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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