he Battalion
Page 5 • Monday, March 8, 1999
Sports
&M Sophomore Dumitru Caradima serves during his doubles match
ON gainst Louisiana State University Saturday afternoon. Caradima and
RTISifftibles partner Shuon Madden defended their No. 1 national ranking
—an 8-6, come-from-behind victory.
rMen’s Tennis Team
)N
=slams LSU at home
urC«
; prow
tgs avenge loss to Tigers with 6-1 victory
L
BY AL LAZARUS
The Battalion
ibsile
lot
frli
Uojwts the Louisiana State Univer-
rgradi itr players exited the courts amid
' ■ remains of a tiger pinata
m.ished moments earlier by the
tggies, it seemed things had
pme full circle for the Texas A&M
ffin’s Tennis Team.
BOnly one year after losing a
lard-fought match to the Tigers in
>aton Rouge, the Aggies defeated
■Slj, 6-1, Saturday afternoon in
ront of almost 300 fans at the
M Varsity Tennis Center.
The No. 14 Aggies (6-0, 3-0) set
S lle tone for the match in doubles,
Pining back from large deficits at
No. 1 and No. 3 spots to win
jh matches and snatch the all-
Jportant doubles point away
torn the Tigers.
■“That first point is pretty big in
■ scheme of things,” A&M coach
un Cass said. “I think [LSU] al-
■st having the lead, thinking they
tall won the point, probably hurt
tilm a little bit.”
fcenior Brent Horan and fresh-
aln Jarin Skube, playing No. 2
on hies for the Aggies, broke their
ftonents’ serve early in the
iltch to win, 8-6, meaning the
Ipies needed only one more
onbles victory to win the point.
■Winning one more doubles
tltch seemed unlikely at the
roe, as the Aggies were down
n breaks in both of their re-
i|ining matches.
« i\t No. 3, sophomore Cody
bbell and freshman Keith From
■led 7-3 before mounting a
mieback, winning the next five
lues and the tiebreak to secure
1-7 victory.
Hubbell said the crowd playe
an important role in the victory.
“This crowd today was unb(
lievable,” he said. “When w
started getting more fired up, th
whole place started going nuts.’
With the doubles point a
ready clinched, Aggie sophc
mores Dumitru Caradima an
Shuon Madden were left playin
only to defend their No. 1 m
tional ranking.
Trailing 6-2, the duo staged
comeback of their own, winnin
six consecutive games to take th
match, 8-6.
Madden said remaining fc
cused was the key to the corm
back.
“We just hung in there,” h
said. “They missed a couple c
shots, and we made them pay fc
it.”
In singles play, Madden playe
in the No. 2 slot for the Aggie
and rolled to victory, 6-3, 6-1
Horan and Hubbell, playing Nc
3 and No. 4, won their matche:
6-2, 7-5, and 6-4, 6-4, respectivt
iy-
At No. 5 for the Aggies wa
From, who shut his opponent oi
in the second set to win, 6-4, 6-(
Rounding out the Aggies’ sir
gles victories was junior Jua
Aramburo, who recovered from
slow start to post a 4-6, 6-1, 6-
win in the No. 6 position.
Suffering A&M’s lone loss c
the day was Caradima, who wo
the first set of his match bi
dropped the next two, losing 4-(
6-4, 6-4.
The Aggies return to actio
Thursday at 6 p.m. when they fac
the University of North Carolina <
the A&M Varsity Tennis Center.
Ags sweep series against ISU
A&M Baseball Team
moves to 15-3 on year
BY DOUG SHILLING
The Battalion
After a disappointing mid-week loss to the Uni
versity of Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners, the
fourth-ranked Texas A&M Baseball Team returned
to Olsen Field looking to get back on the winning
track.
Iowa State University provided the perfect op
portunity as the Aggies (15-3, 6-0 Big 12) used a
combination of effective pitching and timely hit
ting to sweep the Cyclones in the weekend series.
With the sweep, the Aggies’ moved their
record in Big 12 play to a perfect 6-0, the best start
in conference play since 1989 when the Aggies
started 9-0 en route to being Southwest Confer
ence co-champions.
The Aggies displayed their power in Sunday’s
final game, pounding out four home runs in a 14-
1 rout in eight innings.
ISU broke through on the scoreboard first
when Mack Paciork scored on a two-out single in
the top of the second to make the score 1-0.
The Aggies responded in the bottom half of the
inning when, after a Dell Lindsey walk, freshman
Neal Stephenson blasted his first home run of the
year to give the Aggies the lead, 2-1.
Catcher Shawn Schumacher broke the
game wide open in the bottom of the fourth
when he launched a grand-slam homerun,
scoring Stephenson, junior Steven Truitt and
junior Steve Scarborough.
The grand slam capped off a big series for
Schumacher, who led the Aggies’ hitting attack.
The senior transfer went 8-14 in the series, with
two home runs, seven RBIs and five runs scored.
Sophomore Daylan Holt added a three-run
homer in the seventh inning, his ninth of the year.
The 12-run rule after seven innings, which
ends the game when one team goes ahead by 12
runs or more after the seventh inning, went into
effect in the eighth inning when Truitt’s two-run
homer pushed the score to 14-1 and ended the
game. Sophomore Chris Russ (4-0) got the win for
the Aggies, pitching seven innings and only al
lowing one run on four hits.
Dave Rossman (1-2) was the loser for the Cy
clones, giving up six runs on six hits through 3
2/3 innings of work.
