Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 1996)
sill and Softball Pages 6 8c 7 Allen’s aspirations: Perfection Despite being the Aggies' top base stealer and gathering 95 hits last sea son, outfielder Chad Allen sees plenty of room for improvement in his and his team's performance in 1996. al Arizffl Mary Ha UT-Panli McNe»: at UT-Aii NicholIsS at Sam dj Maine at Lamai Continen! SWC M Houston at Texas! Sam Hoifl Dallas Southwei! TCU Sam Ho® at Rice UTSA at Texas Texas Baylor at Baylor SWC Tonify Classic (Houston) By Lisa Nance The Battalion Aggie Baseball player Chad Allen can be de scribed in four simple words: perfection in the making. While total perfection is impossible to ob tain, Allen wants to get as close as he can. A 1993 graduate of Duncanville High School, Al len’s motivation and competitive nature make him a winner. But being a winner isn’t good enough, Allen wants to be the best. “What motivates me to play, more than any thing, is competition,” Allen said. “I want to be the best, and if I’m not the best, then I think to myself, ‘Well, you’re not doing as good as you can do.’ “I’m not trying to be cocky, but if I’m not go ing to be the best, then I don’t want to be out there. That’s how I work at it. “I want to go out to practice and to the weight room everyday and I want to be the best. I want to prove to other people that I work hard at what I do so I can be as good as I can be.” In his two seasons at A&M, Allen has proved that he has what it takes to be the best. He en ters his junior season as one of the brightest prospects in the nation. He earned a preseason second-team All- America pick by Baseball America, which lists him as the 19th best college prospect in the country and projects him to be the first player chosen from the Southwest Conference in next year’s Major League Baseball draft. The junior outfielder was invited to the USA Olympic Baseball Trials in Homestead, Fla., last November, and has again been asked to attend the USA Baseball Trials after the spring season, in preparation for the Olympics. Allen is no stranger to representing his coun try. He played on the USA team last summer and hit .295 in 33 games. Allen said playing on the USA team allowed him to play with the best talent in the nation. “It was a great experience for me,” Allen said. “Last fall, I tried out and in the summer, I played for the Olympic team. It was great to play with the best talent in the nation. It really gave me confidence going around and looking at who I was playing with. “Going out to play for America against Cuba and Puerto Rico was great. I guess the highlight would be sweeping Cuba, which had never been done by any team in the history of baseball. It was a great experience for me to play with such high caliber players.” A&M Head Baseball Coach Mark Johnson said Allen brings intensity and a competitive na ture to the field. “He is an outstanding player and a very gifted athlete,” Johnson said. “He brings an aggres siveness to our ball club and that kind of thing is contagious. Chad really enhances that.” Allen has proved that if he is not the best, he is right up there at the top. He was named sec ond-team, All-America by the Smith Super team last spring and was named to the second-team ABCA All-Central team. He ended the 1995 season third among Aggies with a .373 batting average, and led the team in SWC play with a .409 batting average. Allen said the most frustrating aspect about baseball is hitting. s & T “When you don’t hit the ball as well as you want to, it’s tough,” Allen said. “I expect the best out of myself, and when I don’t get it, I get frustrated. “Three out of every 10 at bats, you’re going to get a hit,” Allen said. “That means the other sev en times, you’re not going to get a hit and that’s frustrating. I want to get a hit every time.” Named to the All-SWC team as a sophomore, Allen was A&M’s top base stealer, successful in 23-of-25 attempts. His 22 doubles for the season tied a school record and his 95 hits in a season is the third best total ever at A&M. He was the only Aggie to start every game at the same posi tion, starting all 67 of A&M’s games in left field. In the 1994 season, he appeared in 50 games, starting in right field in 48 games and as a des ignated hitter in one. He started the first game of the season as a true freshman and went 2-for- 4 at the plate with three runs batted in. In his first eight games as an Aggie, he hit .516 (16-of- 31) with 10 runs scored, 12 RBI, two doubles, two triples and two home runs. Allen played high school ball at Duncanville where he was a three-year letterman in the sport. He was named to the All-American and All-state squads his senior year. With all the success that Allen has had so far, he sees nothing but a bright future. “I’d love to play major league baseball as long as I can,” Allen said. Hopefully I can have a 10- to-15 year career like some people do, but I think if I can get my foot in the door, then I could have a good career.” Dave House, The Battalion Natural twiKM *> <5^? 