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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 22, 1983)
Texas A&M Battalion Sports Tuesday, March 22, 1983/The Battalion/Page 9 f enaatd .enuesSi two-fifili es are< >ersonali of ncreaw ilude f fs toiafc iic inco® 03 railia Shan McDonald, shown here against Evansville, digs in to deliver a pitch. staff photo by Frank L. Christlieb The Aggie Ladies are currently on a week-long swing through California. Softball team rained out ts whod 's help!) ctly upotj ercent,i' here phi correct percent, n dia| ve ini said, therap/ sitive ini e were icer, those it'’ es occui lims ■The Texas A&M softball I team's double-header against ■ United States International ■ University was rained out I Monday, as the Aggies con- Itinue their week-long swing ■through California. Texas A&M, which began the trip by dropping a double- header to the Cal State- Fullerton Titans on Sunday, is scheduled to meet the Univer sity of San Diego today at 2 p.m. Titans, 1-0 and 3-0. Cal State- FuMerton is ranked No. 3. Despite a one-hitter by Lori Stoll in the first game, a costly error by right fielder Linda Lancaster spelled disaster for the Aggies. Lancaster lost con trol of a ball hit to right and allowed the runner to score. Shan McDonald started the second game, hut left early af ter developing a sore shoul der. Stoll came in with the score 1-0, and after walking the lead-off batter in the third, Cal State’s Sue Lewis homered to up the score to 3-0. Following the San Diego contest, the Aggies will meet Cal Poly-Pomona Wednesday for a single game. After that it’s back to Fullerton for the Pony Invitational tourna ment, Friday through Sunday. • The Aggies, now 8-4, left for California after compet ing in the Sooner Inviatation- al Tournament in Norman, Okla., where they won three of four games. Texas A&M defeated Ohio State, Illinois State and Missouri before los ing in the finals to Oklahoma State. Metcalf s contract-renewal ends rumors of dismissal by John Wagner Sports Editor Texas A&M basketball coach Shelby Metcalf—after weeks of speculation about his future as Analysis head coach — was given a new three-year roll-over contract Monday. Athletic Director Jackie Sher rill, saying he is “pleased with the progress, record and leader ship of our basketball program,” announced the decision. The contract, which begins with the new fiscal yeaf, has been approved by Texas A&M President Frank E. Vandiver and Athletic Council chairman Dr. Tom Adair. Rumors about Metcalfs sta tus as basketball coach began surfacing as early as the middle Shelby Metcalf gets vote of confidence, new contract of the 1982-83 season when the Aggies — after struggling through a pre-conference sche dule that included trips to Alas ka, Montana, Connecticut, West Virginia, Louisiana and Indiana — began having problems. When sophomore guard Gary Lewis quit the team and senior forward Claude Riley came down with what was re ported to be mononucleosis, the Aggies seemed to be in an incur able slump. And when a Dallas newspaper reported that Metcalf and Asso ciate Athletic Director Charles Thornton were at odds, the rumors increased. After defeat ing TCL in G. Rollie White Col iseum in February, Metcalf let reporters know he could no lon ger discuss the situation. That, several media people said after the game, was a sure sign some thing was going on. Thornton and Sherrill were suspiciously quiet during this time, denying nothing, but con firming nothing, either. The rumors kept coming, especially during the Southwest Confer ence post-season tournament, when, after the Aggies were up set by TCL, many people wrote Metcalf off for good. The Battalion declined to run any stories saying Metcalf was in trouble — after all, rumors are not truths, they are rumors. Saying a man’s job is in trouble is one thing — spreading it all through a newspaper is another. In retrospect, it se^ms we were correct in believing that Sherrill would extend Metcalfs contract. Metcalf, who was ru mored to have called himself “the new Tom Wilson”, was an xious to settle the matter. Arid with recruiting underway, the Athletic Department realized it was necessary to end the rumors and publicly support the basket ball program here at Texas A&M. It couldn’t have come at a bet ter time. ‘New-look’ Aggies face Gophers today in evening double-header by John P. Lopez Battalion Staff One man can make a world of difference on the baseball field. Reggie Jacksonalmost single- handedly won the world series for the New York Yankees in 1977, Joe Morgan carried the load in 1980 for the Houston Astros and Ricky Henderson made the 1982 Oakland A’s one of the most volatile base-stealing threats in the big leagues. But what about the 1983 edi tion of the Texas A&M baseball team? The Aggies are off to one of their fastest starts in several years, losing only five of their first 23 starts and breaking into the national Top 20 at No. 17. What’s more impressive is that most so-called baseball “experts” predicted Texas A&M would barely play .500 hall. Who’s responsible for Texas A&M’s good fortunes? As usual, the Aggies are the exception to the rule — two men are responsible. They both wear maroon and white uniforms, hut they’re not players. Head coach Tom Chandler and newly acquired assistant Mark Johnson are the two cul prits that tore the pre-season predictions to shreds. The con sensus among the players is that both coaches have their strong points — Chandler has seen just about everything in his 25 years' at the helm of the Aggies and Johnson’s strong suit is his gambling attitude on the base- paths. The two coaches complement each Other so well the Texas A&M baseball team could almost be called the “Master’s and Johnson’s” of the South. But regardless of what you call the Aggies, statistics speak for themselves. And Chandler and Johnson are largely respon sible for the almost 80 percent winning percentage posted by Texas A&M this year. That winning percentage will he tested today when Texas A&M takes on the Minnesota Golden Gophers in a double- header beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Olsen Field. Chandler said Johnson is de finitely a welcome addition to the team. “He’s just done a remarkabh job,” Chandler said. “1 can i think of a better addition to th< team. Our philosophies are ab out the same and we’re realh getting a lot accomplished on the field.” Chandler must have great confidence in Johnson since the Aggie head coach handed over the chore of coaching third base — a job Chandler has handled for years. Johnson, who h<n helped coach both Arizona and Mississippi State to the College World Series, said he’s up foi the challenge of coaching third. The Texas A&M University Chapter of the Honor Society of PHI KAPPA PHI is not for everyone! Phi Kappa Phi at Texas A&M University provides a dimension of academic excellence unlike any other campus endeavor. Its members embrace, the percept that recognizing and honoring individuals of academic excellence and noble character are privileges to be cherished and that those acts serve to encourage others to set high goals in their scholarly pursuits. Selected junior, senior and graduate students and faculty members who have demonstrated superior scholarship and character will soon receive invitations to join the Texas A&M Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi. New members will be initiated, the outstanding junior from each college will be recognized, a $750 scholarship will be presented and the Chapter’s nominee for a $4,500 ,national Phi Kappa Phi fellowship will be named at a banquet on May 3, 1983. Check your mail carefully to see if you are one of the few chosen from your academic discipline for membership in this honor society. Let the love of learning rule mankind. Phi Kappa Phi Chapter Officers President J. George H. Thompson Vice President James L. Boone Jr. Secretary Nell W. Page Treasurer Robert D. Powell Public Relations Officer Wesley E. Donaldson