The Battalion
n th _C' !
11. 5
Page 5
Tuesday • April 22, 1997
Cunning for the Big 12 Championships
Aggies look to get back on winning track against non-conference Bearkats tonight
By Jamie Burch
The Battalion
Fourty-nine down, seven to go.
rheTexasA&MBaseballTeam (32-17,
14-10) will try to win its final non-con
ference game of the season against
Sam Houston State University (20-22,
13-10) tonight at 7 at Olsen Field.
A&M closes out the season with
apair of Big 12 series against Kansas
University and Texas Tech Universi
ty. Unlike their nine Big 12 oppo
nents, the Aggies will not play a
mid-week three-game conference
series. But the rest of the field will
play nine games over a 10-day span.
Head Coach Mark Johnson said the
lone mid-week game will help the Ag
gies recuperate from a tough weekend.
“1 think it’s a big advantage,” John
son said. “That was just luck of the
draw. I think playing that many games
in a short span of time really stresses
out your team. We’re fortunate we
don’t have to play that many games.
“It meant we didn’t have a week
end off so we’ve already paid our
dues in that respect. But [playing
nine games in ten days] is much
more of a problem for teams than
not getting a weekend off.”
The Aggies will try to end their
first losing streak since a four-game
skid March 15-19. Over the weekend,
A&M lost a pair of games to the Uni
versity of Texas at Disch-Falk Field.
“Any time you’ve lost a couple of
games you want to get it going,”
Johnson said. “The only way to do it
is tee it up. We lost two in a row, but
that’s not unheard of in college
baseball. It happens to everybody.
The only way to change it is to play.
“We’re anxious to get back out
on the field.”
Although Sam Houston is in the
midst of a losing season, the Bearkats
have posted several impressive victo
ries. Sam Houston took two of three
games versus Southwest Texas State
University, a team who beat A&M twice
Sneed adjusting to new role
By Chris Ferrell
The Battalion
fter arriving at Texas A&M in 1995, pitcher
John Sneed wasted little time making a
ame for himself.
As a true freshman, he fired a complete-game
shutout against the University of North Carolina
in an NCAA Atlantic II Regional elimination
game to keep the Aggies in the postseason race.
Sneed built on the experience and turned in a
strong sophomore season in which
he led the A&M pitching staff with
eight victories.
This season Sneed, a junior
from Houston, has adjusted to a
new role. The arrivals of freshman
pitchers Casey Possum and Chris
Fulbright and the emergence of junior
Matt Blank left Sneed as the odd man
out in the starting rotation.
Relegated to the bullpen, Sneed tried to
take advantage of his opportunities.
“It’s a little different this year after be
ing a starter the past two years,” Sneed
said. “Basically, I’ve just had to do what
I’ve needed to do to help the team out. If
they need me out of the bullpen, that’s
fine. If they need me to make a start, I
can do that. This year it looks like it’s out
of the bullpen.”
Head Coach Mark Johnson said
Sneed handled the change well.
“I think it’s been tough for John,
not because of him but because of
me,” Johnson said. “I haven’t got
ten him enough opportunities to
throw the ball. It’s tough for all
the pitchers, but it’s tough for
him because he’s a guy who
could be a starter, except our
starters are doing well.
“It’s tough to stay in a groove when you don’t get
to pitch a lot. 1 think we’ve put John in that situa
tion. I think it’s been tough for him. It’s not tough
being a set-up guy or a middle guy, it’s just that he
hasn’t had the ball enough to get in a groove.”
Sneed said the move called for a change in his
pitching style.
“It’s different,” Sneed said. “When you start
a game, you feel like you have to pace yourself
a little bit, because you know you need to try to
get to the seventh to give your team a shot. 1
just come out (of the bullpen), no holds barred,
and go all out.”
His approach to the
bullpen has paid off this
season. In 12 appear
ances, he has
compiled
3-0
record
; >
#
Photo Illustration by Dave House, The Battalion
with a career-low 4.18 ERA. Sneed leads all Aggie
relievers with 34 strikeouts.
Sneed’s size has been a major contributor to
Sneed’s success on the mound has been his size.