A&M junior third baseman Dell Lindsey attempts to steal second base during the Aggies’ game
against Iowa State University Saturday night. The Texas A&M Baseball Team swept the three-
game weekend series against the Cyclones
Saturday night’s game featured a strong pitch
ing performance by junior Casey Possum as the
Aggies defeated the Cyclones, 6-1.
Tfying to bounce back from a poor perfor
mance against UTSA, Possum (4-2) responded by
pitching a complete game, allowing just one run
on nine hits and striking out nine Cyclone batters.
Holt led the Aggie batters, going 2-3 with a
home run. Schumacher and Stephenson also
chipped in with three hits apiece.
Brian Curtin (2-2) gave up six runs in 7 2/3 in
nings of work for the Cyclones.
On Friday night, junior Chance Caple got the
Aggies started out on the right foot as he pitched
a complete game in the Aggies’ 8-3 win.
Caple (4-1) recorded a career high with 12
strikeouts and limited the Cyclones to three runs
on seven hits.
Senior first baseman John Scheschuk was the
hitting star as he went 4-5 with a home run, his
fifth of the year, with four RBIs.
Mike Laesch (0-3) took the loss for the Cy
clones.
The Aggies will travel to Houston Tbesday for
a matchup with the University of Houston
Cougars at 7 p.m.
A&M Baseball
vs. Iowa State
March 5-7
Friday:
8-3 — A&M
W-Chance Caple (4-1)
L-Mike Laesch (0-3)
Saturday:
6-1 — A&M
W-Casey Possum (4-2)
L-Brian Curtin (2-2)
Sunday:
14-1 — A&M
W-Chris Russ (4-0)
L-Dave Rossman (1-2)
A&M s Evans wins No. 400
MIKE FUENTES/Tur. Battalion
Texas A&M sophomore Heather Martinez slides safely into second base during the Texas A&M Softball
Team’s game versus Butler University Sunday in the Aggie Invitational II. The Aggies tied the University
of Minnesota for the tournament’s best record with a 5-1 finish.
Aggie Invitational II brings milestone for softball coach
BY BEN WESTBROOK
The Battalion
A • "W W
The Texas A&M Softball Team gave third-year coach
Jo Evans her 400th career win this weekend, taking
second place in the Aggie Invitational II.
The women finished the tournament with a 5-1
record for the weekend and defeated their first-ranked
opponent of the year, handing the University of Min
nesota Golden Gophers a 2-0 loss. The Aggies split
two games with the Gophers and finished with the
same win/loss record, but lost the first-place title be
cause of runs scored against.
Beside giving Evans win No. 400, this weekends’
win also allowed th Aggies to avenge a loss suffered
to Minnesota the day before.
“What a special win,” Evans said. “I’m so proud
of this team. I try not to think of individual accom
plishments, but to get my 400th win on our home field
with this team makes it even more special.”
Aggie pitcher Amy Mining threw well against Min
nesota in the Aggie loss Friday, but a two-out, two-run
home run by Minnesota shortstop Shannon Beeler in
the first inning gave Minnesota all the runs they would
need, as the Gophers went on to a 2-0 win.
“The thing I was most disappointed about was that
Amy threw so well,” Evans said. “She was hitting her
spots and mixing up her pitches, but she made one
mistake.”
Redemption would come in the form of a one-hit,
near-perfect performance by Mining the following day.
The Aggie ace pitched a perfect game until the bottom
of the sixth inning, when a sharp-hit grounder passed
Aggie Invitational II
March 5-7
■ . ' ' ■■■■ ■• ■ . ' .
Game 1 (Friday):
A&M 8, Dayton 2
Game 2 (Friday):
Minnesota 2, A&M 0
Game 1 (Saturday):
A&M 4, Dayton 1
Game 2 (Saturday):
A&M 2, Minnesota 0
Game 1 (Sunday):
A&M 9, Butler 3
Game 2 (Sunday):
A&M 12, Butler 1
under the outstretched glove of second baseman Rachel
Lewis. The hit and an error committed in the seventh
would be the only Aggie miscues for the game.
see Softball on Page 8.
Track squads
end indoor
competition
BY TOM KENNEDY
The Battalion
Sometimes it is wise to save
the best for last, and that is ex
actly what Texas A&M senior
Detrich Clariett did at the
NCAA Indoor Track and Field
Championships.
Clariett went into the triple
jump final ranked 15th on the
NCAA qualifying list and
soared 43 feet, 5 3/4 inches to
take fourth place overall in her
last indoor meet as a collegian.
Her mark, a season best and
just two inches shy of her own
A&M record, gives her a good
starting point heading into her
final outdoor campaign.
Junior pole vaulter Richard
McDonald, the Aggies’ other
NCAA meet participant, also
fared well. Ranked 15th on the
qualifying list, McDonald
cleared 17-4 1/2 to claim 13th
place overall.
In other action, the Univer
sity of Texas women edged
Louisiana State University for
the women’s title, 61-57, for
their second title in two years.
Both schools were tied going
into the final event, the 4x400
meter relay. Texas won the
event, along with the indoor ti
tle, behind anchor Suziann
Reid, who also won the 400-
meter competition.
On the men’s side, the Uni
versity of Arkansas defended its
No. 1 ranking by capturing the
men’s title with 65 points.
Arkansas’ distance-running
regime came through with sec
ond-, third-, and sixth-place fin
ishes in the 3,000-meter run.
The men’s and women’s
squads will return to action
Thursday when the outdoor
season officially begins for hep-
tathletes and decathletes at the
College Station Multi-Competi
tion March 11-12.
The other athletes will begin
their seasons March 13 at the
College Station Relays. Both
will be at the Anderson Track
and Field Complex.