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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 30, 1998)
The Battalion SPORTS mrsday • April 30, 1998 K' kg ^ai? Medical Miracle nior pitcher Ryan Rupe saw his professional fortunes fall er numerous surgeries, but finds himsew back as staff ace Bears, Aggies showdown in Waco for Big 12 title; team ranked 10th t( By Chris Ferrell Staff writer atching senior Ryan Rupe take the mound, it’s easy to see why he was a first-team All- Big 12 pitcher a year ago. 11 you have to do is take a look at his 6-foot-6, 225 ndframe to see why professional scouts have been oling over his talent since he was in high school, (tchingbatters stand frozen like a deer in headlights -plus mph fastball comes bearing down on m shows what kind of talent he possesses. ButforallofRupe’s physical attributes and abilities, what’s inside (or not inside as the case may be) ichsets Ryan Rupe apart from the rest of the crowd, llyou were to look inside him, the first thing you see would be his heart. A heart which has per- red through so much during his career. No one expected Rupe to be pitching for the Aggies season, especially not Rupe. By now everyone fig- dhe would have been well on his way to millions of larsand a long professional career. And why should- he be? The scouts love the fact emfi .J2 the is a big, strong guy who 1 throw in the 90’s for an |icw: yereopi piles® |sed(te nasteni Febraan Bone spurs in his pitcR\ n g arm caused him to miss all of the ‘96 season. He returued in ‘97 to earn first- team All-Big 12 honors. He lecHhe staff in victories and was set to lead the team into re^ Qna i s when tragedy again struck. A blood clot in Rupe’stight arm ended his season early and almost ended his career. “There was the closing of a vein cahedihe subclavian which runs from your arm to your heart," l\up e said “The blood would go into my arm but it wouldn’t come back “After the surgery, when the doctor told me I may never pitch again, that changed everything.” Ryan Rupe Texas A&M senior pitcher tfte Base baU ll*E ire game. He has three ches- a devastating fast a slider and a change up md he can throw all of m for strikes. But over the past three sons, Rupe has been hit a rash of injuries which aid have nyed even the sngest of de nd Mu edict ■: out. My arm swelled a good four inches and the bicep started turning purple. We figured out there was a circu lation problem around there. I went into the hospital here and they diagnosed it. Then I flew to Denver. They removed my top rib to allow for circulation into my arm.” The surgery was similar to that of former Houston Astro pitcher John Hudek, except for the fact that Rupe had already developed a blood clot, which further de creased the chances of a full recovery. “It’s really unique,” he said. “I had already developed a blood clot. The big part of my surgery was if the blood clot would dissolve. If the blood clot didn’t dissolve, my arm wouldn’t go down. But the clot did dissolve. “"They don’t have too many surgeries like that, especially not with a guy who throws, so there was some doubt as to whether or not I could come back. After the surgery, when the doctor told me I may nev er pitch again, that changed every- diing. I went ahead and got my de gree. That particular- time in my life was a set back. I’ve had several.” In fact no one knew for sure if he was going to return until this past fall when practices began and Rupe started throwing again. “The past two years I went into the draft ex pecting to be a high pick and something has happened,” Rupe said. “After last year’s surgery, I’m just happy to be pitching again. I was upset my junior season with the bone spurs, but that’s a surgery you can bounce back from. The last surgery was somewhat different, ft was unique and I wasn’t sure that it was one 1 could bounce back from. So for me to throw again is an accomplishment.” Please see Rupe on Page 12. s the season winds down, the Aggies find themselves fighting for the top spot in the Big 12 race. Lock, Stock and Barrel Texas A&M will play their last conference and regular season home game Friday night in what could be the biggest series of the year against Baylor before the set heads to Waco for games Saturday and Sunday. The Aggies, with a 19-8 confer ence mark, have a .023 percentage point lead on the Bears, who have compiled a 17-8 Big 12 record. A sweep by either team would guarantee that team the title. How- \on) e-Glumsy ica-SfF life Alta ne-S/T ■ Blues foggy Depot i-Sides ordan tears down Nets with 39 points hgate riad.net EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) Michael Jordan and the Chicago Is made sure the New Jersey Nets ended their first playoff appear ance in four years with noth ing more than a little respect. Jordan hit 15 of his first 18 shots and scored 38 points Wednesday night as the Bulls eptthe best-of-5 series from the Mart Nets with a 116-101 victory. The first-round sweep was the ltd straight for the two-time de- iding NBA champions and it gave ema24-l record in the opening und since 1991. Scott Burrell supported Jordan hitting 9 of 11 shots from the Jordan field and scoring 23 points, includ ing 11 in the third quarter when Chicago opened a 93-76 lead. Den nis Rodman added 17 rebounds as Chicago outrebounded New Jersey 35-21, limiting New Jersey to 10 boards in the first 36 minutes. Rodman also put an exclama tion point on the win, hitting a 3- pointer on a pass from Jordan in the waning seconds. He then raised his arms over his head, drawing catcalls from the sellout crowd. Sherman Douglas, again filling in for Sam Cassell, led the Nets with 19 points. Chris Gatling and Keith Van Horn each had 18 and Kendall Gill 17 for New Jersey, which lost despite outshooting Chicago from the field. The Nets had rallied from big deficits and made the Bulls snuggle in the first two games in Chicago, and they thought that playing before a home crowd would make adifference. TURKISH NIGHT 'on think you tasted all the great food during e) Sponsored partially by: IISC L.T. Jordan Institute for International Awareness Student Activities Department, torwest Bank Bryan-College Station, Coffee