The Battalion
Page 7
Wednesday • March 26, 1997
carborough hopes to carry on A&M tradition
By Chris Ferrell
The Batealion
Ihe argument could be made that over the past decade, no school in
the country has enjoyed as much success at the shortstop position
as the Texas A&M Baseball Team.
With two All-Americans in Chuck Knoblauch (who played shortstop at
SiM before becoming a second baseman in the majors) and Robert Har
is, who compiled five All-Conference performances, Texas A&M has been
ihortstop University. Over the past four years, the position has been nailed
jpwn by senior Rich Petru.
But like every great dynasty, the torch must be passed.
Freshman Steve Scarborough would like to add his name to the list.
‘The idea is that he’s our heir apparent,” Head Coach Mark Johnson
^id. “But we’re going to bring in some other guys, too. He’s not going to
live it just cushioned to him. It’s going to be just like it was for Rich—we’ll
Ting somebody else in. You’ve got to have people to push, people to back
[]). On paper and in my mind, I think he has a chance to be our shortstop
[ext year.”
* 4
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ns
Tim Moog,THE Battalion
freshman pitcher/infielder, Steve Scarborough, throws a pitch against
lington State.
Scarborough came to College Station with all the accolades of a future star.
After his senior year of high school, when he was named an All-Area
shortstop, his second consecutive season as an All-Area selection, Scar
borough helped lead the Dallas Mustangs to the Connie Mack World Se
ries title.
He was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, batting .667 in
the World Series.
His hot streak continued upon his arrival at A&M. Scarborough picked
up another MVP award, this one for the Aggie’s Fall World Series.
However, Scarborough found the jufnp from high school to college a bit
rocky, once the season got under way. While coping with the change in lev
el, Scarborough has found speed to be the main factor.
“Speed [is the major difference], the speed that the ball’s coming at you,”
Scarborough said. “It’s pretty much the same game, it just gets faster each
level you go.”
He has started making the necessary adjustments and has played an
important role for the Aggies this season. His versatility has made John
son’s job easier. Along with his steady play in the field, he has helped out a
bullpen which has struggled for a large part of the season.
"We knew he also brought to the table a couple of pretty good weapons
from the mound,” Johnson said. “He hasn’t pitched an unbelievable
amount. He has very adequate, above adequate velocity. He’s got that
breaking pitch, he’s got that change up. He’s got three pretty good pitches
so really dream on him a lot.
“I think he’s got a chance to help us on the mound and he does have a
strike-out pitch. That’s what you look for in a relief guy. You’d like to have a
guy who can strike somebody out with a man on third and less than two,
and he has that capability.”
But Scarborough is first and foremost an infielder. With the help of the A&M
coaches and the incumbent, Petru, Scarborough has improved his game.
“Petru’s taught me a lot of things this year,” Scarborough said. “Just get
ting into the system this year, the little things that coach wants us to work
on, Petru’s known that because he’s been in the system. He’s taught me
about fielding and how college hitters hit.”
The desire to improve was a major reason Scarborough decided to come
to A&M. He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 19th round of the
amateur draft, but opted for college.
“I didn’t think I was ready,” he said. “I need to work on a lot of things,
obviously. I was nowhere near ready. I need to mature a whole lot before I
go out and play.
“I need to work on my hitting quite a bit and my fielding. Fielding is foot
work, that’s about all it is.”
Johnson has been happy with Scarborough’s development.
“I think certainly he could step in right now and we wouldn’t skip a ma
jor beat,” Johnson said. “Rich is a guy that’s been in the hunt for a while and
really is a good defensive short stop.
“When you bring in freshmen, you know that not all of them are going
to play. Your recruiting class isn’t necessarily for the first year. We’ve had
freshmen start, every year we have freshmen start. But its unrealistic to
think that, unless you have a real empty cupboard, that they can take some
one’s spot. But to know that we don’t have to go out and find anybody with
his talents is a great help to us.”
Martin brings calm
strength to team
By Chris Ferrell
The Battalion
W ith the Texas A&M Base
ball Team leading the
second-ranked Rice Owls
1 -0 in the bottom of the fifth inning
on March 4, Head Coach Mark
Johnson was in a dilemma. Rice
had loaded the bases with one out
and the nation’s most feared batter
was on deck.
Enter Colby Martin.
As is quickly
Martin
becoming the
norm for the Ag
gies, Johnson
turned to the 6-
foot-3 left-han
der with the
team in a tough
spot. As is also
becoming the
norm, Martin
responded, get
ting an inning ending double play.
