SPORTS
THE BATTALION
2000
TEXAS A&M BASEBALL
BY DOUG SHILLING
The Battalion
For the Texas A&M baseball team, 1999 was a season
to remember.
The Aggies captured their second straight Big 12 Cham
pionship, won 52 games and captured Regional and Super
Regional titles, sending A&M to the College World Series
for the third time in school history.
But with eight starters gone from last year’s squad, the
2000 version of the Aggies will have a new look.
While the team will have tons of ability, it will be an ex
tremely young group.
“I think it has talent; 1 like the talent of our ballclub,”
A&M baseball coach Mark Johnson said. “There is a jump
from high school and junior college to Division 1. It’s a
much faster game. But we’ll have four or live freshmen out
there at some times.
“It’s going to be a season where we’ll have to be patient
and one where the real critical thing is how we deal with
failure. It’s not going to be a journey with a smooth, straight
path, it's going to have some bumps in it.”
The only starters returning from last season are senior
second baseman Sean Heaney and junior right fielder Day-
lan Holt.
A preseason All-American, Holt is coming off the best
offensive season in Aggie history. He batted .341 and set
A&M records with 34 home runs and 105 RBI. I leaney is
a three-year starter for the Aggies and last year hit .333 with
11 home runs and 48 RBI.
With the team as young as it is, both Heaney and Holt
have been given larger leadership roles on the team this
year, being named co-captains for the 2000 season.
“They're taking on a big leadership role,” Johnson said.
“Not only those two guys, but I’ve asked all the returning
guys to take an ownership in this team. Because we have
so many new guys, the old guys have to lead the way.”
Heaney said the returning players’job is to make sure
everyone comes together as a team.
“The main thing in college baseball is how your team
chemistry is because the talent level is so even,” Heaney
said. “So the biggest key this year will be how the team gels
together. And that’s the older guys job to get everyone in
here and playing together on the same page.”
Coming into the season, the Aggies’ starting lineup is
still in question. While second base and right field are sol
id, all of the other positions are still up-for-grabs.
The battle for the first base position will be between
freshman Travis Wong and junior transfer Jelf Freeman.
The right-handed Wong played for the USA Junior team
over the summer and the left-handed Freeman transferred
to A&M from Cowley County Junior College.
Sophomore transfer Ryan Wardinsky has the inside
track on being starting shortstop. Wardinsky came to A&M
from Walla Walla Junior College in Washington.
See Preview on Page 7.
New faces
hope to
lead Aggies
BY JASON LINCOLN
The Battalion
L ast season marked one of the best
seasons in the history of Texas
A&M baseball. The Aggies suc
cessfully defended their Big 12 Champi
onship and advanced into the College
World Series behind the power of the Ag
gie bats.
Following the banner season, the Ag
gies found themselves in a dilemma af
ter the major league draft claimed eight
A&M starters. That loss left only two fa
miliar faces, Daylan Holt and Sean
Heaney, to lead the new look of Aggie
baseball taking the field this spring.
“Most people are aware, now, that this
is anew ballclub,” A&M coach Mark John-'
son said. “We had eight guys off our team
sign. Some were juniors, and some were se
niors, but they were key position guys.”
The Aggies brought in 19 new faces
for this season to fi 11 the void left by some
of the most productive players in school
history. Eleven freshmen and eight trans
fers will compete with the 10 returning
lettermen and three squadsmen for the
open positions.
“I hope by the time we get to confer
ence, we can figure out who our starters
are,” Johnson said. “Right now there are
a lot of open positions.”
Johnson expects the A&M line-up to
A&M senior sec
hopes to lead tl
Swinging for the fence
Holt looks to improve on stellar 1999 seasot
BY DOUG SHILLING
The Battalion
SALLIE TURNER/Tm Battalion
A&M senior Matt Knight (L-R) and sophomores Ty Garner, Blake Whealy
and Khalid Ballouli celebrate last year’s Super Regional victory.
Even with talent loss, A&M
should have interesting year
T he grass is
freshly cut,
the chalk
lines have been
drawn and the
“Raggies” have
come out of their
winter slumber. It
must mean it’s time
once again for Texas
Aggie Baseball.
