January 20, 2004
The No. 21 Texas A&M baseball team will begin preparation for the 2004 season when it begins spring practice this Thursday, January 22, at Olsen Field.
Leading the Aggies for the 20th season will be head coach Mark Johnson--the winningest coach in Texas A&M history. Johnson has compiled a record of 804-384-2 and his winning percentage of .676 ranks 12th among all active NCAA Division IA skippers.
"We started the process of getting this team ready to play in September and it took a lot of sweat to get where we are right now," commented Johnson. "We are a couple of weeks away from the season starting and we are looking forward to picking up where we left off in the fall."
The Aggies open the season on Friday, February 13, when they host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a three-game series.
A&M returns seven of nine everyday position players from a season ago, but will need to find replacements for 38 of its 45 wins on the mound.
Headlining the returning players are 2003 All-Big 12 performers Erik Schindewolf (2B), Cliff Pennington (3B) and Cory Patton (OF).
All practices are open to the public and will begin at 2:30 p.m. each day.