By Cody Stark, Huntsville Item
COLLEGE STATION ? It's rare for an oppossing coach to get a standing ovation from the hometown fans, and even more rare for it to happen at Texas A&M's Olsen Field.
But Tuesday night, even the “Aggie Raggies,” a group of diehard A&M baseball fans who are notorious for relentless taunting of the opposition, joined in to welcome back former A&M head coach Mark Johnson in his first game at Olsen Field since being hired by Sam Houston State in 2007.
It wasn't a good night for Johnson's Bearkats, who were dealt an 8-2 setback, but it was a night that brought back lots of good memories for the coach, who spent 21 years in Aggieland, won 876 games, five conference championships and took A&M to two College World Series.
“It was good,” Johnson said about his return to Olsen Field. “I'm not a real emotional guy, but it was good. I immediately saw a lot of good friends so it wasn't like I was alone standing out there. I wanted to do well and had a lot of people rooting for me. I got a lot of e-mail and calls from very close friends before the game. They showed me a lot of respect tonight.”
Before the game, there were a few cheers from the crowd, which was still filing in when Johnson's name was called for the first time during introductions. But before the two teams took the field, the Aggies properly welcomed him back.
On a portable videoboard located just left of the scoreboard in left-center field, Texas A&M showed a short highlight reel of Johnson's time in College Station. As the clips flashed across the board, all of the Aggie fans quickly rose to their feet and honored the man who helped make the program what it is today.
The crowd got even louder when Johnson came out of the dugout and tipped his hat in appreciation.
“There are a lot of memories here and I could just about point anywhere and tell you about a great play,” said Johnson, who has won 106 games in three seasons at Sam Houston. “It was kind of good to come back, but I'm happy where I'm at. I love being a Bearkat and coaching at Sam. I don't have any regrets. None of that is in my mind. I love coaching where I'm coaching.”
As good as the evening started, it quickly went south for Sam Houston, which dropped to 29-20 on the season.
The 20th-ranked Aggies (32-16) rocked Bearkats starting pitcher Daniel Nottebart for five runs in the first inning. Senior first baseman Luke Anders hit a two-run triple into the right-center-field gap and junior designated hitter Joe Patterson put two more runs on the board with a homer to right.
Bearkat sophomore reliever Dallas Gallant came in and got the final out, coaxing junior second baseman Brodie Green, who led off the frame with a single, to fly out to right field.
Sam Houston State scored single runs in the second and third innings on solo homers by Jon Reed, whose shot barely got over the right-field wall with a little help from sophomore Brooks Raley's glove, and third baseman Ryan Mooney. But the Aggies went back up by five with solo shots from senior Kyle Colligan and Patterson in the fifth.
The Bearkats have now lost seven of their last eight and have been struggling at the plate. With the exception of a 9-2 win in the series finale against Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, SHSU has scored two or fewer runs in four straight games.
The Kats managed 10 hits Tuesday, but left eight runners stranded.
“We have been hitting the ball pretty well, but we haven't been getting that key hit and have been hitting it right at people,” SHSU senior Nick Zaleski said. “They will fall. They were falling earlier in the year when maybe we didn't deserve them to fall. Everything averages out, so hopefully this weekend we will find our swing.”
The Kats head to Conway, Ark., to face Central Arkansas in a three-game Southland Conference series beginning Friday at 6 p.m.
