The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, April 14, 2004, Image 5
■ Sports The Battalion ggie Baseball blows past Houston m- quesii 'scliapi notii tsoffe e Mi ssreas- it its b!» tying! lelyiest a's stai agews :onsei aptetoi Joshua L. Hobson • THE BATTALION A&M sophomore infielder Cliff Pennington steals third against the University of iston's senior third baseman Nick Bott at Olsen Field Tuesday night. By Jordan Meserole THE BATTALION The No. 15 Texas A&M baseball team played true small ball Tuesday night, beating the University of Houston 8-1 with singles, bunts and hit-and-runs. The Aggies (30-9, 6-6 Big 12) col lected eight singles in the game and used the hit-and-run, or sacrifice hit strategies, a number of times to gain the advantage over the Cougars (14-21, 7-5 Conference USA). “We did a great job on the whole offensively,” said A&M head coach Mark Johnson. “We hit some solid line drives up the middle and consistently put runners on base.” A&M sophomore Robert Ray helped the Aggies on the defensive side in one of his best outings of the season. Ray lasted five innings, struck out six batters and allowed no runs on four hits. “The past month 1 kind of struggled a little bit, but me and coach have beeh working on the little things a lot recent ly,” Ray said. “If felt good to go and really compete again.” Ray showed signs of struggle in the first inning, giving up a single to the first batter of the game and hitting the second in the back, the first of three Cougars beaned Tuesday. Ray was able to get out of the inning unscathed, get ting the next three batters to ground or fly out. Johnson was the first person to meet Ray in the dugout, offering words of wisdom. “Coach (Johnson) came and said to me ‘It’s game time. It’s time to go out there and get after them.,’” Ray said. “It seemed to really help for some reason.” The Aggie offense posted the first runs of the game in the first inning, later proving to be the only runs A&M would need to win the game. Houston freshman starting pitcher Shea Hancock dug himself into a hole early in the game, putting the first two batters on base. A&M freshman Austin Boggs came to the plate and lined a single up the middle that scored one run and moved the other runner to third base. Sophomore Coby Mavroulis then hit a ground ball to the right side of the infield that would allow the second Aggie run to cross the plate in the inning. Hancock had more problems in the second inning, giving up two more runs off a double and a walk before being pulled by Houston head coach Rayner Noble. The Aggies added two more runs in the inning after sending a total of 10 batters to the plate, extending their lead over the Cougars to 6-0. All but two of the nine Aggie batters collected a hit in the game, including See Baseball on page 7 5 • Wednesday, April 14, 2004 CU coach said football team is innocent By Jon Sarche THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BROOMFIELD, Colo. — Insisting the Colorado football program does not condone sexual misconduct, suspended coach Gary Barnett said Tuesday there is “no question” there was misbe havior at a 2001 party at the center of a rape scandal —- but everyone at the gathering shared the blame. Barnett, questioned for nearly five hours by a panel investigating recruiting practices at Colorado, said there were 10 people at the off-cam- pus party, including four football ath letes. All of them lost their scholar ships afterward and were charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for providing alcohol. “There is no question in my mind that inappropriate behavior occurred,” Barnett said. “There is no question that the behavior of the 10 young people involved was the result of their own poor decisions and under the influence of alcohol.” Two women contend they were See Hearing on page 7 omen seek revenge against Baylor By Ryan Irby THE BATTALION hoever said revenge is sweet obvi- knew what he was talking about, streaking Texas A&M softball m will look to get revenge against ■lor University, a team that defeated Aggies earlier this year. mmm (25-16, 7-l Big 12) is coming - (M^ e 8 ame riding a wave that has flBied the team through five straight iviri, including two series sweeps nst Iowa State University and the of Kansas and a road Btoutover the University of Texas. (o. 20 Baylor (37-9, 7-2) is currently bg in third place in Big 12 standings, one spot