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Sunday, April 27, 1997

Baseball team in jeopardy of not making Big 12 Tourney

By SARAH HORNADAY

Associated Press Writer

AUSTIN (AP) - Usually the only questions for the Texas baseball team at this point in the season are: Will the Longhorns host an NCAA regional playoff site? Or, is reaching the College World Series a possibility?

This year, however, Texas is setting records for futility and is on the brink of failing to qualify for the inaugural Big 12 tournament, which has a six-team field.

With two three-game series left against Missouri and Nebraska, Texas could afford to lose only one game or be eliminated from the tournament.

The Longhorns, winners of 64 of 81 Southwest Conference championships, haven't been this far below .500 in conference play this late in the season since 1956.

That was the season Texas finished sixth in the SWC, a mark this year's team would be elated to reach.

It hasn't been the kind of debut that first-year coach Augie Garrido had in mind.

Garrido, who won three national championships at Cal State Fullerton, including the 1995 NCAA title, took over at Texas after coach Cliff Gustafson, the all-time winningest coach in NCAA history, resigned last year.

"It's hard for all of us," Garrido said. "This is a place that's used to winning."

It took the Longhorns until last weekend against Texas A&M for the team to win its first three-game series in Big 12 play.

After a 17-4 start that included a 22-3 victory over high-powered Miami during a three-game sweep of the Hurricanes, Texas lost 13 of its next 20 games and has failed to fulfill its early-season promise.

"I'm surprised that they're not doing better," Garrido said. "If you look at it from the technical standpoint, the weaknesses, the inconsistencies ... have led to the problems."

The Longhorns face missing their first conference tournament since 1978.

"We're just having a hard time," said pitcher Kendal Adare. "We got off to a good start, but things just slowed down and we're having a hard time getting it started again. I have a good feeling we'll be in the Big 12 tournament."

Garrido, in his 29th season as a college coach, has a history of slow starts.

In his first seasons at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Illinois and two stints at Cal State Fullerton, his combined record was 94-108-1 (.465). His overall record is 1,152-523-7 (.687).

Garrido shook things up a bit when he came in and said players couldn't wear a "T" on their baseball hats until they had earned the right. For the seniors on the team, the gesture was a bit startling.

But players say they have adjusted to the transition from Gustafson to Garrido.

"I don't think you can compare the two (teams)," Adare said. "As far as adjustment (to Garrido), they're different types of coaches but they had the same goal in mind. Our adjustment came at the beginning of the fall. We adjusted quick, early in the year and came back in the spring ready to play ball."

"This group has still beaten everyone, Texas Tech, Miami, Oklahoma. We've beaten everyone," Garrido said. "It's about consistency. From time to time we show signs of a very good baseball team."

The Longhorns aren't void of talent, but there's not a lot of depth. Garrido characterizes junior shortstop Kip Harkrider as sure-fire major leaguer and outfielder Mark Cridland as a legitimate pro prospect.

"During the Miami weekend we thought we had turned the corner," Harkrider said. "But after that we went downward. You'd think a sweep over Miami would send you upwards. We just went in the opposite direction. We haven't found a consistent groove all season."

In his final season, Gustafson was lambasted by the local media for poor recruiting with a team that had the lowest win total (39) in 18 seasons and the coach's first pitching rotation with no starters with an earned run average less than 4.15.

Of last year's team, Harkrider and outfielders Chris Edelstein and Clint Kiemsteadt are the only returning starters.

At the same point last season, Texas was 12-2 in the Southwest Conference with a season ERA of 4.58 and batting average of .320. This season the Longhorns have a 5.02 ERA and .317 batting average with seven less home runs and 24 less stolen bases.

"They really are trying. They're going with what they have to go with," said Garrido, whose recruiting class for next year already has been touted as one of the best in the nation. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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