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The Battalion
P O RTS
Page 7
Tuesday • March 18, 1997
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By Chris Ferrell
The Battalion
After an Oklahoma State series
hich left them with their heads
inging, the Texas A&M Baseball
:am will look to get back on the
inning track against the Lamar
niversity Cardinals.
For the third straight weekend,
&M was unable to come up with a
ctory in the series’ decisive game.
"It’s been discouraging,” Head
oach Mark Johnson said. “I don’t
link going in [to the season] we felt
ce we were a team that could sweep,
nt win series, especially at home.
"The question now is how strong
urresolve can be.”
A&M led Oklahoma State 5-3 in the
th inning when freshman starter
asey Possum had to be relieved. As
as been the Aggie’s Achilles’ heel all
:ason, the bullpen was unable to
old the lead as A&M fell, 11-7.
The Aggies will use the Lamar
ame to evaluate the bullpen. John-
on hopes to get a good look at
ome relief pitchers in an attempt
ofindsome dependable arms and
will evaluate bullpen against Lamar
a closer. Junior right-hander Jamie
Smitli, who was supposed to be the
closer this year, has not recovered
from exploratory surgery he under
went during the off-season.
Junior Robert Keens remains
the leading candidate for the job.
Keens picked up a save earlier in
the year and looked to have the
job locked up before a couple of
rough outings.
“Keens has been the best,” John
son said. “You like to have a pitcher
who can come in and strike guys
out, especially if you have a situa
tion with a runner on third and you
need to get outs.”
Johnson also would like to get
freshman Steve Scarborough, an
other candidate for the closer spot,
some innings against Lamar.
The Aggies also have experi
mented with Possum coming in as
the closer. He picked up his second
save of the year Friday night. How
ever, the test may have hit a snag on
Sunday, when he had a less than
Fossum-like performance.
“It was interesting to talk to
him after the game,” Johnson
said. “He concurred that he was
n’t as sharp. We don’t want to put
Casey out there when he’s not
100 percent.”
If freshman Chris Fulbright’s
arm is ready after a brief outing
Sunday, he will get the start. Ful-
bright threw nine pitches, allow
ing an earned run and walking
one batter.
Senior John Codrington also will
see some action against the Cardinals.
Lamar will counter with fresh
man Brian Sanches, who is 2-1 on
the season with a 5.19 ERA. He will
be making his fifth start of the year.
The Aggie pitching staff will
look to get healthy against a Car
dinal team which is batting .293.
Junior outfielder Bryan Droptini
has been the main man in the
Lamar lineup with a team high
.397 average and five home runs.
Junior infielder Aaron Dean has
also been a force for the Cardinals,
batting .375 with 22 RBIs.
Johnson said the easiestway for the
Aggies to get healthy is with a victory.
“Right now our best remedy is to
win and play well,” Johnson said.
Ryan Rogers, The Battalion
A&M sophomore Steve Leonard dives back to first base in the third inning against Baylor University March 1.
atn Freshman, senior help Lady Aggies start off '97 season
Tim Moog, The Battalion
Long's personality help her
adjust to freshman season
By Lara L. Zuehlke
The Battalion
M any freshmen enter col
lege timid and unsure of
themselves, but Angie
Long does not fit that mold. Long,
a freshman second baseman on
the Texas A&M Softball Team, has
jumped in the middle of things on
the Lady Aggie squad.
A&M Head Coach Jo Evans said
Long’s upbeat personality and as
sertiveness set her apart from oth
er freshmen.
“I know her teammates respect
her for her ability and the way she
came in as a freshman,” Evans
said. ‘‘She wasn’t timid and a lot of
times freshmen are intimidated
and kind of sit back. Angie came in
and was willing to have an opinion,
which a lot of freshmen won’t do.”
However, Long said her transi
tion to college ball was not as easy
as she expected, but the team’s
support eased the change.
"It was hard in the beginning,
especially not knowing anyone,”
Long said. “Once we (the team)
started getting to know each other,
it became a lot easier. Now it’s kind
of like a family, because I feel so
comfortable with these girls. They
are really supportive of me and
what I do when I am on the field.”
Although the transition from
high school to college was chal
lenging, Long faced a more difficult
change. Chronic shoulder prob
lems forced her to switch from
playing shortstop to second base.
Evans said the position change
was hard for Long, but she has re
sponded well.
“Angie gets frustrated at times, be
cause it’s new for her and playing sec
ond base was really a challenge for
her,” Evans said. “She’s had a rough
go, but she’s done a really nice job.”
Sophomore third baseman
Kami Tucker said Long has
stepped in and made an immedi
ate effect on the Lady Aggie team.
“She came right in and was an
impact player and made a differ
ence from the beginning,” Tucker
said. “She’s very aggressive and
goes out there and takes control of
the situation.”
See Long, Page 9
Senior McGuire splits time behind the plate with friend Schmaltz
By Jeremy Furtick
The Battalion
I f there is one thing that drives
people to heated relationships it
is competition — especially
competition in sports. Add this
competition to teammates who
play the same position on the Lady
Aggie Softball Team and came to
college in the same year, and there
is probably a battle brewing.
Junior catchers Marianne
McGuire and Amy Schmaltz are liv
ing this scenario, except they are
not rivals — they are best friends.
McGuire came to A&M in the fall
of 1994 from Weatherford, Texas,
where she starred in high school
athletics. She participated in soft-
ball, basketball and track and left
her mark on each team for which
she played.
McGuire earned first-team all
district accolades after both her ju
nior and senior seasons in softball,
but she did more for her teams than
just put up good stats. Her leader
ship and motivation earned her the
softball team’s hustle award and the
fighting heart award in basketball.
