The Battalion
Sports
Page 7 • Friday, April 23, 1999
r.presider;:
ceanenr
H6 o( thf MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion
yli ure j unior second baseman Sean Heaney dives for a ground ball against the University of Houston Tuesday night
il ll]rtV it Olsen Field. The Aggies host the University of Kansas Jayhawks this weekend for a three-game series.
anvil
A&M Baseball Team hosts Kansas
said. “Cu!:.'M
“Xr a^ird-ranked Aggies look to improve on 27-2 record at Olsen
ilerent !
methii
BY MATT WEBER
The Battalion
"Tfaditions play a big part in all facets of life at Texas
i&M, and the A&M Baseball Team will look to con-
inue a tradition of their own this weekend when they
lost the University of Kansas Jayhawks. A&M histor-
:ally has dominated KU on the baseball diamond,
fading the all-time series 19-5. The Jayhawks have
ll,lires ot taken a game from the Aggies since 1985.
°*“ 1V0S The Aggies (36-10, 16-4 Big 12), who are coming
;reasurer ff a 5-15 loss to the University of Houston Tuesday,
pplied: layed one of their most important series of the sea-
ty dinner on last weekend against No. 7 Baylor University, tak-
dancetoi igitwo of three from the Bears in a battle for Big 12
;es beiwe: upremacy.
aXiNuis: The Jayhawks (11-30 overall) are far out of the race
md cute or the conference title with a 4-20 record in the Big
lintheco 2, but Aggie first baseman and senior captain John
greatoppo cheschuk said the team knows better than to over-
yourselt) ook Kansas.
idersiandr “We can’t look at [the weekend] as anti-climactic
onal way. ecause these are every bit as important as the Baylor
eries,” he said. “We’re going to have to ready because
r will be! ley’re going to be hunting for a win.”
TicketsaK If the series record is not enough to discourage
Kansas, the Jayhawks also will have to battle A&M’s
home-field advantage. The Aggies are 27-2 within the
confines of Olsen Field this season.
Scheschuk said the Aggies will be counting on the
home crowd this weekend.
“Olsen Field has treated us well,” he said. “It’s a
great place to play because of the fans and the field,
so that always helps point us to a win.”
A&M coach Mark Johnson agreed but said it will
take more than home-field advantage to earn a victo
ry this weekend.
“We have some Olsen [Field] magic, but we don’t
want to push it too far,” he said. “We want to be ag
gressive from the first pitch and stay out of tight situ
ations.”
Getting the nod on the mound for Friday’s game
will be junior Casey Fossum, who has compiled a 7-4
record with a 3.08 ERA this season for the Aggies. Sat
urday’s contest will feature junior Chance Caple, who
is 6-3 on the year with a 3.99 ERA. Sunday the Aggies
will start either senior Matt Ward (3-0. 4.58 ERA) or
sophomore Chris Russ (10-1, 1.81 ERA).
Johnson said fans can expect a total effort from the
Aggies this weekend.
“It’s an important series because we’re vying for
the championship,” he said. “We’re ready to play.”
:e.
BY BEN WESTBROOK
The Battalion
The No. 18 Texas A&M Softball
Team will try to pull off two
sweeps this weekend over fellow
Big 12 Conference opponents the
University of Missouri and the
University of Kansas.
The Aggies, who are coming
off an 11-2 thrashing of Sam Hous
ton State, will travel to Columbia,
Mo. to take on the 32-16, 5-4 Big
12, Missouri Tigers Saturday in
doubleheader action.
Mizzou is led at the plate by
Shawna Robinson, who is hitting
.357 for the season with 20 runs
scored. Stacy Gemeinhardt also
contributes at the plate with a
.348 batting average. As a team
the Tigers are out-hitting oppo
nents .283 to .235.
Handling the pitching duties
for the Tigers will most likely be
Stephanie Falk, who posts a team
leading 1.15 earned run average
with a 19-9 record and 153 strike
outs. The Mizzou staff has post
ed a combined 1.72 ERA.
Sunday, the Aggies will head to
Lawrence, Kansas to pair up
against the KU Jayhawks, who a
22-23 for the year and 3-5 in the
Big 12.
The Jayhawks as a team out-
hitting opponents .248 to .237.
Their leading hitter, junior Christy
McPhail, posts a relatively low
.280 batting average with 18 runs
and 17 runs batted in.
Freshman Shelly Musser is the
team speedster with 31 stolen
bases 28 runs scored.
Junior Sarah Workman claims
the role of ace for the Jayhawks
with a 1.38 ERA with thirteen
wins and eleven losses. Work
man also posts an impressive 169
strike outs for the year.
The Aggies are coming off an
impressive peformance in last
Wednesday pounding of SHSU at
the Aggie Softball Complex’s last
game of the 1999 regular season.
MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion
Freshman catcher Lisa Klam talks with head coach Jo Smith before
Tuesday’s game against Sam Houston State University
The game saw Lisa Klam raise her
team leading .374 batting average
while adding one more round-
tripper to bring her season total to
11.
“We’re real confident now,”
Klam said of the Aggies’ Wednes
day win. “Hopefully, we can win
two games [in Missouri].”
The Aggies as a team are out
hitting their opponents .293 to
.223. Tiffany Esters, with 35
RBI’s, has made it her duty to get
runs on the scoreboard.
Amy Mining has been the
workhorse for the women the en
tire year. Her 1.02 ERA and 181
strikeouts are tops for the team.
The sophomore ace has been
helped on the mound by Jordana
Barrack who has pieced together
a 12-2 record and a 1.76 ERA.
rAfi
: FiEfi
isd
IRpNWOOD
ATTENTION ALL GRADUATES
Your graduation gift is waiting for you at
Ironwood Apartments
The New Name in Qalleria Living in Houston
Call now for more information on your graduation gift
Call Collect (713) 266-6060 Call Collect
2742 Jeanetta Drive • Houston, Texas 77063
Visit our web site at www.bradleyapartmenthomes.com
Bring in this coupon |
for an EXTRA
$
IRONWOOD
100. OFF
I
I
I