5
ATI.|
Sports
The Battalion
exas first roadblock for Aggies
n\l (
By Nikki Knight
THE BATTALION
■ Vying for first place in the Big 12, the No.
24 Texas A&M softball team will face rival
University of Texas in its last home game for
the season Wednesday night at the Aggie
Softball Complex.
■ The Longhorns (23-19, 5-9 Big 12) are com
ing off a tough loss against Oklahoma State
University last Sunday to face the Aggies (30-
If, 12-1), who beat University of Missouri at
home last weekend.
■TB The Aggies will be looking to gain their 11th
straight win before the challenge of conference
fldlillftder University of Nebraska (34-12, 12-0)
tins weekend.
M I Aggie senior pitcher Jessica Kapchinski is
coining into this game with confidence and a
league-low ERA of 0.29. She has been strong in
. ill [conference play with a record (11-1) that
almost matches the team’s.
■ “We are looking forward to continuing our
success,” Kapchinski said. “The challenge will
to stay focused, stay relaxed and concentrate
j^fthis game.”
venraB Kapchinski was named Big 12 Softball
ious JPitcher of the Week Tuesday. This was the sec-
iond time this season she has received the honor.
I A&M head coach Jo Evans said her team is
confident going into this week but focused on
Wednesday’s game.
“We have been really good about not looking
;ad and playing it a game at a time,” Evans
[id after the Missouri game.
Freshman pitcher Christina Gwyn will start
r the Longhorns and bring a 3.48 ERA to the
Jwund. Gwyn pitched Saturday for Texas and
allowed four runs and four hits in 3.2 innings,
aking the loss.
The A&M defense has been solid, but its em
it batting average slightly trails the
nghoms. The Aggies are batting .270 this sea-
n. Sophomore outfielder Rocky Spencer and
leshman Sharonda McDonald lead the team
■th batting averages of .359 and .319, respec-
iyely. Junior infielder Adrian Gregory has three
i>me runs and nine RBIs on the season.
I The Longhorns will bring a .309 batting
I'erage to the plate and look to use that as the
la an
Evan O'Connell • THE BATTALION
Aggie senior pitcher Jessica Kapchinski struck out four people against University of Missouri last Saturday. The
Aggies won 2-0. Kapchinski won Big 12 Softball Pitcher of the Week Tuesday, for the second time this season.
team’s biggest advantage.
Junior third baseman and last week’s player
of the week for the Longhorns, Wynter Turner,
has a .31 1 batting average and said the key to a
win would be to score as many runs as possible.
“The A&M game is always a good, competi
tive, fun game,” Turner said. “We will be suc
cessful if we play good offense and get into the
mindset to score runs.”
Longhorn sophomore shortstop Amber Hall
will also pose a threat to the Aggies. She’s
batting a team-high .398 with two home runs
and 17 RBIs.
A win against Texas will pave the way for the
Aggies’ trip to face conference leader Nebraska
this weekend. Trailing Nebraska by only one
game, these last few conference matches will
prove to be critical in determining the Aggies’
placement in the league and national standings.
The first pitch in the mid-week face-off is
scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night at the
Aggie Softball Complex.
Page 5 • Wednesday, April 28, 2004
U.S. men’s soccer
takes on Mexico
DALLAS (AP) — When the U.S. men’s national
team takes the field against Mexico on Wednesday,
the Cotton Bowl may not feel like home territory.
The air horns, drums and flags that are found at
most of Mexico’s games are sure to be out in force
— just as they were during Mexico’s last Dallas
stop — giving the game the look of a homecoming
for the Tri-Colores.
“You might as well be playing away, since it’s in
Dallas it will be a predominantly pro-Mexico crowd,”
U.S. forward Josh Wolff said. “It’s going to be chaotic.”
The U.S. team hopes the friendly exhibition game
will simulate the intensity of the upcoming CONCA-
CAF World Cup qualifying matches, which start
June 13 against Grenada in Columbus, Ohio.
“I don’t know what the environment is going to
be exactly, but I expect the crowd will be predomi
nately a pro-Mexico crowd,” said U.S coach Bruce
Arena. “But, we’re used to that. I think it’s a good
environment for our players to be around in prepara
tion for the bigger games.”
Mexico last played in Dallas 14 months ago in a
friendly match victory over Bolivia at Texas Stadium,
in front of a crowd dominated by Mexico fans.
After Mexico, the U.S. team has one final tune-up
match, June 2 against Honduras in Foxboro, Mass.
Should the U.S. team advance through its prelimi
nary qualifying round, its six-game, four-team semi
final round competition will begin in August.
With 17 of team USA’s 18 players from Major
League Soccer teams, there will be some familiar faces.
But two players will be out with injuries: defend
er Cory Gibbs, the only player on the roster from the
hometown Dallas Burn (groin); and defender Dan
Califf of Los Angeles (MCL). Colorado Rapids’
defenders Pablo Mastroeni and Ritchie Kotschau
have been selected as replacements.
Wolff is one of the five current U.S. players who
was on the team that beat Mexico in the 2002 World
Cup. The United States has won five of the last seven
games in the series, each by shutout.
“We’re definitely getting better,” Wolff said. “We
know how to dig in when we get a lead, we have to
be patient and wait for a goal.”
Six members of the U.S. team have never played
against Mexico, and Arena feels the exhibition will
be a key game for inexperienced players,
'f!
Bl
I
LOUPOT’S
RflfllfQXflDEQ
Duuivti i unco
AN AGGIE TRADITION OF FRIENDLY SERVICE SINCE 1932
Need a Ride?
SELL YOUR TEXTBOOKS
TO LOUPOT’S BOOKSTORES
& ENTER TO WIN A 2004
APRILIA MOJITO-SO SCOOTER
WINNER AT ALL 3 STORES !
NORTHGATE
335 University Dr.
979.846.6312
979.846.0748 fax
WOLF PEN PLAZA
1907 Texas Ave. S.
979.693.0838
979.764.7355 fax
SOUTHGATE
308 George Bush Dr.
979.693.2278
979.764.7273 fax
RESERVE YOUR SUMMER AND FALL BOOKS ONLINE NOW!
www.loupots.com
TEST DRIVE ONE TODAY!
>/&*<&• Ms M & M POWER SPORTS
730 E. Villa Maria Bryan, TX 77802
979.775.8688 (ALT. #) 979.412.4156
~rs
BTU Invites You to Celebrate
Our 95th Anniversary
Friday,
April 30, 2004
Free Dinner and Activities
5:00 - 7:00 pm
* 'l*| i
Exciting prizes include
• Michael Jordan, Nolan
Ryan, Roger Clemens, *
John David Crow, Coach »
Fran and Dante Hall ^
autographed memorabilia ^
• TAMU, Rockets and Astros
tickets
• Lake Bryan season passes^
-Jam
Free entertainment ^
includes a
• Texas A&M Singing
Cadets
• Bryan High School Jazz
Band
• Free family activities and
carnival games
Dedication and tours begin at 1:00 pm
For more information visit
www.btutilities.com or call (979) 821-5715.
Driving Directions
To drive to the Roland C. Danshy
Power Plant,
1. Go north on Hwy 6 toward Heame.
2. Exit at FM 2818.'
3. Turn left onto FM 2818.
4. Follow FM 2818 to Mumford Road.
5. Turn right onto Mumford Road.
6. Arrive at 8181 Mumford Road.
%*
Roland C. Dansby Plant
8181 Mumford Road
A short drive from Bryan
Just west of 2818
8RV'«N TJSTA? f JULmE''
#JL wj £! XiPy
>8 '■ TO SSPlS YOUGNIE ft*