McGuire said choosing a college
was not a difficult decision, but she
did entertain other offers. Okla
homa, Oklahoma State and New
Mexico State were among the pro
grams recruiting McGuire during
her senior year.
“I wanted to go wherever my op
portunities led me,” she said. “I’d al
ways liked A&M, and they had a
great softball program, but I had to
wait on them to call me first.”
After the Aggies made
McGuire an offer to play, the de
cision was easy.
It was during her freshman year
that McGuire first met Schmaltz,
who would become her friend and
competition on the team.
“We have a unique relation
ship,” Schmaltz said. “We root for
each other, but we also compete
and want ourselves to do well.”
McGuire spent most of her
freshman year watching and learn
ing along with Schmaltz, appearing
only in 14 games. She was having
trouble making the change from a
high school star to a competent col
legiate competitor.
“In high school and summer
league 1 was always one of the best
players,” McGuire said. “But at
A&M I’m not the best. That was a
hard thing for me to accept but I’ve
learned a lot from it.”
Last season, the two catchers
split playing time with each other,
starting every other game, but
Schmaltz said neither of the friends
wanted to do that again.
“We expressed to Coach (Jo)
Evans that we didn’t like the pla
toon system from last year,”
Schmaltz said. “It was hard to stay
on our toes when we knew what
days we would be playing.”
Consequently, this season has
seen McGuire compete at other
positions so Evans can keep her in
the lineup.
“She’s a great all-around athlete,”
Schmaltz said. “She’s shown this year
that she can play other positions. She
adds a lot of depth to our team.”
And just as in high school,
McGuire’s performance on the field
is not her only attribute. Schmaltz
describes her as one of the team
leaders with a tremendous amount
of character.
“When you're on the field and
need a spark, she’s always there to
get you up,” Schmaltz said.
McGuire, who serves as the
team’s co-captain, said her main
role is to be a leader.
“The team looks to me for a pos
itive attitude,” McGuire said. “I try to
provide character for the team, make
them laugh when they need to, and
pick people up when they’re down.”
McGuire said her college experi
ence will teach her more than what
she learns in her classes.
‘T’ve learned that softball is
not about the game, it’s about the
people, about myself and over
coming obstacles.”
Dave House, The Battalion
Instead of splitting time behind the plate with Amy Schmaltz, senior
Marianne McGuire has competed for other positions on the team.
UT Longhorns facing fewer critics, more familiar foe:
Sweet success
1g-
How the men’s Sweet 16 teams have fared in the
NCAA tournament:
Final Four
School Last year’s finish appearances
Arizona Regional semifinals, lost to Kansas 2
California First round, lost to Iowa St.
Clemson First round, lost to Georgia
Iowa State Second round, lost to Utah 1
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisville
Minnesota
North Carolina
Providence
St. Joseph’s
Stanford
UCLA
Utah
Tenn.-Chatt.
Texas
Regional finals, lost to Syracuse
National Champions 11
Regional semifinals, lost to Wake Forest
Not selected
Second round, lost to Texas Tech
Not selected
Not selected
Second round, lost to Massachusetts
First round, lost to Princeton
Regional semifinals, lost to Kentucky
Not selected
Second round, lost to Wake Forest
7
0
1 2|
2
liiir
1
15
3
0
2
AP/Ed De Gasero
AUSTIN (AP) — After squeaking out a win
over little-known Coppin State, Texas faces a
more familiar foe Friday night.
Advancing to the East Regional semifinals of
the NCAA tournament, the Longhorns (18-11)
will play Louisville.
The Cardinals (25-8) dropped Texas in over
time earlier this season when the Longhorns
blew a 15-point second-half lead.
. But so what?
It’s got to be easier than facing crowd fa
vorite Coppin State, a school so small it had to
borrow a band, so suddenly popular it got a
standing ovation from 17,000 spectators and
so tough the Longhorns needed to intercept
an inbounds pass with four seconds left to
save an 82-81 win.
It’s the sweet 16, where Texas hasn’t been since
1990, when the Longhorns reached the final eight.
And it’s sweet revenge against critics who said a
16-11 record and early departure from the Big 12
tournament had raised questions about the Long
horns' NCAA worthiness.
“Are we still on the bubble?” a vindicated coach
Tom Penders asked after the Longhorns rolled
over Wisconsin, 71-58, in the opening round.
Texas’ defense to the criticism was that it
did what the NCAA wanted — scheduled
“Just getting
in the tour
nament was
the thing.
Everyone
had a com
mon goal to
get to the Final Four.”
Reggie Freeman
Texas guard
tough opponents. But they didn’t play well at
season’s end, losing by 23 points to Colorado
in the last regular season game and then los
ing to Missouri in its first conference tourna
ment game after a bye.
They need no defense now.
“Just getting in the tournament was the thing.
Everyone had a common goal to get to the Final
Four. Forget about the season,” said guard Reg
gie Freeman.
Freeman did his part with 31 points against
Wisconsin and 22 more against Coppin State.
Now comes Louisville, again.
The Cardinals’ win over No. 3 seed New Mex
ico allowed coach Denny Crum to pass Indi
ana’s Bob Knight for third place on the NCAA
tournament coaching victories list.
Louisville won 85-78 in overtime on Jan. 19 in
Austin after Eric Johnson tied it with a contro
versial 3-pointer at the end of regulation.
“It was after the buzzer,” Penders said. “It was
a heartbreaker.”
But so what?
“The only thing I know is that we are the third
team from our conference to make it to the Sweet
16, which speaks a lot for our team and pro
gram,” Penders said.