The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, May 01, 1995, Image 7

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    Monday * Majr 1, 1995
Aggie8 win finale against
UT in grand fashion, 25-6
The Battalion • Page
Roger Hsieh/THE Battalion
Junior center fielder Ryan Huffman pops out against the Univer
sity of Texas at Olsen Field last Friday night.
□ Pitchers for both
teams struggle in the
weekend series as
hitters have their way.
By Jim Anderson
The Battalion
With the number of runs that
the Texas A&M baseball team
put on the board against Texas
on Sunday, you would have
thought Leeland McElroy was in
the starting lineup.
McElroy was not there, but
neither were any effective Long
horn pitchers as the Aggies bat
tered the ‘Horns 25-6 at Disch-
Falk Field to salvage one game of
the three-game weekend series.
The Aggies, now 35-17-1 over
all and 13-8 in the Southwest
Conference torched six Texas
pitchers for 23 hits in front of a
crowd of 6,752 in Austin to even
their season series with Texas at
two games a piece.
Leading the way for the Ag
gies was junior rightfielder Chad
Alexander, whose five hits in
cluded two three-run home runs
and two doubles and produced
Nuggets thumped by Spurs, 122-96
□ Styling a new hairdo,
Dennis Rodman helps
the Spurs to a 2-0 lead
in their playoff series.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Den
nis Rodman, in one of the best
playoff games of his career, had
19 points and 16 rebounds as the
San Antonio Spurs trounced the
Denver Nuggets 122-96 Sunday
for a 2-0 lead in their Western
Conference series.
The best-of-5 series continues
Tuesday in Denver, where the
Nuggets must win to avoid play
off elimination. Last year, Den
ver was down 0-2 to Seattle and
rallied to win the series.
Rodman, who sported blond
hair inscribed with the red sym
bol of an AIDS awareness rib
bon, was anything but benevo
lent on the court.
The aggressive forward led all
players at halftime with 15
points and late in the first peri
od had a run-in with the
Nuggets’ Dikembe Mutombo, ap
pearing to elbow Mutombo in the
stomach as he fell to the floor.
Rodman was called for a
loose ball foul and a technical,
and Denver coach Bernie Bick-
erstaff also got a technical dur
ing the exchange.
San Antonio outscored Den
ver 34-16 in the second quarter
to take a 60-39 advantage at
halftime. The Spurs hit seven of
their first eight shots in the
third period and led 91-67 on 57
percent shooting.
Third time’s a charm for Astros
□ Houston now 1-2 at
home after putting up
as many runs as their
previous three games.
HOUSTON (AP) — Five hits
for the game isn’t really break
ing out of a hitting slump. For
now, it’s good enough for Hous
ton manager Terry Collins.
Pinch-hitter Luis Gonzalez
singled in the go-ahead run in a
three-run seventh inning that
rallied the Astros to a 3-1 victory
Sunday over Colorado, handing
the Rockies their first loss in five
games.
“We didn’t really tear the
cover off the ball, but we got
enough that counted,” Collins
said. “Before the game, we said
if we can just continue pitching
like this we’ll be OK because
sooner or later we’re going to
start hitting.”
It didn’t look good for the As
tros until the seventh. They
were on the verge of losing their
fourth straight game, struggling
"We didn't really tear the cover
off the ball, but we got enough
that counted."
— Terry
with pitcher Juan Acevedo, who
hurled three perfect innings in
his major league debut.
“You couldn’t tell it was his
first game in the major leagues,”
worked the seventh for the victo
ry after Greg Swindell was im
pressive in his first start of the
season. John Hudek got four
outs for his first save.
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six runs batted in.
“We came out to play today
and kept our intensity level
high,” Alexander said. “We felt
the need to redeem ourselves af
ter losing the last two games.”
Head coach Mark Johnson
said he was pleased with the
overall team effort that the Ag
gies showed.
"We got deep into their bullpen
and proved that we can hit the
ball well."
— Mark Johnson
head baseball coach
Colorado manager Don Baylor
said. “He was getting guys off
the plate and getting them to
move their feet. You can’t dig in
against him and I like that.”
But Curtis Leskanic replaced
Acevedo to start the sixth and he
walked Dave Maga-
x- dan and Milt
Thompson with one
out before Tony Eu
sebio hit an RBI sin
gle. After Orlando
Miller popped out,
Gonzalez singled
Collins home Thompson and
Astros head coach James Mouton had
foeaa coacn an RBI double.
Doug Brocail (1-0)
“We got deep into their
bullpen and proved that we can
hit the ball well, “ Johnson said.
