Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 24, 2002)
&M bats stagnant again as Owls prevail JOHN LIVAS • THE BATTALION \&M shortstop Matt Alexander attempts to turn a double play against Rice on Tuesday night. By True Brown THE BATTALION The Rice University baseball team lived up to its No. 2 ranking Tuesday night, shutting down Texas A&M’s lifeless offense to claim a 7-4 win at Olsen Field. A&M’s hitting woes continued against a tough pair of pitchers from Rice (36-8), managing five hits while going 2-for-10 with run ners in scoring position. Rice reliever Wade Townsend picked up his first win of the sea son, allowing one hit and one run in 4 2/3 innings. Townsend relieved starter Jeff Niemann in the fifth inning. Niemann, who has not lost this season, kept A&M (31-16, 10-8 in Big 12) at bay after giving up two runs in the first inning. “Niemann has everything he needs to beat anyone,” said Rice head coach Wayne Graham. “He’s still a little bit uncertain some times, but it’s all there. We’ve been thinking all season that Townsend will be our closer and with per formances like this, he’s getting a lot of confidence.” Steven Ponder took the loss for the Aggies after allowing six runs, including two home runs, in 4 2/3 innings. The Owls put the hammer down early by taking the lead for good during its five-run fifth inning. Rice first baseman Vincent Sinisi capped the inning with a two-run home run to right field. The long ball was the seventh of the season for Sinisi, second-most on the team. It was the second straight game the Aggies have given up more than four runs in a single frame. Baylor used a four-run inning to claim a 4-2 win over A&M on Sunday. “They got a bunch of hits in a row,” said A&M head coach Mark Johnson. “It was the same thing against Baylor. That’s what it takes in baseball. You have to get multiple hits in an inning, and we weren’t able to shut that down.” The only Owl with more home runs than Sinisi is Enrique Cruz, who improved his season total to 1 1 after hitting two solo home runs against A&M — one in the fourth inning and one in the ninth inning. Cruz’s two long balls made him the fifth player this season to have a multi-home run game for Rice. “They stayed (on Ponder) well,” Johnson said. “We didn’t find many flawes defensively. They did a good job (on defense). They have nine guys in the lineup who can make some things hap pen. They don’t have a lot of week spots to where you can pitch around them.” The No.’s 4-7 hitters in A&M’s line up struggled in the loss. Neal Stephenson, David Evans, Justin Pouk and Ty Gamer combined to go 0-16 against Rice. Stephenson, hitting in the cleanup spot, has not gotten a hit since the first inning of last Friday’s game against Baylor, giv ing him a .067 average in A&M’s last four games. “I don’t think their pitching was a whole lot different from what we’ve been seeing,” Johnson said. “We had some hit- table pitches that we didn’t do a good job with.” ice hitters give Aggies lesson in importance of hitting By Doug Fuentes THE BATTALION . and noi: I to teslifv. :hairwoiffi: nity to prf’ and have : The second-ranked team in the in» *1 riat * on P a 'd a visit to Olsen Field on , ^ eai! Tuesday night and it gave the Texas ma case! baseball team a lesson — while kin i P* tc hing and defense can win games, su 1 " %ie name of the game in college base- all is still hitting. The Rice Owls did not exactly put on a hitting clinic against the Aggies, but the hits they did get, they made count rtification oval of Ik in days, ary an g firm fcf f HP sha/l- Compaq ame res voted,! | William Ci# \ voiding# rminins» e process. 1 omething A&M was unable to do. “They’re a good ball club there’s no question about it,” said A&M head coach Mark Johnson. “They’ve guys that can hit. They hit the breaking pitch on (A&M starter Steven) Ponder a cou ple of times and I thought Ponder had his good breaking pitch. “They stayed on it well. That’s why they’re No. 2. They have nine guys in the lineup that can make some things happen.“ The Owls did make things happen and when they did, it was bad for the Aggies. After falling behind two runs after the first inning. Rice took complete control of the game with five runs in the third, thanks to a variety of hits. The Owls used three singles, including a bunt single by A.J. Portfirio, and a two-run home run by Vincent Sinisi to score their runs. The Owls finished with 10 hits on the game. On the other hand, when the Aggies had their chance to get back into the game in the fifth, they swung and miss. After loading the bases with no one out, A&M had its second, third and fourth hitters coming up and could do nothing. Matt Alexander struck out. Rusty Meyer managed a sacrifice fly but Neal Stephenson struck out swinging to end the inning and the Aggies’ chances. The Aggies have put together a grand total of 16 hits in their past three games, including just five on Tuesday night. To make matters worse for the Aggies, the hits they are getting are not at the most opportune times. After going 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position against Baylor, A&M went 2- for-10 against Rice. Three of its four runs came on plays that resulted in outs. “We’re going to have to battle better with two strikes,” Johnson said. “We have to put the ball in play and make something happen. That was a killer for us. We may not hit .320 or .340 as a ball club, but with two strikes we have to battle.” The differences in the two teams See Hitters on page 2 buso NG Can you think of anything hotter? Jalapeno Contest Dunking Booth Games Fun n/ ifol in nter A Cinco de Mavo Celebration Food Live Music [ploy' April 28, 2002 Rudder Fountain 4pm - 8pm Y^yw msc comae For more information contact Michelle De La Cruz at 845-151 q ride to Bush Intercontinental? Let Bus ups take you? Departures from May 9-11 Pick-up August 28-30 $20 round-trip Pre-pay at the PITS Main Koldus Rm. 1 18 * Schedule for Thurs. - Sat.. May 9-11: Depart TAMU 6:00 a.m....Arrive IAH 8:00 a.m. Depart TAMU 2:00 p.m....Arrive IAH 4:00 p.m. * Pick-up schedule for Wed. - Fri., August 28 - 3( Depart IAH 2:00 p.m....Arrive TAMU 4:00 p.m. Depart IAH 7:00 p.m...Arrive TAMU 9:00 p.m. For More Info, Coll 847-fflOE or uisit busops.toniu.edu
