lay, February 24, 2003
unilies
r soldiers
sit troops
By Dave Kolpack
HE ASSOCIATED PRESS
^RGO, N.D. — When a
tly activated North Dakota
nal Guard unit got three
off from its training in
ado, family members bad
knew what to do: Aboui
' them boarded two buses
15-hour trip to visit the
s.
've been double-fisting
the cell phone and my
phone trying to make
gements,” said Tammy
who runs the volunteer
y support group for the
i Dakota guard’s 142nd
reer Battalion and helped
ize the trip to Fort Carson,
vas a fitting scene forfam-
n North Dakota. The state
ad a higher percentage of
ry-age residents, ages 18
called from the reserves to
duty or placed on alert
any other state, according
Associated Press analysis
itagon figures.
North Dakota’s 386,873
iry-age residents, 1,495
nal Guard and Reserve sol-
have been told to report,
mtagon said. That’s a rate
6 soldiers per 10,000.
(
I'm anxious to see
Colorado], but I’m
ore anxious to see
my dad.
— Tyler Matthys
son of soldier
rth Dakota is followed by
District of Columfe
ssippi, Utah, Alab»,
Dakota, West Virginia,
are, Nebraska and South
na.
out 645 of the 700 soldiers
le Fargo-based 142nd
eer Battalion were placed
live duty last month, the
{ call-up in North Dakota,
42nd handles general con-
on — everything from
itry to building roads and
ps.
long those making the bus
) Fort Carson over the
nd was the Matthys fami-
i-year-old Austin, 12-year-
der and mom Vicky -
to see Lowell Mattbys,
in the 142nd’s personnel
ment.
■ Matthys family bad
oeen to Colorado,
n anxious to see it,”Tyler
But I’m more anxious to
' dad.”
ky Matthys said a friend
ed her by picking up the
f her tickets, about $98
e’ve had so much support,
le neighbors and others,”
's said, fighting back
’My husband and 1 have
>een apart like this, ever,”
y and Robin Christians
about 100 miles from
n, Minn., to get on the
is bus trip is something
we had to do. They are
>ff to war.”
JEWS IN BRIEF
prices up again
kRILLO, Calif. (AP)-Cas
rose 7 cents per gallon
e past two weeks push-
np prices to near record
out the upward pressure
res may be easing, an
(analyst said Sunday,
i/erage weighted price foi
tionwide, including all
and taxes, was approxi-
$1.70 per gallon Friday,
ng to the Lundberg
of 8,000 stations nation-
tat price is within 7 cents
71, the all-time high
d by the survey on May
1.
ne cost about $1.63 a
m Feb. 1, the date of the
undberg Survey, an
! of 11 cents over the
; two-week survey.
Sports
The Battalion
Page 7 • Monday, February 24, 2003
Aggies dominate weekend tournament play
Baseball team sweeps \
Sunday doubleheader
By Dallas Shipp
THE BATTALION
The Texas A&M baseball
team may as well have trav
eled north to play at
Creighton in Omaha, Neb.,
after a cold front came blow
ing in Sunday nightfrom
center field between game
one against UCLA and game
two versus Creighton.
Although the tempera
ture dropped nearly 25
degrees between 5 p.m. and
8 p.m., the Aggies’ bats
remained hot and the A&M
pitchers kept hitters from
both UCLA and Creighton
on their heels as the Aggies
won both games by a score
of 7-2.
“I was pleased with the
way we came out and
played today,” said A&M
Head Coach Mark Johnson.
"We had strong defense and
that was important.”
Sophomore pitcher
Logan Kensing started his
second game of the season
ihad a strong outing.
He allowed two runs and
just three hits to get his third
win of the season.
Kensing got off to a slow
start by hitting junior
infielder Preston Griffin to
lead off the game.
Griffin scored two batters
later on a double by sopho
more designated hitter Billy
Morf.
