V
NEWS
The Battalion I 2.20.15
4
Tanner Garza —THE BATTALION
Softball returns to Cali for another tourney
W. BASKETBALL
Aggies
trounce
Wildcats
at Rupp
By Andre Perrard
The No. 15 Texas A&M women’s
team needs every win it can earn as
March approaches.
Thursday night, the Aggie women
helped their case for tournament seed
ing with a resounding 81-69 victory
over No. 11 Kentucky in Rupp Arena
behind Courtney Williams’ 16 points
and nine rebounds.
Courtney Walker led in scoring with
19 points. Achiri Ade notched a double
double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Jordan Jones continued to share the
basketball, scoring 10 points to go with
eight assists.
The Aggies trailed by eight points
early on. However, a 12-2 run put them
ahead 28-26 with 3:51 left in the half.
After an 8-0 A&M run, the team
roared into the break with a 38-31 ad
vantage and an 11-0 run early in the sec
ond half gave A&M a 54-36 lead. The
team led by as much as 23 points.
Good shooting helped the Aggies, as
they shot 44 percent from the floor in
the game. The Aggies dominated down
low, outscoring the Wildcats 52-32 in
the paint and out-rebounding them 49
to 37.
The Aggies will return home and face
the Florida Gators at 3 p.m. Sunday.
By Milkyas Gashaw
Who wouldn’t want a second trip back to
California in under two weeks?
The No. 23 Texas A&M softball team (7-
4) returns to the state, this time for the Mary
Nutter Classic beginning Friday in Cathedral
City.
The classic is among the largest and most
competitive Division 1 softball tournaments
outside of the NCAA postseason. A total of 36
schools will be competing, such as last year’s
College World Series participant No. 9 Ken
tucky and the Aggies’ longtime foe, Texas.
A&M finished 3-2 in its last trip to Cali
fornia in the SoCal Collegiate Classic tourna
ment.
The Aggies will begin the tournament with
a single game at noon Friday against BYU.
Action will continue with a doubleheader
Saturday against UCSB and Cal State Fuller
ton. A&M will wrap it up Sunday with an
other two-game day with an early 11 a.m. start
against Syracuse and a game against Stanford
at 1:30 p.m.
In its last game against No. 2 Oregon, A&M
suffered a 5-1 defeat. However, the Aggies
trailed the Ducks by only one run going into
the last inning.
Senior Rachel Fox has started seven of the
11 games for the Aggies, leading the team in
pitching with a 2.15 ERA.
Freshman Tori Vidales has been playing
lights out at the hot corner for the Aggies,
leading the club in home runs, hits and KB Is
with 4, 11 and 10, respectively.
“She’s such a great player,” said A&M head
coach Jo Evans. “She does such a great job and
has great instincts. I love the way she competes
at the plate. She comes every day to play and
isn’t intimidated by anybody. She shouldn’t
be, she’s too good for that. I’m really proud of
the way the kid plays and every time she’s up,
you know spmething good is going to hap
pen. That’s who she is to our ball club. She’ll
be doing great things for the next four years.”
BASEBALL
Unbeaten A&M gets Penn State
AJ Minter
By Andre Perrard
It’s been 17 innings since
a run was tallied on the
visitor’s side of the Olsen Field
scoreboard. The Aggies, mean
while, have put up 47 runs in just
four games.
Texas A&M returns to Olsen
Field Friday night in the first of
three home games taking place
this weekend against Penn State.
The No. 17 Aggies (4-0)
boast a 7-1 all-time series record
against Penn State, the first Big
Ten opponent to come to Blue
Bell Park since Michigan State
in 2012.
Penn State (0-3) is coming
into the game after being swept
by Elon last weekend. Starting
outfielder Ryan Richter leads
the Nittany Lions offensively,
with a batting average of .417,
a home run and two RBIs. He
also legged out two doubles in
the opening weekend. Jim Haley
also chips in with the bat, batting
.400 on the year with six RBIs.
As far as the offense is con
cerned for A&M, the bats will
look to stay hot against Penn
State. Ronnie Gideon is batting
.421 with two home runs and
11 RBIs for the Aggies. Mitchell
Nau has one of the hottest bats
in the league, batting .583 with
three doubles and six RBI.
Friday night, junior AJ Mint-
er will be on the mound for the
Aggies. In his last appearance,
Minter pitched for five innings,
and allowed two unearned runs
while striking out
seven batters. Penn
State will send out
Nick Hedge.
Junior Grayson
Long will make his
second start Satur
day for the Aggies.
Long comes into
the game as the Ag
gies’ active leader
in wins (10), in
nings pitched (139)
and strikeouts (98).
The Nittany Lions
will send freshman
Nick Distasio to the
mound.
Sunday, A&M will start soph
omore Matt Kent against Penn
State freshman Taylor Lehman.
