The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, April 18, 1997, Image 9
The Battalion F o R I' Page 9 Friday • April 18, 1 997 ggies face arch-rival Longhorns in first-ever Big 12 series By Matt Mitchell The Battalion For Parents’ Weekend and all the good Jelings that go along with it, the Aggies |id Longhorns will remind us of another tifiidition, by dishing up a big batch of hate tins weekend. The Texas A&M Baseball Team will uare off against the University of Texas in three-game series beginning Friday at sen Field. Friday’s game, a sure sellout, is heduled to start at 7 p.m. before the series loves to Austin and Disch-Falk Field Sat- iday and Sunday. I By continuing their superb play in an 8-4 win over the University of Houston, the Aggies will enter the Texas series on a roll. “We’ve got all kinds of momentum,” se nior shortstop Rich Petru said. “We’re just going to take that right into Texas and the rest of our conference series.” The Aggies have good reason to be both confident and optimistic. Texas is suffering through an uncharacteristically subpar sea son under first-year Head Coach Augie Gar- rido. Despite playing only six games away from Austin, the Longhorns (22-16, 5-10) started the season strong, but faltered bad ly during conference play. “They’re not real successful right now, “They’ve been strug gling, but they’re still a great team, we know that. ” Rich Petru Senior shortstop but that’s who we’re looking at right now and we know it’s going to be a game,” ju nior pitcher Robert Keens said. "We know how it is — sometimes things don’t fall your way, and we want to do every thing we can to keep it from falling their way this weekend. Who’s to say they can’t turn it around this weekend, and we’ve got to do everything we can to keep that from happening.” Petru echoed Keens statements, saying one can throw out the records each time the two heated rivals hook up. “They’ve been struggling, but they’re still a great team, we know that,” Petru said. “Plus, when Aggies and Longhorns get together, it doesn’t matter if one team is in last place and the other is in first, it’s still going to be a good game because everyone plays with heart in that game. There’s no way you can’t.” Good defense and timely hitting, as well as the ability of its pitching staff to avoid big innings has helped the Aggies win 15 of their last 18 games. Perhaps the biggest thing go ing for the Aggies this weekend is the recent dominance of the pitching staff, which has improved weekly this season and may be close to peaking. “I think we feel real good right now be cause we’re getting a lot of guys out there that threw at the first (of the season),” Keens said. “It shows we have a lot of guys to go to, and that builds a lot of confidence in us—know ing we can put anybody out there and they can get it done.” The minnow has a new skipper lexas coach Augie Garrido talks about his first year with the Longhorns By Jamie Burch The Battalion vrp~ TL he University ofTexas Baseball program has a rich and storied past. In IT's 100-year base- •k )all history, the .onghoms have aptured 64 South west Conference ti- lesandfour nation- 1 championships, wading these suc- :essful squads were 'ecora ted skippers; Villiam Disch, Bibb alk and Cliff ktstafson. Justafson is the JCAA-Division I 11-time winningest oach with a record of 1,466-377-2. Under Gustafson, the ’Horns on two national champi- nships in 1975 and 1983, 22 WC regular season titles and 11 WC postseason tournament ti es. After 29 years at the helm, Gustafson and the athletic de partment decided it was time to move in another direction. A long search unearthed the perfect candidate for the job, for mer California State Fullerton coach Augie Garri do. Garrido brings to the program credentials other Longhorn skippers established during their reign at Texas. Garrido, just the 12th UT baseball coach in the pro gram’s history, is eighth on the NCAA all-time win ningest coaches list with 1,152 victories over 28 seasons and third among active coaches. In addition to the numerous victories, Garrido has captured national titles in 1979, 1984, and 1995. See Garrido, Page 11 “In professional baseball, you use the players for the betterment of the game. In col lege baseball, you use the game for the betterment of the players.” Augie Garrido UT head coach I ■ iHailM I— Photo Courtesy of Jim Sigman, UT Photo Department UT Head Coach Augie Garrido talks with two of his players during practice. 'Bobby Earl' keeps team on its' feet with antics By Matt Mitchell The Battalion R obert (Bobby Earl) Keens does not sing except on request, and he has never once charged admission at Wolf Pen. His stage is the Texas A&M Baseball Team, and his audience is no less en tertained by his locker room antics. Keens, a right-handed pitcher used primarily out of the bullpen this season, has assumed the role of team cutup, and has been known to try almost anything his teammates put him up to. “Sometimes it gets kind of bor ing, and you’ve just got to do what you have to do to keep things inter esting,” the junior hurler said. “If someone wants you to do some thing, there’s no fun in not doing it. You just bust out and do it. I mean, I’m not scared to stick a straw up my butt, if that’s what it takes.” A considerably less racy creation of Keens and the bullpen is the bur geoning legend of Habib, the bullpen mascot. According to Keens, Habib just appeared one day and of fered an interesting proposition. “He said he may be able to turn - ■ *4, “ a m JIM Ir^Vrl Derek Demere, The Battalion junior pitcher Robert Keens, seen here with Habib, warms up in the bullpen against Nebraska. our luck around if we took him in and did him right, and so far he’s paid off,” Keens said. See Keens, Page 14 TUXEDO RENTALS from $49.95 FREE SHOES * FREE VEST E ADIES &TO “Bridal dr Tuxedo” At The Texas Avenue Entrance of A&M Open Weeknights Until 7 P.M. SEMI-ANNUAL CLEARANCE SALE 20 TO 50% OFF ALL INSTOCK BRIDALS • FORMALS AND BRIDAL VEILS E ADIES <STO “Bridal dr Tuxedo” At The Texas Avenue Entrance of A&M Open Weeknights Until 7 P.M.