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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2000)
Y SPORTS uesday, March 21,20(X) THE BATTALION Page 9 Ags split pair in tournament First time baseball team finishes last in Continental Classic GUY ROGERS/The Battalion fielder David Evans slides into home against Oregon State University in the Aggies 6-1 loss to the Beavers. Evans was called out on the play. BY DOUG SHILLING The Battalion When all was said and done at the 2000 Texas A&M Continental Express Classic, the Texas A&M baseball team found itself in a po sition it had never reached in the eight-year his tory of the tournament — last place. The Aggies split a pair of games with Ore gon State University and Ohio State University Monday to wind up with a 2-4 record in the tour nament and end up in last place for the first time since the tournament’s inception in 1989. The Central Michigan University Chippewas took home first place with a 4-2 record in the tournament. The Buckeyes and Beavers each posted a 3-3 record, but Oregon State ended up in second place because it held the tiebreaker with Ohio State. A&M junior right fielder Daylan Holt, who was named to the All-Tournament team, said the Aggies' poor play during the tournament has been frustrating for the team. “It’s tough,” Holt said. “The thing is that we can't put a finger on what the problem is. As soon as we do, it’s all going to work out. Right now, if someone makes a bad play, everyone drops their head.We can't have that.” A&M used a strong pitching performance from senior pitcher Chris Fulbright to salvage the last game of the tournament, 2-1, against the Buckeyes. Fulbright (1 -0), making his first appearance of the season, held Ohio State to one run on three hits in seven innings of work, striking out sev en and walking four. A&M baseball coach Mark Johnson said Fulbright, whose A&M career has been marred by injury, helped lift the Aggies to victory. “It’s heartwarming,” Johnson said. “It’s al most heartwrenching. He hadn’t had a chance to throw and he was geared for this game and want ed this game. 1 thought he threw his heart out.” The Aggies struck early when they tallied a run in the first to take a 1-0 lead. Junior third baseman Chris Russ led oft-the game by reaching on an infield hit. After steal ing second and third, Russ came around to score on an infield single by junior first baseman Jeff Freeman. A&M tallied another run in the top of the fourth when senior catcher Joe O’Jibway sin gled home sophomore shortstop Ryan Wardinsky to stretch the lead to 2-0 in favor of the Aggies. The Buckeyes answered with a run in the fifth, but would not get any closer as Fulbright kept them oft'balance the rest of the game. Ohio State pitcher Greg Prenger took the loss for the Buckeyes. Prenger (0-1) allowed two runs on eight hits in six innings of work. The Aggie bats were silent in the first game against the Oregon State. A&M managed only seven hits as the Beavers downed the Aggies 6-1. The game stayed knotted at one until the fifth inning when Oregon State used a two-out rally to pull ahead of the Aggies. Beaver left fielder Josh Carter hit a bases loaded, two-run single followed by a run-scor ing single from third baseman Tim Dryden to give the Beavers a 4-1 lead. Oregon State kept the pressure on the next inning as they once again capitalized with two men out. Beaver catcher Bryan Ingram slapped a two- run single to center field to increase the Oregon State lead to 6-1. The five-run lead was insurmountable for A&M as the Aggie bats went quietly in the sixth and seventh innings to end the game. Holt said the Aggies need to start perfonn- ing better for things to start looking up for the team. “We have to get the whole team clicking on all cylinders,” Holt said. “Until we get that go ing, it’s going to be tough. The sooner we get that done, the better.” sident for research! /ith crowd at a xh week is sponsors the Vice President ate Studies and the y by selling their 1 re to happen. Conkeysail lose up to 30 percent ofis onkey wants to study I ctions of rice fields as it ter project. elds provide wetland to nr 1 1: g, Fizer taking same path in college BY JASON LINCOLN The Battalion hey knew they were the best from their days growing up in northern Louisiana. Nobody in the bayou could come lose to playing at the same level on te basketball court. They attended ri al schools, but that didn’t matter icy were friends. Marcus Fizer and Bernard King ormedabond because they were the est. Each would lead their team to iplement the loss of natun ^ Louisiana IA State Champi on we need to preserve no mship game. Each would earn her- nd recognize and compel