Sports
la 1
Friday • March
Aggies put No. 14 ranking on the line vs. KSU
By Travis Harsch
Staffwriter
As their Big 12 season approaches the
halfway point, the Texas A&M Baseball Team
will take on the Kansas State Wildcats in an
important conference series for both teams
this weekend at Olsen Field.
The Aggies will be looking to continue their
recent hot streak, one which has seen them
take two of three from Oklahoma last week
end and sweep a doubleheader against the
Houston Cougars on Tuesday.
Ryan Rupe, who will start the first game for
the Aggies, will be trying to improve on his
impressive season record of 6-1 and his solid
ERA of 2.10. Rupe said he will continue to
work with what has brought him success.
“I need to do what I’ve been doing, work
the ball in and out, let my defense carry most
of the outs and get all three pitches over the
plate,” Rupe said.
The way the season has gone so far for
Kansas State, El Nino should receive some
sort of special award at the postseason ban
quet. The Wildcats have only played seven
conference games because of weather can
cellations, compiling a 3-4 record, with two of
those wins over Texas last weekend at home.
Coach Mark Johnson said the Wildcats will be
coming in on a high after beating the Long
horns, despite battling some defensive trou
bles.
“They’re hitting around .290, their fielding
has been a little bit below average, they’re
making some errors, but they’re doing some
things well on the mound,” Johnson said.
“They’re a team that hasn’t played much,
they’ve had some tough luck, they haven’t
gotten all their games in, but they beat Texas
two out of three last week, so they’ve got to
feel good about that.”
Rupe, Casey Fossum and Matt Ward will
take the mound for the Aggies in the series
and Johnson said their performances have
been a big part of the Aggies’ 23-10 record.
“One of the main reasons we’ve had success
on the weekends is that we’ve pitched well, and
we’re going to have to get that to continue,
Rupe and Fossum and Ward are going to have
to do well, and there’s no reason to think that
they won’t,” Johnson said. “I’m encouraged
that our pitching is giving us a chance to win.”
After losing the first game of the three-
game set last year, A&M pulled off two late-
inning comebacks to win the next two
games and the series. The wins gave the Ag
gies a 6-2 lead in the all-time series, which
first started in 1985.
This series will mark the midpoint of con
ference play and Johnson said he believed
there were opportunities to get better as he
evaluated his team.
“My feeling was that we could hit better,
there’s room for improvement, we really
haven’t had hot bats,” Johnson said. “I think
we can improve offensively and I know we can
improve defensively, we’ve been able to steal
bases. It’s the little parts of the game you’ve got
to be sure you’re doing right.”
Rupe said the first half has left the Aggies
right where they want to be.
“I think we’ve put ourselves in good posi
tion, we’ve obviously put ourselves in posi
tion to win the Big 12, and let everybody
know that we are a team to beat, we still have
some ball to play, but I think we’re going to do
well,” Rupe said.
The Friday and Saturday games will begin
at 7 p.m., with the Sunday matinee scheduled
to start at 1 p.m.
PHOTO COURTESY SPORTS INFORMATION
Sophomore Casey Fossum will be going
for his second consecutive victory Saturday.
Softball team opens Big 12 play
Men’s tennis team faces pair of
conference foes this afternoon
By Robert Hollier
Staffwriter
Coming off a doubleheader sweep against Sam
Houston State Wednesday, the Texas A&M Softball
Team (22-14-1) will begin conference play this
weekend on the road against
Iowa State on Saturday and No.
12 Nebraska on Sunday. Both se
ries will be doubleheaders and
will start at noon.
“If we could go 3-1 this week
end, that would be a great start for
us,” Coach Jo Evans said. “A split
with Nebraska on the road would
be great and I believe we could
sweep Iowa State at their place.”
After competing in five tourna
ments, the Aggies should have the
much-needed experience their young team needed
and they feel they are ready.
“We’re as ready as we’ll ever be,” senior catcher
and co-captain Marianne McGuire said. “Our pitch
ing is stacked. They should carry us like they have
all season.”
“Right now, we’re not making the routine plays
and that worries us the most,” McGuire added.
“Sometimes our intensity is also lacking and we’re'
McGuire
not always as focused as we should be in the field.”
So far this season, the Aggies have committed 63
errors including 13 at the Sacramento tournament.
Evans said poor field play has been the team’s
Achilles’ heel and she would like to see more con
sistency from the team defensively.
“Inconsistency in the field is our biggest
problem and our goal is to get that consistency
back,” she said. “It’s costly in any game when
you make errors.”
We played well in the beginning in California,
then the wheels fell off. We won two in a row against
some tough teams, but then we lost our focus and
lost three straight.”
The Aggies will have to maintain that consisten
cy and focus when they travel to Lincoln for the
doubleheader against Nebraska
“They’re a very solid team offensively and defen
sively,” Evans said. “They hit the ball very well and
they have some marquee All-American players.”
Iowa State is definitely a team that could beat us.
They are a scrappy, well-coached team, but I believe
we can beat them this weekend.”
McGuire said the Nebraska offense is its biggest
strength and will be the main concern for the Aggies.
“Their lineup really worries me the most,”
McGuire said. “Everybody on their team swings with
no fear,"but our pitchers should be able to handle it.”
ByAi. Lazarus
Staff writer
The No. 19 Texas A&M Men’s
Tennis Team faces a Big 12 dou
bleheader today at the Omar
Smith Tennis Center against the
Missouri Tigers and No. 55 Okla
homa Sooners. A&M will begin
with Missouri at noon and will
then take on the Sooners at 6 p.m.
