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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 1999)
it ho he'!! haveal r ants to deal w scoreless." tie Longhorn.' lavewon !4oi . ng the seasor. :s a Big 12 road tie Aggies(\\1 limp intoSatu: road losses ,a ersity of Oklat ersity of Colon Wednesday m ist the Bui. score only 166 -27 shooting • /ered in the * 45 points to ( >uf (aloes hung; *xas has all b A tournaraen! iround, whiled to finish the ?am an NITbit Tie Battalion Sports Page 7 • Friday, February 19, 1999 4 ggies look to build on recent wins BY AARON COHAN The Battalion This weekend the No. 13 Texas A&M Base- ill Team will host a three-game series against e University of Texas-Arlington as they look to gain the form they showed before its 1-2 trip Arizi ma. To win consistently, a baseball team has to aximize the depth of its roster, and so far the ggies have been able to turn to that depth hen they needed it. A&M Baseball coach Mark Johnson said am chemistry and playing time will be as big conc ern for A&M as the UTA Mavericks. f'UTA has a great ballclub,” Johnson said, lutlhe focus right now is on us to try and get e right guys out there at the right time.” A&M has seen the necessary production from 'i starters so far this season, and the backups so have put up strong numbers, j Particularly effective for the Aggies has been •serve infielder and designated hitter Kenny jndstrom. The senior has torn up opposing tching, getting eight hits in his first 11 at bats r ai727 batting average, and those hits have )me in clutch situations, netting six RBI’s for indstrom. “It’s positive to have guys like Kenny come f the bench and do what they do,” Johnson Big 12 closer begins at UT Swimmers prepare for weekend MIKE FUENTES/Thk Battalion The Texas A&M Baseball Team will look to continue its recent winning ways when the Aggies host the University of Texas-Arlington Mavericks this weekend at Olsen Field. said. “The problem is that we just need to get them some more at-bats.” The Aggie reserves have been productive this season, but so have the players staring in front of them. Sophomore Daylon Holt leads the team with 6 home runs and 21 RBI’s., while leading the team in batting average has been senior first baseman John Scheschuk. Scheschuk’s .538 batting average has helped the Aggies to a team average of .395. If the starters are worried about losing their place in the rotation, they are not saying. They have said the depth is a positive for the entire team. “We’re not worried about a depth problem at all, ” junior third baseman Dell Lindsey said. “At every position there is somebody who can come in and do just as well.” The biggest question facing the Aggie coaching staff right now may be how to find enough playing time for the players to judge their skills. “What we’re trying to do is work the lineup to get more right-handed hitters against left- handed pitching and vice versa,” he said. “ This could give us a better idea of who can do what down the line.” One of the few unsettled spots for A&M so far this season has been the closer role. As of now, several players are still battling for the po sition. “We have so many guys that can cross the line and get the job done,” junior pitcher Casey Possum said. “It builds character knowing that all these guys want to win so bad.” With a 5-2 overall record, including a per fect 4-0 at Olsen Field, the Aggies will look to continue their success Saturday as hurlers Casey Possum and junior Chance Caple get the start ing nods in the doubleheader. V&M Softball Team hosts weekend tourney MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion ft&M Softball Team will host the Aggie Invitational this week- atthe Aggie Softball Complex. BY BEN WESTBROOK The Battalion The high-flying Texas A&M Women’s Softball Team will play host to the Aggie Invitational tournament this weekend, beginning Friday at noon. The two-round tournament will feature four teams, including the Ag gies, competing in round-robin play. The women, who are coming off a second-place finish last weekend in the University of Texas-Arlington/Pepsi- Cola Classic, will play their first game of the tourney against Auburn Univer sity (3-1) at 4:30 p.m. The Aggies are 0-1 all-time against the Tigers, who are off to a strong start this season. Auburn boasts a .481 team batting average and is hold ing opponents to an average of just .176. The Aggies’s next game is sched uled for Friday at 6:45 against the University of New Mexico. The Lo- bos enter the tournament with their best-ever start, 12-1, and have al ready handed out seven shutouts to opposing teams. New Mexico also currently is riding a 10-game winning streak. The Aggies will start Saturday at noon with the Penn State Nittany Li ons, who