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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 22, 1985)
Friday, March 22, 1985AThe Battalion/Page 9 11111111 ustafson's Horns have it all in '85 By BRANDON BERRY n Bari,,,! Sports Writer let h and Betll ^he Texas A&M baseball team won its first 11 games and presently ur freshmen'; owns a g au< ty 18 ‘ 4 record. ‘d he’s readyj ^gg‘ es * iave score( f almost 80 they roundii! more runs c f ian l f ie ‘ r opponents and are averaging more than seven runs aspect of l* a g ame - Tneir pitching staff is giving 11 ' s >ts first pj up less than five runs a game. v e sisters. ^ They have not lost a game yet this 0-member ,U. season in the friendly confines of its a different! ^ f >at ” Olsen Field, located just season. 1 across the railroad tracks from the changes," J “friendliest campus on the Brazos.” oster of aval! f n ot f ier worc *s, they are a team on s for each !i a ro ** an ^ t f ie y’ ve done it without highly-touted pitchers Tom Arring ton and Jimmy Flowers for much of the season. Now, imagine what happens when player -Imets rs arc® elmets betwte ions to wort t s , Thomas s this offensive dynamo meets a team ‘in vital role ^ at avera g es offensively almost Confer . seven runs a g ame ar, d allows de- n Ma\ Pensively only four runs a game? " ® Do you have time to grab a hot- dog? I Well, the Aggies don’t have to face just one opponent with such fancy credentials. The previously-men tioned statistics are the hitting and pitching averages of all eight teams in the Southwest Conference so far this season. I SWC schools have a whopping 157-33 advantage over non-confer ence opponents. When the standings show Texas Tech to be the owner of II of the non-conference defeats, the conference race promises to be a dead-heat. | And the starting gun sounds for the Ags’ SWC season tomorrow in Houston, against the University of guys that you have are going to come together and click as a team until they prove it out on the playing field.” Junior college transfers Fred Ge- gan and Jeff Schow have filled defi nite needs for the Aggies at first and second base, respectively. Seniors Buddy Haney, Steve Johnigan and Mike Scanlin have also contributed heavily to the team’s quick start “che mistry.” The ’85 conference race can be broken up into four categories —the no-shots, the long-shots, the con tenders and the favorites. SMU — One of only two no-shots in the field. The Mustangs have an excuse, though, because they abo lished their baseball program back in 1980. , 1 Lch letic physiques play a smaller role in baseball than in other sports. Base ball is a thinking man’s game, so it should fit right in at a school where the favorite pastime is syllabus-pre diction. The Owls are led by Mike Patrick, Eric Graff, Ben Matthews, Curtis Fox and Jay Knoblauh offensively.^ On the mound, Rice boasts two of the best pitchers in the conference in Derek Hoelscher and Todd Ogden. Pitching plus hitting usually equals success, but this school has at titude problems. They value aca demics above athletics, which makes them another long shot. ting from up and down their line up. I he Cougars could win the con ference if they keep playing the way they’re playing right now. The ques tion is, will they be able to keep their confidence and composure against Arkansas and that traditional power house in Austin? ,r "i vital rofel ( in (inference ISM Terence inJ nas said. ■ind SMU doit ionals in Mats rd and fifty A Kgies claiJ ix (runners)d >e (outdoor) J id. "1 think J ^rybody but .W On ‘ Razorbadss: . said the Hop ' track scales j. from Englaa draws runntti ountries, Texas Tech — The other no-shot in the conference, but unlike SMU, they can’t claim non-existence —just inexperience. The Red Raiders start four first-year players for Coach Gary Ashby. Tech is a couple of years away from being any kind of a threat in the toughest baseball conference in the nation. The Red Raiders’ 14-11 non-conference mark is a pretty good indication of an impending los ing conference ledger against teams , with potential and experience. Wu uuuuics, raM| ouston at Cougar Field, on track ho|«| The Cougars are rank. ienya and I« schools) soito >mas said. 1) recruited fot ked 10th na- pi runners b| )th Barrios al ed to finish »e| lonally bv Collegiate Baseball mag azine ana have a season record of 20-2. And they’re doing it with power. Houston averages nine runs a game and is hitting .349 as a team. Their pitchers give up only 2.63 runs a game. They have hit 31 home runs already this season. J) “Houston, Texas and Arkansas ; are all going to he ranked highly j going into tnis season because of never aci'tl C oming back from es tor the Ai last season,” said A&M Coach Mark Johnson. “But the funny thing about college baseball is the role of the ju nior college transfer. One guy can come in and turn a program around. 