,1993
lO.'IU
OFC
DON’T
INS, &TT
[TO- NOVJ
IK>V
1
v *
■Gmun
jojlfll
(filter.
Sports
Monday, April 5,1993
MRHHRMHHHHI
The Battalion
Page 7
Injury displays
faults inherent
in spring drills
c
riticism is
easy in
DON
NORWOOD
Sports Editor
It's time for
'h i n d -
sight. We're all
experts if we
claim to be
right about
something
we've waffled
on in the past.
The events
of April Fool's
Day were no
joke, however,
as they cement
ed the beliefs of
many of us
about contact
drills in spring football
them to end. Now.
When Texas A&M quarterback
Corey Pullig fell in a heap on the
Kyle Field turf last Thursday, the
medial collateral ligament in his left
knee torn after a teammate fell on
him, the future of the Aggies was
put into serious jeopardy. Only lat
er, when team doctors said that Pul-
lig's injury would not require
surgery, did players and coaches
breathe easier.
This roller coaster ride of worry
and relief should never happen, not
at A&M, not anywhere. Inserting
three weeks of contact practices into
the middle of the spring semester
might familiarize players with their
coaches' schemes, but it also brings
about the potential for the type of
thing that happened to Pullig. Un
fortunately, that's the way the game
is played these days.
Anyone who places the blame for
Pullig's injury on the A&M coaching
staff is either naive or looking for a
scapegoat. Or both. A better source
of blame is the system in which col
lege coaches are forced to operate.
Since spring contact drills are not
forbidden, many coaches take the at-
See Norwood/Page 8
Granger, Aggies mow down Chaparrals
Junior pitcher breaks SWC record
with 21 strikeouts in one game
CRAIG FOX/The Battalion
Jeff Granger delivers a pitch shortly after breaking the Southwest Conference record
for strikeouts in a game with 21. The old record, held by three players, was 19.
... rr
By WILLIAM HARRISON
The Battalion
The Texas A&M baseball team took
two games from the Lubbock Christian
Chaparrals this weekend, but two
records, one missed and one made, stole
the show.
After two huge wins over the Chaps
for the weekend, A&M pitcher Trey
Moore said the Aggie baseball team felt
one win short Saturday.
The second half of Saturday's sched
uled double header was rained out with
A&M coach Mark Johnson poised for his
400th career victory after rolling in his
398th and 399th wins for the weekend se
ries against the Chaps, 16-0 and 18-3.
"We'd like to give it to him at home -
it would have been better for the home
crowd," Moore said.
A&M, ranked as high as third in the
nation in the polls, improved to 33-3, sit
ting atop the Southwest Conference at 5-
1.
All of Johnson's wins have come at
A&M during his eight-year career, John
son's only head coaching stop in colle
giate baseball.
In Friday's contest, A&M pitcher Jeff
Granger set a SWC single-game strikeout
record, nailing 21 K's against the Chaps
to break the previous record of 19 held by
A&M's Bruce Kaat and the University of
Texas' Burt Hooton and Eric Stone.
Granger's earlier strikeout high for the
season was 10 against Southeastern
Louisiana.
Moore, who pitched in Saturday's win,
said he scouted Granger's pitches on Fri
day and described his performance as
"awesome."
"His slider was incredible," Moore
said.
"It was a great game to watch. I chart
ed it (and) it was a great pleasure to be a
part of it in that way," Moore said.
Commenting on Granger's perfor
mance, Johnson said the left-hander was
in a groove, hitting the strike zone while
throwing hard in the 90 mile-per-hour
ige.
'jeff Granger was the biggest plus of
pla\d
bigge: _
the weekend - he just flat got hooked up.
In the eighth inning he was throwing
some 93's, and he was throwing that ear
ly," Johnson said.
"He's got good enough stuff that
when that happens he's going to be dom
inating — it didn't matter who we were
hng."
Respite A&M belting 16 runs to sup-
f jort Granger, the pitcher didn't let up, al-
owing only two hits in the shut-out.
In Saturday's game, A&M's Moore got
plenty of run support, too, after A&M
batted around the order in the first two
innings to spot Moore a 15-run lead.
Lubbock Christian finally took starting
pitcher Shane Jackson out of the game af
ter more than an hour and a half, with the
game still in the third inning and two
outs against A&M.
During the second inning when A&M
sent 13 batters to the plate, Moore had to
toss the ball in front of the A&M dugout
to keep warm before taking the mound
again.
"You get in that groove, and then you
have those long innings, and you kind of
lose that adrenalin or whatever you had
going," he said.
However, Moore contributed to those
long innings as a designated hitter, hit
ting a three-run home run and run-scor
ing single in his only at-bats before being
lifted from his DH duties in the third by
pinch-hitter John Curl.
For the season, Moore upped both his
games with a 8-0 pitching record and a
.342 batting average.
A&M third baseman Lee Fedora said
the Chaps were a good team, but may
have been short-handed against A&M.
In mid-March, Lubbock Christian split
a two-game series against A&M confer
ence arch-rival Texas, losing 11-7 in the
first game but winning 9-7 in the second.
"I guess they were a little low on their
pitching staff, but we hit the ball well. I
See Strikeouts/Page 8
Monday - April 5
7:30 pm
Tuesday - April 6
6:30 am
12:20 pm
7:30 pm
Wednesday - April 7
12:20 pm
8:00 pm
Thursday - April 8
12:13 pm
7:00 pm
7:00 pm
7:00 pm
Friday - April 9
Kickoff Rally with Tom Nelson
Men’s Bible Study with Tom Nelson
Slow Motion football
Wayne Watson/Wes King concert
T-Shirt Day
Dave’s Amazing Illusions
Campus Worship Service with Louie
Giglio
Crucifixion Scene
Corps Fellowship Banquet with Frank Cox
“King of Kings” Easter Pagaent
International “Jesus” Film Festival
in English, Mandarin (Chinese) & Spanish
A&M Methodist
MSC Rm 201
Sbisa Lawn
Rudder Aud.
Sully
Rudder Aud.
12:00 noon Celebration Rally with Frank Cox
Rudder Fountain
Brazos Center
Bryan Civic Aud.
Rudder Aud. 304, 510 & 601
MSC Flag Room
'Why do you look for the Living among the dead?
He is not here. He has risen!”
Luke 24:5-6
(deCe&iatituy featcb
SEE EVIDENCE OF THE RESURRECTION IN THIS ISSUE OF THE BATTALION
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT CHRIST OR RESURRECTION WEEK CALL THE RESURRECTION WEEK
HOTLINE AT 847-1950 OR COME TO OUR ACTIVITIES.
This ;i<l is sponsored l>v contributions hr ;ire;t (.liristians, ()rgani/ations, and I ocal ( dm relics For a specific list o( which organi/.it ions have affiliated themselves with Resurrection Wee k call 847-1 ‘>50.