March 16, 2006
After going 3-5 on an eight-game road trip, the Texas A&M baseball team will return home this weekend to open Big 12 Conference play against Missouri. The Aggies and Tigers will play a three-game set at Olsen Field on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
After opening the road trip by winning two out of three at nationally-ranked Florida, the Aggies dropped a midweek game against Texas State and lost the first three games of the UTSA Collegiate Classic in San Antonio. A&M snapped the four-game losing streak by collecting a season-high 16 hits in an 11-1 win over Illinois.
The Aggies enter the weekend with an overall record of 14-6 and are 9-2 at Olsen Field.
| SERIES INFO |
| GAME 1: Friday, March 17, 7 p.m. (CST) GAME 2: Saturday, March 18, 7 p.m. (CST) GAME 3: Sunday, March 19, 1 p.m. (CST) Olsen Field (7,053), College Station, Texas Tickets: |
| RECORDS (entering series) |
| Texas A&M: 14-6, 0-0 Big 12 Missouri: 10-7, 0-0 Big 12 |
| RANKINGS |
| Both teams are receiving votes in the USA Today poll. |
| RADIO |
| (broadcast time 30 min before first pitch) TBD, play-by-play TBD, commentary |
| INTERNET |
| Live Stats (Fri): (aggieathletics.com) Live Stats (Sat): (aggieathletics.com) Live Stats (Sun): (aggieathletics.com) Live Audio (all games): (aggieathletics.com-subscription service) Live Video (all games): (Aggie Ultimate Access-subscription service) |
| SERIES |
| Aggies lead, 30-20-1 Since Big 12 (1997): Missouri leads, 14-12 Last Meeting: (4/10/05) |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M at Houston Tuesday, March 21, 7 p.m. (CST) Cougar Field, Houston, Texas |
Missouri, a nationally-ranked team to start the season, enters the weekend with a record of 10-7. The Tigers lost two of three games to Purdue last weekend in Columbia, Mo.
There are two other Big 12 series this weekend with Texas Tech hosting Texas and Kansas traveling to Baylor. Nebraska, Kansas State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State begin league play next weekend.
TICKETS
Tickets to all Texas A&M home games can be purchased by calling the Texas A&M Athletic Ticket Office at (979) 845-2311 or (888) 99-AGGIE. Fans may also purchase tickets online at 12thmanfoundation.com. The gates at Olsen Field open 90 minutes prior to first pitch for non-conference games and two hours prior to first pitch for conference games.
RADIO
All Texas A&M baseball games will be broadcast live on WTAW AM-1620. Dave South, The Voice of the Aggies, will call the action and will be assisted throughout the season by Tom Turbiville, Chuck Glenewinkel and Gabe Bock. The pre-game show will begin 30 minutes prior to the start of each game.
AGGIE ULTIMATE ACCESS
Fans who are unable to attend Texas A&M's home games can watch them live on the internet. Aggie Ultimate Access will provide a live video and audio stream of all 32 of the Aggies' home games in 2006. Aggie Ultimate Access is an affordable membership site that can be accessed by logging onto www.AggieAthletics.com.
PROBABLE TEXAS A&M STARTING ROTATION
- GAME 1: Kyle Nicholson - Junior - RHP
Kyle Nicholson, a junior righty, will start the first game of the weekend for the sixth weekend in a row. He enters the game with a record of 3-0 and an ERA of 2.00. Nicholson has 22 strikeouts and just four walks in 27 innings. He is averaging 5.4 innings per start. Nicholson earned the win in his first start against Northwestern State (2/10) by tossing 5 1/3 innings and allowing four runs - one earned - on seven hits. He lasted just four innings in his second start of the season against Northern Colorado (2/17). He rebounded with a solid outing (6 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 6 K) to earn his second win of the year against UNC Greensboro (2/24) and threw six shutout innings against Florida. In his last outing against Notre Dame, he left the game after 5 1/3 innings and allowed one run on four hits.
- GAME 2: Austin Creps - Junior - RHP
Austin Creps, a junior right-hander and Texas Collegiate League Pitcher of the Year, will move to the Saturday-starter role after starting on Sundat the first five weeks of the season. Creps has pitched a total of 34 1/3 innings in his previous five starts and has allowed just 25 hits on the season. He owns a record of 2-2, an ERA of 0.79 and is averaging 6.87 innings per start. Creps was the tough-luck loser in a game against Missouri State, allowing three runs in five innings of work in the 3-2 loss. He came back strong with a 7 1/3 inning performance against Florida where he allowed three hits, struck out five and did not walk a man. He also shouldered the loss against UTSA after throwing 7 2/3 innings and not allowing an earned run. In his five starts, the Aggie offense has scored nine runs for an average of 1.80 runs per game.
- GAME 3: TBD
MISSOURI STARTERS
- GAME 1: Max Scherzer - RHP
(3-1, 2.88, 25.0 IP, 18 H, 31 K, 7 BB)
- GAME 2: Nathan Culp - LHP
(4-1, 1.99, 31.2 IP, 29 H, 21 K, 2 BB)
- GAME 3: Aaron Crow - RHP
(0-2, 4.24, 23.1 IP, 29 H, 23 K, 7 BB)
SERIES INFORMATION
Texas A&M and Missouri have played 51 times with the Aggies holding the all-time advantage over the Tigers, 30-20-1.
Since the start of the Big 12 Conference in 1997, Missouri holds the advantage over A&M, 14-12. In the last 10 games, the Aggies and Tigers have each won five.
Last season, Texas A&M was swept by Missouri in a three-game set in Columbia. The only close game was a 2-1 loss on Friday. Missouri outscored the Aggies, 7-3 and 8-3 in the final games of the series.
The Aggies have won five of the nine series played between the two schools, including a two-game sweep in 2004 (lost a game to weather). Missouri has swept the series in 2000 and 2005. The Aggies have never completed a three-game sweep of the Tigers.
Prior to the Big 12 Conference, Texas A&M had a record of 19-6-1 against Missouri.
The longest winning streak in the series was a 10-game streak by A&M from 1976 to 1997. The longest winning streak by Missouri was four games during the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
LEADING OFF
- The Aggies snapped a four-game losing streak with an 11-1 win over Illinois on Monday.
- A&M collected a season-high 16 hits against Illinois on Monday.
- The Aggie pitching staff allowed three or fewer runs in 12 of 20 games this year.
- Texas A&M is 50-71 in stolen bases in the first 20 games of the season. A&M averages 2.5 steals per game.
- The Aggies are 9-2 at Olsen Field this year.
- Texas A&M is 14-2 when they score the first run of the game and 0-4 when the opponent scores first.
- A&M is 7-0 when they score in the first inning and 0-2 when the opponent scores in the first inning.
- The Aggies are 13-0 when leading after six innings, and 12-0 when leading after eight innings. When trailing after six innings, A&M is 0-4.
- A&M is 7-3 in night games and 7-3 in day games.
- Parker Dalton has the team's longest current hitting streak at three games.
- Parker Dalton, John Infante and Austin Boggs lead the team with six multiple-hit games.
- Spencer Jackson leads the team with three multiple-RBI games.
- The Aggies have outscored their opponents 96-53.
- Aggie starting pitchers are averaging 5.25 innings per start.
- Of the 11 games the Aggies' starting pitcher has left with the lead, the Aggies are 11-0. When the starter leaves and the game is tied, the Aggies are 2-1 and when the starter leaves with a deficit, A&M is 1-5.
- Opponents are only hitting at a .202 clip against the A&M pitching staff and .185 with runners in scoring position.