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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 7, 1988)
I ■ Monday, March 7, 1988/The Battalion/Page 9 i-1.*« .7T Sports ii—rviiNin —— S McDonald ads A&M ast Frogs n sentini >■1 icks versitv ears it es wiiti ityblad FORT WORTH (AP) — Dar- McDonald’s 15 points paced Texas A&M players who fin- led with double figures, and Jped the Aggies to a 66-60 vic- ry over TCU Saturday night in jthwest Conference action. iWith the victory A&M moves ll6-14 on the year and assures ich Shelby Metcalf of his 22nd ning season in 25 years of ching the Aggies. \&M’s SWC record evens at 8- ood enough for fifth place in conference. he Aggies will face Arkansas, io finished third in the SWC, in first round of the conference rnament Friday at noon in lias’ Reunion Arena. JrCU’s record drops to 9-18 than D vt rail and 3-13 in conference ug coldWay The Horned Frogs finished ort ofifihe basement of the SWC. ding fTCU led 33-29 at the half, but M rallied in the second half built a 10-point lead, 53-43, h 8:17 to play when senior rd Keron Graves hit a 19-foot inpshot. iBut the Horned Frogs battled elythiMk. A basket by John Lewis e and brought TCU within one, 56-55, ignifi with 3:52 remaining. ||But clutch shooting by A&M’s are (ilttddie Ricks and Doug Dennis ition ttwthe free-throw line helped the irofe- Aggies ice the win. hy is iraMetcalf said he has a lot of d. work to do to prepare for the up- ingSWC tournament. 'Now we can go to work for ee days and get ready for the ginament. Realistically, we’ve to get into the semifinals of tournament to have an out- iide shot at the N IT,” he said, ■pletcalf also said his players lire keeping their eyes on the KAA tournament bid that goes 0 the tournament’s winner, inything can happen,” Metcalf aid. "These players know the |AA bid goes to the winner and - Israt re’ll just have to see what hap- teen-aj ens over in Dallas.” d an 1: I - 1 — u ring | I dsintl ialssait ed hm lestiniai rganizti id A&M sluggers sweep Pan Am By Anthony Wilson Sports Writer Before throwing his first pitch in the second game of Texas A&M’s three-game weekend series with Pan American University, Pan Am starter Mike Eckert kneeled behind the mound for a quick prayer. Un fortunately for Eckert and the rest of the Broncos, it was A&M’s prayers that were answered. The Aggies returned from a six- game road trip in Louisiana to sweep Pan Am at Olsen Field 3-2, 5-1 and 9-6. John Byington led the A&M charge offensively, driving in the game-winning runs in the first two games on home runs. Byington hit a three-run homer in the eighth in ning of Friday’s game to lift A&M over Pan Am. Anthony DeLaCruz logged his first win of the season by pitching 1% innings in relief of Sean Sne- deker. Scott Centala retired the last two batters for his second save. The Aggies exploded for five runs, which is all they would need for the win, in the first inning of the first game of Saturday’s double- header. Byington hit a towering shot over the left field wall driving in Chuck Knoblauch and Scott Liv ingstone. Tim McWilliam followed with a walk and was driven in on Tom Carcione’s opposite field home run to right field. Byington’s home run was his fourth of the year and his fifth game-winning RBI. “It was a 3-0 fastball,” Byington, who had seven RBIs in the series, said. “Coach (Mark Johnson) gave me the green light, so he was kind of doing me a favor. It was right down the middle.” Johnson said Byington’s dinger immediately got the club pumped up for the remainder of the series. “He drove it,” Johnson said. “The first inning of the ballgame ignited the whole day for us. It was a good way to start. He had a good weekend with key hits.” Nick Felix became A&M’s first four-game winner of the season. Fe lix pitched seven innings and al lowed one run on four hits in an other strong outing. “Nick’s a plugger,” Johnson said. “He had trouble with the leadoff hit ter every inning. That was discour aging to me. But he fought through it and got out of innings.” The