Friday, October 10, 1986/The Battalion/Page 7
Sports
Mets pummel Ryan;
coast to 5-1 victory
Wasted scoring opportunities cost Astros
HOLS I ON (AP) — The pitching
pendulum swung to New York
Thursday night as Bob Ojeda
matched f inesse against the power of
Nolan Ryan, pitching the Mets to a
5-1 victory over Houston for a split
of the first two games of the Na
tional League playoffs.
Lett Dykstra and Wally Backman
got the Mets’ scoring machine going
against Rvan. And Keith Hernan
dez, Gary Carter and Darryl Straw
berry applied the throttle.
Hernandez hit a two-run triple
along with a single and scored a run.
Carter had an RBI double, and
Strawberry drove in a run with a
long sacrifice fly. Backman had two
hits, scored twice and drove in a run.
Dykstra had two hits and scored
once.
Ojeda, 18-5 during the regular
season, allowed 10 hits, struck out
five and walked two.
Beaten 1-0 in Game 1 by Mike
Scott, the Mets scored their first two
runs of the playoffs in the fourth in
ning against Ryan, then nailed him
for three more in the fifth.
Ryan was gone after live innings,
lifted for a pinch hitter. Coming off
a 5-1 finish during the regular sea
son, Ryan had given up five runs on
seven hits, striking out five.
Ryan, 12-8 during the season, had
retired the first 10 hitters when he
got Dykstra to ground out to first
leading off the fourth.
But, on a 2-0 pitch, Backman got
the Mets first hit, a single up the
middle, and Hernandez followed
with an 0-2 single, a liner to center
that sent Backman to second. Carter
then doubled off the wall in right-
center, scoring Backman and send
ing Hernandez to third. Hernandez
scored on a sacrifice fly to deep left
f ield bv Strawberry, and the Mets led
2-0.
The Mets scored three more times
after Ryan had gotten two out in the
fifth. Rafael Santana singled with
one out, and Ojeda bunted into a
forceout. Dykstra slapped a Ryan
curveball into left field for a single
that sent Ojeda to second, and Back-
man drove in a run with his second
single.
Dykstra wound up at third, and
Backman went to second on the play
when center fielder Billy Hatcher’s
throw was up the third-base line and
past catcher Alan Ashby for an er
ror. Hernandez then hit a line drive
in the right-center field gap for a
See Astros, page 9
Cars indicate Astro personalities
By Danny Myers
Sports Writer
The big league ballplayers seem
bigger-than-life on television or at
the ball park, but what are they like
in real life?
Sometimes the cars they drive give
an glimpse into their personalities.
Texas A&M f reshman Pat Schulte
has had the opportunity to meet
many of these players. In fact, he
parks the cars of Houston Astro
players before home games.
Schulte, a general studies major,
works for his brother who is the di
rector of hand-held radio commu
nications for the Houston Sports As
sociation, which is the owner of the
Astros and the Astrodome.
Among his favorite cars are
pitcher Bob Knepper’s and short
stop Craig Reynolds’ Mercedes
Benzes, utility man Jim Pankovits
and right fielder Kevin Bass’ BMWs,
pitcher Mike Scott’s Jaguar and
manager Hal Lanier’s Cadillac.
"Lanier’s wife usually drops him
off before the game and picks him
up af terward,” Schulte said.
When pitcher Jim Deshaies first
came to Houston from New York he
drove a bomb, Schulte said.
"I think it was about a '72 Cadil
lac," he said. “I’m not sure, but it was
some kind of boat.”
Alan Ashby drives a Pontiac Fiero
with the license plate “E2” — base
ball scoring lingo for error on the
catcher.
Left fielder Jose Cruz “cruuuuu-
zes” around in a 1956 Chevrolet con
vertible and also has an old Lincoln
Continental and a big Suburban.
Right fielder Billy Hatcher drives
a Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS. Of
course it’s an SS. With his speed a
plain of Monte Carlo wouldn’t cut it.
Broncos also are popular vehicles
for Astro players.
Pitchers Aurelio Lopez and Dave
Smith and first baseman Glenn Da
vis drive them.
Fastball specialist Nolan Ryan
drags the big city in a Ford F-150
Kingcab. Ryan is from the country
side of Alvin where everyone needs
a truck.
Shortstop Dickie Thon owns a
Volkswagon van and a Chevrolet As-
trovan. Makes sense.
Shulte said Reynolds, Cruz and
third baseman Phil Garner all park
their vehicles in a different lot to
avoid the mob of autograph-seekers
which await the team af ter a game.
87,141 reasons
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A&M hopes to snap UH hex
Photo by Anthony S. Casper
A&M linebackers Larry Kelm (left) and tackles. The A&M defense will try to contain
Johnny Holland (11) lead the Aggies in Houston this Saturday in the Astrodome.
By Doug Hall
Sports Writer
For the University of Houston
football team, beating Texas
A&M in Houston has become
somewhat of a . . . well, it’s be
come a tradition.
In fact, the Aggies haven’t
beaten the Cougars there since a
21-13 season opener back in
1952.
But according to A&M senior
linebacker Larry Kelm, the 3-1
Aggies are ready to take on the
Cougars’ veer offense Saturday at
12:04 p.m. in the Astrodome and
put a stop to the 33-year-old dry
spell.
“We’ve got a big challenge to
go down to the Astrodome and
win a ballgame so we can get rid
of this supposed hex,” Kelm said.
Kelm said the Aggie defense
will concentrate on stopping the
Cougars’ inside running game
and at the same time contain the
fleet-footed UH option.
“Our main objective of this
game is to stop the inside run,” he
said. “If we can do that, as fast as
we are on defense, I am pretty
confident in our ability to stop
their option.
“But those inside runs (are
dangerous). All they need is a
little crack and they can turn basic
plays into a touchdown.”
The key components of Hous
ton’s option-oriented offense are
junior quarterback Mark Davis,
senior running back Raymond
Tate and junior fullback Sloan
Hood.
Davis, the brother of former
UH standout Danny Davis, took
over for Gerald Landry who went
down with a hip-pointer injury
against Oklahoma State. Since
then, Davis has completed 48.6
percent of his passes for 229
yards and two touchdowns.
But the ground game is where
the Cougars usually hurt their
See Aggies, page 9
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