her A Texas A&M The Battalion Sports September 10, 1982/Page 11 * for y a-m. attif faille ^Meei; J 'nmenv NFL rookies SHIN ■ Staff, vj ;r. Baldwin, Whitwell secure spots with Cleveland by Frank L. Christlieb JK Sports Editor I^helfl when Keith Baldwin pulled a dubacf,hamstring during the first day ‘ of the Cleveland Browns’ train ing camp, he could have lost all , ' artLi confidence about his chances of 0at making the squad. But not Baldwin. Although the injury slowed him slightly, the former Texas A&M defen- frad s . siveend didn’t break stride in his irsccah, efforts to elude the most terrify ing event in the life of an NFL „ rookie — the dreaded final cut. 'ark ft BrOwns, along with 27 x'smr Other professional teams, re leased their last batch of players e,a aui —rookies as well as veterans — 1 Monday and Tuesday. But Baldwin’s bid to escape being sliced from the Browns’ roster was successful. In addition, teammate Mike S^hitwell, the Aggies’ all-time leader in receiving yardage with 1,372 yards in four seasons, made the Cleveland squad. | ere( j Although many people had Former A&M receiver Mike Whitwell playing for Browns doubts about Whitwell’s chances of-making the team, he man aged to squeeze in as the No. 3 wide receiver behind Dave Logan and Danny Fulton. Baldwin, who at 6-4, 255 jicidc v >m ther [ion at I their r, Do ■ was ‘ the safi pounds has gained about 10 pounds since the 1981 Aggie season, has found college and professional football to be jerseys of a different color. “It was a bigjump and it was a little difficult at first,” Baldwin said from Cleveland in a tele phone interview Thursday. “You have to think a lot more about what you’re doing, and you have to do a lot more study ing. You get used to doing so many things in college, but when you come into professional foot ball, it’s really different.” For starters, the Browns play a 3-4 defense, with three men on the defensive front and four linebackers. In contrast, Bald win spent four seasons under former Aggie coach Tom Wil son as part of a 4-3 alignment, in which he was one of four mem bers of the defensive line. “Now I’m starting to come around, and I’m getting com fortable with the team and the system,” Baldwin said. “Going in, I was pretty confident, but after a couple of days, it shook my confidence to see how tough it was. But then I started concen trating on doing my best at my position, and things got better.” Baldwin, who this week moved into a new apartment in central Cleveland, said Whitwell performed well during limited playing time. A member of the Browns’ front office said Whit- well’s entrance into professional football was enhanced by the re tirement of Reggie Rucker, one of the top receivers in the history of the Cleveland franchise. During the Browns’ 4-0 pre season schedule, Baldwin finished with six tackles, two assists and two fumble recover ies while playing behind starting right end Mike Robinson, a second-year man from Arizona. Whitwell, a 6-1, 175-pounder, caught the only pass thrown to him, a 22-yarder, but had five See ROOKIES page 13 Keith Baldwin (80), a former Texas A&M defensive end, has survived the final cuts that all NFL rookies dread, solidly entrenching himself as the No. 2 right defensive end for the Cleveland Browns. Former Aggie wide receiver Mike Whitwell, drafted a few rounds after Baldwin, also qualified for the squad after leading Texas A&M in pass receptions during the 1981 season. NCAA title Brock’s goal during 1982-83 season ‘lective Everson d nail f r. us sat ii md said if his i other vougivi what?" the susji iveeks aj» rging cf» ne but > ro when the char lice C io camt panythe da, said as motiw or Ste| homoses -d inforr lice find ortedly! in them ? three w iv com® tes andii n a ringt! uals. rested ti ■ig polict victim's t >a police! ise it is ostitutes id and 1 Sunda' apartiw order s i ler sp en sera*' d. illers ait| Applet an ice-id face. by John Wagner Battalion Staff The Aggie softball team, win ter of the AIAW national tro- thy early in the summer, will tttempt to win another crown his season — this time under he NCAA banner. And at this aoint, it appears that inexperi ence in the infield might be the :eam’s only weak point. ■ Coach Bob Brock lost five players from last year’s squad, and the key to success this year will be the play of several fresh men. This year, however, the Aggies will compete as a mem ber of the NCAA, due to the dissolution of the AIAW. Cindy Cooper and Mary Schwind will get their first test as members of the Aggie infield when the host team takes the field Friday in the first game of the Aggie Invitational. Cooper will start at third base, while Schwind replaces the graduated Shannon Murray as the starter at first base. But the strengths of Brock’s team far outnumber the weak nesses. Brock will rely mainly on pitching this season — pitching that has always come through in the past. His pitching staff, anchored by two-time all-America Lori Stoll and 1982 Texas A&M Play er of the Year Shan McDonald, is easily one of the best in the nation. Both Stoll and McDonald played on national teams this summer. Stoll, a left-hander, pitched for the U.S. women’s na- CLASS OF ’84 PRESENTS: B.M.O.C: AUCTION TE&A5 agGics TUES. SEPT. *4 RUDDER FTN. 2:30-4:00 All proceeds go to the United Way L00K for your favorite thlete °r Student Leader! Big Man on Campus tional team and McDonald for the Canadian national team. And if those two strengths aren’t enough, freshman Dar lene Lowery, from Largo, Fla., will be able to bolster a staff that rarely needs bolstering. Stoll and McDonald pitched in 82 of the Aggies’ 93 games during both the fall and spring seasons. Stoll Finished the year 34-6 with an ERA of .296. McDonald was 35-3 with an ERA of 0.31. The Aggies are led offensive ly by senior Carrie Austgen, junior Patti Holthaus, and soph omores Josie Carter and Gay McNutt. Austgen, Holthaus and McNutt were all-region players last year. Carter led the Aggies with a .331 average and 72 RBI. Texas A&M has a full fall schedule this year, with games against Baylor, Louisiana Tech, Sam Houston, and the Universi ty of Texas at Arlington. They will also play in two tournaments this fall — the UTA Invitational and the All College Classic in Okla. City, Okla. Last year the Aggies were 36- 3 in the fall and 48-6 during the spring for a combined record of 84-9 — good for the champion ship in the AIAW Women’s Col lege World Series. The Aggie Invitational is a four-team double round robin tournament with a single elimi nation playoff. Besides Texas A&M, Baylor, Sam Houston State and Texas Tech will parti cipate in the two-day event. The tournament, as well as the Aggies’ home games, will be played at Travis Park in Bryan. Texas A&M opened the tourna ment at 10 this morning against Texas Tech, while Sam Houston played Baylor. Every team will play five games today, with the last game beginning at 8:30 p.m. Each team will play three games Saturday, with the champion ship and consolation games scheduled for 5:30 Saturday evening. The Aggies’ next competition will be a double-header against Baylor in Waco Monday. 1 Aggie softball pitcher Lor Stoll ready for ’82 seasor m MOONLIGHT Mimss Saturday Sept. 11 OPEN FROM 8:00 A.M. TO 8:00 P.M. Prices slashed on most Bakery items RAIN DO Thrift Store 2814 CAVITT 822-5178 ✓ y/ y/ SPEEDWAGbN\ TOTO ✓ 6.49 LP/6.99 Tope On sale through. September 15 G®* back to school savings on these and the latest from Toto, Judas Priest and Stanley Clarke each for $6.49 album and $6.99 tape. Plus get the latest from the Producers and Men at Work each for $5.99 album and $6.49 tape Record Bar RECORDS, TAPES & A LITTLE BIT MORE Post Oak Mall ✓ ✓