behind the hot-hitting Aggies. Baylor swept games from Texas Tech this past weekend in a rain-shortened pair, taking the first game, 4-0, and the second, 7-3. Seeing the Red Raiders lose was not the only highlight of the past week for A&M. When weekly Big 12 honors were issued Tuesday, the Aggies swept the balloting. Freshman center fielder Sharonda McDonald was named Big 12 Softball Player of the Week, and senior pitcher Jessica Kapchinski was named Big 12 Softball Pitcher of the Week. Kapchinski has won three straight contests, including the decision over Texas and both victories against Kansas. Last week, she held opponents to a .056 batting average, and compiled an ERA of 0.00. “(Kapchinski) came up big for us,” said A&M head coach Jo Evans about Kapchinski’s pair of wins over the Jayhawks this past Saturday. “She has gotten more meticulous about hitting her spots and not just throwing the ball over the plate.” McDonald continues to simultane ously amaze and annoy the rest of the conference with her blinding speed. She stole home for the Aggies fourth run in the contest with Texas a week ago, and has gone 3-4 in stolen bases since then. Not known as a power hitter, McDonald recorded her first extra-base hit of the season, an RBI triple, in the second game against the Jayhawks. For the Aggies, this news could not have come at a better time. A&M needs a leader to carry the team into the trenches of the Big 12 battle. “We are playing so well as a team,” said A&M junior shortstop Adrian Gregory. “I can’t think of any one per son that did not take a part in our wins.” When Baylor pulls into College Station on Wednesday, the Aggies will have nothing on their minds but aveng ing their sole conference loss. “Baylor is the team that gave us the See Softball on page 7 Sharon Aeschbach • THE BATTALION Freshman pitcher Christina Smith at the Aggie Invitational in February. AT THE TRADITION FOR 200U ♦SORORITY HOUSING PROGRAM* 1 As a member of an A&M sorority, YOU are part of one of the most highly regarded student organizations on campus. The Tradition believes YOU deserve the best and most supportive environment in which to live, interact and study. That’s exactly why we are setting aside a block of rooms exclusively for you and other Aggie Greeks! y requesting, qualifying for and being assigned to the sorority block, you are automatically eligible for all-inclusive discounted group rates as low as $525 per monthly installment payment, which includes 5 meals per week in our very own Edge Cafe! And if that weren’t nough, The Tradition at Northgate will donate $300 to the Panhcllenic Council for every 10 sorority members who siun up to live in The Tradition. Additionally, The Tradition will l)nate $300 to the philanthropy of the sorority who has the most members sign up to live on the sorority block! Why should I join The Tradition at Northgate's Sorority Housing Program? on’t miss out on the opportunity to live with your fellow sorority sisters NOW! Close and affordable hourly parking right ext door when other students come to meet! n-site aerobics room available for your use! In-house catering available for your meetings or special needs! RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF CAMPUS AND IN THE MIDDLE OF STUDENT LIFE AT TEXAS A&M!! Hall staff with a sorority background! **TOUR HOURS EVERYDAY 8am-7pm!!** 979-268-9000 Tour online at www.traditionaggieland.net and sign up today! 301 Church Avenue College Station, Texas 77840 THE KIDS KLUB IS SEEKING STAFF FOR THE 2004 FALL SEMESTER • Are you available Mon.-Fri., 2:45 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.? Apply at the College Station Conference Center, 1300 George Bush Dr. Now Thru April 26 ,h ith Employment to begin August 10' College Station ISD is an Equal Opportunity Employer Word Bank Games Soccer Ganiland Flag Football NSYNC Brittany Spears No Weekends Hockey Talent Show Timeout The Rock Kickball Limbo Skating Gladiator Art Projects Yo-Yo Playing Headstart Ice Cream Fourth Grader Fun People Cheerleaders Fun Airball Dance Freeze Legos Backstreet Boys Name: Kids Klub Word Search dekadc s r icecream t a fund s dwhock e y u gn iyalpsnetsemag ce syldancefreeze vnlsiifttrkarled ss latkmdnlieeeeo ataltccbnedpeelo a i bcapeooaestwpw smtbgbmj rdhyoyoa oeoktekgoernhhen coovkdhcarhas apa cufoitedispti inj e tptresgnkntdruo r sauttdabeairbfl 1rotaidalgrroagw gfdreotayeibsloi Igtgnitaksoge1sa