If the Aggies sweep again this
weekend, they will be 7-0 for
the first time since 2006.
A&M and Penn State will
begin their series at 6:35 p.m.
Friday. First pitch Saturday is at
2:05 p.m., while Sunday’s game
will begin at 1:05 p.m.
No. 2 Sooners to visit men's tennis
By Alex Scott
The Texas A&M men’s and wom
en’s tennis team continue their
seasons this weekend as Oklahoma
visits College Station.
The No. 12 men (2-1) play at 6
p.m. Friday and enter the contest rid
ing a two-match win streak.
The most recent win for the men
came when the Aggies upset No. 5
Ohio State. Senior Jeremy Efferding
led the Aggies, winning his singles
match in straight sets as well as partner
ing with senior Jordan Szabo to knock
off their doubles opponents.
A&M’s schedule only gets tougher,
however, as No. 2 Oklahoma comes
into College Station with an unblem
ished 10-0 record.
The Sooners are riding high after
winning their first national indoor
championship Monday, besting the
top-ranked USC Trojans in a rematch
of last season’s NCAA Championship.
The No. 18 women’s team will play
host to Abilene Christian at noon Sat
urday, hoping to build off its previous
win over UT-Arlington last Thursday,
which evened up the win-loss column
at 2-2.
Abilene Christian (3-0) will enter
its match against the Aggies with an
Cody Franklin —THE BATTALION
Jeremy Efferding
undefeated record. In their wins, the
Wildcats have outscored their oppo
nents 16-3.
On Sunday, the men will face Tul
sa at noon and Incarnate Word at 4
p.m. SEC play begins next week for
the women, starting at Tennessee at 3
p.m. Friday.
VIEWS
Speak your mind — civilly, of course
Jennifer Reiley
(g)jreiley1
ivil discourse is conversation intended
M to enhance understanding. It’s meant
to give a well-rounded look at an is
sue. And when civil discourse is pushed aside
in favor of personal gain or prejudice, the
consequences can be severe.
In Washington D.C., several factors
have lowered the amount of civil discourse
in government. Gridlock in the Congress
and animosity between legislators and the
president is a more public example of this
struggle. Tom DeFrank, contributing editor
at the National Journal in Washington D.C.,
has covered national politics for more than
40 years. He visited A&M Thursday to share
his experience and thoughts, and in the case
of civil discourse, the view was bleak.
He faulted both parties, saying that
Democrats and Republicans alike are only
focused on getting re-elected and have given
up on working toward building relationships
with other legislators outside of the office.
“Bipartisanship” has become a dirty word.
With the loss of collaboration, conversation
has begun to collapse from the inside out in
D.C.
Texas is not exempt from this fallout. A
few weeks ago, on Texas Muslim Capitol
Reagan Brunsvold —THE BATTALION
Day in Austin, a group of demonstrators
outside the Capitol had their conversa
tion interrupted by a woman who began to
preach about God. She didn’t want to hear
about Muslims or their religion; in her eyes
they were wrong and she was right.
Inside the building, state Rep. Molly
White told her staff that anyone entering
her office had to pledge their allegiance to
America. Seriously, I’m not making this up.
Gov. Greg Abbott had to release a statement
reminding people that everyone has a voice
in civil discourse and must be respected.
So why is there a problem if there’s no
civil discourse? Without it, there is no shar
ing of ideas. If everyone ignored those that
disagreed with them, we’d all walk around
silent. Disagreeing with someone simply
because they stand on the opposite side of
an issue is close-minded, and in the end,
dangerous. Without discourse, there is no
development of ideas.
Aggies should be concerned about the
decrease in conversation on issues. With the
84th Texas Legislature in session, A&M must
continue to address issues that have polarized
groups for years.
We work toward diversity. Diversity
means more opinions, mindsets and back
grounds. There will be conflict because we
see things differently. However, we have to
remember to debate civilly because, in the
end, we are all people who deserve respect.
The debate over concealed carry on cam
pus that has rolled over from last semester
when Student Senate passed the Personal
Carry Act is not going to go away anytime
soon. At least seven bills filed for the 84th
Legislature deal specifically with gun laws
in the state. Soon certain bills will begin
to reach the floor for votes. There will be
arguments, there will be discussion, but there
does not have to be hatred.
Whether you’re pro-gun or anti-gun,
remember that in the argument you are
fighting an issue, not a person. Someone dis
agreeing with you in a discussion gives you
no right to attack them personally, whether
it be verbal or physical. Gov. Abbott recog
nizes the goodness that can come out of civil
discourse, and so should we.
Civil discourse is healthy in a democratic
society because everyone has a right to have
his or her voice heard. That has to mean
everyone — not just the person with the
loudest voice. Do not let your own biases
deafen you to the words of others, no matter
their background or their own personal life.
Instead, put on the metaphorical blindfold
and focus on the issue at hand.