will open their season Fri day against New Mexico. Penn State returns 16 letter-winners from last year’s 21-28-1 team. The A&M softball team currently is boasting its best start since 1991 with an 8-1 ..record, the one blemish com ing last weekend against No. 24 Uni versity of Illinios-Chicago. Strong pitching has carried the Ag gies so far, thanks to the performance of Amy Vining (4-1) and Jordana Bar rack (4-0). The duo has given up just two earned runs in 62 innings of work this season. The Aggies’ big hitter this year has been freshman Lisa Klam, who has already hit three game-winning RBI’s and has recorded at least one hit in all nine games this season. The Aggies also will be looking for help from Hollee Hayden, who leads the Aggies in steals (6-6) and batting average (.440) this season. BY JASON LINCOLN The Battalion It will be a battle for time and points this weekend as the Texas A&M women’s swimming team concludes the 1998-99 season this weekend at the Jamail Texas Swim ming Center in Austin with the Big 12 Championships. The 24th ranked Aggies will not only be swimming to win the tournament in a very strong and narrow conference, but will be swimming for lifetime best times in hopes of qualifying more individu als for the NCAA tournament. Leading the Aggies charge to up set the top two seeds, Nebraska and Texas, will be freshman Clara Ho and junior ILacy Evans who have already qualified for the NCAA tournament. Evans has never been beaten in the Big 12 meet in the mile and will try and keep the streak going, while lone senior Tammy Lee, joined by junior Monica Williams and 1998 NCAA qualifier Monica Stroman will try and join the ranks of the 25 swim mers that qualify in each event. The Aggies have managed to end the season with a 5-7-1 conference record against some of the nation’s top teams despite injury and sick ness problems that plagued the A&M roster. “To this point the lowlight has been the injuries incurred that struck at our depth,” fourth-year A&M coach Don Wagner said. “The rest of the team has done a great job to overcome that by im proving their swims and perform ing at a high level.” Representing the Aggies in diving is platform favorite Danielle Guarneri. Following her World Cup ninth place finish in New Zealand, Guarneri looks to final on all three boards along with freshman Meghan Zack. Guarneri finished second on the platform during last years championship and earned All- America Honorable mention with a 14th place performance at the NCAA tournament. “We really want to go out dive well and score points for the team,” Zack said. The two divers are expected to perform best on the platform ac cording to diving coach Kevin Wright. The University of Texas will provide the toughest competition diving in their own pool. The 1998 Big 12 Championship was won by the Cornhuskers with the Longhorns placing second and the Aggies third. This year the bat tle for the top position will be clos er than ever before, with five teams boasting more than capable teams. The defending champion, Ne braska, is the favorite entering the meet, with Texas and A&M close be hind. Kansas and Missouri have de veloped quickly this season with much improved teams as opposed to last season’s record. The women will be swimming in “To this point the lowlight has been the injuries. The rest of the team has done a great job to overcome that by improving their swims and performing at a high level/' — Don Wagner A&M Women’s Swimming head coach one of the conference’s fastest pools at the Jamail Center, rivaling the Texas A&M Natatorium which gave birth to several world record swims in December during the World Cup and U.S. Open. This is beneficial to the Aggies hopes for qualifying for the NCAA tournament which is based on time and to the conference as a whole. The Aggies placed in the top three twice with a pair of second- place finishes. Monica Stroman swam a 2:03.01 in the 200 individ ual medley and Tkacy Evans swam a fast 4:51.36 in the 500 Freestyle. The competition which began Thursday will continue through Sat urday with the majority of events taking place on Friday evening at 7 p.m. 764-7689 ietijamese Specialties at affordable plices - ail entrees under s 6. 00 In Lack's Furniture Shopping Center off S. tuthwest Parkway & Texas Ave. Delivery Available for TAMU $10|minimum) Phone Orders Welcome m and YOU! Featuring Jill McCarty & Sa College g Centef ood. 3 "lannigan’s 2010 S. College Across from The Ptarmigan $ 3.50 Black & Tans 4-11 p.m. MONDAY Golden Tee Golf Local & National Tournament I $1.25 Longnecks $1 Well Drinks Irish Bourbon $2 Shots AGGIE BASKETBALL (Msri) vs The Texas Longhorns Reed Arena Saturday at 3 p.m. Students draw your tickets early in the ticket office at 6. Rollie White or Reed Arena