<
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