h
sports
Softball
Aggies gunning for national championship
by John Wagner
Battalion Staff
“I think we’re headed in the
right direction.”
It may be a classic case of
understatement, but that’s as far
as Texas A&M women’s softball
coach Bob Brock will go in pre
dicting how his team will do
when the spring season begins
Tuesday.
The Aggies went 36-3 during
the fall season and won the
Texas state championship. Ev
ery member of that champion
ship team returns for the spring
season, so when Brock says his
team has the potential to go
farther than last year’s fourth-
place finish in the College World
Series, he’s not just whistling the
War Hymn.
“As long as our pitching stays
the way it is and we get our
breaks here and there, we’re
headed to where we want to be,
and that’s the regional cham
pionships and the national
championships,” Brock said.
The Aggies are anchored by a
pitching staff of Lisa Martinez,
Lori Stoll and Shan McDonald.
Combined, the three finished
the fall season with an ERA of
0.21 and gave up only 13 runs.
Five of those runs were un
earned.
Martinez was named TAIAW
Player of the Year last semester
after compiling a 13-0 record.
The freshman from Bethany,
Okla. had an ERA of 0.38, threw
two no-hitters and led the team
in strikeouts with 133.
Stoll was 10-2 on the season
with an ERA of 0.17 and McDo
nald was 13-1 with an ERA of
0.08.
Offensively, the Aggies were
led by Iva Jackson, who hit .355,
and Josie Carter, who batted
.312. Six players hit over .300,
and the Aggies had a team bat
ting average of .287.
The Aggies also stole 54 bases
in the fall. They were caught
only four times.
Melody Pritchard will be back
to give the Aggies depth in the
outfield, Brock said. The first-
year coach said Pritchard was in
eligible in the fall, and that her
return should help the Aggies
both offensively and defen
sively.
“We had a tremendous offen-
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sive season in RBI output last
semester, and I think Melody is
going to add more to that. We
also have four of the best outfiel
ders in the United States with
her coming back,” Brock said.
The Aggies are scheduled to
play some of the top teams in the
country, including defending
national champion Utah State
University. The University of
Minnesota and the University of
South Carolina are two of the
teams Brock is looking foward to
playing.
“The tougher the compete-
tion, the better you can get,” he
said.
“We’re going to get a good
chance to play a lot of these
teams before the regional and
national tournaments. Usually,
we just meet them in the nation
al tournament, but (this year)
we’re going to have a good shot
at playing them before we get
there.”
The Aggies open the season
Tuesday with a double-header
against the Baylor Bears at Tra
vis Field in Bryan. The first
game starts at 5:30 p.m. and the
second at 7. Brock said the
Aggies switched from Bee Creek
Park in College Station, where
they played last year, to Travis
Field because it is better suited to
fast-pitch softball.
“different spokes for
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but it remain
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jeir third 5
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A&M to host Northea
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Coach
Aggies, winm
Iffll SWC oi
the Rice Ow
'Cardinals in
The contest
of the c
by Frank L. Christlieb
Sports Editor
Texas A&M assistant baseball
coach Jim Sampson says the
Aggies’ double-neader sweep
Tuesday over St. Mary’s Univer
sity has shown that team may
have the offensive power it
needs for a successful year.
“One day doesn’t make a sea
son,” Sampson said Thursday,
“but we were pleased with our
showing with the bat. We felt
like we could be a pretty good
hitting ballclub before the
season.”
Texas A&M has a 2-0 record
after the double-header sweep,
as the Aggies won the first game
11-0 behind the two-hit pitching
of Rick Luecken. David Flores
won the second game 9-3.
The Aggies host Northeast
Louisiana University in double-
headers today at 1 and Saturday
at noon. Northeast Lousiana, a
member of the Trans-America
Conference, had a 33-22 record
in 1981.
In today’s double-header,
starting at 1 p.m., the Aggies’
Steve Davis and Robert Slavens
will start. Luecken and Flores
will pitch Saturday’s games,
which begin at noon.
Sampson said the Texas A&M
coaches were particularly
pleased with the play of third
baseman Grant Priess, who had
two w alks, a double, a single and
a home run in the Aggies’ vic
tories.
“We had high expectations
for Priess last year, but he never
really lived up to them,” Samp
son said. “He had a great day
he Texa:
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Grant
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Tuesday, and if he
to play at that level,
have a great year fo:|:
Priess ImidiedihcBncTex.
son with a .276averajMe champ
in -14 of the Aggies’®^-
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reaching base seven««_ Mark
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Leading Northed
will be second has#'
Anthony, who hit*™
33 RBI in 1981,anj*
Mike Reynolds,wh®®
had 12 homers and!
Northeast Louisb®
14 lettermenbud 11 "
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son said the Ar“' " l
facing a team
offense.
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“Northeast Lo^
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“They’re a pre lt )1
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problems. T%N ,
standing offense (
Northeast Lof
pitcher is K> r ^ '1 j
had a 4-1 record and*
last season.
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