“We also got a good pitching per
formance from Ryan Rupe to
hold down Texas, who proved in
the first two games that they are
also a very good hitting team.”
The Longhorns’ strategy was
to pitch around senior first base-
man John Curl, who tagged
Texas’ pitching for three home
runs Saturday night in UT’s 16-
11 victory over the Aggies.
This strategy proved to be fu
tile however, as sophomore third
baseman Jason Stephens collect
ed three hits, including his first
career grand slam. The slam was
the exclamation point in the Ag
gies’ nine-run fourth inning that
broke open what had
been a close game.
“It felt good to get
my first grand slam
home run here
against Texas,
Stephens said. “I
guess I owe John
(Curl) one for allow
ing me to get so
many RBIs.”
Curl, who is lead
ing the Southwest Conference in
hitting, said that the Aggies re
newed efforts at the plate on
Sunday were due to a “never say
die” attitude.
“This team never gives up,”
Curl said. “We have a lot of
heart and felt that we had some
thing to prove against Texas.”
See Baseball, Page 9
Softball team drops
two close games
The Texas A&M softball teani
completed a tough weekend ii
Louisiana Sunday by losing both end
of a doubleheader to Louisiana Teel
3-0 and 3-1.
As was the case in most of th<
Lady Aggies’ six-game road swing, th<
team had difficulty scoring runs. The;
collected a total of 12 hits in the tw<
games but plated only one runner.
A&M led briefly in the first game
scoring a run courtesy of Machelk
Weldon in the top of the fourth inning,
Tech responded with three runs in th< |
bottom of the inning to take the a leai'
they would never relinquish.
Despite the loss, pitcher Erin Fieli
enjoyed a solid game, going thu
distance, giving up just one walk whil<
striking out two batters. ||
In the second game, Tech pitche
Candice Carnahan simpl
overpowered the Lady Aggies, pitchinc
a complete game-seven hitter, walkinc
none and striking out two.
The Lady Aggies conclude thei
regular season home schedule
Tuesday night when they fact
Southwest Texas State University in ;
doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. a
the Lady Aggie Softball Complex.
Hoch hands Stewart
Shell Open victory
THE WOODLANDS (AP) — Paynt
Stewart made a three-foot par putt or
the first playoff hole Sunday to win the
Houston Open over Scott Hoch, whe
blew a six-shot lead with seven hole:
to go.
Stewart birdied the 18th hole t(
give him a 4-under-par 68. He tool
the tournament lead at 12-under 27(
while in the clubhouse when Hoci
double-bogeyed 17. Hoch then made
a 35-foot birdie putt on 18 to salvage!
a 3-over 75 anci force the playoff
the Tournament Players Course a
The Woodlands.
The victory was Stewart’s ninth bu
the first since the 1991 U.S. Open.
Hoch had a six-shot lead at the
turn and collapsed on the back nine
with three bogeys and the double
bogey that came started with a tee
shot in the water.
Tour rookie Charlie Rymer, wheif
shot 71 Sunday, finished third at 11
under 277, his best-ever finish.
In the playoff, at the par-4 18th
Stewart’s drive was in great shape or
the fairway but Hoch pulled his tee]
shot to the left among some trees anc ]
he had no clear shot to the green.
Spurs poised to be best in NBA
T exas once again has the best
basketball team in the NBA.
But this time, the Houston
Rockets must step aside.
The San Antonio Spurs finally
have a realistic shot at winning it
all. For David Robinson, an NBA
championship would be a fitting
ending of another brilliant season.
Winning 62 games was no
fluke. Some NBA critics have predicted a
breakdown in the playoffs for San Antonio sim
ilar to that of the Seattle Supersonics last year
against Denver.
Ummmm ... no.
The Spurs simply have the total package this
year. Along with the best front court in the
league with Robinson, rebel / rebounder Dennis
Rodman and the electrifying
Sean Elliott, the Spurs finally
have a reliable back court.
Sparkplug Avery Johnson and
sharpshooter Vinny Del Negro
are both having career years.
But the spark in the playoffs
just might come from the bench.
What was considered a cast of
throwaways at the beginning of
the season has jelled into the best bench in the
league. J.R. Reid, Doc Rivers, Chuck Person and
Terry Cummings would be starters on most teams.
And, of course, there is the ‘X factor.’ The
Spurs’ success could hinge on the shaky shoul
ders of the volatile Rodman. His suspension dur
ing last year’s first round playoff loss to Utah
See Spurs, Page 9
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