Page 10/The Battalion/Monday, February 25, 1985
RTS
Johnson’s baseball debut worth the wait
By BRANDON BERRY
Sports Writer
The Texas A&M baseball team
found that good things come to
those who wait.
The Aggies started the ’85 season
later than any other team in the
Southwest Conference. Because of
rain, they postponed until Sunday a
double-header originally scheduled
for Saturday against Northeast Loui
siana. And they waited until the
eighth inning of the second game to
explode for eight runs and swept the
Indians, 10-1 and 12-11.
“Considering they were our first
games, we did some things wrong
that we need to work on,” said A&M
Coach Mark Johnson, who received
the first head coaching victories of
his career. “But we also did some
things better than I expected us to.”
One of these “better thans” was
the Ags hitting. A&M rocked NLU’s
pitching for 12 hits in the first game
and 16 in the second. And the list of
hitting “heroes” was as long as the
roster.
“Everyone contributed and that’s
always a good sign,” Johnson said.
“We came from behind in the sec
ond game and that’s also a good
si & n -
“We’re just trying to improve ev
ery game, but we have to pick up
some wins along the way.”
The second game was much in
doubt going into the eighth inning.
The Aggies were trailing 7-2 and
had not shown any offensive consis
tency against Chuck Finley, the Indi
ans’ left-handed starting pitcher.
A&M starting pitcher Kelly Kea-
hey was ambushed early in the game
and displayed little of the form that
made him one of the Aggies most ef
fective starters last season. The wind
was blowing and the temperature
dropped to 46 degrees.
Derrick “D.D.” Grubbs, the versa
tile public address announcer at Ol
sen Field, had even resorted to a “ce
lebrity sing-along.”
Things were looking really grim.
Then Ag shortstop Rob Swain
stepped to the plate and began a
rally that saw twelve men come to bat
and eight of them score. The Indi
ans shuttled in more pitchers than
The Dixie Chicken on a Saturday
night, as four different hurlers tried
to stem the Aggie tide. The loud
speakers brashly blared the “Rolling,
Rolling, Rolling” theme from Raw-
hide to the seven chilled fans, and a
poodle in a maroon sweater, left in
attendance.
Things were looking really nifty.
But trie Indians weren’t through.
They scored four runs in the top of
the ninth to pull out to an 11-10
lead. Phil Taylor replaced Barry
Smith and struck out the Indians’
Andy Jones to end NLU’s scoring. .
Then the Aggies really went to
work. Rob Swain was walked inten
tionally to load the bases and desig
nated hitter Bill Doug Potter
stepped to the plate. His single to
Photo by DEAN SAITOI
A&M’s Bill Doug Potter (29) slides into second base as
Northeast Louisiana’s Jeff Schexnaider dives for an errant
throw from the catcher. The ball sailed into the outfield and
Potter was safe on the play. A&M defeated NLU, 10-1,12-11.
right center field ended the scoring
and the game.
“A lot of people have believed in
me:” said Potter, who had four hits
in five at-bats, “my friends, my
coaches and my teammates. I can at
tribute everything good that hap
pened to my confidence.
It shouldn’t have after the first
game. The Aggies scored ten, count
’em, ten unearned runs on six, count
’em, six errors.
Whenever the Aggies hit normally
routine ground balls to the Indians’
infield, the crowd chanted **E” (for
ERROR) and were seldomly disap
pointed. NLU starting pitcher Mitch
Thomas allowed 10 runs, but actu
ally left the game with no ERA
“We got a lot of opportunities!)
cause of some mistakes they made
the field," Johnson said.
And that understatement watt
most worth the wait.
Crimi
Jharges
uients ft
lo three
pents tl
lernoon
lourth
hissed.
A&M's SWC title ship sinks before Metcalfs very eye
Iween co
im! dele
Texas A&M Weekend
Basketball Roundup
By CHAREAN WILLIAMS
Assistant Sports Editor
Parity. That’s probably the best
way to describe this year’s Southwest
Conference race.
SMU, ranked in the Top 10 all
season, was expected to walk away
with the crown. However, every
team in the SWC has experienced a
breakdown of sorts, and the Mus
tangs were no exception.
It all boils down to a Texas Tech-
SMU matchup in Dallas Wednesday
night for the title.
And what about Texas A&M?
The Aggies had three chances to
take over the No. 1 position and
came up empty handed. Saturday
night, was perhaps their last chance
at the championship, and, once
again, the SWC title ring slipped off
their fingers.
The Ags are experiencing their
“sinking period” right now. A&M
has lost three of its last four games
including a 58-50 loss to the Red
Raiders Saturday night in Lubbock.
“It’s time to get it back,” said A&M
Coach Shelby Metcalf. “There’s no
doubt we’ve had a sinking period.
Our timing was just real poor. This
is the only real sinking period we’ve
had all season.
“I think we can bounce back. Al
most every team has had one. It’s
very hard to mount a winning streak
in this conference. We had a five
game winning streak at one time.
That might be the most of any team
this season.”
Metcalf said the key to a long win
ning streak was mental preparation.
“You have just got to be ready to
play,” Metcalf said. “We have no ex
cuses for our losses. I really like this
team. We are really balanced. Every
body in the league has experienced
this at one time or another.”
The Aggies are two games out of
first-place with two left to play.
Wednesday, A&M travels to Hous
ton to battle the Cougars in Hoffeinz
Pavilion and Saturdav the Ags re
turn home to take on Rice.
It now appears the Aggies will fin
ish no higher than fourth in the con
ference behind SMU, lech and Ar
kansas.
