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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 1993)
< Sports Tuesday, April 13,1993 The Battalion Page 7 McElroy ready to jump into already crowded backfield A 1 a r g e shadow has been cast over Kyle Field by a tal ented duo of backs. Texas A&M running backs Greg Hill and Rodney Thomas have formed a nucle us that rivals any tandem in the nation. To gether, both formed the Lion Offense, and in the process, became kings of the Southwestern Conference jungle. Hill and Thomas occupied a lot of the spotlight last season as the Ag gies rolled to 12 consecutive victo ries. Their shining moments may be dimmed a little this season, though, because of a running back who wants to make three a crowd. "When I first got here, I didn't know what to expect," redshirt freshman Leeland McElroy said. "I didn't know if I could play with Thomas or Hill but they took me aside and helped me out. "I knew the best thing for me was to sit out a year, which I did, but I still wanted to play as anybody would want to. I want playing time (this season) but I know I am not go ing to get as much as I want. "Greg and Rodney have been here and have had success. I can learn from what they do and hope fully follow in their footsteps. After they are gone, I want to step up and do anything to help this team win." See Plumer/Page 8 MICHAEL PLUMER Assistant Sports Editor Aggies seize top spot in nation A&M takes first place in all three national polls after weekend sweep By WILLIAM HARRISON The Battalion Three separate college baseball polls ranked Texas A&M number one in the country Monday, ousting their confer ence rival University of Texas for the top spot. The Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America and USA Today/Coaches Poll placed the Aggies number one after a three-game sweep over Texas Tech and Baylor's sweep of Texas in a double- header Saturday. Texas fell to fourth in the USA Today poll, fifth in Basebcll America and sixth in Collegiate Baseball. A&M coach Mark Johnson said he told his team that they were handling the ranking well. "I haven't seen any sign or signal from our team that we have an overconfidence or cockiness that's not in the right per spective, and I think we'll hold onto that - there wasn't anybody holding up the number one finger or anything like that," Johnson said. "The thing we like about the ranking is that it makes us play like a number one team; we've got to try and keep that ex pectation." A&M co-captain Billy Harlan said the team needed to keep playing like they have, so if they retain the ranking through the rest of the season, the rank ing may yield a home field advantage in the post-season NCAA regional playoffs. "We're excited; we've worked hard to get there and now we want to prove to everybody that we deserve to be there." Harlan said. "We want to end the season in the conference on the number one spot, and go into the SWC tournament as the number one team." "Hopefully we'll get a regional here if we're the number one team in the na tion." See Polls/Page 8 Aggie hurler Kelly Wunsch steps into limelight with latest outing By Matthew }. Rush T?ie Battalion He is a powerful lefthander with a mean breaking ball. He's reached dou ble figures in strikeouts four times this season. He throws his fastball consis tently in the high-eighties. No, it's not Jeff Granger it is the arm of the man in his shadow, Kelly Wunsch. On a pitching staff that is headlined by the dominance of Granger, little is said about the other two starting pitch ers or the bullpen, but Kelly Wunsch has quietly put together a brilliant junior campaign thus far. With a perfect 5-0 record and an ERA of 3.22, Wunsch has all but befuddled hitters at the plate with a nasty arsenal of pitches, "He is an outstanding pitcher." Coach Mark Johnson said of his 21 year old lefthander, "He is pure ammunition and if he's hooked up, he is tough to beat" Johnson added that this group could be as good as any he has been associated with. "(The pitching staff) has a chance See Wunsch/Page 8 ■ VL_Lf/ KBPnTBLPHB I HETIi TEXAS m UNIVEBSITT KAPPA ALPHA THETA 8th ANNUAL 5-K Run / 1.5 mi WALK APRIL 17,1993 9:00am @ the THETA HOUSE 1503 ATHENS DRIVE ENTRY FEE $10 (incl. T-SHIRT) BENEFITS PHOEBE’S HOME AND CASA * TROPHIES AWARDED TO TOP 3 FINISHERS IN EACH DIVISION PLAQUES AWARDED TO SORORITY, FRATERNITY, and CORP OUTFIT with GREATEST PARTICIPATION * DOOR PRIZES GIVEN AWAY AFTER RACE entry forms available at the MSC APRIL 12,13,14 &16 OR CALL 693-5289 * PACKET PICK UP APRIL 16 4-8pm or APRIL 17 7-8:30am @ THETA HOUSE save the earth, save the whales, save the trees, save the atmosphere, save an aggie, give blood, save the rainforest, save the children, save the dolphins, save the cities. Aggie Blood Drive April 12-16, 1993 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Commons For more information SBISA call 1-800-DONATE4 Rudder Fountain Another service of Alpha Phi Omega, Omega Phi Alpha, and Student Government BLOOD CENTER at Wadley (214) 351-8611