Index: Section B
Sports 2B; Classified 4B; Opinion SB
Wednesday, February 7,2001
Sports
THE BATTALION
Page 1B ’
CODY WAGES/The Battalion
Outfielder Hollee Hayden strides to home plate and Sam Houston catcher Jen
nifer Roberston in the Aggies' 7-4 win over the Bearkats on Tuesday.
Ags down Sam Houston State, 7-4
By Brian Ruff
The Battalion
The Texas A&M softball team began its
home schedule with a win over the Sam Hous
ton State Bearkats, 7-4, at the Aggie Softball
Complex on Tuesday night.
The Aggies (2-1) opened up the scoring in the
bottom of the first, after sophomore pitcher
Lindsey Rippee sent the Bearkats down in order
in the first. After senior left fielder Hollee Hay
den reached first with a single, she stole second
on the next pitch to set the Aggies up to score.
Sophomore catcher Selena Collins then sin
gled to drive in Hayden. After a walk, senior
right fielder Tiffany Esters doubled into right
center to drive home Collins and move junior
first baseman Kelly Ferguson over to third. An
errant throw by the Sam Houston shortstop
scored two more runs, and the Aggies found
themselves with a comfortable lead at the end of
first inning.
In the top of the second, Sam. Houston began
to chisel away at the A&M lead. Senior Natalie
Pruitt singled and then scored moments later when
a single got by the A&M right fielder and allowed
Pruitt to score, cutting the Aggie lead to 4-1.
Rippee had no trouble with the Bearkats for
the following two innings. In the fifth however,
Rippee had problems after an error on the sec
ond baseman set Sam Houston up with runners
on first and second with only one out. Junior out
fielder Ashley Hylton singled up the middle to
drive in the two runners. Soon after, a single
scored Hylton to tie the ball game up at 4-4.
The Aggies got another chance at the lead in
the bottom of the inning with runners on third
and second. A&M looked to take the lead, but a
line drive by sophomore shortstop Crystal Mar
tin was snagged by the Sam Houston third base-
man to keep the Aggies from regaining the lead.
Freshman pitcher Lindsay Wilhelmson came
in to pitch in the top of the sixth and sent the
Bearkats down in order.
The Aggies got the breaks they needed in the
bottom of the inning, when a wild pitch moved
senior second baseman Rachel Lewis to second
base. Junior second baseman Lisa Klam came in
to run for Lewis. After Lewis moved over to
third on a sacrifice, the Aggies were in position
to take control of the game.
Ferguson stepped to the plate and grounded
a ball to second base, but the fielder was forced
to throw to first, allowing the go-ahead run to
score. The Aggies added two more insurance
runs soon after, giving them a 7-4 lead.
“I was very excited to be put in that position,”
Ferguson said. “Lisa [Klam] is a great runner out
on the bases, so I knew that if I gave her a
chance, she would score.”
Wilhelmson would close out the game to
record the win in the top of the seventh, despite
the Bearkats loading up the bases twice during
the inning.
“Wilhelmson came in and did a nice job
tonight,” said A&M softball coach Jo Evans.
“She also had some good defense behind her.”
Esters led the Aggies against Sam Houston by
going 2-2 at the plate with two RBIs. Wilhelm
son recorded the win, her first of the season, de
spite pitching only two innings.
“I was really pleased with the way we came
back and scored the three runs in the end,” Evans
said. “Our team really handled the pressure.”
The Aggies will be back in action on Feb. 9
when the they travel to Grand Prairie to take part
in the UTA/Isuzu InterCollegiate Classic.
Aggies look to upset No. 20 Longhorns tonight
By Brian Ruff
I The Battalion
The Texas A&M women’s basketball
team looks to get back on the winning
| track Wednesday night as it hosts the No.
I 20 Texas Longhorns at Reed Arena.
The Aggies (12-8, 2-7) look to re-
j bound from a three-game losing streak in
conference play.
A&M is coming off a 92-79 loss to the
No. 9 Texas Tech Lady Raiders in Lub
bock on Saturday.
' The Aggies’ post players got into early
foul trouble, and Tech was able to take ad-
■ vantage, scoring 42 points in the paint.
The Aggies were led by senior forward
Jaynetta Saunders, who posted 23 points.
Freshman guard Toccara Williams also
added 11 points and 11 assists for her sec-
j ond double-double of the season.
The Texas squad comes into Reed Are
na on the heels of a 70-60 upset loss to the
Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday.
Texas was led by senior guard Meg
Brown, who had 11 points on the night.
The Longhorns shot a miserable 26.5 per
cent from the floor in the first half.
The Longhorns (16-7, 4-5) look to
sweep the season series with the Aggies.
On Jan. 3, the Aggies suffered a 62-49
defeat to Texas.
Texas’ effort was aided by an eight-
minute scoring drought by the Aggies in
the first half. Texas boasts a strong defense
that ranks among the conference leaders in
scoring defense.
The Longhorns also lead the Big 12 in
turnover margin and 3-point shooting
percentage.
Freshman forward Stacy Stephens has
been a mainstay underneath the basket for
the Longhorns this season. Stephens is
among the rebounding leaders in the Big
12 conference with an 8.7 boards per game
average.
The Aggies were troubled by turnovers
Jan. 31 against Oklahoma, when the team
committed a season-high 27 against the
Sooners.
“We were very lax with the ball, and it
really hurt us,” said A&M women’s bas
ketball coach Peggie Gillom.
The following Saturday against the
Lady Raiders, the Aggies committed their
second lowest turnover count of the season.
The team hopes to hopes to turn around
its rebounding problems as well. The Ag
gies are ranked last in the Big 12 in de
fensive rebounds and rebounding margin,
being outrebounded by at least seven
boards per contest.
“Hopefully we can come out and get a
big lead on them [Texas] and take away
their confidence,” Gillom said. “It is going
to come down to who wants it more.”
Senior guard Brandy Jones, despite be
ing sometimes overshadowed by the high-
scoring Saunders, who now leads the Big
12 in scoring, has also contributed greatly
to the Aggie scoring effort.
Jones is the only other double-digit
scorer on the team.
“We are going to be more aggressive
than the last time we played them,” Jones
said. “We have been playing good at home,
and we are pumped for this one.”
Jones and the rest of the upset-minded
Aggies look to knock off their second
ranked team of the season at Reed Arena.
On Jan. 20, the Aggies downed the No. 25
Baylor Bears.
Freshman guard Toccara Williams looks to lead
the Aggies over the 20th ranked Longhorns.
m n n
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Liberal Arts Career Week
Tonight: Networking Workshop
7:00 p.m.
Koldus 111
Thursday, February 8th: Alumni Forum
6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Reed Arena
Social
8:00 - ? p.m. Reed Arena
Friday, February 9th: Career Fair
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Rudder Exhibit Hall
www.lasctamu.com