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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 31, 1995)
11! mi::: st;. Ifc sar: P r L- I k; 'OiK: lep ; ISC/ '% it ::: to:/ le c en:: pt:.: ,a: Friday •March 31, 1995 Aggie 8 to face UH Cougars By Shelly Hall The Battalion The Texas A&M baseball team will hit the road tonight to take on the University of Houston in an attempt to get back into the Southwest Con ference race. Head coach Mark Johnson said that several key areas have to improve. “We are going to have to pitch better,” Johnson said. “Our pitching and earned run average is down.” Johnson said he expects a tough game from Houston de spite the Cougars losing record. “We expect a tough match,” Johnson said. “They’ve lost a few games by one run. So, they will make a strong stand.” The Houston Cougars have more than a few close calls to motivate them according to Johnson. “They are a team with a new coach,” Johnson said. “They have been reenergized to the point where they are not going to quit. I just hope they wait another week.” Junior outfielder Chad Alexander said the Aggies will have to play well if they expect to beat the Cougars. “They are going to come out and compete,” Alexander said. “We saw them in New Orleans and they did well.” Alexander said that in order for the Aggies to leave Houston victorious, the pitching and hit ting both need to improve. “We need to get our pitching and hitting on the same level,” Alexander said. “Sometimes we will pitch well and not hit or vice versa. It’s all a matter of getting on a role and gaining more confidence.” Alexander said the Aggies’ confidence level will also play a role in determining the outcome of the game. “Our confidence level is still high,” Alexander said. “Last Tuesday against UTSA(Univer- sity of Texas-San Antonio,) we hit well with 19 hits. We also had a good pitching game.” Sophomore pitcher Ryan Rupe agrees with his team mate about the team’s confi dence level going into the game against Houston. “Even though we lost, we feel we should have won,” Rupe said. “We’re not out of it. Our confidence level is the same as before. We still have a good chance to get back into it.” Rupe said he expects a tough game from Houston despite their low conference record. “Right now, Houston is struggling,” Rupe said. “They are 0-7 in conference, but they are still a tough team to beat.” The Aggies hope to learn from the past to beat the moti vated Cougar team. “We need to reflect on what we’ve done in the past. It makes it easier to get up for a game when you’re below .500 in con ference. That gives you a drive.” Allen leads team on mound, in outfield □ The sophomore sets sights on SWC tourney. By Robert Rodriguez The Battalion If the Texas A&M baseball team gave out an award for Mr. Versatility, then sophomore outfielder-pitcher Chad Allen would get the award. In the Aggie lineup, Allen is looked to for production and on the mound he is expected to come out of the bullpen. However, Allen said his role on the team is to help his team mates out. “I want to be the person that lifts people up and gets them in volved in the game,” Allen said. Last year, Allen hit .293 with four home runs and 30 runs bat ted in. On the mound, Allen was 4-4 with a 3.60 earned run aver age as a reliever. This season, Allen is batting .378 and already has four home runs and 32 RBIs. In conference play, he leads the Aggies with a .435 batting average. Allen said what he learned in his freshman year is already helping him out this year. “Last year, I started the sea son hitting the ball well,” Allen said. “However, in conference play, I got into a slump. This year, I learned that I can’t get down on myself like I did last year.” Allen said his most memo rable game as an Aggie was in the second game last year against UT-Pan American. In the game, Allen came into the eighth inning to pitch for the first time in his Aggie career and shut out the Broncs. In the ninth inning, Allen hit a single and scored the winning run for A&M. This year, Allen has not set too many personal goals. In stead, he wants to help the team accomplish its goals. “My goal is to help the team make it to the Southwest Con ference tournament,” Allen said. “If we get in the tournament, we will host it. I think if we host the tournament, we have a good chance at winning.” Allen was invited to the USA Baseball National Fall Trials in Florida last fall. He said it was a privilege playing with players that were well known. “It was an honor to play with guys I have heard and read about,” Allen said. “It was great to know that I could play with these guys.” Allen is no stranger to suc cessful teams. In high school, Allen played for Duncanville, which was the top rated high school team in the nation. He was the district MVP during his junior and senior seasons there and was named to the All-Amer ican and All-State squads his se nior year. During the summer, he played for the Dallas Mustangs and led them to the Connie Mack World Series champi onship game. In the champi onship game, Allen hit two home runs for the Mustangs. Aggie freshman catcher Matt Garrick was on Allen’s team in high school and with the Mus tangs. Allen said it is great to have Garrick on the team. “Matt and I have the same personality and I knew Matt could play,” Allen said. “For two guys to play together in high school, summer league, and col lege is such a coincidence.” Allen was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds after his senior year. Allen told the Reds he wanted to play collegiate baseball and knew coming to A&M would be an easy decision for him. “A&M has