The Aggies (7-2,2-1) are com
ing off a 4-3 victory last Saturday
against a tough Oklahoma State
team that features the No. 1 sin
gles player, as well as the No. 1
doubles team, in the nation.
A&M defeated the Tigers
twice last year, once during the
regular season in Missouri, and
again in the Big 12 Champi
onships in Austin.
Missouri will cancel its men’s
tennis program after this season,
but A&M Coach Tim Cass said he
expects a tough match from Miz-
zou despite its lame-tiger status.
“ It’s disappointing that this w ill
be our last time to play (Missouri),
Spring ‘99
INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS
in 154 Bizzell Flail West
Monday, March 30
9:00 - 9:30 a.m.
Wednesday, April 1
1:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Pick up an application at the meeting or drop by the
Study Abroad Program Office.
Study Abroad Program Office, 161 Bizzell Hall West, 845-0544
MSC OPAS Presents...
ELVIS IS ALIVE!
Join us as psychology professor
Dr. David Rosen presents
“Don’t Be Cruel to a Heart
That’s True: The Myth of
Elvis Lives On”, a tribute
to the King of Rock
and Roll and his legacy
as a cultural icon.
Long live the King!
Admission is FREE
Monday March 30
7:00pm Rudder 308
For ticket information on Blue Suetie Shoes, call845-1234
PROFITABLE NUMBER!
The Battalion Classified Advertising
but we are certainly not going to
take the match lightly," Cass said.
The Aggies traveled to Okla
homa last year, and lost, 4-3, to
the Sooners.
“We have a lot of respect for Ok
lahoma, they have had a good first
part of the season,” Cass said. “In
order for us to hang in the Big 12
race, we have to win out, because
no one is going to win the Big 12
with two conference losses.”
Junior Brent Horan, who is
the Aggies’ team co-captain,
said be expects a tough match
from the Sooners.
“They are a solid team and
have played well against some
good teams this season, so we
know they will give us quite a
challenge," Horan said.
Horan, who is 7-1 in dual
match singles play this season,
admits that revenge will cer
tainly be on the Aggies’ minds
against Oklahoma.
“You always want to beat the
teams that beat you,” he said,
“so we will be ready to play.”
Track ml
takes la tel
Break in
By Mk:uaelFe»;|
Staffum< ere|
After hosting theColkfT^
( ompetition and Relayso. r ts
t he Texas A& M Track and Fit
turn to action this weekend
el lo I lorida for the Florid
the east ct>ast schoolslnd;
olina, 1'lorida State and they
ami will be competing
in the meet along with
the University ofTexas.
Coach Abe Brown [
spoke about the ad- 1
vantages of traveling
to F lorida to compete
in the relays.
"It gives us some
flexibility. It gives us
some new faces to
see,” Brown said. “We
really don’t have to go
\ei\ hit to get all of the oml
need It just gives usanopp clo
represented in ntherpan lhai
Aftet the grueling wet'ing
"in i ompetition of the otat
( oat h Bn n\ 11 mentiom and]
i lie . 1111 le i e ■- will he held t bit)
i ialty e\ ents m order to f the
> mhiig outdo:»orcl
“ (Ad rien) Sawyer wifi i
triple jump this week, but )Qj
4x100-meter shuttle relayat
Brow^n said. “ 11 )emch Ck- ;andv
the 100. She won’t beinh j im
jumps. I aire Wade is still a::-Carle
. i ult >( >i so he'sgc ’ 1 ~ ravj l
11< ii ><a seas ' l ? m£ j
. a i . a i . Da H
ns tinul toll week ofcompetKenn
should benefit mamofthe.d-Man
ration of the season, whi -Briaj
n than ten v\< <“ksofn B " En
tion. Bnm11 alluded tothesj rcla '
tirety precautions tl^ s |
en when looking at the bigp
“West ill havea longseSKPChl
id. "If vou're not carefuls- p Jan
ing
to overload some peop
PCh
P DvJ
cha
nice of losing those peo;
P Ba
After the Aggies return
the
y will travel to Austin fo
P Joa
Tex
as Relays. These relay
P Mill
bot
isted some of the top coa
sode
lain
d, including athletessu
iheT
ind Carl Lewis,
was Relays will taketl
ta /mc
TEXAS AVENUE
MEDICAL CLINIC
Rany Cherian, MD
Walk-ins & Appointments
HOURS:
Welcomed
Mop - Sat
Member of Brazos Valley
8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Alliance & Brazos Valley
Sun.
Physician Organization
12 p.m. - 6 p.m.
X-Rays, EKG's, Lab Tests,
Physicals, Breath Alcohol
Screens & more.
dTo% Student Discount w/IdTD>
401 S. Texas Ave., Bryan - (409) 779-4756
Self Defense
Workshop
Sunday, March 29th
3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
G. Rollie White Collesium
Rm. 260
Awareness Workshop 3-4
Preventative Workshop 4-5
Defensive Workshop 5-6
Sponsored by A.W.A.R.E.
Assies Workins for A Rape Free Environment
HELP US M
THE PI
Free Jason’s Deli deliver;
after 4 PM with Student IJ
The Politically Correct Alterr
Pizza is one of the most stalked and preyed upon i
United States, and is at the top of the endangered fa
Please help save the pizza by making a conscious at
correct decision at your next meal:
Call Jason’s Deli.
Not only will you be working to save pizza from extinct^
feel better because you’re eating higher on the food^
Jason’s de
1404 Texas Ave. S. • 764-2929
email: www.jasonsdeli.com
#
764-27121
$6 minimum order