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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
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