AGGIELIFE
THE BATTALION
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The Battalion
Page 5 • Friday, February 21, 2003
A&M kicks off home tourney against UCLA
JP BEATO III • THE BATTALION
I pitcher Logan Kensing releases the ball against Houston on Sunday.
By Michael Crow
THE BATTALION
Two similar teams will meet
on Friday when the Texas A&M
baseball team returns to action
against the University of
California — Los Angeles.
The Aggies (4-1) and Bruins
(5-6) will open the four-day
Domino’s Pizza Aggie Baseball
Classic at 7 p.m. at Olsen Field.
While the two teams do not
share similar records in the
young season, both are tradi
tionally strong baseball pro
grams located in hotbeds for
recruiting high school talent.
UCLA will be hobbling into
College Station after consecutive
losses to North Carolina State
and the University of California
—Santa Barbara Gauchos.
A&M Head Coach Mark
Johnson said he and his team
will certainly not be taking the
Bruins lightly because of their
slow start.
“They’re a Pac-10 team that
plays well every year and is
almost always in contention for a
championship,” he said. “You
know you’ve got your hands full
if you’re facing the Bruins.”
UCLA’s most recent loss
came at the hands of the
Gauchos, largely due to a defen
sive breakdown for the Bruins.
With the game tied 3-3, fresh
man UCLA pitcher Hector
Ambriz (0-2) surrendered a four-
run fourth inning, and the Bruins
never regained the lead, losing
the game, 7-4.
UCLA sophomore pitcher
Bryan Beck took over for
Ambriz in the fifth inning and
did not surrender a run in his
three innings of work. Beck
will likely see action in this
weekend’s tournament, as the
Bruin coaching staff has
become increasingly impressed
by his play.
“With the way Bryan has
improved this year, he has a good
chance of winning a starting
job,” said UCLA Head Coach
Gary Adams.
Most of Beck’s work thus far
has come from the bullpen.
The Bruins’ offensive
attack has been led by junior
infielder Preston Griffin, who
owns a .372 batting average
and a solid .721 slugging per
centage leads his team with
four home runs this season.
Johnson’s Aggies should
enter the game with confidence
after a strong week of play in
which they finished 3-1. Most
recently, the Aggies posted con
secutive wins over the No. 11
Houston Cougars and the
unranked Sam Houston State
Bearkats. A&M sophomore
pitcher Logan Kensing was
named the Phillips 66 Pitcher of
the Week, thanks to two strong
outings. Kensing should be an
asset during the Aggie baseball
Classic, as he demonstrated that
he could be effective as a starter
and coming out of the bullpen.
“When it was last game of the
weekend, and we were a little bit
thin in our bullpen, he obviously
pitched very well,” Johnson said.
Offensively, the Aggies will
threaten UCLA and their other
tourney opponents with a solid
lineup.
Justin Ruggiano and Cory
Patton have each had clutch
home runs this season and lead
A&M in hits with eight apiece.
Friday’s game with the
Bruins will kick off the tourna
ment that also includes
Creighton University and the
University of Utah.
Softball team returns home for St. Joseph’s Aggie Invitational
By Pete Burks
THE BATTALION
There’s no place like home. This certainly
gs true for the Texas A&M softball team,
which will return to the Aggie Softball Complex
after playing a doubleheader against the
Southwest Texas State Bobcats on Wednesday.
The Bobcats (10-8) squeaked past the No. 19
Aggies (8-6) 2-0 in the first game and won 3-2 in
the second game. In the first game, after hitting
batters in the bottom of the first, Aggie jun-
pitcher Jessica Slataper allowed a two-run
ble, which ultimately was the only hit the
Bobcats needed as they beat A&M 2-0, even
though they were outhit five to one.
The Aggies looked for redemption in the sec
ondgame, but could not hold on to a short-lived
one run lead. The Aggies were their own worst
enemies, allowing two unearned runs that
stemmed from errors in the second and third
innings. Junior pitcher Lindsay Wilhelmson tried
to lead a comeback by crushing a homerun to left
field, but Southwest Texas came right back with
senior outfielder Ashley Koop driving in the
winning run in the bottom of the seventh.
The Aggies return to College Station to host
the second half of the St. Joseph’s Aggie
Invitational today, where they will enjoy a con
siderable home-field advantage, as evidenced by
their 6-1 home record. Strong home play has
helped the team improve its ranking from No. 24
to No. 19 during the course of the season.
The Aggies will host Wichita State, Prairie
View A&M and Southeastern Louisiana this
weekend, playing Wichita State and Prairie View
twice, and Southeastern Louisiana once. The
Aggies will kickoff the tournament against
Wichita State and Southeastern Louisiana at 2:30
p.m. and 4:45 p.m., respectively.
On Saturday, the Aggies and WSU Shockers
will face off again at 2:30 p.m., and in the after
noon game, the Aggies will get their first look at
the Panthers of Prairie View A&M at 4:45 p.m.
The Aggies’ final game is Sunday in an
afternoon date with the Panthers. Preparation
for the weekend might be difficult, since the
Aggies have not faced any of these teams in a
while. The Southeastern Louisiana Lions are
coming into the tournament at 1-6, while
Wichita State enters at 2-3, and Prairie View
A&M comes in after losing to Sam Houston in
its home opener on Thursday.
Despite the unfamiliarity between the teams,
two coaches who will participate in this week
end’s tournament are familiar with each other’s
coaching style. Texas A&M Head Coach Jo
Evans and Wichita State Head Coach Tim
Walton know each other well, as Walton was
once an assistant for the Oklahoma softball team,
See Softball on page 7
ALISSA HOLL1MON • THE BATTALION
A&M pitcher Jessica Slataper winds up against the Bobcats..
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