Friday, FebmjJ
Friday, February 23, 2001
Sports
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CHAD ADAMS/Thh Battalion
courtesy of© A&M junior second baseman Ty Garner attempts
tcp turn a double play in the Aggies' series against
Arkansas State two weekends ago. The Aggies begin
Big 12 play this weekend against the Baylor Bears.
Aggies open Big 12 play
Baseball team looks to break out of four-game slide •
this weekend against 18th-ranked Baylor Bears ■
By Doug Puentes
The Battalion
Only eight games into its season,
the Texas A&M baseball team has to
get ready for a major test. The ques
tion remains: Is it up to the task.
Mired in a four-game slump, the
Aggies start Big 12 play against one
of the hottest teams in the confer
ence, the 18th-ranked Baylor Bears.
A&M (3-5) is coming off a tough
2-1 loss to the Sam Houston State
Bearkats on Tuesday in Huntsville.
Bearkats pitcher Joe Fowler shut
down the Aggies, pitching a com
plete game and limiting the Aggies to
one run on two hits.
A&M freshman pitcher Matt Far-
num also pitched well, allowing only
two runs on six hits in 7 1/3 innings,
but he was the victim of Aggie errors.
Both of Farnum’s runs were un
earned, thanks to two A&M errors in
the eighth inning.
Errors have been the Aggies’
Achilles’ heel in the early going.
making 24 in eight games, and 15
during the current four-game losing
streak.
“Hitting streaks are contagious
and so are fielding streaks,” said
A&M pitching coach Jim Lawler.
“Once somebody boots a ball, the
next guy doesn’t want to do it and all
of a sudden he’s putting too much
pressure on himself.”
The Aggies will be short one
pitcher this weekend. Junior Khalid
Ballouli will not pitch because of a
tender arm ever since his start against
Arkansas State two weekends ago,
Lawler said.
He attempted to throw during
practice Wednesday, but did not feel
quite right in his throwing.
As a result, A&M will juggle its ro
tation. Sophomore Todd Deininger
will start tonight, but the order is un
known after that. Juniors Brian Strelitz
and Joe Hart and sophomore Steven
Ponder are all candidates to get a start,
but their status depends on if they are
used in relief early in the series.
“You have to use your best pitch-*
ers in a conference game,” Lawler,
said. “I’m not going to save two guys‘
for Sunday, when it might be an ex-*
tra-inning game on Friday night.” !
If the Aggies are in a slump, the*
Bears (9-3) are on a hot streak. They
have won nine of their first 12 games*
and lead the Big 12 in ERA at 1.95.
They also are the best fielding team
in the Big 12, with a .979 fielding
percentage.
Baylor is coming off a 13-2 victo
ry over UT-San Antonio Tuesday.
Catcher Kelly Shoppach led the
Bears with a two-run home run.
Shoppach leads the team in batting,
with a .476 average, and in RBIs,
with 14.
“If you look at the Big 12, we’re
probably playing the hottest team
right now, as far as starting the sea
son,” Lawler said. “Which isn’t ideal,
but if you turn around and win a cou
ple of games, it changes everything.”
See Baseball on Page 6.
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land also shoK The Battalion
After beginning the season with
ix straight wins, the Texas A&M
women's tennis team will attempt
ko continue the best start in school
history this weekend as they host
Oklahoma State and the University
f Nebraska.
A win over Oklahoma State to-
ay would tie the A&M record of 7-
,set in 1998.
Both matches also will have the
dded significance of being the first
inference matchups the No. 29
ggies will encounter.
“This will be the season within
[the season,” said Texas A&M
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necke. “Conference play is a little
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od perform* f or a different championship.”
The main focus for the Aggies
(6-0) will be the Cowgirls from Ok
lahoma State (4-2) who are coming
off a strong showing at the
USTA/ITA National Team Indoor
Championships. OSU posted wins
over two ranked teams, No. 19 Ohio
State and No. 11 Notre Dame.
OSU’s lone loss came at the hands
-Matt McCof of 18th-ranked Tennessee.
“This is a very big match for us,”
Kleinecke said. “They are riding a
huge high right now, but if we go
lout and take care of our business
^ ee P improving like we have
I ITJafllfbeen, then I am confident that we
O are going to do well.”
No. 30 OSU is led by the dou
bles tandem of Ashleigh Dollman
and Maria Phillips, the45th-ranked
doubles team in the nation. Doll-
man was one-half of a doubles team
that advanced to the NCAA Cham
pionships last year.
In their sole matchup last season,
^ ■ A&M knocked off OSU, 6-3, in
. X; | Edmond. Okla. The Aggies hold a
■ seven-match winning streak over
1 the Cowgirls.
The competition will stay tough
for the Aggies, who will have one
day to recover before taking the
court against a solid Nebraska team.
Nebraska started the season
strong, winning seven matches on
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See Pair on Page 6.
Ags finish up home schedule
A&M, Tech battle to stay out of Big 12 cellar as Aggies host Red Raiders at Reed Arena Saturday
By Jason Lincoln
The Battalion
If the Texas A&M men’s bas
ketball team wishes to finish any
where but last place in conference
standings, Saturday is a must-win
situation when Texas Tech enters
Reed Arena.
