this league or not. This year, I’ve got a lot more confi dence than last year.” Last year was a trying experi ence for the slender sophomore from Corpus Christi. He began the year playing occasionally at first base and as a spot starter. He was hit hard early in the sea son, but as the schedule prog ressed, his worth became appa rent to Head Aggie Coach Tom Chandler, who soon had Flores tagged as one of his three “fresh men wonders.” The right-hander finished the year 4-2 with one save, over coming his early ragged per formances to finish strongly, winning a key game to start a series against Houston in Hous ton. He also pitched well against the top-ranked Univer sity of Miami Hurricanes, tak ing a 1-0 lead into the last inning at packed Olsen Field before tiring and giving up four runs. David Flores As the season reached the fin al crucial stages, Flores became the most consistent Aggie hurler. Over the summer, he stayed in Bryan and played for the Bryan Bombers, a team largely made up of several current and past Texas A&M players. “I started playing first base,” said Flores, who was a star pitcher and infielder at Carroll High School. “But by the time tournaments rolled around I was pitching.” Flores got his pitching spot largely due to the fact former Texas A&M star Kyle Hawth orne arrived as the new first baseman. But the Bombers soon learned the mound was where Flores belonged. After Bryan swept through the regional tournament at Olsen Field, Flores led the team to an 8-0 shutout of Lubbock in the state tournament in Lubbock on a two-hitter. The Bombers also knocked off favorite Houston Lone Star in the double elimi nation tournament before bow ing out. The Lubbock team was so im pressed with Flores’ efforts they picked him up to play as they advanced to the nationals. “We went to the national tournament in Kansas, ” he said. “It was something; I got to go and play against all the guys who are unique and considered to be the best in the nation.” At the nationals, Lubbock managed to defeat the top- ranked team, Fairbanks (Alaska). Despite the fact Flores said the competition the Bombers faced didn’t give him that much experience, he met Clint Tho mas, the pitching coach of the Texas Longhorns, who also played with Bryan. “I was sort of uneasy on the mound,’’ said Flores. “He helped me a lot. I was lucky to get to know him.” Under Thomas’ guidance, Flores worked on a slider and change-up, learning primarily to control those pitches. “My problems this summer were mainly getting a couple of those other pitches that I could get over the plate ... other than the fastball. He made me more of a pitcher.” After one year of experience and a summer of maturity, Flores said he feels he’s ready to help the Aggies. “We’re not going to peak ear ly this year,” he said. “It’s going to take awhile until everyone plays as a team. We should be better by the time the tourna ment rolls around. “We have no one or two guys who can really bang the ball like we did in the past, but we have speed.” Chandler has no plans to use Flores’ talents as a hitter or a first baseman, rather he has de cided to go with him solely on the mound. “If he decides you’re good enough to play something, then that’s what you’re going to play,” said Flores. “It’s not bad pitching like that. Then you get to sit on the bench for three days and watch a little baseball.” Houston, Arkansas clinch semifinal tourney berths United Press International It wasn’t exactly a masterpiece, but the Arkansas Razorbacks will gladly hang it in their museum. The 16th-ranked Razorbacks went out and put together what can only be described as a workman like performance against the slowdown-minded SMU Mustangs Tuesday night, picked up a 47-33 victor^ and won the undisputed championship of the Southwest Conference. Arkansas has won or shared the SWC title four of the last five years and coach Eddie Sutton had reason to be especially pleased about this one. “I’m very proud of our team,” he said. “Every championship is special; but this team showed a lot of courage to come back from 2-3 in the conference. I think very few clubs could have done that.” In winning their 10th game in a row the Razor- backs also wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the SWC post-season tournament while the Houston Cougars, breaking a three-game losing streak with a 63-55 win over Rice, annexed the No. 2 seed. Even though Houston and Baylor could wind up tied for second place in the league’s final standings, the Cougars own a tiebreak advantage over the Bears. So Houston and Arkansas are assured of not having to play until the semifinals of the tournament in San Antonio March 6. Nothing else is quite so certain, however. Texas A&M’s thrilling 59-57 victory over TCU and Texas’ 65-54 whipping of Texas Tech left a wholesale number of possibilities open for the opening round of the tourney next Monday night. Texas Tech is assured of a home-court advantage for the first round, but Rice, Texas A&M, TCU and Texas are all fighting for the remaining two home- court edges. In Fayetteville, SMU — determined not to have a repeat of the 92-50 loss it suffered against Arkansas earlier this year — opted for a patient game. And even though the Mustangs trailed by 10 early in the second half they held the ball for three minutes before taking the shot. “The stall was the only chance we had,” said SMU coach Dave Bliss. “I apologize to the fans who don’t like that kind of basketball, but our fans didn’t like the game at Dallas, either.” Texas A&M let a nine-point lead slip away in the second half and it took a blocked shot by Rynn Wright with seven seconds to go and a missed shot at the buzzer by TCU’s Cuney Luke to preserve the Aggies’ victory in Fort Worth. I SPRING ELECTIONS Filing opens March 3 9am-5pm Room 216A of the MSC Filing closes March 9 at 5:30pm Positions open: Student Body President Student Government Vice-Presidents Resident Hall Association Officers Off Campus Aggies Officers Graduate Student Council Yell Leaders Class Council Officers All Student Senator Positions for more information Call 845-3051 studknt OOVKKNMKNT TANK MCNAMARA by Jeff Millar & Bill Hinds Rockets on a streak, beat Pacers, 101-100 United Press International HOUSTON — Allen Leavell’s 14 fourth quarter points led the Houston Rockets to a 101-100 victory over the Indiana Pacers Wednes day, extending Houston’s unbeaten string to four and putting them into playoff contention. The win put the Rockets in sixth place in the Western Conference and if they continue to win they’ll be assured a playoff berth. The Pacers led by as many as nine points midway in the second period but the Rockets put on a 12-0 spurt to get back in the game. The teams were tied 45-45 at halftime. Indiana led 76-72 entering the fourth period, but Houston went on another spurt, this time with 10 straight points, to capture an 84-78 lead with seven minutes left. Leavell scored three baskets and added one assist during that spurt. The lead changed hands four times in the final minute of play. Bobby Joe Reid’s two free throws with five seconds remaining put the game away. But the game wasn’t assured until a desperation jump shot by Pacer George McGuiness fell short. Leading scorers for the Pacers were James Edwards with 25 and McGuiness with 19. Reid and Calvin Murphy led Houston with 18 each. Leavell had 14, all in the fourth quarter. TENDER LOVING CARE! FOR YOUR THESIS OR DISSERTATION OF A LIFETIME. 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