Station Organized by Turkish Student Association (tsa@unix.tamu.edu) the International Week 1998!11 But the feast is not over yet! Join us for a great TURKISH DINNER (including famous baklava) and enjoy the FOLKDANCE SHOW by an internationally recognized group. Monday, May 4, 1998 6pm: Dinner (MSC 201) 8pm: Folkdance (Rudder Theater) Admission: Folkdance Only: $3.00 Dinner & Folkdance: $7.50 (children under 12 pay half price) Tickets are available at MSC Box Office TOFITABLE NUMBER! The Battalion Classified Advertising ever, Oklahoma State, with a 13-8 Big 12 mark, could take the title. If neither A&M nor Baylor sweeps and the Cowboys win all six of the games remaining on their conference schedule, Oklahoma State would take home the trophy. The road is not exactly clear for the Cowboys, who would have to sweep both rival Oklahoma in three neutral-site games and Mis souri in three at Columbia. Both the Sooners and the Tigers are likely headed to Okla homa City for the conference tournament. Stadium Runneth Over With two teams battling for a Big 12 title, there are sure to be sev eral thousand fans of both schools in Waco on Saturday and Sunday. How many of them actually get in to see the game is anyone’s guess, something that could upset a lot of people as the Bears have adopted a policy that is less than friendly to A&M fans. The Baylor ticket office is pre selling tickets for the game, but a ticket may not guarantee you a seat. Baylor’s Ferrell Field has a regular capacity of 1,700, the third smallest in the conference, but the athletic department is still adding bleacher seats down both the baselines for the expected crowd of 4,500. Fans will need to get in line ear ly, as the gates open at 5:30 on Sat urday and 12:30 on Sunday, and prepare for close quarters; Baylor plans on packing as many fans in as possible. Baylor will begin renovation and expansion on Ferrell Field soon af ter the conclusion of the series. The expansion, which will bring capacity to around 3,500 was planned to give Baylor a bet ter chance of hosting an NCAA regional, but even if the plan been carried out last summer, the Bears would still be scrambling to find seats for this weekend. Please see Harsch on Page 12. Master Thief Junior Jason Tyner uses his speed along the basepaths to blaze a trail to professional scouts and the major leagues By Michael Taglienti Staff writer 'hu probably walk by him every day on campus and don’t even know it. At 6’ 1 ” and 167 pounds, Ja son Tyner does not exactly fit the mold of a world- class athlete. In Tyner’s case, looks can be very deceiv ing. The junior centerfielder from Beaumont is a walking ‘The speed was the deciding factor with him. The whole yy It didn’t, even though the fans booed Jordan and Co. more than they had in the past. On the court, nothing changed and the Nets problems were com pounded by Jordan’s sizzling shoot ing. He opened with a 3-point basket and then proceeded to sink one jumper after another, most of the time with a defender not too far away. He finished 16-of-22 from the field. Both teams shots about 65 per cent in the opening half, but the Bulls opened a 61-52 lead. Chicago broke the game open midway through the third quarter with a 14-6 spurt that included nine straight by Burrell. The Nets made one desperate run in tire fourth quarter, closing to 97-85. However, Jordan make several fakes on Kerry Kitdes on the left wing and hit another jumper. As the crowd groaned, Jordan put his finger to his lips and mouthed “shhhhh.” package was speed. Mark Johnson Texas A&M Baseball Coach contradiction to the stereotypes of college baseball and the star athletes who play the game. College baseball today is a game dominated by the long ball. With suped up bats, 5’8”, 170-pound infielders are able to hit 20 home runs in a season and be the cleanup hitter for their ball club. Tyner is an exception to this rule in that he dominates games like few players in col lege can, and he does it with out hitting any home runs. In baseball, a lead-off hitter is supposed to get on base and give his team a chance to score runs. Tyner does this better than any other lead off hitter in the Big 12. He leads the Big 12 in hits and stolen bases. With such great creden tials, one would think that Tyner was recruited by hun dreds of colleges out of high school and that Texas A&M had to sweat it out while he decided to accept the Ag gies’ offer of a scholarship or join the exodus of high school players who accept million-dollar bonuses to play pro baseball. However, this was not the case. Tyner was not drafted by a major league team out of high school and was only offered scholarships by Baylor and A&M. Aggie Coach Mark Johnson said that he recruited Tyner because of his speed. “The speed was the defining factor with him,” John son said. “The whole package was speed.” Speed is definitely something that Tyner does not lack. He has been timed in the 40-yard dash in 4.42 sec onds and in the 60-yard dash in 6.4 seconds. Tyner and backup outfielder William Gray (4.38 in the 40) are the fastest baseball players on the Aggie squad. As a freshman at A&M, Tyner surprised his coach es and his teammates by batting .407 and setting the A&M season stolen-bases mark with 41 in 46 at tempts. Johnson said that he did not expect Tyner’s success at the plate. “Nobody expects anybody to hit .400 as a fresh man,” Johnson said. “1 don’t expect juniors and se niors to hit .400.” Tyner continued his hot-hitting as a sophomore and a junior and shattered the career stolen-bases record at A&M earlier this year. With a stolen base against Sam Houston State Tuesday night, Tyner raised his career total to 112 stolen bases. The previous record was held by Chuck Knoblauch with 83. If his career were to end today, Tyner would rank second all-time among Aggies in career batting average, with an average of .389. Please see ? Tyner on Page 12. JAKE SCHRICKLING/The Battalion 846-3600 846-3600 Better Ingredients. Better Pizza. Dorm Wars April 26 - May 3 Win 100 free pizzas for your reading days!! Ask your R.A. for details or call 846-3600 Order online at http://www.cy-net/pizza/pjohns/ Sponsored by R.H.A. VISA