See Newcomers on Page 7.
With the season A&M had last year,
enthusiasm should be at an all-time
high. A second straight Big 12 Champi
onship and a trip to Omaha for the Col
lege World Series will do that.
The only problem with that enthusiasm
is that last year’s team is no longer here.
Eight starters from last year’s squad
were drafted and signed contracts with
professional teams.
With those guys gone, the Aggies
will have a dropotf this season. It’s in
evitable. It has nothing to do with the
current team, it’s just sheer numbers.
Gone from last year's squad are 54
percent of the home runs, 57 percent of
the team’s RBI, 58 percent of the wins
and 65 percent of the innings pitched.
Take away Daylan Holt’s school record
34 home runs and only 20 percent of the
Aggies’ home run total is back this year.
See Interesting on Page 10.
T he road to becoming Texas
A&M's home run king was a bit
different for Daylan Holt. Instead
of coming in and setting the world on
fire, the junior right fielder went through
an awkward period during his first sea
son in Aggieland. Home runs and
records were the farthest thing from his
mind. I le was just trying to find his place
on the team.
“1 remember for the first two weeks to
a month, 1 was just scared," Holt said,
felt like 1 had to impress the fans and all
that stuff. It’s very intimidat
ing to come in here and
play, and I was even on
the home team.
“I think I made
only four errors my ^
whole four years in high
school. Then I came here and went
bonkers. It got to a point where a ball was
hit to me and I could hear the crowd just
sigh and go, ‘Oh, no.’ Then that would
make me nervous.”
Holt eventually settled down shook
off his early season jitters and ended up
having a productive freshman year. He
started 59 games in right field and was
the Aggies’designated hitter in five more
games. Holt hit .316 with seven home
runs and 48 RBIs and was even named
second team Freshman All-America by
Baseball America.
But as good as his freshman season
was, nothing could compare to the year
he put together last year.
I lolt did n^t merely break records last
year, he obliterated them. In what was
the best individual offensive season ever
at A&M, he batted .341 with 34 home
runs and 105 RBIs.
His 34 home runs led the nation and
eclipsed the previous Aggie record by
nine. His 105 RBI placed him second in
)ld A&M
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See Holt on Pawl
GUY ROGERS
Lyle Love
The conct
gie Bonfir
A&M 2000 SCHEDULE
.Khalid Ballouli
Mali Berry
42:., ■
Todd l>cinio«tfr
13
Gram Gregg
32
Jason Grtmminger
1«
Date
Feb. 4
Feb. 5
Feb. 6
Feb. 8
Feb.11-12
Feb. 15
Feb. 18-20
Feb. 22 Mk
.Feb. 25-27jH
Feb. 29
March 3 ■ vil
March 4-5
March 7
March 10-12
March 14
March 17
Opponent
! Washingtt
! Washington State
! Oregon State
! Washington State
UT-SAN ANTONIO
at UT-Pan American
at Southwest Texas State
ARIZONA
iat Sam Houston State
iSKANSAS STATE
BIvMU-CORPUS christi
r* BAYLOR
| * at Baylor
; at Houston
j * TEXAS TECH ..
at Lamar
# OBIQSJATEi^::
Site/Time
Albuquerque, N.M. 2:30 p.m.
Albuquerque, N.M. 2:30 p.m.
Albuquerque, N.M. 11:30 a.m.
COLLEGE STATION 3 p.m.
Edinburg, Texas 3 p.m., Ip.m.(DH)
San Marcos, Texas 3 p.m.
COLLEGE STATION 3 p.m., 2p.m., I p.m.
Huntsville, Texas 2 p.m.
jiPLLEGE STATION 3 p.m., 2n.mv, 1p.m.
IfeLLEGE STATION 3
PpLLEGE STATION 7 p.m.
Swafeb, Texas 3 p.m.,2p.m. 1 '
fHouston, Texas 7 p.m. t
COLLEGE STATION 7 p.m., 7pA, l p.m.
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30
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22
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Beaumont, Texas 7 p.m.
COLLEGE STATION 7 p.m.
COLLEGE STATION 1 p.m.
College station 8 p.m.
COLLEGE STATION 7 p.m.
Col leg b*station 5 p.m
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