The Aggies struck back
quickly at the plate in the
bottom of the second with
three runs of their own, giv
ing them a 3-1 lead after
two innings.
The third inning
belonged to junior center-
fielder Justin Ruggiano.
In the top of the third,
freshman infielder Brett
McMillan sent a deep fly
ball into the gap in right-
center field that appeared to
be impossible to catch.
Ruggiano jumped into the
air and came down with ball
much to his surprise.
“I didn’t think I had a
chance,” Ruggiano said. “1
just jumped up and took a shot
at it and things just fell right.”
Fie wasn’t done yet.
In the bottom half of the
inning, Ruggiano laced a
double into the gap himself
and scored on an RBI by
junior outfielder Scott
Beerer, increasing the
Aggies lead to 4-1. The
Aggies added three more
runs, including a solo home
run by junior infielder Erik
Schindewolf in the bottom
of the fourth and a two run
double by junior infielder
Matt Alexander on a hit-
and-run play that was exe
cuted to perfection by the
Aggies, giving them the 7-2
win over the Bruins.
Junior pitcher Matt
Softball team collects
four wins in tourney
See Baseball on page 8
Top: A&M outfield
er Justin
Ruggiano slides
into second base
during the first
game of Sunday’s
doubleheader.
The Aggies won
both games.
Bottom: Aggie
catcher Selena
Collins hits her
sixth home run of
the season
against Prairie
View A&M during
the weekend.
A&M defeated
Prairie View twice
in the tournament.
Photos by John C.
Livas, The
Battalion
By Pete Burks
THE BATTALION
For the Texas A&M soft-
ball team, good things seem
to come in pairs. On
Sunday, the Aggies swept a
doubleheader against Prairie
View A&M University, 10-2
and 15-0. The two wins gave
A&M another tournament
championship, winning the
second half of the St. Joseph
Aggie Invitational.
The Aggies went 4-0
overall in the tournament,
exploding offensively for 36
runs while using a stingy
defense and dominating
pitching to hold Wichita
State University, the
University of Southeastern
Louisiana and Prairie View
to a combined five runs.
Taking all four games this
weekend, the No. 19 Aggies
improved their overall
record to 12-6 and increased
their home record to 10-1.
In the first game, the
Aggies used dominant pitch
ing performance from senior
Lindsey Rippee. Rippee
pitched a complete game,
allowing two runs on five
hits while striking out two.
She also received offensive
support from her team. The
Aggies wasted no time in
getting to work with their
bats, pounding Prairie View
starter Trisha Anderson for
10 runs, getting seven in the
first three innings.
Senior shortstop- Crystal
Martin, senior catcher Selena
Collins and freshman Krisin
Gunter led the Aggies’ offen
sive bombardmen adding a
home run to their season
totals. The Aggies were
unstoppable offensively, as
evidenced by winning the
game by mercy rule.
The second time around
for the Aggies and Panthers
proved just as fruitful, as
the Aggies mauled the
Panthers again, 15-0, for
their second consecutive
win by mercy rule.
Again, Rippee stepped on
the mound for the Aggies,
shutting down the Panther
offense to the tune of one hit
and two strikeouts.
The Aggie offense came
out with a vengeance, scor
ing each inning that they
came up to bat. Martin and
senior center fielder Cheryl
Fowler helped lead the
charge, scoring the first two
runs of the game off of a
string of consecutive hits.
In the second inning,
Panthers’ starter Jaime Cain
could do no better, wilting
before an offensive barrage
from A&M led by Collins.