“It hasn’t bothered him,” John
son said. "Some people it does. We
brought him in with the bases
loaded and (Rice All-American
outfielder Lance) Berckman up,
probably the top hitter in the
country and, as it turns out, he gets
him to hit into a double play and
we get out of it.”
Not bad for a guy A&M red-
shirted a year ago because he did
not have the mechanics to com
pete at the Division I level.
“Talk about mental,” Martin said.
“That was the hardest thing, mental
ly, that I’ve ever had to go through.
Now when I get thrown in situations
[with the] bases loaded, that’s noth
ing compared to last year.
“When I came here, I had really
bad mechanics. I had the arm, I had
the ability. Coach Johnson is always
honest, he said, ‘you have the abili
ty.’ You know, I was mechanically
unsound. This year they feel that
I’m ready and I can help the team. I
look at it as another challenge.”
The junior pitcher accepted the
challenge and went after it in the same
manner he does opposing batters —
head on. An off-season of hard work
has made Martin a key component in
the A&M bullpen.
“At this school, everything is fun
damental,” Martin said. “The hit
ters are fundamentally sound, the
pitchers are fundamentally sound,
and if you aren’t, coach Johnson
plays the percentages. If you can’t
compete and be fundamentally
sound, eventually the percentages
are going to go against you.
“Every day I came in early. We
worked on mechanics, we
watched film. Every day I did extra
work. I wanted to pitch here and I
knew what I had to do.”
An early season injury to fellow
left-hander Shane King left Martin
as the only southpaw in the
bullpen and provided an opportu
nity for him to step up.
Martin has taken full advantage
of his chance, thriving in a position
most players would not like to find
themselves.
“Coming out of the bullpen,
you just have to accept those sit
uations,” Martin said. "Just look at
it like it’s your job. It’s the starter’s
job to get the lead and keep the
lead but when the games on the
line — it’s you, and that’s the way
I look at it.
“That’s my job, it’s what I’m sup
posed to do, especially against left
handers.”
See Martin, Page 9
Truitt slugs way into starting lineup
By Matt Mitchell
The Battalion
oming out of high school, Steve Truitt was on top
of the world. He had just put the finishing touch
es on a stellar prep career by posting near triple
rown numbers, hitting .539 with nine home runs and
31,11 H RBI for Elkins High School.
Having just been named first team All-State and All-
e£ ! Ireater Houston Player of the Year, Truitt opted for col-
W ege instead of professional ball, though he was draft-
d by the Milwaukee Brewers.
But as so often happens, the freshman left-fielder for
rltfl he Texas A&M Baseball Team was unable to smoothly
ltd nake the transition from high school to college.
“I didn’t know what I was doing wrong or what to tty
o work on or anything like that,” Truitt said. “It’s hard,
vhen you come from a good background, to live up to
'? he numbers I put up before, but that was high school
ind it’s over with. This is college.”
Truitt struggled during fall practices, and when the
eason began, he admittedly had little reason to think
ie would see much more than spot duty.
“I had a really tough fall and, coming in, I really
idn’t think I’d be playing that much,” Truitt said. "I
ad a decent spring and we went to Southwest Texas
foi the first game and I was in there. I didn’t know if it
as by the grace of God or what, but I thought I’d bet-
messes up,
sip
■
Dave House, The Battalion
freshman Steve Truitt takes a swing against Baylor.
ter do my best.”
Though it may not be his best yet, Truitt has played
his way into the lineup, starting 25 games, and ranks
third on the team with a .326 batting average. Truitt’s
bat is the big reason he has been a regular in the Ag
gie lineup.
“I’m just getting more comfortable and being more
aggressive,” Truitt said. “I’m trying to be more aggres
sive so I don’t have to be defensive. Now it’s just like ‘get
in there, relax and use what got me here’.”
As much pop as he has supplied at the plate, Truitt’s
role defensively is decidedly less defined. A versatile
athlete, Truitt has been unable, though not unwilling,
to commit to a single position.
“He’s a guy who’s played a lot of different positions,”
A&M Head Coach Mark Johnson said. “He’s played sec
ond, third, short, the outfield and never really honed in
on one of them, and I think that’s part of the reason he’s
not further along in that area.”
For Truitt, the matter is of secondary importance.
“I’d rather play infield, but it doesn’t really matter,”
Truitt said. “I’ll play anywhere they want me to, I just
like playing.”
Truitt’s love for the game and his high expectations
for himself and his team are immediately evident to
coaches and teammates alike.
“He loves to play the game and he hates it when he
said fellow freshman and Aggie
pitcher/shortstop Steve Scarborough. “It
keeps everyone focused on the game
and lets everybody know how much he
really cares. He lights a spark for us.”
