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The Battalion
SPORTS
lionday, April 10,1989
7
No.l-ranked Aggies pluck Owls
By Jerry Bolz
assistant sports editor
The Rice Owls came into a week
end series with hopes of knocking
off the No. 1-ranked Texas Aggie
baseball team in at least one game.
But A&M fought off the scrappy
Owls and high winds to sweep the se
ries^, 4-1 and 6-3.
Coming into the series, the Aggies
had been averaging about 10 runs
per game, a mark they didn’t reach
against Rice. However, each of the
Aggie Update
• Score: A&M sweeps a series from
Rice by scores of 9-2, 4-1 and 6-3.
• Record: 38-1.
• Ranking: First.
• Next game: Tuesday double-
header against Texas Southern at
5:30 p.m. at Olsen Field.
games against the Owls was plagued
by high winds blowing across the
field and sometimes straight toward
home plate.
Shortstop Chuck Knoblauch was
not disappointed with A&M’s low
run count.
“It’s pretty hard to score a lot of
runs in this park,” Knoblauch said.
So I think we did the best job we
could.” J
A&M Head Coach Mark Johnson
said it would have been hard to play
catch-up ball with the wind blowing
so hard. b
Fortunately for the Aggies (38-1,
9-0 in Southwest Conference), play-
ing catch-up was not a part of their
weekend. Rice (22-22, 2-10 in SWC)
didn’t lead all weekend.
A&M got off to a bang in Friday’s
single game, getting three runs in
the first inning off Rice starter and
loser Mike Cooper. Kirk Thompson
and I erry I aylor led off with singles
and Knoblauch followed with a dou
ble to score Thompson.
A&M’s John Byington drove Tay
lor home with a sacrifice fly to give
A&M a 2-0 lead. With the bases
loaded, Mike Easley hit a sacrifice fly
to bring home Byington with the
third run.
Rice countered in its half of the
first as third-baseman Mike Grace
hit a solo home run over the left-
field fence to make it 3-1 A&M.
The Owls edged one run closer to
the Ags in the fourth inning when
John Eierman singled and scored on
a triple by Rick Strebeck to make it
3-2 Aggies.
The Aggies made it 5-2 in the
fifth when Knoblauch hit a solo shot
to left and designated hitter Travis
Williams singled home Eric Al
bright.
Rice ' almost opened the flood
gates for A&M in the seventh when
Cooper hit Byington with a pitch
and walked Andy Duke and Easley
reached on a Rice error to load the
bases. Cooper then hit Williams with
a pitch to give Byington a free trip
home and the Aggies led 6-2.
Rice got out of the inning when
SWC Baseball Standings
Team
SWC Record
Pet.
Texas A&M (38-1)
9
0
1.000
Arkansas (31-4)
9
0
1.000
Texas (36-10)
7
2
.777
Baylor (30-10)
6
6
.500
Houston (34-8)
4
5
.444
TCU (24-17)
2
7
.222
Rice (22-22)
2
10
.166
TexasTech (21-17)
0
9
.000
right fielder Eierman made a superb
shoestring catch of a Jim Neumann
line drive and threw to first base to
catch Williams off the bag.
The Aggies scored three more in
the eighth inning while winning
pitcher Pat Sweet went the distance
and only gave up six hits to up his re
cord to 7-1.
“I got my mechanics back down
and was in command of my pitches,”
Sweet said. “As the game goes on, I
get more in rhythm. The last two in
nings I got stronger — I wanted to
come out and close the door.”
The second game of the series was
supposed to be Rice’s best shot at
knocking off the Aggies. The Owls
started right hander Rob Howard
who boasted a 6-2 record and shut
out the Texas Longhorns the pre
vious week. Johnson pitched fresh
man Ronnie Allen.
The Aggies came out fighting as
Knoblauch singled and stole second
in the first inning. Byington doubled
to send Knoblauch home and give
the Aggies a quick 1-0 lead.
The Rice offense was adamant
about keeping Howard in the game
as they countered with a run of their
own in the bottom of the first.
Donald Allen led off with a triple
that caught Duke off guard and
sailed over his head to deep right
field. Eierman hit a sacrifice
grounder to score Allen and tie the
score 1-1.
