Weight program pays oJJ
Marshall beefs up
J asonMarshall still looks
skinny in his white uniform,
but the Texas A&M junior
shortstop added 10 pounds of muscle
with an intensive off-season workout pro- >
gram.
Marshall, a sports management major
from Abilene Cooper, cited his intense
desire to improve as the reason his pro
gram was successful.
“I never seriously lifted weights before
I came to A&M,” Marshall said. “But I
just couldn’t get anything out of it those
first couple of off-seasons.
“This fall I totally dedicated myself,
and that made the difference.”
Marshall, who is listed at 6-1 and 173
pounds in the A&M media guide, drew
praise from A&M Head Coach Mark
Johnson.
“He’s a better player than he was last
year,” Johnson said. “He is getting
stronger and that helps his overall game.”
Marshall, whose hobbies include col
lecting baseball cards and playing putt-
putt golf, said he enjoys the confidence
that comes with the strength increase.
“It makes you feel better about your
self,” Marshall said. “I was tired of people
looking at me and asking, ‘Is there some
body in that uniform?’”
Although he doesn’t think that he will
become a big home run producer, Mar
shall said he would like to get more extra
base hits.
In 199 at-bats in an Aggie uniform,
Marshall doesn’t know the thrill of hitting
a home run. Only two of his 56 career hits
have gone for extra bases — both dou
bles.
“I’m not going to swing for the fences
now,” he said. “I’ll still use the same swing
I always have, but it’s certainly more ex
citing to see the ball jump off the bat
now.’
There has never been anything wrong
with Marshall’s swing. He hit .414 his
freshman season in limited action, and
managed a .259 clip in 1990 when he
pbyed in aD 60 of A&M’s games.
The work-out program’s biggest bene
fit has come in the form of improved con
ditioning, he said.
“I hope the weight training will pay off
late in the season,” Marshall said. “I just
got too tired last year. My arm felt dead
somtimes during summer ball.”
He spent the summer playing baseball
for Hyannis in the Cape Cod League, re
garded as one of the top amateur leagues.
“The Cape was full of great players
from all over, so there were rivalries be
tween people from different conferen
ces,” Marshall said.
The nearly year-round schedule of
school and baseball gives Marshall little
time to relax, but he said he is looking
forward to this season. He pointed to the
team's balance as its strength.
“1 think we’ll have a real good year,” he
said. “We’ve got a lot of talent on this
team and most of us have experience.
“This season, we should be a mix of
1989 and 1990’s styles. We’ve got
strength in the pitching and hitting de
partments.”
The Aggies won’t be hurting for de
fense either. They return the nucleus of a
solid fielding club. Last season, the dou
ble play combinadon of Marshall and sec-
ond baseman Trey Witte jelled toward
the end of the season, as A&M turned 50
See Marshall/Page 9
P. EBENHACK/The Battalion
Jason Marshall will get more chances to celebrate this season, as he did
here with third baseman Travis Williams (32).
Thomas tries to avoid sophomore slump
Paying
the
Oregon
Trail
Jy Craig Wi
Of The Battalion Staff
T he Oregon Trail will run
through College Station this
year.
Portland, Ore. native Brian Thomas,
the Texas A&M baseball team’s second
leading hitter from a season ago, will at
tempt to shun the infamous “Sopho
more Jinx” syndrome.
Freshmen players usually need time
to adjust to college baseball’s atmo
sphere and different pitching styles. But
Thomas was a step ahead of Father
Time in 1990.
All he managed to do as a true fresh
man was bat .290 last year after stepping
| in for injured outfielder Dan Robinson.
i&iEfft Thomas
KEVIN IVY/The Battafion
Thomas’ average was second-best on the
team and 11 of his 38 hits went for extra
bases.
But as the consummate team player,
Thomas knows that the Aggie nine did
not hit as effectively as they could and
should have last season.
“I always work hard,” Thomas said,
“and I think last year, for a freshman, I
had a good year.
“Teamwise, I don’t think our team hit
as well as we would’ve liked. I’m not at
all putting our team down but no one
was comfortable up there hitting. It
kind of went up and down.”
After a record setting 58-7 season in
1989, Aggie Head Coach Mark J ohnson
had to replace his ace pitcher and all
eight position players for 1990.
With Thomas playing a key role in
the Aggie attack, the team posted a 43-
17 record with a group of youngsters
and transfer players.
Johnson, though, agreed with
Thomas that the team did not compete
as well as they should have.
“I was pleased with our record,”
Johnson said, “but I was disappointed
we didn’t hit the ball better. We had the
effort. In fact, we may have had too
much effort and started pressing.”
The Aggies have the talent, youth
and experience to be College World Se
ries contenders this season, and much of
that potential success will rely on
Thomas’ bat.
So preparation for each game will be
a key to Thomas’ concentration, and
thus his performance. Relaxation is the
key element in preparing Thomas for
his “game face,” he said.
