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Page 5 • Monday, March 22, 2004
Aggie baseball comes from behind in Waco
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The “Battle of the Brazos” lived up
toils name Sunday afternoon as No. 9
Texas A&M University defeated
A'ithclfi unranked Baylor 8-7 in Waco.
The Aggies (21-4, 1-2 Big 12) ral
lied from two runs down to tie the game
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By Jordan Meserole
THE BATTALION
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Baylor (8-14, 2-1) took the overall
series win after defeating the Aggies in
Friday and Saturday night games, plac
ing the Bears in an early tie for first
place in the Big 12.
“The way they (the Bears) were
playing yesterday and this weekend, I
they could beat most teams”
A&M head coach Mark Johnson said.
"But we came back and got the win, so
that’s what matters.”
The normally-productive Aggie
offense had been cooled down in the
first two games of the series by
Baylor’s pitching staff, collecting only
live hits, no runs and striking out seven
times on Saturday. The Aggie bats
came to life once again on Sunday
though, tagging 13 hits.
“It felt good to come out and go at it
better" A&M senior outfielder Cory
Patton said. “We hadn’t done so well
John C. Livas • THE BATTALION
Aggie sophomore shortstop Cliff Pennington misses a line drive during the matchup against University of New Mexico last month.
in the first couple of games, so it was
nice to turn it around.”
The Aggies put the first runs of the
game on the board in the second inning
after a three-run home run by sopho
more catcher Craig Stinson. With run
ners on first and second, Stinson hit the
second pitch he saw from Baylor junior
lefty Trey Taylor over the left field
fence. Stinson finished the day as the
top Aggie hitter, going three-for-four
with four runs batted in.
“I was just seeing a lot of good
pitches and taking good hacks,” Stinson
said. “It was good for us to come out
and score some quick runs.”
The Aggies added two more runs in
the third inning pushing the lead to 5-0.
In the bottom of the inning, though, the
Bears finally found a way to get hits off
of A&M junior pitcher Kyle Marlatt,
who had retired five of the first six bat
ters. The Bears put three runs on the
board, cutting the Aggie lead to 5-3.
The Bears would add four more runs in
the fifth inning, all off of singles, taking
a 7-5 lead in the game.
The game would take a bounce in
the Aggies’ favor off a strange play in
the seventh inning. With no outs and
Patton on third base, A&M senior
infielder Eric Scheidt hit a hard
grounder down the third base line
which hit Patton in the back, sending
the ball careening into left field.
Patton easily scored, tying the game
at 7-7. Despite arguments by Baylor
head coach Steve Smith that Patton
interfered with Baylor third baseman
Michael Griffin’s ability to get to the
ball, the umpires upheld the run.
“It’s just one of those fluke plays in
baseball that can change everything in
the game,” Griffin said.
The Aggies scored the game-win
ning run in the ninth inning off of a sin
gle by Stinson that scored A&M junior
Travis Bartek from third base.
“The guys were discouraged a bit
coming out today,” Johnson said.
“But we never gave up and came out
ahead.”
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EVAN O'CONNELL • THE BATTALION
nior Jason Mathews pole vaults Saturday afternoon at the Frank G.
erson track and field complex. Mathews finished sixth place with a
j|lof4.7 meters. Mathews qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in
men's javelin on Saturday. Senior Katy Doyle also qualified for the
Olympic trials for javelin on the women's side. Overall, Aggies finished
first in 1 2 events and qualified for NCAA nationals 16 times.
ecord-setting meet at natatorium
By Jordan Meserole
THE BATTALION
Records fell faster than Martha Stewart’s
ckatthe NCAA women’s swimming and
[living championships last weekend.
A total of 39 records were set in the three-
i meet, including two world records.
Auburn University won the champi-
ship with 569 points, becoming the
burth team in NCAA women’s history to
ithree consecutive titles. Texas A&M
University finished 16th, the highest finish
i the championships for the Aggies since
111th place finish in .1985.
“We swam well and had a couple of
(fortunate mishaps, but it’s still the most
oints we’ve scored at an NCAA meet,”
A&M head coach Steve Bultman said.
Ve’re going to come out of here with a lot
of confidence.”
Thursday’s preliminary events gave fans
a glimpse of what was to come for the next
wo days, as records fell in four of the five
vimming events.
Thursday night’s finals continued the
Incitement from the afternoon, as every
event saw a new record time posted. The
{crowd roared as the University of Georgia
i-meter relay team broke the world
[record along with the NCAA, American
[and U.S. Open records.
“There’s a huge value on world
records and NCAA records,” Georgia
head coach Jack Baeurle
said. “To win two relays
at this level and the way we
did them ... we’re elated.”
Eight Aggie swimmers
set career and personal best
times and broke three
school records in the day
one events, including the
200-meter relay squad that
broke the school record in
the event with a time of
1:41:69.
A&M sophomore diver
Alida DiPlacido continued
her good season, finishing 5th
in the one-meter diving event.
“This being my first national champi
onship, I didn’t really know what to
expect,” DiPlacido said. “1 didn’t really
put any pressure on myself. I just said to
myself, T’m going to try my best,’ and
that’s what I did.”
Friday’s preliminaries went quietly,
with only one broken record. The finals
events that same night wouldn’t be as
quiet, though.
