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The Battalion
Page 5 • Wednesday, April
Aggies use ‘Olsen Magic’ to beat UTA in 11th
By Dallas Shipp
THE BATTALION
THE BATTALION
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A&M junior Justin Ruggiano takes a cut against UTA Tuesday night.
Ruggiano is batting .529 in his last four games for the Aggies.
“Olsen Magic” struck again Tuesday
night as the No. 16 Aggies scored two runs in
the bottom of the ninth thanks to two lucky
breaks for Texas A&M.
Senior pitcher Dwayne Pollok retired the
next six consecutive batters in extra innings,
setting the stage for the game-winning RBI
single by junior second baseman Erik
Schindewolf, 7-6.
“I was just looking for a fastball and
luckily, I got ahead (in the count), 2-0,”
Schindewolf said. “He had to throw me
two fastballs in there and I got a pitch that
I could drive.”
Schindewolf had struggled from the
plate in his first four at bats against left-
handed pitchers but more than made up for
it by tying the game in the ninth on a wild
pitch and hitting the game-winning RBI.
After freshman catcher Craig Stinson was
hit by a pitch with one out, Schindewolf hit a
deep shot to center field that was caught at
the warning track. But he got a second
chance after the umpire called a balk on UTA
right-hander Mike Snapp, the first of two
breaks for the Aggies.
Schindewolf didn’t waste the opportunity
and laced a single up the middle.
“It was a break that got the runner in scor
ing position,” Schindewolf said. “I just had to
take advantage of it.”
The second break for the Aggies hap
pened during the following at bat on a
grounder up the middle by freshman third
baseman Cliff Pennington.
UTA shortstop Aaron Batlle came in to
make the play that would have been a
game-ending double play. Instead, the ball
ricocheted off the front corner of the base
and rolled into shallow left field, allowing
Stinson to score and Schindewolf to
advance to third.
Schindewolf scored on a wild pitch by
Wes Detwiler, UTA’s fifth pitcher of the
game, to tie the game, 6-6.
“Sometimes the gods are with you and
sometimes their not, but the gods usually
even it all out,” Johnson said. “We caught a
break, no question about it.”
Following the wild pitch, UTA decided
to intentionally walk junior right fielder
Cory Patton.
Junior center fielder Justin Ruggiano
grounded to shortstop for the double play to
end the inning, but after the damage had been
done by the Aggies.
Ruggiano was 2 for 5 on the night with an
RBI single in the sixth.
Ruggiano has been red hot in his last four
games, batting .529 with 11 RBI and three
home runs in his last 17 at bats.
Although the Aggies rallied in the late
innings, UTA gave A&M all it could handle.
The Mavericks got things started in the
second inning to take a 1-0 lead on a RBI
single by UTA centerfielder Robby
Deavers. UTA added another three runs in
the sixth to take a 5-1 into the bottom of
the sixth.
Batlle added another run in the ninth on a
solo-shot over the right field wall to give
UTA a 6-4 lead.
“We wanted to keep (the momentum)
going for Oklahoma State” Schindewolf
said. “We don’t want to go into a conference
series on a sour note.”
Softball team returns home Nation’s best riders to visit Aggieland
By Pete Burks
THE BATTALION
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After spending a successful week
end on the road at the University of
Kansas, the Texas A&M softball team
will return home to face Texas A&M -
Corpus Christi in a doubleheader today.
For the first time in the last five
road trips, the Aggies (30-14, 8-4 Big
12) came away with a clean sweep,
defeating KU 6-1 on Saturday and 5-0
on Sunday. Not only were they able to
be more consistent in terms of win
ning, but the Aggies made drastic
improvements defensively, shutting
down the Jayhawks and avoiding cost
ly errors that had recently plagued
them on the road.
The story of the weekend was the
performance of junior pitcher Lindsay
Wilhelmson. For the first time in her
Aggie career, Wilhelmson threw a no
hitter, blanking the Jayhawks on
Sunday, improving her record on the
year to 14-4. Wilhelmson struck out
eight batters and only allowed four
base runners en route to an A&M
sweep of the Jayhawks.
“The no-hitter was awesome,”
Wilhelmson said. “The best part about
it was that even though I didn't strike
out every batter, our defense really
came through. Kansas hit the ball, but
the defense kept anything from getting
through for a hit. It really gives us a lot
of confidence going into these next
couple of games which is huge
See Softball on page 7
By Michael Crow
THE BATTALION
This weekend, the Texas A&M
equestrian team will return to action
when it hosts the National Varsity
Equestrian Championships beginning
Friday.
The event will showcase the
nation’s top equestrian programs.
Cornell University and Dartmouth
College will be the only two
Division I schools not in attendance.
Several Division II schools will also
be present.
Texas A&M Head Coach Tana
Rawson said she looks forward to
welcoming the visiting teams this
weekend.
“This is a great opportunity to show
everybody what our riders can do as
well as what our program is about,” she
said. “We want to show people how
great the people and hospitality here in
College Station.”
This weekend’s varsity champi
onship will feature both English and
western competitions. The English
show is set to begin at 8 a.m. on Friday,
and it will be followed by the western
show at 1 p.m.
Crystal Pope will represent Auburn
University as the top returning finisher
from a season ago. Pope outlasted
A&M’s Quincy Cahill in the American
Quarter Horse Association’s High
Point Rider Class in 2002.
After an impressive spring, A&M
junior Meredith Houx will lead the
Aggies into competition. Houx earned
A&M’s best finish, when she was
awarded seventh-place in the USA
Equestrian/Cacchione Cup last season.
A&M Assistant Coach Pam
Bruemmer said that the Aggies are
excited about the level of competition
that will be present.
“This will be a great opportunity for
people to see many of the top riders
from around the nation.”
The equestrian championships will
continue Saturday with a western
horsemanship clinic beginning at 9 a.m.
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