aided postseason honors a Me ier, the landowner, andt ' ic for this conservation e y said. Donald's All-America nomination for Fizer and a Louisiana Mr. Bas ketball title for King. And each would pass up the chance to play for college basketball’s top contenders — rolling their dice instead on programs with a history' of basketball mediocrity. The reason — they wanted to be the impact player, the one that brought their school to the forefront of NCAA hoops and the front page of the nation’s sport sections. It worked. By the time their inaugural sea sons were over, small-town northern Louisiana could boast of not one, but two Big 12 Freshmen of the Year in a three-year period. In 1997, Marcus Fizer went to Iowa State — a Big 12 program con sistently ranked toward the bottom. He quickly took the team on his shoulders, seoring a conference freshman record 14.9 points per game and 447 on the season and earning the Big 12 Freshman of the Year crown. However, the young forward still did not have a team capable of win ning consistently against some of the better Division I schools. Coming into his junior year at Iowa State, it was the same story as critics claimed Fizer had made a mis take choosing the Cyclones. Much to the chagrin of those cynics, Fizer proved them wrong. Five months after the start of the season, Iowa State, a team with a 15- 15 record in 1998-99, has captured the Big 12 regular season and tourna ment titles, dominated in the NCAA tournament — earning a trip to the “Sweet 16.” And in the middle of all that, Fiz er was named Big 12 Player of the Year. So was Iowa State the wrong choice — obviously not. Two years after Fizer made that See Duo on Page 14. HOW BIG 12 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR BERNARD RING S SEASON COMPARES TO IOWA STATE JUNIOR AND BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE YEAR MARCOS FIIERS FRESHMAN SEASON. BERNARD KING ARCRS FIXER W4X4.1\W67Q6 JP BEATO/The Battalion Lecture Notes be purchased by the lecture or for the entire semeste 1 All notes are taki by experienced notetakers and NOT students in the class. We only attend classes in which permission has been granted by the professor. one! 15, 2000 very bedroom )00 HLY BILL oosits system Jard cable ises RPflRTMENI lrose.com 7 9-68 ini sweepstakes brought to you by s ftomestead www.homestead.com FREE WEB SITES To enter, go te cdnow.com/freestuff WIN $!□,□□□ CASH or hundreds oF other great prizes, including: [I00] AT&T National PrePaid Wireless Phones (10) Bolt.com Gift Certificates (30) Mountain Bikes from Kellogg’s® (5) Jeep CD Boomboxes (750) Student Advantage Memberships (50) Sunglasses from lntersun.com (950] CD’s and prizes from CDNOW AT&T att.com/college Deadline for Entries: RULES: No Purchase or Online Entry Necessary. Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited. Open to legal residents of the US. 13 years of age or older. Sweepstakes begins ai 10:00 Anril II ?nnn al 1 EJPM ET amETon3/1/00andendsat5:00pmETon4/11/00 Limit one entry and prize per person. Odds of winning a prize depends on the number ol eligible enlnes received. Subject lo Mpill ll, cu 3 ll Cl ^bdihonal reslrictions contained in the Official Rules. For official rules, see cdnow.com/college. or send a sell-addressed, stamped envelope to: CDNOW RULES REQUEST. P 0 Box NO Purchase Necessary 605. Sayreville. NJ O887I -O6O5. WA&VT residents may omit return postage. Sponsor and promoter: CDnowOnline. Inc.. 1005 Virginia Drive. Fort Washington. PA 19034. ill Vote Vm\ How Does a $7 fee increase benefit TAMU students? Students will be voting Mar. 29 & 30 on whether to increase the Recreational Sports Fee. The Department of Recreational Sports and Student Government leaders have recommended a net $7 increase. The increase will preserve what Aggies have now. Specifically, the Rec Center and Department of Recreational Sports programs will be maintained and operated in the same high quality and accessible manner that they are today. The Department will be able to replace old equipment and keep it in good working order. The Rec Center will con tinue to be open from early morning to late evening, and will be able to continue to offer the programs and services students have come to expect and enjoy. A vote of "yes" will ensure that future Aggies have the same opportunity to recreate, socialize and be exposed to a healthy lifestyle in well-maintained and beautiful surroundings. Polling Sites: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. March 29 & 30 MSC Rec Center Kleberg Zachry Evans Library Bush School Duncan Dinning Hall outside All Faith Chapel Blocker Wehner Commons Referendum information available at recsports.tamu.edu