“A lot of times I just relax,” Thomas
said. “I listen to music before a game
and just kick back and think about what
I have to do.”
In 1990, Thomas played first base be
fore replacing Robinson in the outfield.
This year, however, his role is more def
inite, and he’ll play in a position he en-
joys.
“Last year I played first base for
about the first two weeks I was playing,”
he said. “This year it will probably oe
strictly outfield and it looks like I’ll be
playing in left field. Batting order-wise,
it’s really up in the air.”
Thomas is quick to insist that team
goals are a top priority.
‘Team goals always come first,” he
said. “I want to contribute as much as I
can for the team and just work my hard
est.
“Also, I would like to win a Southwest
Conference championship, get that ring
and go on to a regional, and hopefully
to the (College) World Series.”
Thomas undoubtedly would like to
improve upon his statistics in each sea-
See Thomas/Page 9
Page 4
Aggie Baseball
Monday, February 11,1991
33V 3J§§V
Thomas
son he plays, and he’s optimistic con
cerning his individual hopes for the
1991 campaign.
“As far as individual goals go,”
Thomas said, “I would like to just keep
on my successful trip that I’m on at
A&M.
“I have a goal set to hit above .315
and another goal to reduce my strike
outs. I had a lot of strikeouts last year.
That was just from being timid as a
freshman and being nervous.”
The general feeling of Thomas and
the coaching staff is that there was much
left undone from a year ago, and certain
games killed the team’s hopes in their
quest for the ultimate honor — being
crowned SWC champions.
“I think last year we hurt ourselves,”
Thomas said. “The last series we got
swept by Houston. It was all sort of stu
pid. It was our own fault.”
Thomas said that turning in a 43-17
record last season when the Aggies were
supposed to be rebuilding is a good sign
for the 1991 squad.
“This year we’ve got a lot of the same
players back and a few new key players,”
he said.
The 1989 team, the nation’s top-
ranked team for 11 weeks, was shocked
by LSU in the regional playoffs.
Continued from page 4
“I think the Aggies just caught hold
of a great Ben McDonald,” Thomas
said, refering to the 1989 Regional loss
to LSU and McDonald (the No. 1 draft
pick that summer). “I think being
ranked high definitely gives you a confi
dence boost. You play more comfort
ably because you know you’re that
good.”
But he said that a low ranking could
also be an advantage.
“A lot of times, being ranked low
means people don’t think we’re that
good, and that can make you play better
too,” Thomas said. “In the middle of the
poll it’s the same way. That’s why I don’t
pay much attention to the polls as long
as we go out and take care of our busi
ness. We know how good we are.”
Despite hitting a double in his first ca
reer at-bat, and being a potential team
leader in most offensive categories this
year, a concise description of outfielder
Brian Thomas is best summed up by
Coach Johnson.
“Brian played as a true freshman and
was our second-leading hitter,” Johnson
said. He’s got the complete package.”
If Thomas can live up to his goals this
season, the Aggies might have to pack
their bags and head up the trail to
Omaha for the College World Series.
Hughes
And the pitcher is ready to exceed the
accomplishments of 1989.
“Hopefully, this year will be better than
my sophomore year,” Hughes said. “Ho
pefully, I can carry the team to the World
Series.”
But Hughes is quick to point out that
learning goes beyond the baseball field.
“First of all, I’ve gotten better as a per
son,” he said. “You learn a lot from being
around Coach Johnson, Coach (Bill)
Marshall
double plays.
Only first baseman Conrad Colby and
second baseman Sittichoke Huckuntod
are new to the A&M lineup, and both
transfers sport impressive credentials.
Huckuntod was twice named first-team
Division II All-American, and coach
Johnson said he should fit in well at
A&M.
“Sittichoke is a fun player to watch,”
Johnson said. “He makes the big plays
when he has to.”
Huckuntod has excellent acceleration,
and should make a good partner for Mar
shall when the two get used to each other.
Agility, vital to any shortstop, was not
Continued from page 5
Hickey and Coach (Jim) Lawler.
“All those guys teach you a lot,” he
said. “They teach you more about life
than they do about baseball. They make
you a better person.”
Hughes has been paying attention to
his mentors. He was elected a team cap
tain for the second consecutive year and
is responsible for keeping the team’s mo
rale high.
Continued from page 4
ignored by Marshall in his quest for
strength. He said that he put almost as
much time into agility drills as he did into
heavy lifting.
Marshall’s newfound muscles won’t be
the only new aspect of his game, he said.
“I’m going to have a new attitude,” he
said. “I want to have fun and play hard.
I’m going to play every game all out.
“There’s no reason for me to be up
tight. I have more punch now, so I can
just cut loose and relax.”
With a new and improved Jason Mar
shall anchoring the infield, Johnson
should be able to rest easy too.
Monday, February 11,1991
Aggie Baseball
Page 9