Texas A&M
The Battalion Sports
February 15, 1983 Page 7
Clint Heard making
plays, not headlines
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by John P. Lopez
Battalion Staff
When Clint Heard takes the
field to play baseball, it doesn’t
matter if he’s playing second-
base on Olsen Field or on a sand-
lot park back home in El Campo.
Heard plays baseball to get good
and dirty, hit the hide off the
ball and generally have a great
time.
He doesn’t care about mak
ing headlines, he doesn’t care
about scraping an inch of skin
off his knee on a slide and he
doesn’t care about his shirt being
untucked. Heard has been play
ing baseball since he was six
[years old and still has the flair
[and excitement of a litlle-
j leaguer.
“It’s fun. I really have a good
time just going out there and
running around,” Heard said. “I
guess I’m sort of a cheerleader-
type because I get real excited,
but that’s because I like it so
much.”
Heard’s attitude toward base
ball has yielded him some im
pressive numbers both on the
field and at the plate. His batting
average at Texas A&M has con
sistently hovered in the .300
area and Heard’s defensive skills
have improved every year.
This summer, Heard’s tenac
ity on the field paid big di-
I vidends. He batted .391 in the
I Central Illinois League and was
second in the league in steals,
second in runs scored, fourth in
: hits and the Quincey, Illinois
I team Heard played on was first
in double plays.
Most players with Heard’s ta-
| lents have visions of playing in
; the big leagues, but Heard
I knows exactly how far he wants
i to take baseball.
Infielder Clint Heard
ready for 1983 season
“If the opportunity is right,
naturally I’d like to play pro,” he
said, “every ball player would
like to. But I’d just like to get a
degree. Baseball has given me
the opportunity to come to
school and that’s what’s impor
tant.
“All of my goals are pretty
much team-oriented. Naturally
my goal right now is to get the
ring (SWC championship). I just
want to help the team out any
way I can.”
Heard’s leadership has
earned him the title of co
captain along with Rock King
this year, but he takes the added
pressure in stride.
“I just try to lead the team
through my actions,” he said. “I
try to go out every day and play
as hard as I can. I guess you
could say I know what to expect
when I’m on the field. I’ve been
here for four years and I’ve seen
a few good teams.
“And I think this year’s team
can be a good one. This group of
guys has a great attitude and
they really hustle and work hard
on defense.”
Defense, Heard said, should
be a key to the Aggies’ successes.
“Our pitching is going to be
good,” he said. “But we’re going
to have to play good defense if
we want to win. I think pitching
and defense go hand in hand
because if a pitcher sees his de
fense bouncing around and
making plays, then he’s going to
do better. And if the defense
sees a pitcher working hard,
then they’re going to make some
big plays.”
Heard has made his share of
big plays for the Aggies, but he
says there’s still room for im
provement since second baSe is a
relatively new position for
Heard.
“When I came out of high
school, I was primarily a pitch
er,” he said, “so I didn’t have real
good hands at second. But so far
I’ve been improving every day.
I’m pretty happy with my play
now. I definitely think that’s
(second-base) the position that
best suits me.”
And Heard suits the Aggie
baseball team fine. Sophomore
shortstop Rusty Roberts said
Heard is a good team leader.
“He (Heard) plays real hard
all the time,” Roberts said. “He’s
been hurt a lot, but that doesn’t
bother him. He goes out and
does good every day, even if he’s
hurting that day.”
Heard admittedly isn’t a great
defensive player, but his lethal
bat and workaholic attitude on
the field have gained him the
respect of every player on the
Aggie team. And by the end of
the season, Heard might have
the respect of every pitcher in
the Southwest Conference.
we go.
Sophomore swimmer Susan Marks takes to the air
in the 200-yard individual medley against the
University of Houston on Saturday. Marks eventually
landed, but the Aggie women’s swim team never
got out of the blocks. Texas A&M lost to Houston
93-29. The men’s team, however, beat the Cougars
75-38 in their last dual meet of the season. Both
teams will swim next in the SWC championships.;
Rifle team takes first in match
by Tracey Taylor
Battalion Staff
TH1BODAUX, La. — The
Texas A&M rifle team took first
place in the Mardi Gras Invita
tional held at Nicholls State Uni
versity this past weekend.
The Aggie team, consisting
of Todd Woodard, and cadets
Kurt Nauck, John Berry and
Glen Park, tied for first place
with the Florida Institute of^
Technology with a team total of
2,219 points. The tiebreaker
went to the Aggies.
Rifle team cogeh Maj.
Richard Pitts explained how a
tiebreaker works: “When Texas
A&M and FIT tied, the official
scorers had to total the number
of bulls-eyes, or 10s, shot. We
won by four shots. So, out of 240
shots, the winning margin was
only four 10s — one bulls-eye^
per shooter.”
Bulls-eyes are about the size
of typed periods and are shot at
with .22 caliber rifles from 50
feet away. In a half-course
match, such as this, each shooter
on the four-man team shoots 20
shots in prone, standing and
kneeling, or 60 shots total.
It is the first time a Texas
team has ever won the three
position smallbore Mardi Gras
match, the largest collegiate
match in the nation with 35 uni
versities from 15 states repre
sented.
Individually, Woodard
finished in first place in the
kneeling competition with a 193
out of 200. Park finished in
second place overall —just one
point behind Jonathan Blascoe
of the University of Tennessee
at Martin. Park also took third
place kneeling, shooting 191 out
of 200 points.
Shooting as an unattached in
dividual, Texas A&M’s Ben Pot- !
ter took second place with a 557
out of 600 total behind Alan Gil- [
mer of Rice. One of the teani’s
coaches, Sgt. Maj. Manuel Soto,
took fourth place overall in the
coaches’ match. Other team
members for the Aggies ip-
cluded: Jerrold Scharning-
hausen, Carter Stone, and
cadets Taylor Neeley and Bob
Crowe.
Team captain Woodard was
pleased with the match’s out
come.
Ifhree years ago
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MSC SCONA 28
presents:
THE LATIN AMERICAS: Challenges and Alternatives
FEB. 16
SCONA 28 Speakers
His Excellency
Valerie T. McComie
Assistant Secretary General of OAS
2:30 p.m. Rudder
17
Mr. Alfonso Quinonez
El Savador
Meza
18
Ambassador Harry W. Shlaudeman
U.S. Ambassador to Argentina
Dr. Roberto Dafiino
9:00 a.m. Rudder Theatre
2:00 p.m. Rudder Theatre
9:00 a.m. Rudder Theatre
Former Secretary General, Ministry of Economy,
Finance, and Trade — Peru
Professor Heitor Gurgulino de Souza 2:00 p.m. Rudder Theatre
Vice President of the Federal Council of Education of Brazil
All above speeches open to the public