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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 24, 2004)
GIEli ITTAli astinie, on-air ^ a real} Sports The Battalion Page 5 • Wednesday, March 24, 2004 nosph^ ; \ggies fall to national champion Rice By Kyle Davoust THE BATTALION I The No. 10 Texas A&M baseball itam dug themselves into a hole luesday night at Olsen Field, and Idn’t escape as No. 6 Rice held on to jl 15-10. nrnuiiiJ A&M beat themselves early on, dd,” Ik| jlowing Rice to run up the score to 14- v ith me I by the middle of the fifth inning. The Aggies tried to stir up s Herzp; ome “Olsen Magic” in the issiblejiteinnings, but were with- | oat a miracle to overcome lavesijjich a large deficit against c tive 0 J ie defending national thethie(| am P ions - “You get 14 to two and it id of gets away from ou." said A&M head coach I lark Johnson. “It just got n where it was contagious ar one reason or another, iity," Hit mce; 1 'X weel ) 12:3(1 lOpti m for®, iva hd we end up throwing lomething like 227 pitches hthe ballgame. Then we had hit bats- fien and bases on balls, 12 of those.” For the most part, the Aggies ouldn't keep a lid on their mistakes, Ithe Owls capitalized. The Aggies committed four errors, ralked bottom of the order hitters and nissed out on key double play opportu- lities in the third and fourth innings. The Owls responded to the Aggies’ nistakewith patient and timely hitting, which lead to more runs than A&M ild overcome. Already leading 1-0 off of an aug- tar rnes :er unearned run, the Owls exploded in the third with back-to-back five-run innings. An error by A&M sophomore short stop Cliff Pennington, already his 13th of the season, came back to haunt the Aggies in the third. Pennington was trying to turn a double play, but ended up dropping the ball, leaving runners on first and second with no outs. Owls’ junior first baseman Adam Rodgers responded with a three-run home run to left field, knocking A&M freshman pitcher Doug Frame out of the game. Frame would be the first of six pitchers used by the Aggies on Tuesday night. The damage didn’t stop there as the Owls scored two more runs after what could have been the second and third outs, if not for Pennington’s error. A mix of walks and poor fielding prevented the Aggies from stopping the pain, as the Owls’ lead swelled to 14-2 by the middle of the fifth. “We didn’t play good defense and I don’t know why,” Johnson said. The Aggie offense, came alive in the bottom of the fifth, scoring four runs off three hits. The Aggie surge would prove to be too little as Rice freshman relief-pitcher Adam Hale went in and quieted the * *That happens every year, every team as an embarrassing loss. — Mark Johnson Texas A&M head coach John c. Livas • THE BATTALION Texas A&M sophomore second baseman Cliff Pennington (right) drops the ball while Rice Owls base runner junior Paul Jannish slides into second base during the third inning Tuesday night. Aggie bats. Hale allowed an inherited runner to score, but no more, limiting the Aggies to two hits over two and two- thirds innings. The Aggies made one last gasp for air in the eighth, scoring four runs, but it wouldn't be enough. The order was too tall. “That happens every year, every team has an embarrassing loss,” Johnson said. “You just hate to do it in front of a packed house on a beautiful night.” A&M football players suspended, must take awareness classes COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Two Texas A&M players have been suspended indefi nitely after they were charged with alcohol-relat- edoffenses and accused of shouting racial slurs. A&M head coach Dennis Franchione said the team will consider allowing center Geoff Hangartner and offensive lineman Cole Smith to return after they attend a multicultural course, perform 24 hours of community service and complete an alcohol awareness program. “These young men have to meet several criteria be considered back on the squad,” Franchione d in a statement. “First and foremost, they had to address their actions in front of their teammates.” Hangartner has denied making racial slurs. “Geoff did not make any racial slur and finds it kind of language abhorrent,” said attorney n James. Smith couldn't immediately be reached by The Associated Press on Tuesday. A&M spokesman Alan Cannon told the AP on Tuesday that the players met with teammates Monday and were informed of their suspension. Last week, Hangartner, a junior, was charged with driving while intoxicated, and Smith, a sophomore, was cited with public intoxication. Employees at a fast-food restaurant called police March 15 to report that two white men in the drive- through were shouting racial slurs at black passen gers in a car in front of them, according to court documents obtained by The Eagle. Franchione told the newspaper he is pleased with how his team — which has seen nine mem bers arrested since September — has handled the situation. He said.it would be a joint decision by the coaching staff and the team on whether to accept the players back. “Adversity only does one of two things,” Franchione said. “It drives you further apart or it drives you closer, and in this situation, I think it will drive everybody on this team closer.” AGGIES IN TROUBLE The ^ 0 ^ 0wm 9 members of the Aggie football team have been v C a arrested during Spring 2004: Not active Aggie fpotball players when arrested PLAYER POSITION CLASS CHARGED WITH DATE CHARGED *Cody Scales • Punter • Senior • Malicious mischief • Jan.20 *Quentm Gardner • O-back • Recruit in Tyler • Robbery • Attempted theft • Evading arrest • Feb. 7 Todd Pegram • Kicker • Sophomore • Evading arrest • MIP • Feb. 8 Geoff Hangartner • Center • Junior • DWI • March 15 Cole Smith •OL • Sophomore • Public intoxication • March 15 RUBEN DELUNA* THE BATTALION BRIDGING TrJ£ GAP! The Future of the EUMJLS- Relations March 26, 2004 Presidential Conference Center George ttoeis Presidential Library Complex Symposium Panel Sessions Open to the Public and Free of Charge 10:30 - 11:45 am - Panel I “Identities in Conflict: Does the EU Foster a European Identity, or Reinforce a Nationalist Perspective Among European Youth? International Center World Room, Room 1017 10:30 - 11:45 am - Panel II “Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and Food Safety Issues” Presidential Conference Center, Rooms 1011, 1011A 1:30 - 2:30 pm - Panel III “International Criminal Court” Presidential Conference Center, Rooms 1011, 1011A 2:45-4:00 pm - Panel IV “ Global Security Issues” Presidential Conference Center, Rooms 1011, 1011A 4:15-5:00 pm - Concluding Remarks Robert A. Bradtke, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State Presidential Conference Center, Rooms 1011, 1011A Co-ttfHms.uf t.d ktjf: Tin* JUMI Ummtmty Cmmrnr • Bmuth *•*«• Coii«iip *»< Uw* Tin* Utwxry • Tin* 0#*rg« tiuMt School of aovorfimoBt atiii t*uoiic Sorvic* The Administrative Offices of Transportation Services are moving March 24. Administrative and Customer Service offices will be closed. Our new address will be: 702 University Drive East, Bldg. E All phone numbers will remain the same. TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Transportation Services