1 “And another thing is chemistry -you can never tell if the group of American at (schob nd they can It TCU — This is a team of intrigue. They are 19-1 heading into confer ence play, but who have they played? Their schedule looks like a tour of the cute, little religious colleges in and around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The Froggies may find the SWC a little rougher than J.R.- Country holy rollers. They are led offensively by short stop Brent Barker, second baseman Steve Cottage, outfielders Johnny Morgan and Mike Ramsey and pitcher Brian Ohnoutka. Looks like a long shot to me. Rice — The Owls may be patsies in other sports, but, as Tug McGraw and Jim Palmer have proven, ath- Baylor — The Bears are loaded with talent this season. The names Steve Jarvie, Greg Dennis, Kyle Todd and Mike Malinak send more balls over the fence than bad tennis players at the Knights of Columbus Community Center. Speedy Tony Huey scores more than Joan Collins at a convention and Blaine Beatty, Don Dumas and Kenneth Patterson give the Bears quality pitching depth. They also give Baylor contender-status in a year where talent is as plentiful in the SWC as non-conference wins. Arkansas — Before the ’85 season began, the Razorbacks were touted for possible conference and post season honors. The Hogs of Coach Norm DeBriyn haven’t let anyone down, as they have broken out of the starting gate with a 20-4 record. The Razorbacks’ heavy reliance on pitcher Fred Farwell might be the only weakness in a line-up that in cludes All-American hitters, sound defenders and experience. Farwell is already 2-0 in SWC play, and the Hogs are one of three early favorites for the conference title. Houston — The Coogs are off to the second-best start in their history and they’re doing it with gretit pitch ing, flawless defense and power hit- Texas — The Immutable Jugger naut. The SWC champions nine of the last 10 years. National cham pions two years ago. National fi nalists last year. Six starters and two All-Americans returning this season. The favorites? You bet your life. Longhorn Coach Cliff Gustafson has found a way for the past 15 years to contend for the title, win it down the stretch or run away with it from the very beginning. His players may change, but the burnt orange uni forms always seem to be on the long end of the score when play-off time arrives. Third baseman David Denny leads a cast of sluggers that threatens to blast the “non-offensive” image of “Cusball” over the outfield fences. Designated hitter Doug Hodo, out fielders Elanis Westbrook and Jeff Vondenkampf and slugger Dennis Cook all return as well. The most imposing name in the Horn line-up however, is All-Ameri can second baseman Bill Bates, who gets on base 70 percent of the time and makes defensive mistakes about as often as Haley’s Comet cleans Jo sephine’s toilet bowl pipes. Unsurprisingly, Texas stands at 31-3 on the season and presently rides a 22-game winning streak. So whether it’s FM-290 or 1-35, the road to the ’85 SWC Baseball Championship still runs through - Austin. Not a very original predic tion, but a safe one. And where does A&M fit in? You can pencil in the Aggies right behind the Arkansas Razorbacks and right in front of the Baylor Bears. The Ags have hitting, but not very much power. And they have pitching when Arrington ana Flow ers are healthy and Kelly Keahey is pitching well, but they lack depth. _ The Aggies should make the SWC Tournament, but they lack the seemingly one crucial ingredient to a conference championship in the past 15 years — an Austin adaress. r S >se J Alaska’s hottest item. Alaskan King Crab Legs. $3.95 with any entree. They ; re selling like hot cakes: Alaskan King Crab Legs at Red Lobster® Come in right now and get a half pound of steaming crab legs for just $3.95 when you order any entree. . Crack open the shelfand you ; ll find tender ; succulent meat that's sweet and delicious. But our special is only running for a limited time. So hurry in. And get them while they ; re hot. Red Lobster® Approximate weight before cooking Please see telephone directory for Red Lobster Restaurant nearest you. © 1985 Red Lobster Inns of America. Most Major Credit Cards Accepted CHIMNEY HILL BOWLING, CENTER Inc. Aggie Special" Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. If 75C a game Student I.D. required Frat.-Sor. Weekend discounts 701 University Dr. E. 260-9184 $5.00 OFF WITH THIS COUPOIV (on 010 or more purchase and coupon must come with cleaning) at CLASSIC CLEANERS 703 W. Villa Maria Bryan, Tx. 77805 or FASHION CLEANERS 315 B Dominik College Station, Tx. 77840 For dry cleaning only Coupon valiJthrough Mar. 8, 1985 Danvers Save 63 1/3 lb. Hamburger Dress it yourself at our salad bar Now Open all night Friday & Saturday all you can eat Breakfast Buffet 1:30 am Good thi'u March 25 OVER 60? Senior Citizen’s Discount! m RESTAURANT J Going out this weekend? Make the smart choice. 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