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.
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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.
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“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
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Texas A&M ace
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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.”
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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.”