4' t: \ §§1 ill Texas A&M ace pitcher Erin Field knows how to get things done only one way: Her own. ■ ' By Wes Swift The Battalion When Erin Field, a senior pitcher for the A&M softball team, talks about her goals, one realizes that her expectations are not as flashy as her pitches. She speaks of improving the Lady Aggies’ record and returning to the All-South Region team at the end of the season. There are no bold predictions, no outlandish statements, just solid en thusiasm and modest expectations. “I’m the silent one,” Field, a native of Lincoln, Calif., said. “I just go out' there and do my job.” Strange, it seems, for a player whose coach, Bob Brock, calls one of the best in the nation. “She throws the ball very fast,” he said. “I think she has one of the fastest throws in the NCAA. When she gets in the game, she has a lot of intensity.” Field entered her second campaign as a Lady Aggie after a 1995 season ,when she carried the lion’s share of the pitching chores. Pitching in 41 games last year, including 31 starts, Field became the Lady Aggies’ ace pitcher after senior Christy Bunting left the team for medical reasons. Once given the reins. Field was on the mound more than twice as much as any other Lady Aggie pitcher. She toiled her way to a 15-17 record with five shutouts and 73 strikeouts. Both Field and Brock said they ex pect the senior to share more of the mound work this season. Three pitchers complement Field, and while there may not be a set ro tation, Brock said the entire staff will receive ample playing time. “We don’t want her to feel that she has to do it all herself,” Brock said. “We want her to do her best, but know that there are three other pitchers to help her.” The California native is also help ing herself. She has added a curve- ball to her arsenal, and is ready to lead the Lady Aggies into the grind of the season. Field is more than just a pitching threat. The senior batted fourth last season with a .314 average, second on the team. That leadership will be needed, as the Lady Aggies entered the 1996 starting two freshmen, Jesse Kady at third base and Kami Tucker at sec ond base. Field is one of only three seniors, and said she plans to let her actions speak louder than her words. “Hopefully, (Tucker and Kady) will see my example and follow what I do,” Field said. “I think (the inexperience) will probably be a factor when we play a really good team for the first time, or during the first couple of tournaments. But that will go away.” If Kady and Tucker follow Field’s lead, then their inexperience may go unnoticed. Field started her first game Tues day, pitching seven innings in a 5-1 victory against The University of Texas-San Antonio. The game began Field’s second season as an Aggie after spending two years at Sacramento City Col lege, where she earned All-America honors as a sophomore. Honors followed Field to A&M, where she was named first-team, All- South Region as a utility player in 1995 while pitching and seeing limit ed action at first and second base and right field. Despite the honors, though, Field is still unassuming when describing what she aims to do this season. “I’d like to have a winning record,” she said, “and I’d like to get back to All-(South) Region and All-Confer ence.” UTA/I’f! (Cram at Tex*! (CoW msca (C0IU 1 "" Aggjf' client at Bay at Step' at Kanl a ,0l* Sou*' Nebrf Texas' 1 at \of. Okl3 h(l South" Mis s0ll J| sj s? (j Series Despite leading the team with a .383 batting average in 1995, Kendall ’tichards expects even more of herself. By Stephanie Christopher The Battalion Senior softball pitcher Erin Field describes Kendall Richards in one word. “Awesome,” Field said. “There is no other word to de scribe Kendall Richards.” Texas A&M Head Softball Coach Bob Brock said Richards is one of the best shortstops A&M has ever had. “Kendall ranks at the top,” Brock said. “She is a player who I will remember for a long time.” Richards is A&M’s top re turning hitter. Last year, she paced the team with a .388 av erage. Brock said he expects to see Richards ranked as one of the top shortstops in the nation. Brock may have put a little pressure on the Lady Aggies’ field leader by saying he ex pects an even better season this year. “Kendall will be up for many postseason awards,” Brock said. “I can see her winning many of these awards.” Richards said most of her success comes from hard work. “We must play as a team,” Richards said. “It’s going to take hard work and learning from our mistakes.” Richards said she gives her thanks to Brock for giving her the opportunity to come to A&M. “Playing at A&M has been a learning experience for me,” Richards said. “I think we have a lot of good times ahead this season, and we are going to have to play with our hearts.” Field said that when she sees Richards on the field, she knows everything will usually be all right. “When I am pitching and Kendall’s behind me at short stop, I know that everything will be all right,” Field said. “She is a great defensive play er, and I am really glad to have her behind me.” Field said that on and off the field, Richards is a great teammate. She said she could not imagine the team without Per presence. Richards sees the strength of the Lady Aggies to be in the depth of their roster. “Our team has a lot of talent and potential,” Richards said. “But I won’t be satisfied until we win the World Series.”