The Aggie women, on the other
hand, are fighting for the sixth and
final SWC post-season spot.
A&M lost 77-69 to No. 19 T exas
Tech Saturday night in Lubbock.
However, the Ags are in a good posi
tion for sixth-place with a 5-9 SWC
record, one game ahead of SMU.
A&M Coach Lynn Hickey said she
was pleased with the Aggies’ effort
in Saturday's game. ■ -p ie (
“It was tough, Hickey said. 1®[j cte( | (
did some nice things out there.28
casv for us to play l ech. They’rej
real fast, so we can match up»® W(H ] av
them t h e
'If they're the No. 19 team in dw^ .\ lUi
count! \. maybe we don’t haveasB; 0()( | n(
to go as we thought. Our kids w«K om
hard. We r e not a rinkv-dinkbasit® Good
ball team anymore." Id a heat
la 2:30
A&M travels down Highway Wucted I:
Houston Wednesday to play fir his ou
Cougars and then the Ags rein* Rutfu
home to pla\ Rice on Saturday, Bhree de
■lazing a
AA
■McDonald's
DRIVE-THRU
WINDOW
MCDONALD’S
INTRAMURAL HIGHLIGHTS
At University Drive
At Texas and S.W. Parkway
At Manor East Mall
At 2930 E. Highway 21
BREAKFAST EVERY
MORNING
Sei
IM GAMEPLAN
ENTRIES CLOSE:
TABLE TENNIS DOUBLES -
Entries close Tuesday, Feb.26.
Play begins Monday, March 4 in
304 East Kyle. USTTA rules will
apply. Matches consist of the
best two out of three 21 point
games. Free.
ENTRIES OPEN:
BADMINTON DOUBLES - Entries
open Monday, Feb. 25 and close
Tuesday, March 5. Tournament play
begins Tuesday, March 19 in Room
351 G. Rollie White. USBA rules will
apply. Matches consist of the best
two out of three games. No entry
fee.
VOLLEYBALL TRIPLES - Entries
open Monday, Feb. 25 and close
Tuesday, March 5. Play begins-a
Monday, March 18. Only one TAMU -
Volleyball Club member or former r
varsity player is permitted per Class '
A team. USVBA rules with Intramu- ^
ral supplements will apply. Entry fee
is $15.
INNERTUBE WATER POLO - En
tries open Monday, Feb. 25 and
close Tuesday, March 5. Play be
gins Monday, March 18. Only one
TAMU water polo player is allowed
per team. NO TAMU swimmers may
compete. Innertubes and caps will
be provided. Entry fee is $15.
PENBERTHY SOFTBALL TOUR
NAMENT - Entries open Monday,
Feb. 25 and close Tuesday, March
5. Tournament dates are March 22,
23 and 24. (Rainout dates are April
6, 7 and 8.) Entry fee is $40.
SPORT CLUB UPDATE
So far this semester, little has been said about the va
rious sport clubs on campus. Well, that’s about to
change. Since sport clubs play an integral role in the
workings of Intramurals, sport club highlights will ap
pear in this page as often as possible. Who knows,
maybe you’ll be inspired to join a club just because you
read about it here.
Boxing Club - Sent a group to the Houston Golden
Gloves Tournament which was held Feb. 3 - Feb. 9.
For only having three people, the team made a clean
sweep: one first and two seconds. Jimmy Area placed
first in the novice middleweight class while Peter King
and Rand Egge placed second in sub-novice and nov
ice lightweight classes,respectively.
Gymnastics - Aerofit was the site of the Gymnastic
Club’s men’s meet on Feb. 16. Sponsoring the meet
didn’t hinder the A&M effort by a long shot - A&M
placed first out of the three teams (Tech, t.u. and
A&M) participating. The Aggie men chalked up five
first and one second place finishes on the road to over
all victory. Winners were: Kris Longwell and Allen
Vaughn - 1st floor exercise; Brad Nehring - 1st pom
mel horse; Grant Lauderdale - 1st parallel bars and
2nd rings; and Danny Barnett - 1st horizontal bar.
Wrestling - Aggies can be proud of their state cham
pion wrestlers. The team won that title in a meet Feb.
16 at Southwest Texas State in San Marcos against
LeTourneau College, Southwest, U.T., TCU and U.T. -
San Antonio. Three firsts and four seconds lifted the
Ags over the other teams. First place winners: Gerry
Holthaus(150 lbs.), Rob Ward(167 lbs.), Dale De-
ibert(177 lbs.). Second place finishers: Eric Brown(134
lbs.), Bob Swearingen(142 lbs.), Brian Matthews(158
lbs.) and Pat Cox(heavyweight). Gerry Holthaus was
named the most valuble wrestler.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
McDonald’s Intramural Highlights is sponsored each Monday in the Battalion by
your local McDonald’s® Restaurants at University Drive, Manor East Mall and on
Texas Avenue. Stories are written by members of the Intramural Staff, graphics are
by Joel Hickerson, and photos are by Tom McDonnell and Marcy Basile.
WAS
Phil Or
United
hug try
that tol
Sling.
Gram
lege Sta
Senate
;ation t
lament;
Relati
States
strained
ante in
agent z
lengthy
points, !
Bordi
mal, Gn
Sen.
called IV
tent to
ported
south of
At a
said he
about
should I;
He s;
foreign
coopera
was nov
broaden
eess to a
“Why
Colomh
So profi
tnarv sc
ttnless t]
S°vernn
otir effc
pressure
Wav.”
Despi
Pt'te, Gi
the
which rr
ln gto n ,
that he
‘tone w
Central
Long
as trade
al inu
tates, C