Fowler knocked in the first
two runs with a bases-clear-
ing double, paving the way
for Collins to head to the
plate. With two outs and a
runner on, Collins hit a
frozen rope line drive to the
power alley in left-center
See Softball on page 8
, vtJx'v.v it's® y
VOTE! Rec Sports Fee Referendum
February 26-27 The Department of Recreational Sports
will be going to the A&M student body asking for a ref
erendum to increase the Recreational Sports Fee from
$78 to $88. This $10 increase per student, per semester
is critical to the Department's ability to cover the cost of
inflation in it's budget. But more importantly, it will allow
the Department to create some exciting opportunities for
the students of Texas A&M:
• Expand the Weight & Fitness Room
• Expand Penberthy Intramural Sports Center
• Increase Rec Sports student worker wages
• Hire a second Sport Club Coordinator (after hir
ing freeze is lifted)
Visit http://recsports.tamu.edu for a FAQ to answer all
your questions. Voting will begin at 9:00 a.m. on
February 26th and will end at 5:00 p.m. on February
27th. Students may vote on-line at vote.tamu.edu or at
select sites on campus, including the Rec Center.
Live the Excitement with Sports Clubs
;n O’
Get Going with TAMU Outdoors Spring Fun with Intramurals
Upcoming Events
Rock Climbing Day Trip
Horseback/Hiking Day
Rock Climbing 201
Women's Rock Day Trip
Kayak Roll Clinic
Registration
Jan. 21-Feb. 25
Jan. 21-Feb. 25
Jan. 21-March 19
Jan. 21-March 18
Jan. 21-March 24
3yak
TAMU Outdoors is located behind the Rec
Olsen Field. Call 845-451 1 for information.
Event Date
March 1
March 2
March 22
March 23
March 25
Center, facing
Sports CLOSING:
4on-4 Flag Football
Sports OPENING:
Program
Swim Meet
Registration ends
Feb. 25
Registration
Feb. 24-March 4
Cost
$20/team
Cost
FREE
Get Fit-Fitness & Classes
SPRING BREAK TRIPS
• CLIMB HUECO TANKS—-Join TAMU Outdoors on a climbing
adventure in one of the top US bouldering sites. Registration
ends Feb. 27. $265*/$318**
• CANOE BIG BEND'S RIO GRANDE—Canoe the scenic
of the Rio Grande River, hike through side
under the stars.
Women's Water Polo Texas Division Regional Championships
at the Student Rec Center Natatorium March 1st and 2nd.
March 1st TAMU vs. Rice @ 2:00 p.m.
TAMU vs. UT @ 8:30 p.m.
March 2nd TAMU vs. Baylor @ 1 1:00 a.m.
TAMU vs. Trinity @ 3:00 p.m.
wilderness of the Rio Grande River,
canyons, explore the desert and sleep
Registration ends Feb. 27. $364*/$4l9*
• HORSEBACK THE TEXAS FRONTIER—Join TAMU Outdoors
on this horseback adventure as we explore the Big Bend
area. Registration ends Feb. 27. $471 */$542**
SUMMER BREAK TRIPS
• SEA KAYAK ALASKA—Explore a portion of the northern wilder-
ness-Alaska's Prince William Sound and Harriman Fjord.
Registration ends April 1. $1,765*/$ 1,950**
• SAIL & SCUBA the Bahamas—Sail on Blackbeard's cruise
and trace the historic route of pirate ships and treasure
galleons. Registration ends June V. $819
recsports, tem. et/u
FREE Healthy Living Lecture: EATING DISORDERS.
Wednesday, February 26 at 5:30 p.m. in room 281 of the
Rec Center. Learn how to approach someone with an eat
ing disorder and how to prevent them from developing.
FITNESS INSTRUCTOR TRAINING—Registration begins
now for this 6 week program that starts March 1 8. Sign up
at Member Services today.
AQUATICS-make a splash
SPRINGBOARD DIVING—Don't miss out on this fun oppor
tunity to improve your diving skills. Registration ends
TODAY! Cost: $25/$35.
WALK OF CHAMPIONS
Make your mark on the A&M campus before you graduate!
Aggies get your discounted Walk of Champions brick for
$100 before you leave Aggieland. For more information on
ordering your personalized brick, visit our web site
http://recsports.tamu.edu. Order forms are available.
at