been great to me,” Allen said. “I wanted to come to college straight out of high school. I have become more ma ture and I have learned a lot more about the game.” Allen has been rated as the #76 college prospect in the nation for the major league draft, even though he is not eligible for the draft because of his sophomore classification. Whether or not Allen does play his senior season at A&M, he wants to be remembered for hard work and giving it his all. “I want to be remembered as a person who competed hard and never gave up,” Allen said. in conference play, sophomore Chad Allen leads the Aggies with .435 batting average. He has four home runs and 32 RBIs. No. 15 Aggies to host No 7 Longhorns □ The men's tennis team needs contributions from all players to improve their SWC standing. By Jim Anderson The Battalion Bragging rights. They will be on the line once again as the 15th-ranked Texas A&M men’s tennis team hosts seventh-ranked Texas Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in a crucial Southwest Confer ence match. Head coach David Kent is aware of the significance that is associated with this im portant confrontation. “It is a must win for both teams because of the fact that TCU is lurking in the wings,” Kent said. “We match up good against them so I think we will be able to win if we don’t get too tense.” A&M’s top seed Blake Arrant renews an old rivalry when he takes on Chad Clark, the number one seed for the Longhorns. The two went to rival high schools and played each other numerous times in high school competition. Arrant, a junior, is well aware of the ability of this long time adversary, who is ranked number two in the country in sin gles competition. “Although we have played each other many times in high school, we have split our only two meetings in collegiate level play,” Arrant said. “Hopefully I will be one up on him after we play each other on Saturday.” The hottest Aggie player coming into the competition is junior Eric Horan. He has won ten out of his last twelve matches coming into the match with Texas. Horan believes that the key to beating the Longhorns will be the Aggies’ ability to utilize their home court advantage. “I think that we definitely have a better chance of beating a good team like Texas in College Station than if we were playing them in Austin,” Horan said. “The courts are a little different and we should have a big crowd to back us up.” Kent also emphasized the importance of doubles competition in winning the match. “We have to get off to a good start with our doubles team, who I feel is capable of winning given our recent strong doubles play,” Kent said. “If we are able to do that than that will give some confidence to our guys going into singles competition.” Still, the players are aware of the chal lenge the Longhorns represent. An all-out team effort will be a necessity if the Aggies are to come out victorious. “We haven’t been real consistent this season in that we haven’t been able to put a complete match together,” Arrant said. “We are going to have to do that this week end to have a chance against a quality team like Texas.” JuniorBlake Arrant prepares for Saturday’s match-up with UT. The Battalion • Page 5 o No place for cash bonuses in NCAA H e shoots, he scores. And now he walks over to his coach to receive his $100 bonus for that three point shot. Unfortunately this could be the future for collegiate sports if a new movement led by Duke alumnus Dick DeVenzio gains momentum. DeVenzio is advocating an idea that has existed for years, paying college ath letes for their play and ac complishments. DeVenzio believes that players should be paid their worth in an open market. Because sports exist at universities only for the money, DeVen zio thinks that the NCAA should allow athletes to get a piece of the profit. The money for the ath letes would come from fans, boosters, agents, television contracts and coaches. De Venzio even suggests that the money could be put into a trust fund until after the athlete graduates. In fact, in April 3rd’s is sue of Newsweek, DeVenzio described how in 1993 he send $100 checks to 100 Duke football players, post dated after the season. De Venzio said that 22 players cashed their checks and the NCAA took no action be cause the player’s eligibility was over. What DeVenzio fails to realize is that these are col lege players and participat ing in athletics is not their job, it is merely an extracur ricular activity that accom panies academics. Athletes are not participants in an open market, rather they are attending institutions that offer them a chance for an education and to partici pate in athletics. Paying college athletes would also ruin the true spirit of college athletes. Athletes should be motivat ed by their love of the game, not greed. That is why we have professional leagues. Players might im prove their game by the motivation of money, but this is the wrong motiva tion. The motivation should be the ability to improve your game through hard work and perseverance. Unfortunately, DeVenzio believes the only way people can be motivated is through money. He misunderstands the reason most people choose to become involved in See Buffin, Page 6 MSC FILM SOCIETY PRESENTS... YOU WON’T KNO UNTIL YOU SEE W THE FACTS THE FICTION. THE NEW YORK TIMES, Janet Mas tin "Tremendous Fun! Exhilarating! A work of blazing originality! Bravo!" NEW YORK MAGAZINE, David Denby "Ecstatically Entertaining! One of the great wild rides of recent cinema!" ROLLING STONE, Peter Travers "Indisputably Great! Ferocious Fun!" C* OjiCHtlH L. 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