March 31, 2006
The 15th-ranked Texas A&M softball team (24-9, 3-0) will resume conference play Saturday in Lubbock when it faces-off against the Texas Tech Red Raiders (12-22, 1-3) at Rocky Johnson Field. First pitch is set for 2:00 p.m.
?Texas Tech is greatly improved,? commented A&M head coach Jo Evans. ?Coach Wilson is doing a great job with the program and they have won some big games this year. Their win against Oklahoma proves they can beat ranked teams and hold their own in this tough conference. We will have to play well to beat them on their home field.?
The Aggies, who have won 11 of their last 12 games, are coming off a wild mid-week win (2-1) against Texas State. Three Bobcat errors in the bottom of the 10th-inning led A&M to its 11th win in either the last at-bat or walk-off manner.
The Red Raiders earned their first Big 12 win of the season last weekend in Norman, Okla. as they beat the Sooners 4-2 in game one of a doubleheader.
Megan Gibson (.293) has contributed 22 RBI this season on nine home runs and four doubles. She leads the team in slugging percentage at .671. On the mound, Gibson is 12-3 with a 2.14 ERA. She?â„¢s logged 95 innings of work for the Ags, striking out 67. Against Texas State, Gibson threw a career high 10 innings; the only run allowed came off the international tiebreaker. She tied her career best with nine strike outs.
Sophomore Whitney Riley is hitting .322 for Texas Tech. Riley has driven in 12 runs with six doubles and three home runs. Erin Crawford is 7-9 for the Red Raiders in the circle. The senior has thrown 106.2 innings, with a 2.62 ERA. Riley has struck out 82 opposing batters.
?Our team has done a great job of playing solid defense and our pitchers have done a nice job keeping us in games,? Evans noted. ?Our offense has struggled at times, but we are finding ways to win games. We have had several different players step up in clutch situations in the past few weeks and it has given our team confidence to know we can win close games.?
A&M leads the all-time series against Tech, 16-9. Last season, the Aggies won both games played in College Station (7-2, 8-0).
Live audio and stats for both games in Lubbock will be available at AggieAthletics.com.