Aggies had to come from be hind to win the second game of the twinbill. Pan Am jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third inning when Herb Er- hardt hit a three-run homer off Randy Pryor. A&M whittled away at the Broncs lead and tied the score in the fourth inning on back-to-back home runs by Tom Carcione and Terry Taylor. The home runs were Carcione’s sixth and Taylor’s seventh. Pan Am regained the lead in the fifth and added another run in the sixth for a 6-4 advantage. A&M claimed the lead for good in the bot tom of the sixth by scoring four runs with the aid of only one RBI. McWil liam led off the inning with a single down the third base line. McWilliam advanced to second on a single by Carcione. Taylor followed with a walk to load the bases with no outs. d pi Carcione scored when centerfielder Steve Kennett dropped Mike Eas ley’s line drive. Maury Martin fol lowed with a perfectly executed sui cide squeeze to drive in Taylor for the game winner. Easley later scored on Knoblauch’s RBI single. McWilliam closed out the scoring for A&M by hitting a solo homer to left in the seventh. “We’ve got enough punch that I think our guys realize that our games are never over until the last pitch,” Johnson said. “We’ve got enough who can contribute to a big inning. That’s a quality of our ball club. One through nine can hit. We haven’t got a real weak spot in our lineup.” Freshman Steve Hughes picked up his second win by pitching 2% in nings in relief of Pryor. Hughes won a game at Northeast Louisiana and Johnson has been pleased with the righthander’s progress. “I’m impressed with him,” John son said. “He’s got a split-finger (fastball) and he can throw it for strikes. It’s a tough pitch to hit. He gets a lot of ground balls and double play balls.” Centala struck out two in his one inning stint to save his third game. The victories improved eighth- ranked A&M’s record to 18-2. Pan Am fell to 9-6. Hardin Simmons will visit the Aggies at Olsen Field for a l p.m. double-header on Tuesday. A&M netters miss finals of coastal tournament By Curtis L. Culberson Assistant Sports Editor CORPUS CHRISTI — The Texas A&M men’s tennis team didn’t ad vance to the finals this weekend, but it pulled off an incredible comeback victory against Arkansas and stayed with McNeese State until the last set in the early rounds of the HEB Col lege Tennis Team Championship. The Aggies went 2-2 for the tour nament and their season record goes to 8-4. Arkansas led the Aggies 4-2 after the singles Friday, but A&M bounced back and swept the dou bles, stealing the victory from the Razorbacks 5-4. It was the first time in nine years the A&M men have come back to win from a single’s def icit of 4-2. The Aggies lost in the top three seeds against the Hogs with A&M’s No. 1 seed Dean Johnson losing 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to Mike Brown; A&M’s Shaun O’Donovan dropping his match to Donie Wood 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 in the No. 2 seed, and A&M’s Steve Kennedy losing to Augusto Solano in the No. 3 seed. Craig Whitteker defeated Arkan sas’ J.P. Mieney 6-4, 6-3 in the No. 4 seed and Mike Chambers was victo rious over Derick Brooks 6-3, 6-4 in the No. 5 seed, while A&M’s Wayne Green was defeated by Cha Im. In doubles play, the O’Donovan and Kennedy team beat Keith Bu ford and Brown 6-1, 6-3. In in the No. 2 seed Johnson and Whitteker defeated Im and Wood 7-5, 6-3, while Chambers and Scott Campbell won over Solano and Brooks 6-2, 6-4 in the No. 3 seed. “It was a quality win,” A&M Coach David Kent said. “Arkansas is a very tough team.” Excellent double’s play saved the the Aggies Friday but after a 3-3 split in the singles Saturday, A&M faltered in the doubles, losing 5-4 to McNeese State. Dean Johnson lost to Johan Kjellsten 6-4, 6-0 in the No. 1 seed and MSU’s Ulf Niklasson won over Steve Kennedy in twin 6-2 sets in the No. 2 spot. A&M’s No. 3 seed Shaun O’Dono van beat Pontus Lavelfalt 6-2, 7-5 and in the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds Mike Chambers and Craig Whit teker were victorious over MSU’s Alex and Erich Reich 6-2, 6-3 and 3- 6, 7-6, 6-4 respectively. Whitteker made an amazing comeback victory, Kent said. At one point he was down 6-3, 5-1. Whit teker held off his opponent for five match points, he said. Ulf Persson beat A&M’s Wayne Green 6-2, 6-4 in the No. 6 seed. The A&M doubles team of Cham bers and Campbell beat the Reich brothers in the No. 3 seed 6-3, 6-2. But A&M lost both of the crucial top two doubles seeds. O’Donovan and Kennedy lost 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 to Niklas son and Lavefalt, and the Johnson- Whitteker team lost 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Persson and Kjellsten. The Aggies are back in action at home this Thursday when they face UT-E1 Paso at 1:30 p.m. at the Omar Tennis Center. Lady Aggies finish fourth in SWC play FORT WORTH — The Texas A&M women’s basketball team continued its mastery over TCU with a 74-68 victory over the Lady Frogs Saturday night. The Lady Aggies will now head into the Southwest Conference Post-Season Tournament with a 14-12 regular season record and an 8-8 SWC mark. A&M, the tournament’s 5th seed, will play fourth-seeded Arkansas Wednes day night at Moody Coliseum on the SMU campus in Dallas. “This is a great spot for us to be in,” A&M Coach Lynn Hickey said. “We finished fourth and have a winning record.” A&M’s spot may not be great for very long because the winner of the A&M-Arkansas has the un enviable task of facing SWt' champion Texas. “I was concerned about this game,” Hickey said. “They had a lot going for them. Not only were they playing to get in to the tom nament, but this was the last home game for their seniors.” TCU will stay home during the tournament. Kerr breaks 200-meter indoor record Texas A&M’s Stanley Kerr broke the American 200-meter indoor record with a time of 20.63 at the Texas Tech Last Chance Qualifiers track meet Sat urday. Kerr broke James Butler’s re cord of 20.64 set last year. Kerr will now advance to the NCAA Indoor Championships this weekend in Oklahoma City, Okla. “Stanley had an outstanding race,” A&M Assistant Coach Ted Nelson said. icer art cted « ssault iting ie iruarv laste as tape; ■d inlet : craci nd Gas cd afte Servicf center* ten# jital of' longn ials SJ ! or pro This sprin make a break for it $ This Spring Break, catch Greyhound®/ Trailways® Lines to just about anyplace in Texas. For only $25.00 each way, you and your friends can get away and have a great time along the way. So go Greyhound/Trailways. Greyhound Greyhound/Trailways • 114. E. Walton Drive • 696-0209 Must present a valid college student I.D. card upon purchase. No other discounts apply. Tickets are nontransferable and good for travel on Greyhound Lines, Inc., Trailways Lines and other participating carriers. Certain restrictions apply. Fare is each way per person based on round-trip purchase. Return trip must be made within 15 days of ticket purchase. Offer effective 2/1/88 through 6/15/88. Offer limited. Ofier valid in Texas only. Some restrictions apply. © 1988 Greyhound Lines, Inc., and Trailways Lines Each way based on round-trip purchase. Class of ’61 ELECT RANDY SIMS County Commissioner Precinct 3 March 8-Republican Primary Proven. Effective Leadership Political Advertisement Paid For By Committee To Elect Randy Sims; Randy Sims, Treasurer. IS BETTER ON HARWOOD M l IH V I TOURS ESCORTED CO-ED FUN GROUPS 15-34 DAYS 4-10 COUNTRIES 1st CLASS HOTELS CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-972-7665 or write for brochure ■ HARWOOD TOURS » 2428 GUADALUPE, AUSTIN, TX 78705 I is hiring 2 students with editing experience to work on our video staff. Applications are available in Student Publications Office, 230 Reed McDonald or at the Aggievision table in the MSC from March 7-11 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Applications are due noon on Friday March 11 at either of the above loca tions. For more information contact: Greg Keith: 696-3454 Office: 845-0293