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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 12, 1998)
arsday • March 12, 1998 The Battalion' SPORTS ightin’ Texas Aggie aseball Class of ’97 i*' sstions being answered about Texas A&M’s ive lar recruiting class in its second season latinum, falk Abe: |uSiC)fPi?-: It 2 Da I Limit) Garden, latinum^ redding 191 Cheis board r. ERRII.I rts writer oing into the 1997 base ball season there was a lot of excitement over the crop of incoming players. The class of ’97 had been ranked as the na tion’s best by Colle giate Baseball. It boasted High __ School and JUCO All-Americans. In Sine of the 11 members were :d by major league teams but h ewT to attend Texas A&M instead. str owing what a crap shoot re- ng can often be, coaches were wfito glorify the latest crop of Ag- i^necause there was no need to (~^ny added pressure on the group. , s the Class of‘97 approaches j alf-way point of it’s second sea- '■n College Station, it is clear that llective members are beginning L^e up to the lofty expectations. k ill starts with the middle of the in- , v Sophomores Sean Heaney at sec- sTj>ase and Steve Scarborough at ^"stop are the Aggies double play ;m.The pair had the unenviable J of fill ing the shoes of Brian Benfield vvas drafted in the sixth round by ileveiand Indians and Rich Petru, a year starter who is now in the is City Royals system. Heaney ; the move from third base, where irted as a true freshman, to his ■ - natural second base spot. The pair 'id be a mainstay for the Aggies in A ext few years. he sophomore tandem has been lly impressive from the plate. Scar- t ugh is batting .358 and has provid- ;park in the bottom half of the or- Heaney is batting .302 with four s runs and 20 RBIs. jphomore left fielder Steven Truitt has been solid in the field and in the No. 2 hole. Truitt started for most of the sea son as a freshman and has continued to improve since arriving at A&M. He is batting .279 on the year with three homeruns, 18 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases. Truitt provides both speed and power at the top of the batting order. The Aggie defense has also been helped by the catching of senior co-cap- tain Scott Sandusky. Sandusky, who transferred from Seward County Com munity College in Kansas, has been a key ingredient for one of the nation’s top pitching staffs. His .309 average has also been big for A&M. The staff which Sandusky handles is well represented by the Class of‘97 as well. Sophomore left-hander Casey Possum turned in the fourth highest strikeout total in school history as a freshman and teamed with junior cen ter fielder Jason Tyner on the USA Base ball Team this past summer. Possum, who goes into the weekend series with Oklahoma State with a 3-1 record, leads the Aggies in strikeouts (39) and is tied with junior Matt Ward for the team lead in innings pitched (38). One of the most pleasant surprises for A&M this season has been the emer gence of sophomore Chance Caple,an other member from last year’s class, into a very solid Tuesday starter. Caple is 4-0 on the season with a staff-low 1.86 ERA. Opponents are only batting .198 against the 6-foot-6-inch right-hander. The Class of‘97 still has a lot to prove before their time at A&M is done. Along with the hype comes expectations of championships and All-American hon ors. For all the big numbers and physi cal attributes of the talented bunch, in the end that is what they will or will not be remembered for. Chris Ferrell is a sophomore journalism major Freshman Fire First-year pitcher Ashley Lewis has exploded onto the Division I college softball scene for Texas A&M By Philip W. Peter Staff writer Generally speaking, coaches of Divi- sio^i 1 athletic teams do not count on freshmen to lead their teams into battle. If not because of physical immaturity, they do not count on freshmen because they are not always ready to be put under the pressure of Division 1 competition. But, generally speaking, not all coaches have a freshman athlete the caliber of Texas A&M softball pitcher Ashley Lewis. Lewis, one of the most highly recruit ed players in the country last year, has a 1.51 ERA and leads A&M in strikeouts with 68. In 65 innings, she has only sur rendered 14 runs on 39 hits. Coach Jo Evans said that because Lewis is a fierce competitor, she has han dled the pressure well. “She comes into a tough situation be cause she is so highly touted,” Evans said. “She struck out a lot of people but she has struggled a little bit with walks. She’s used to pitching against kids who weren’t all great hit ters like they are in col lege. She’s had to learn to attack and challenge hitters instead of going for the strikeout every time. It’s been a challenge but I think she’s doing her best to stay positive.” Lewis knows she can throw strikeouts but said she does not think that she will get a lot of them. “That’s not really the college game,” Lewis said. “But if I can cut down on my walks and get people to ground out here and pop up there and if I can just help my team that would be great. I’m just here for the team right now.” Catcher Marianne McGuire said she represents the team well and although she is not necessarily the team leader, she knows who is the boss on the field. “She comes out on the | field and takes charge,” McGuire said. “Even though she is a fresh man, she doesn’t let that stop her. Ashley is one of those people who has everything, a com plete game.” McGuire said she does not have to tell Lewis what pitch es to throw, so it makes her job easier. “She knows what she can throw cer tain people,” McGuire said. “I just have to sit back and catch the ball. She knows what her strengths are and she works really well with it. When you com bine a smart pitcher with speed and good move ment, and when she’s on, nobody is go ing to hit her.” But it is not just her pitching that pleases A&M; she is also third on the team in slugging percentage and I' has a batting average of .252. “She is a big, strong kid,” Evans said. “She’s got amazing power at the plate and even though she’s only hit one home run this year. She’s a tough out when she’s making good contact because she x'eally hits the ball hard.” Lewis insists that she feels no pressure from her coach though. “Coach Evans is real good about that,” Lewis said. “You’re either good enough to be here, or you’re not. And if you’re not then you would n’t be here. I don’t feel the pressure from my team mates or my coaches. I feel it from myself.” Lewis has handled all the pressure and all the recruiting hype and insists that she is only a role player. “At the beginning of the sea son we talked about our roles,” Lewis said, “and how each per son was going to fit in. Coach (Evans) told me what she expected. It feels good to know that I’m a go-to person in a tight situation or to start a game. But right now, I’m just trying to meet those expectations.” RYAN ROGERS/The Battalion KBTX-TV PRESENTS THE lay Games »ased On Your Favorite BS Shows! RING THIS AD O GET YOUR 11"'$ Win A 1998 Ford Escort Two-Year Lease , you're one of the first 10 people who presents ^his ad at the CBS Information Center at 1:00 PM. SPONSORED BY oooo/year ^>Z> l'Oreau PARIS Nestle I 355? | U 0 Family of Companies VISA Official Rules for details. 1997 CBS Inc. All rights reserved. TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Rudder's Fountain March 23 • 11 AM - 5 PM March 24 • 10 AM - 4 PM