A&M got to Howard again in the
See Baseball/Page 8
Far-fetched rumor of SEC expansion won’t fly — or go away
ness Week
dent Y will meet
.day in 604A/B
nmittee provides
s to local elderly
sits retirement
kins, vice-presi-
it services, will
idem Y’s “Food
ogram at 7 p.m,
ie Red Lobster
College Station,
dinner is $6 for
d $5 for mem-
> week will con-
id with Student
ents. Youth Fun
ie Fun Begin!"
iturdav at Kyle
i Day is a semi-
>r Olympics for
t and fifth-grad-
for Youth Fun
ill be 8:30 p.ra.
SC.
t Aggieland,” a
raise food and
izos Food Bank,
Sunday at the
will end the
dder
p.m. at the Dixie
p.m. in the Coon-
Rudder fountain.
Johnson and Dr
ig heads and the
IcDonald through
.P.E. at 845-0280
available in 216
and Staff appUM'
officers at 7 p-H' 1
ficers at 7 p-m-i"
officers and eat
iristian fellowship
f hite.
i day counselors,
have an inforfl 13
5076 Rudder.
jnities for women
ir chairman P^
)08 Rudder.
- 5 p-m- m 16
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P E at 845-026°
needMcDon^
WeonlyP" s
s0 . What s UP l
missions areV
try will run-Hr
There’s a rumor making the rounds that
just won’t die.
It all started when an athletic director at
a Southwest Conference school stated his
unhappiness with the league in wake of the
scandals of recent years.
This rumor says that Texas A&M, Texas
and Arkansas will leave the SWC in the
future to become part of an expanded
Southeastern Conference football league.
This new SEC would consist of 14 or 16
teams, depending upon which version of
the rumor you hear.
The SEC would divide into two divisions,
East and West, with the winners of the
divisions meeting in the Sugar Bowl on
New Year’s Day. About eight schools have
allegedly been contacted by the SEC about
joining up. However, SEC Commissioner
Harvey Schiller hasn’t even formed a
committee to look into the possibility and
no official proposal has been made.
Nonetheless, the rumor won’t die. Word
of it supposedly reached officials at the
universities of Florida State, South Carolina
and Miami. Supposedly, all three schools
have expressea interest in the idea.
This rumor is probably just that — a
rumor. It just makes no sense to me.
Why would three of the SWC’s charter
schools — A&M, Arkansas and Texas —
leave the league to wither and die in a
league where they would have a tough time
treading water?
According to the rumor, money is a big
reason for a possible SEC expansion.
A new television pact for the expanded
SEC allegedly would bring in a huge sum.
However, it doesn’t make any sense to
me.
The big three of the SWC wouldn’t be
helping themselves by joining this new
version of the SEC because they would only
be splitting up their new-found riches in
several more pieces than in the current
SWC plan.
A&M, Texas and Arkansas are by far the
main benefactors of any television and gate
revenue generated within the SWC. The
big three are supposedly tired of giving up
bigger cuts of their gates than they get on
the road.
It seems even less logical for the
independents — Florida State, South
Carolina and Miami — to join. Right now,
each team keeps all their television
revenues. By joining a conference, they
would be hurting themselves.
As for the SWC situation, I don’t think
it’ll ever happen. If the big three ever
decided to bolt from the SWC, there would
be such an outcry from fans, administrators
and politicians that it would be stopped.
A&M wouldn’t be doing itself any favors
by joining the league. The Aggies, only
recently big winners, would have a hard
time reaching the top of the SEC as it
currently is. Imagine what it would be like
with Miami, South Carolina and Florida
State!
If A&M, Arkansas or Texas really want
to explore the possibility of leaving the
SWC, the best alternative would be to
become an independent. College sports is
big business and independents get to keep
all their television money while picking
their opponents from a larger pool.
Jackie Sherrill apparently discussed the
possibility of A&M leaving the SWC in the
future and created a bit of an uproar.
However, he was just being realistic.
A&M loses money when it plays Rice in
Houston. It makes perfect sense for a team
which is beating up the competition in its
own conference to start questioning the
possibilities, financial and competitive,
existing elsewhere.
This current rumor seems to me a far
fetched one. However, I have little doubt
that some day some form of alteration will
occur in college football for the simple fact
that there’s big money to be made.
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