At 6-foot-6, 236 pounds, he joins senior pitcher
Ryan Rupe as one of the biggest players on the
A&M roster.
“I think that my height and size are intimi
dating on the mound and God blesses me with
a great arm,” Sneed said. “I have a loose arm,
which helps me out sometimes. I kind of throw
across my body a little bit and, from talking to
the guys on the team, that seems to be decep
tive. Since I’m taller, I have a higher release
point and throw it kind of at downward angle,
which is a major factor.”
Sneed’s size and prep career made him a top
recruit out of high school. He said A&M provid
ed him with everything he was looking for.
“I’m from Houston and I wanted to play in a
major college program, but I didn’t want to go
too far from home, but then far
enough,” Sneed said. “Houston
to A&M — far enough, but not
too far. The great coaches up
here, the great facilities the
great fans, the raggies and
those guys, the Twelfth Man
— it’s just awesome. It’s a
school of traditions, and
the spirit was the major
determining factor.
“There are so many
traditions I’ve learned
[about] since I’ve
been here and the fans
are great. The turnout at the Texas game — that
was awesome. You can go other places and you
won’t draw a crowd like that for the big rivalry
like A&M-Texas. It’s just something special.”
As tournament time rolls around, Sneed is
once again primed for a big performance. John
son said he anticipates Sneed to be a key for the
Aggies as the team gets into the postseason.
“[When] you get to tournament time,”
Johnson said, “those guys get real valuable.
You get deep into a tournament, those guys
who don’t get to pitch a lot become real valu
able to you, and that’s what we try to stress.
When we get into a tournament and depth be
comes an issue, the John Sneeds will determine
whether we win or not.”
this season. The Bearkats also took a
game from the University ofTexas and
lost by one run to Rice University.
Johnson said the Aggies will
draw on their experience of early-
season adversities to help end the
two-game skid.
“We’ll remember back to when
we were not doing as well and
what we had to do to get out of it
(losing streak),” Johnson said. “We
have to do the same things now.
Good things will happen because
good things did happen [the first
time] we got ourselves out of it.”
The Bearkats are hitting .249 on
the season as a team. Leading the
squad is senior designated hitter
Jason Hurta, batting .319 with one
home run and 14 RBIs. Freshman
outfielder Derek Haynes, a threat
on the basepath, has stolen nine
bases in 10 attempts.
See Aggies, Page 6
Making his way in
the world today ..
Patrick Malone
has made the
transition from
Iowa to Texas
By Jamie Burch
The Battalion
N ative Texans all too often take
for granted and complain
about the warm weather
from March to October. But think
for a moment what it would be like
to play baseball in sub-zero tem
peratures submerged in two feet of
snow. Impossible? Exactly.
Redshirt freshman outfielder
Patrick Malone dealt with these el
ements growing up in Council
Bluff, Iowa. Because of winter
weather, Malone’s high school
baseball team did not begin its sea
son until the end of the school year.
“We didn’t start playing base
ball until March 1st,” Malone said.
“It’s still pretty cool then.”
Malone said getting use to the
idea of playing baseball before the
end of winter has been an adjust
ment for him.
“That’s something that was dif
ferent for me when I came down
here last year,” Malone said. “I was
still playing basketball from Febru
ary to March. I call home now and
they’re playing basketball. Baseball
is still three months away.”
And though it is noticeably
more humid in South Texas than
up north, Malone said he relishes
the summer-like weather from
Dave House, The Battalion
Redshirt freshman Patrick Malone
has been splitting time between
the outfield and first base.
Febmary to October.
“That’s something I really enjoy,”
Malone said. “I like being down here
playing in the warm weather during
February. I’ve already stalled taking
the weather for granted. As it is I’m
the biggest wimp about the weath
er and I come from a cold climate.”
Malone has taken advantage of
the local weather conditions,
working on his game year round.
“I think last year was definitely
an adjustment period,” Malone
said. “In Iowa, I didn’t play as many
games as the other guys did. It (sit
ting on the bench last year) was
hard to deal with at first.
See Malone, Page 8
]•+>
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