With his now nightly appearances in
the starting lineup, Truitt’s improving
play, especially defensively, bodes well
for the future.
“When you break it down, he’s got
some of the things you look for in a
ballplayer,” Johnson said. “He’s got ex
ceptional speed and he puts pressure on
the defense. He’s got a very adequate
arm, and he’s improving defensively.
“But he brings a bat to the lineup. He’s
got a very good chance to be a gap hitter,
a doubles hitter, and hit some home
runs, too, so he’s not just a singles hitter.
He swings a pretty heavy bat.”
All things considered, it makes for a
“decent” freshman year, though Truitt’s
standards for the long run are consider
ably higher. At present, however, Truitt’s
play has added a new dimension fo the
Aggie season.
“He likes to compete, he wants to
contribute,” Johnson said. “He has a
great desire to contribute to the success
of the team, and he knows he has the tal
ent to do that.”
Chris Fulbright establishes
himself as a Tuesday starter
By Jamie Burch
The Battalion
"I" A "TTth teammate freshman pitcher Casey Possum
%/\ / staking his claim in the starting rotation, one
V V might expect Texas A&M freshman right-han
der Chris Fulbright to feel like the stepchild con
stantly trying to climb out from under his sibling’s
shadow. But Fulbright said he would rather view Pos
sum’s success as a challenge.
Fulbright said he looks at Possum with an,”if he can
do it, so can I,” mentality.
“We try not to let him think he’s too good,” Fulbright
said. “We constantly remind him he’s just a freshman.
But he pushes us. He’s a gifted pitcher.”
Fulbright has used Possum’s accomplishments as a
springboard to his explosive start. Prospering in the
warm Texas sun, Fulbright (1-0, 1.66 ERA) has surren
dered just four earned runs through 21-2/3 innings,
emerging as the Aggies’ fourth starter. Because of his
success, Fulbright has received the starting nod four
times on the all-important Tuesday game.
Pitching coach Jim Lawler said Fulbright plays a crit
ical role, as a starter or coming out of the bullpen.
“He’s a guy we’re high on,” Lawler said. “We feel like
he has a chance to make an impact on this program.
He’s got some innings under his belt and is someone
who needs to keep helping us down the stretch,
whether as a reliever or as a Tuesday starter.”
One of those Tuesday starts came against then No. 2
Rice University March 4. Fulbright held an explosive
Rice offense (.390 avg., 48 home runs) at bay. The right
hander threw 4-1/3 scoreless innings, relinquishing
three hits, four walks and striking out four. Though he
was not credited with the win, the Aggies held a 1 -0 lead
when Fulbright vacated the mound. A&M won 2-1.
Fulbright said he was surprised by his performance
against the Owls.
“The fact that they were No. 2 in the country upped
the stakes a little bit,” Fulbright said. “I was pumped up
going in there. I was also a little nervous and a little
scared. But once you get the first inning under your belt,
you’re ready to go.”
Head Coach Mark Johnson said he was expecting
A&M and Rice to light up the scoreboard.
“That was a little bit of a surprise and I think it was
for Rice, too,” Johnson said. “To think that would be a
close game, 2-1.1 thought it would be 14-10. He did an
outstanding job in adverse conditions. For Chris to step
it up the way he did and to give us a chance to win was
huge.”
Winning, and winning big, has been a way of life for
Fulbright. While at Libertyville High School in Illinois,
he posted a 29-3 career record, hitting .420 with five
home runs and 38 RBIs.
Even with all his high school achievements, Fulbright
said he has struggled with the transition to college.
“I’m not striking everybody out like I used to,” Ful
bright said. “The hitters have gotten a lot better. You
have to start developing more pitches and start hitting
locations. In high school, you could get away with
throwing fastballs every pitch because hitters couldn’t
catch up with them.”
Fulbright also has battled with rebounding from
starts. Lawler said after his last two starts, Fulbright has
been unable to pitch out of the bullpen because of ten
derness in his arm.
Fulbright said he is working to overcome the mi
nor setback.
“It concerns me,” Fulbright said. “I’m not worried
that I’ve thrown out my arm. But I need to recover a lit-
de quicker than I have been. I’d like to fill in spots on
the weekend. I want to throw out of the bullpen as well
as starting on Tuesdays.”
A durable arm would not only help bolster the Ag
gies’ pitching staff this season, but also could fill a void
at the season’s end. Fulbright is the heir apparent to as
sume the third starter role next year if junior pitcher
Ryan Rupe enters the major league draft.
See Fulbright, Page 9
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Tim Moog, The Battalion
Freshman Chris Fulbright pitches against Nevada.