The Battalion
SPORTS
Wednesday, Februaiy 14, 1990
Sports Editor
Richard Tijerina
Richard
rri • • •
lijerma
Sports Editor
R.C. will fall
in love with this
year’s recruits
X omorrow looks like it’ll be
more than simply Valentine’s Day. It’s
going to be a recruiting day that A&M
football coach R.C. Slocum will fall in
love with.
This year’s recruiting season has been
even more successful than Slocum’s
inaugural 8-4 campaign that saw his
Aggies finish as Southwest Conference
runner-ups and participants in the John
Hancock Bowl.
After harvesting several banner crops
in the mid-1980s under former Coach
Jackie Sherrill, the Aggies have been
hurt in recent years. Most noticeably,
last year A&M could sign only 13 high
school players. None of them made an
impact last season, and A&M’s top
recruit signed a professional baseball
contract with the Cleveland Indians.
The big winner over the last few
seasons has been Texas. But Coach
David McWilliams has failed to do
anything with his prized talent.
Enter Slocum, who took control of an
Aggie football program still stained with
the muck of an NCAA investigation.
Slocum has turned A&M football
around, and even transformed it into
something it hasn’t known for years.
An honest one.
It showed during this year’s recruiting
season, for even though the Aggies
didn’t win the conference, they looked
poised to grab it in the seasons to come.
Obviously, high school athletes
See Tijerina/Page 9
Ags claw Bearkats,
have hitting woes
By RICHARD TIJERINA
Of The Battalion Staff
HUNTSVILLE — In a season not ex
pected to be kind at the plate to Texas
A&M baseball, the Aggies had to get by
with the help of some timely hitting Tues
day against Sam Houston State University.
Left fielder Chad Broussard broke a 1-1
tie in the sixth inning with a three-run hom-
erun, and the Aggies went on to defeat the
Bearkats 4-2 in front of about 600 fans at
Holleman Field.
A&M improved to 4-0 on the season.
The Aggies were expected to struggle of-
howed
fensively in 1990, and they showed why
but that’s all right. I’ll take it. I didn’t think
it would get out, but I guess the wind held it
up long enough.”
Broussard’s homerun, his first of the sea
son, proved important. Two innings ear
lier, A&M starter Kerry Freudenberg ran
into trouble was taken out by Coach Mark
Johnson.
After the Aggies had gone up 1-0 in the
top of the fourth inning, Freudenberg
walked three straight SHSU batters to load
the bases with one out. But Freudenberg’s
replacement, senior Brent Gilbert, shut
down any hopes of a Bearkats rally.
With a 3-2 count on pinch hitter Chris
Stegent, Gilbert fooled the senior catcher
with an offspeed slider. Center fielder
Mario Cotton then narrowly missed a triple
as his line drive down the first base line
went inches foul. Gilbert got Cotton to
ground out to Aggie second baseman Trey
Witte to end the inning.
Gilbert, who earned the win to improve
to 1-0, said he knew he had to come in and
not allow SHSU any runs, even if the bases
were loaded.
“With the bases loaded, I’m sure (Ste
gent) wasn’t expecting, a slider,” Gilbert
said. “It felt good. With the pitching staff
we have, when you get your chance you
have to make the most of it. There’s always
someone right behind you.”
After getting out of the fourth-inning
jam, Gilbert had no trouble making the
most of his appearance. He breezed
through three more innings before giving
way to junior reliever Jason Bullaigi. Bul
lard earned his second save of the season.
“Brent was the key to the ballgame for
us,” Johnson said. “We couldn’t afford to
walk anybody, and he came in and really
shut them down. That really was a lift for
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A&M Coach R.C. Slocum hopes to have one of the best recruiting
classes A&M has ever had Wednesday on national signing day. The Ag
gies are expected to have one of the best classes in the nation.
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Lady swimmers lose to Texas
Chad Broussard
Tuesday against the 1-2 Bearkats. A&M
managed only five hits in the game.
But Broussard’s homerun made up for
A&M’s otherwise weak offensive showing.
The junior transfer from San Jacinto Ju
nior College took a 3-1 pitch from SHSU
starter Tom Jones and planted it over the
left field wall. Broussard knocked in right
fielder Dan Robinson and catcher Blake
Pyle to give the Aggies a three-run lead.
“I was just trying to knock the runs in,”
Broussard said. “I only hit it about 301 feet,
The remainder of the game went quietly.
After Broussard’s homerun, it appeared
the Bearkats weren’t going to give the Ag
gies much of a fight the rest of the way. But
SHSU made it interesting in the bottom of
the ninth inning.
Down 4-1, Bullard struck out Cotton on
three straight pitches for the first out.
Jones, who had moved from pitcher to
right field, then hit a sizzling line drive off
Bullard’s arm. It ricocheted toward A&M’s
Travis Williams at third base, and the Ag
gies didn’t have a play.
Bullard remained in the game, and
See Ags/Page 9
The Texas A&M Lady Aggies swim team
lost its last meet of the season to Texas
Tuesday night at the P.L. Downs Natato-
rium. The Lady Longhorns captured seven
individual events, in addition to a relay to
down A&M 67-35.
The Lady Aggies’ only individual victory
came from sophomore Laura Grimes, who
finished first in the 100-breaststroke.
The Lady Aggies were at a disadvantage
as Texas used all its top swimmers, while
A&M Coach Mel Nash gave his reserves a
shot before going into the Southwest Con
ference Championships.
“I was shocked that Texas swam as many
good people in the events as it did,” Nash
said.“Texas is definitely one of the top
con
Jacanc
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three teams in the nation.”
Longhorn swimmer Dana Dutdii
claimed first place in both the H)O-and20
freestyle.
The meet was the last of the season!
both Texas and A&M. Swimmers willri'
focus on preparing for next weeks $11
Championships. The meet is scheduled!
Feb. 22-24 at the Texas Swimmingcentei
Austin.
Nash said that Texas, Arkansas e
Southern Methodist should finish in then
three spots but he said the Aggies will
aiming for fourth.
“It should be an exciting battle bewtBPprox
(A&M), Houston and Texas Christian;' ume
fourth,” Nash said.
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