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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1989)
The Battalion SPORTS Monday, May 1,1989 Ags take two from FROM STAFF & WIRE REPORTS HOUSTON — The Texas A&M baseball team went into the weekend series against Houston with one eye on Fayetteville, where the Arkansas Aggie Update • Scorei A&M wins two of three from Houston by scores of 11-10, 3- Hand 12-0. • Record! 48-4. • Ranking: Third. • Next game: Friday against Arkan sas at 7 p.m. in the First game of a three game weekend series. Razorbacks held a one-game confer ence lead over the Aggies and were playing host to third-place Texas. It looked like a chance to make up one or more games on the Hogs, giv ing the Aggies the upper hand when the two teams meet this weekend at Olsen Field. But one weekend later, nothing has changed. Despite dropping a ame to the Longhorns, Arkansas epl its one-game lead over A8cM, which won the series but dropped a game to the Cougars in Houston. A&M (48-4, 15-3), second in the Southwest Conference and ranked third nationally in last week’s ESPN- /Collegiate Baseball poll, dropped the first game of Saturday’s double header but came back to win the sec ond game to win the series. The Aggies showed in the open ing game Friday afternoon they can still come from behind and win base ball games, as they rallied for four runs in the eighth inning to take an 11-9 lead, and eventually won the game 1 1-10. Catcher Eric Albright hit two home runs, and starter Pat Sweet, 8- 3, pitched eight and one-third in nings to earn the victory. Anthony DeuiCru/ pitched the Final two outs to record in.s first save of the season. Houston (41-13, 7-10) scored three runs to take a 9-7 lead after six innings, but the Aggies came back in the eighth to score four runs and take the lead for good. Andy Duke singled and Mike Eas ley doubled to open the eighth and Jim Neumann tied the game 9-9 with a triple off Cougars reliever Kenny Mayberry, 0-1. Houston coach Bragg Stockton replaced Mayberry with reliever A1 Benavides, who gave up two more runs when Kirk Thompson hit a sac rifice fly and walked Albright with the bases loaded. Houston catcher Fred Hinojosa hit a solo home run in the ninth in ning to close the lead to I 1-10, but Mark Hooker flew out to left with two men on base to end the game. Coupled with Arkansas’ 5-4 loss to Texas Friday night, the Aggies found themselves in the exact posi tion they wanted to be in — tied for First place in the conference. Coogs That first-place tie was short lived, however, because the Aggies were crushed 11-3 in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. Cougar starter Eric Rasberry, 9-4, pitched Five innings and gave up the Aggies’ three runs to earn the win. Aggie starter Ronnie Allen, 8-1, was taken out in the third inning af ter Houston rallied for five runs. The Cougars went on to score four more runs off DeLuCnu in the fifth when Cougar shortstop Russell Stockton hit a three-run homer, The Aggies had 12 hits in the seven-inning game, but stranded 13 baserunners. They left two runners on base in each of the last five in nings. There were to be no late-inning heroics this game, and Russell Stock- ton said the Cougars didn’t lack the confidence to beat the Aggies follow ing Friday afternoon’s game. “We knew we could play with them after (Friday’s game),” Stock- ton said. “W’e hit the ball and scored runs with them. It was just a matter of our pitchers being able to stop them.” Although the Cougars’ pitchers contained the Aggies’ high-powered offense, A&M came back in grand fashion to beat Houston 12-6 in the third game. Aggie left fielder Jim Neumann hit three home runs and drove in seven runs, and starter Keith Lan gston improved to 9-0 as the Aggie batters handled the Cougar pitchers for 12 hits. Senior Scott Centala picked up his Aggie right fielder Andy Duke returns to 11-10 A&M victory over Houston at Cougar first base to avoid a pickoff try in Friday’s Field. A&M won two games from U of H. eighth save with three 1-3 innings of relief. He came in for Langston in the sixth inning wfith the bases loaded and two men out, but got out of the jam without making a pitch by picking Cougar freshman Chris Tre- mie off second base. John Byington went four-of-Five at the plate, including two home runs. A&M Head Coach Mark Johnson said the Aggies have to get out of their recent slump before they meet Arkansas. “We’ve got to get it going,” John son said. “We’re not in a real strong spurt right now, there’s no question about it. We’re not far off, but I didn’t think we were on all cylinders today. “We had some great play by some individual poeple, but as far as a team, we had spots where we weren’t sharp.” Football owners should stop caving in to demands of rookies The scouting is finished. The picks have been made. Now the most difficult and agonizing part of the football off-season begins. It’s more arduous than training camp. More taxing than the 16-game regular season. And it requires more planning and strategy than the playoff drive to the Super Bowl. Yes, (shudder), it’s how time to sign the draft picks. It’s the time of year when the stud pick says he might play baseball instead. It’s the time of year when he says, “I’ll sit out the whole year if the money’s not right.” It’s the time of year when owners and GMs should say, “Go ahead.” How does this keep happening? How is it, year after year, more and more pretentious, arrogant and ego-inflated im ^ t %: „ w Tom flflf Kehoe I Sports Editor jerks come out and hang the hopes of the fans, those who really pay their salaries, in limbo? 1 know one player doesn’t make an entire team. But one First round draft pick can come awfully close. Think of the elation Packer fans felt when the silver-haired gentleman strolled to the podium and meekly announced that Michigan State’s leviathan, Tony Mandarich, would be lining up in the green and gold this fall. Think of the elation Keith Woodside and Kenneth Davis felt hearing that Mandarich would be using his 4.6 speed and super-human strength to knock out loading bay-sized holes to run through. Now consider the deflating feeling that is running through Green Bay players and fans alike as Mandarich says he wants better money than the top pick ip the draft, Dallas’ Troy Aikman. New Cowboy owner Jerry “socks and jocks” Jones stepped on quite a few toes across the league when he announced the early signing. Intially he peeved outgoing commissioner Pete Rozelle with the early announcement of Aikman’s signing. That completely blew the suspense ESPN was hoping for when it paid for exclusive coverage of the Sunday draft. The second and more widespread effect of Socks and Jocks jumping the gun is how it really has screwed up the salary scale for other teams trying to sign their picks. Aikman is getting $ 11 million over six years with a multi-hundred thousand dollar bonus. That upsets many owners who now have to try to keep pace. Miami Dolphin owner Joe Robbie is one of them. “I don’t see any rookie coming into this league making more money than (Dan) Marino and (John) Elway, without ever having faced an NFL line,” Robbie said. Robbie’s right. And he has a vital stake in this issue. The Dolphins took Florida State running back Sammie Smith and Florida defensive back Louis Oliver in the First round. Both have indicated that unless their demands are met, they’ll sit out. The owners should take a stand. Let them sit. It certainly doesn’t pay to watch the games on their Zeniths when they could compromise, suit up and earn a little less than their Shylock-like agents put them up to asking. This is the year to quit capitulating to athletic avarice. Let Prime Time ride the bus in the middle of the night as he travels between games in the Ocean front League or wherever he’d be pigeonholed in the minor leagues. Let Mandarich try pro body building. And let the rest of us get on with the game on the field. Hia —MjTlj ^ AGGIE SURVIVAL KIT Let Pizza Hut help you thru those last few weeks of school! 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