Records fell in every event, and another
world record was set in the 100-meter
breaststroke. Stanford University senior
I just said to
myself, Tm going
to try my best/
and that's what
I did.
— Alida DiPlacido
Aggie sophomore diver
Tara Kirk broke the record with a time of
1:04:79, also finishing her collegiate career
undefeated in the event.
“I always knew I had it
in me, I just had to make it
come out,” Kirk said. “I
feel like I’m ready to go out
and play with the big girls.”
A&M records continued
to be reset, with five more
falling on the second day.
A&M freshman Rebecca
Sturdy had the best individ
ual finish for A&M in the
three days, taking first in
the consolation finals of the
100-meter backstroke.
Records were broken in
every event Saturday,
including two more A&M records, set by
A&M swimmers, bringing the weekend
total to 10 school records.
Auburn sealed the overall championship
title by winning two individual finals
events in a row.
“What you saw during the meet was
how many truly awesome swimmers there
are in the NCAA program,” Auburn head
coach David Marsh said. “We’re very
thrilled and honored to come out of here
with a victory.”
NCAA tournament
ends second round
By Jim O'Connell
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The NCAA basketball tournament wrapped closed its second
round on Saturday narrowing the field to 16 teams.
Stanford couldn’t come up with a third miracle. The Cardinal
became the first No. 1 seed to be knocked out of the tournament,
losing 70-67 to eighth-seeded Alabama. Unlike its buzzer-beat
ing victories over Arizona and Washington State during the sea
son, Stanford’s Dan Grunfeld missed a possible game-tying 3-
pointer at the end of this one.
Nevada turned the tables on Gonzaga. The Wolf Pack made it
eight straight years that a No. 10 seed beat a No. 2 and two of
those wins were by Gonzaga. The Bulldogs haven’t had much
success as a high seed. When they were a No. 10 seed or lower
over the last six tournaments, the Bulldogs made it to at least the
round of 16. As a sixth seed in 2002, Gonzaga lost in the first
round, as a No. 9 last year, the Bulldogs lost in the second round.
As a 10 in 1999 and 2000, they went to the regional finals and
round of 16, respectively, and as a 12 in 2001, they went to the
round of 16. The loss snapped the Bulldogs’ school-record 21-
game winning streak. Their only other losses this season were to
top seeds Stanford and Saint Joseph’s.
Saint Joseph’s hasn’t trailed much all season, but the Hawks
were down 21-12 early to Texas Tech before going on a 24-2
run. Still, the Red Raiders tied the game at 60 with 5:09 left
before Saint Joseph’s pulled out a 70-65 victory.
The story of Selection Sunday was the contentious public dis
agreement between Saint Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli and CBS
analyst Billy Packer over the latter’s comments about the Hawks
not deserving to be a No. 1 seed. Saint Joseph’s will play Wake
Forest, Packer’s alma mater, in the East Rutherford Regional
semifinals on Thursday. “I guarantee you he won’t be rooting for
us,” Hawks guard Delonte West said.
The Atlantic Coast Conference went 6-0 in the first round and
the Big 12 went 4-0. Both leagues suffered losses on Saturday.
Maryland ended the ACC’s perfect run, losing 72-70 to
Syracuse, while Texas Tech was the first Big 12 team to go
down, losing 70-65 to Saint Joseph’s. In a matchup of the two
leagues, Texas of the Big 12 beat North Carolina 78-75.
Two double-digit seeds reached the round of 16 last year —
No. 10 Auburn and No. 12 Butler, both of whom lost in the
regional semifinals. Three teams had a chance to get there this
year. No. 10 Nevada did it with the win over Gonzaga and No.
12 Manhattan didn’t, losing to Wake Forest. No. 12 Pacific plays
Kansas on Sunday.
Duke’s win over Seton Hall moved the Blue Devils into the
round of 16 for the seventh straight year. The next longest
streak of those teams which advanced to the second round is
three by Kentucky, which plays UAB on Sunday. Maryland
also had a streak of three straight going but the Terrapins lost
to Syracuse.
Wake Forest’s win over Manhattan moved the Demon Deacons
to the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since
1996 when Tim Duncan led them to the regional finals.
Syracuse beat Maryland 72-70 in a matchup of the last two
national champions. The Orangemen made the defending cham
pions 3-0 all-time in such games, joining Cincinnati, which beat
Ohio State in the 1962 title game, and Arkansas, which beat
North Carolina in the national semifinals in 1995.
Connecticut’s 72-55 victory over DePaul made Huskies
coach Jim Calhoun 7-0 against his former assistants. Blue
Demons coach Dave Leitao played for Calhoun at Northeastern
and was his assistant at both Northeastern and Connecticut.
Calhoun missed 9:24 of the game when he left for the locker
room with an upset stomach. He missed a first-round victory
over Texas-San Antonio in 1996 with a stomach problem and
Leitao took over the Huskies for that game.
DePaul’s Andre Brown received a sarcastic cheer from the fans
late in the loss to Connecticut. The senior forward went 0-for-10
from the free throw line in the Blue Demons’ 76-69 double-over
time victory over Dayton in the first round. He went to the line for
the first time Saturday with 1:01 to play and missed the first of two
foul shots, then made the second, drawing the cheer.