With three games remaining in
the regular season, the Aggies are
looking for a late surge, some
thing that has failed them during
game time as they slipped behind
in two-straight conference match
es down the stretch.
But the possibility is there.
Texas A&M will face its longest
stretch of teams in the lower tier
of the conference standings.
Tech merely kicks it off. The
Aggies then hit the road against
Nebraska and Baylor to end the
season.
None of the final opponents
are over .500 in Big 12 action,
while the Aggies have already
downed their two South division
rivals in the first matchup, defeat
ing Baylor, 73-69, and Tech, 72-
70.
However, Tech is the most vul
nerable of the Aggies’ final three
opponents with just three confer
ence wins this season.
Combined with A&M’s home
court advantage and previous vic
tory, the game is a must-have for
the Aggies before hitting the road
for the rest of the season.
In the previous matchup be
tween the two teams, the Aggies
led by as much as 13 points with
6:27 remaining before Tech
closed the game on al5-4, falling
just two points shy of the win.
All four points came from free
throws as A&M went cold from
the floor.
Nick Anderson led the Aggies
with 18 points.
Anderson is a Big 12 Fresh
man of the Year candidate and
currently ranks second in league
scoring by freshman, with 9.8
points per game.
Only Iowa State freshman Jake
Sullivan is averaging better, with
11.9 points per game.
Bernard King is also up for
postseason hardware as an All-
Big 12 candidate.
King’s 18.9 point-per-game
stat leads the team and ranks sec
ond in the Big 12.
On Saturday against Okla
homa State, King posted 25 points
with eight assists.
King scored in double figures
17 straight times, falling short of
the mark just twice this year.
Texas Tech snapped a seven-
game losing streak with a 65-64
win over Nebraska on Wednesday.
Andy Ellis hit a basket with just
four seconds remaining, giving
Tech its third win of the season.
Ellis led the Raiders with 14
points. Cliff Owens scored 12.
Against the Aggies, Owens post
ed 17 points and Ellis had 13.
After finishing the stretch of
conference play, the Aggies will
travel to Kansas City for the Big
12 Tournament March 8-11.
KRISTI HINES/Th k Battalion
A&M sophomore guard Bernard King
goes up for a jumper against OSU.
CODY WAGES/The Battalion
A&M freshman forward Nick Anderson is the second-leading
freshman scorer in the Big 12, averaging 9.8 points per game.
Freshman Anderson beginning to play up to high expectations,
learning determination, proving himself to Aggie teammates
By Jason Lincoln
The Battalion
As voting time draws near, A&M
freshman forward Nick Anderson is
making himself hard to ignore.
The preseason pick for Big 12 Fresh
man of the Year is finally showing why
he was chosen after leading his team
into its only two conference wins of the
season.
After posting team highs in scoring
against Baylor University and Texas
Tech with 14 and 18 points, Anderson
has taken his offensive production to the
level the Aggies expected when they
signed one of the most highly regarded
players in the history of the program.
But with just three games remaining
and Texas A&M buried in the cellar of
league standings, Anderson’s chances
for frosh of the year are limited.
Anderson is only averaging 9.8
points per game. Meanwhile, Iowa
State freshman Jake Sullivan has post
ed 11.9 points per game.
But recently the story has been dif
ferent for Anderson, who found his
rhythm in recent games. During Texas
A&M’s last five games, Anderson is av
eraging 15.6 points per game while ty
ing his career high with 22 points
against Missouri.
What matters most to Anderson is
winning. He came to A&M to win, and
with Anderson’s recent improvement
the step up was evident in his attitude.
Anderson thought, he has had to
prove himself from day one, even to his
teammates.
“They thought I had no shot,” he
said. “All they thought I could do was
dunk. I feel pretty comfortable shooting
out there. When I get it, I shoot it.”
Anderson quickly proved he had the
midrange shot. However, injury prob
lems forced him to play inside and
mimic the stereotype his teammates had
originally. But when he does move out
side, it becomes evident that is where
his future lies. -
Much of Anderson’s early season
problems came as he guarded players
bigger than he was and picked up ear
ly fouls.
“I think I can play on the wing, but
since everybody’s hurt, I got to play
down low,” Anderson said. “It’s kind of
hard because they’re kind of big, and I
just get in foul trouble. How I get in foul
trouble, I don’t know.
“When I get my first two fouls my
mind starts thinking ‘don’t get another
foul, don’t get another foul.’ I watch it
on game tapes and after two and three
fouls I just get slow.”
Anderson has learned to deal with it
in recent weeks.
In addition to the more physical and
talented level of play, Anderson had to
learn to deal with defeat. Anderson
helped Louisiana’s Southern Universi
ty Lab High School win four consecu
tive state championships.
At Texas A&M, Anderson’s season
has been anything but quiet for the de
termined freshman. In an exhibition
game during the preseason, Anderson
got a wake-up call when he was el
bowed to the throat and a foul was not
called. Anderson’s complaint to the of
ficial was met with little understanding.
“He told me ,‘stop whining like a lit
tle baby.’ I told him T’m the best baby
you’re ever going to see.’”
Anderson is trying to prove it and
earn the title as the conference’s best
baby.
embarks
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