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By Doug Puentes
The Battalion
The old adage is that you are only as
good as your last performance.
The 2001 version of the Texas A&M
baseball team hopes to dispel that notion as
they look to make a dramatic improvement.
The Aggies followed up their 1999
World Series appearance with their first los
ing season in 40 years, and the first in A&M
baseball coach Mark Johnson's career.
A&M lost eight starters from the ’99
team and was forced to retool its starting
lineup with youngsters.
The inexperience of the team showed, as
the Aggies limped out of the gate and stag
gered home to the finish.
A&M lost five of their first seven games
and finished up the season by losing 20 of
23 games.
Johnson said he hopes the adversity his
young team faced last year will turn into
positive results on the field this year.
“The problem is sometimes you throw
young guys out and they have negative ex
periences and never get out of the cellar,”
Jphnson said. “That’s where our question
marks are. Whether we’ll be strong enough
in our beliefs.
“Talent wise, I don’t have a problem
with our talent. It’s just going to be how
sfrong we are when we face adversity. Our
guys are questioning themselves a little bit
because they don’t know either. We just
need to get out there and get playing.”
With the young players having a year of
experience under their belt, and only los
ing two starters from last year’s team, there
is no shortage of competition for starting
positions.
Johnson is going into the season with at
least two players fighting it out for most
positions.
Behind the plate, freshman Rusty Mey
er and senior Jason Gremminger will han
dle the catching duties.
Gremminger got the majority of starts at
catcher last season, starting 33 games be
fore a back injury forced him to miss the fi
nal part of the season. Meyer also missed
last season because of injury and was red-
shirted.
At first base, Johnson will go with the
platoon that he used last year — senior Jeff
Freeman and sophomore Travis Wong.
Freeman hit .345 last season to lead the
team. He also led the team in on-base per
centage at .448.
Wong had a decent freshman season,
starting 33 games and hitting .286.
Replacing the departed Sean Heaney at
second base will be a quartet of players.
Junior co-captain Ty Garner is the front
runner for the position after a good fall
workout.
Junior Ryan Wardinsky will get a shot to
break in at second base after leading the
team with 21 errors from the shortstop po
sition last season.
A pair of newcomers will get a chance as
well — freshman Eric Schindewolf and
sophomore junior-college transfer Tim
Petru.
“I would think before two weeks are
over, everybody is going to play and get a
shot to do their thing,” Johnson said. “1 like
Schindewolf’s left-handed bat. He’s not as
I don't have a problem
with our talent. It's just go
ing to be how strong we are
when we face adversity.’’
between junior Greg Porter and sophomore
Kevin Theiss.
Porter started last season for the Aggies
but had a disappointing season. After a
strong freshman season in which he hit sev
en home runs. Porter failed to clear the
fence once in 2000.
Theiss, a transfer from San Jacinto Ju
nior College, has impressed Johnson with
his hitting against right-.and left-handers.
In the outfield, Johnson will have a
handful of choices, as only departed home-
run king Daylan Holt needs to be replaced.
Junior Carlos Sepulveda is the leading
returning home-run and RBI producer. He
hit nine home runs and drove in 34 runs last
— Mark Johnson
A&M baseball coach
far along defensively as Wardinsky or Gar
ner, and Petru is still getting it all figured
out as well.”
Shortstop is one of the only positions
Johnson has his mind made up on as senior
Chris Russ emerged as the front-runner.
Russ, who also doubles as the team’s
closer, started 22 games last season at short
stop.
When Russ goes into pitch late in the
game, Wardinsky will be the man to go in
for him.
Third base is shaping up to be a dogfight
season.
Sepulveda missed fall practice because
of surgery to repair an injured hand. But
Johnson said he had a good enough spring
to push him into the line-up.
A pair of speedsters will also be at John
son’s disposal in the outfield. Sophomores
David Evans and Eric Reed return after
successful freshman seasons.
Evans batted .329 and led the team in
stolen bases with 15. Reed hit .301 and was
third on the team with 11 steals.
Sophomore Ben Himes looks to take
over for Holt in right field. A transfer from
the University of Virginia, Himes hit .316
and led the Cavaliers with nine home runs
last year. He was also named to the fresh
man All-America team.
Johnson has two-thirds of his starting
tation set as junior Khalid Balloulit
sophomore Todd Deininger return.
Ballouli led the team last season wit
4.25 ERA and with 91 innings pitch
Deininger led the team in winswitheij
and in strikeouts with 82.
The Aggies were also countingonilt
third man in the rotation from last!i
Grant Gregg, but he transferred, lean
'Johnson up in the air about his third stad
Junior transfer Joe Hart from NatJ
Junior College was the leading can#
for the third slot in the rotation, butl^
had some setbacks and Johnson isbrin®
him along slowly.
That leaves the door open for sopho®
Steven Ponder and junior Brian Strelis
step up and take the third position. .
The Aggies open the season
against Arkansas State at Olsen Field'
p.m. Then the team hits the road fori
weeks before a weekend series withBa)
on Feb. 23.
A&M hopes to jump out of the®
quickly in order to avoid another disast®
start like last season.
“Some quick wins will give this ten
world of confidence,” Porter said. “O'
we get some confidence, who knowstfl 1
this road will end. 1 think we can doit 1 !
If we can sweep a few series at thebe-'
ning, or at least win them, it will dot
world of good.”
After subpar year, look for Aggie
to recapture their winning way
Carlos Sepulveda
34 RBls
133 Runs Scored
9 Home Runs
Todd Deininger
82 Strikeouts
I was right. As
much as it
pains me, I
was right.
In my predic
tions for the
2000 Texas
A&M baseball
season, I predict-
8 Wins
♦l§
Jeff [Freeman
Rskftinn liivsirsftnsi
/
ed that the team would not do as
well as they had the previous sea
son when they made it all the way
to Omaha.
In fact, I think my exact words
were,-“The Aggies will have a
dropoff this season. It’s inevitable.
If the Aggies stumble out of the
blocks and the youngsters get dis
couraged, it could spell doom for
the Ags.”
Wow, who knew I could predict
the future?
Although even 1 could not fore
see the depths to which the team
would fall.
First losing season in 40 years,
losers of 20 of their last 23 games
— that’s not a dropoff, that’s falling
off a cliff.
So now the 2001 season is upon
us and it’s time for me to do my
best Nostradamus impression once
again. Here goes nothing.
The Aggies will bounce back
this season and once again be a
force in the Big 12.
There will be absolutely no way
this team repeats its performance
from last season.
The guys on the team are a year
older, and more importantly, have a
year of experience.
I’m sure they have a bad taste in
their mouth about last season and do
not want to experience that again
Another reason to expect anti
provement is Coach MarkJohflq
The man knows how to win.
There is a reason last season'
his first losing season as a coacb
He knows how to handle adver-
With a pitching staff that bed*
scribes as having great depth and
team that is one year older, look
him to do great things.
With Nebraska and Baylor^
only teams in the Big 12 that
prohibitive favorites, there’s no
reason the Aggies can’t have a
great season.
Here’s hoping that Coach Jo^
son and the rest of the team mak
me look like a genius once again
Doug Fuentes is a s(
journalism mf]
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